아동 가구의 육아지원서비스 이용 및 욕구 - 2009년 전국보육실태조사 심층분석 -

Abstract

When the Infant and Child Care Act revised in 2004, it required the National Child Care Survey—which consists of both The Household Survey and the Childcare Center Survey—to be conducted every five years. In accordance with the law, the national household survey on child rearing was conducted in 2009 for the second time, following the first one conducted in 2004. The 2009 survey targeted 4,901 households with young children or elementary school children among the nationwide pool of 15,000 households. It visited these families and 7,455 children to conduct interviews, and studied the usage, costs, and demands of child care and educational services. Due to the massive amounts of surveyed materials, the survey was limited to conducting an in-depth analysis on factors that affected the decisions of parents in selecting centers. Additionally, the analysis of the survey was one dimensional, in that it analyzed the differences in the characteristics of parents and children.

Against this backdrop, the aims of this study were to conduct an in-depth analysis of the 2009 national household survey on child rearing; 2) thoroughly understand the usage and cost-deciding elements of child rearing and child care support institution selection; 3) secure and provide more accurate and scientific data for establishing future policies; and 4) identify policy implications based on the above findings. As an in-depth analysis report of the 2009 survey, the study analyzes the survey results, focusing on the contents that were excluded from the former report of the survey, aiming to enhance the application of the survey results and provide more thorough data for future policy research and initiatives.

Nine topics were selected, and seven researchers participated in the study. An independent thesis was produced for each topic. The study analyzed child care support services and usage, child care support services provided to working mothers, child care support provided to the underprivileged and its costs, the factors which determine the level of satisfaction with child care support services, the reasons for providing private education to young children, the private education of elementary school children and its costs, awareness of the child care support policies, and the factors which determine the decision on whether to have children or not. A follow-up survey was conducted in 2010, targeting some of the respondents of the 2009 survey. The results were compared to those of the 2009 survey in order to track the continuity of child care services and policy satisfaction levels. Based on the empirical results of each analysis, the study identifies policy implications that will help improve the child care environment of under privileged families, child care centers, and kindergartens.

The analysis indicates that income level is the key element in service usage and spending. It was also indicated that an underprivileged group does indeed exist. Users of child care services were quite satisfied with the services provided. Awareness and satisfaction with the government’s financial support were quite low. The level of the government’s financial support does indeed affect parents’ decision to have more children, but the impact was indirect and weak. However, it was also shown that government’s policy was applied in overall policy as well as service satisfaction.