영유아기 자녀 부모 특성별 부모교육 강화 방안

Abstract

Recent studies on stronger and stable parent education have led to the planning and implementation of education programs based upon the differing characteristics of parents, but most of all, such studies have led to increased interest in providing parent education with better accessibility and more appropriate to parents' needs. The purpose of this study is based on these issues. The researchers attempted to create a basic curriculum of parent education that can serve as the foundation for selecting the content for parent education according to differing characteristics of parents, and to discuss measures for implementing and strengthening parent education for the active utilization of this content material.

The main contents of the research are (1) understanding the present conditions of parent education according to the characteristics of the parents and identifying any problems, (2) gathering information on the needs of parents with different characteristics, (3) reviewing parent education for parents outside Korea, and the drawing of implications, (4) putting forward suggestions for a basic education curriculum for parents with infants and preschoolers, (5) suggesting measures for the stronger implementation of parent education according to the characteristics of the parents. The characteristics of parents are divided into dual-earner parents, single parent, multicultural parents, parents in rural areas, and parents with low-income levels.

The research methods used in the present study included a review of studies on parent education with the considerations of their characteristics, a review of information on exemplary parent education outside Korea and visits to relevant institutes, surveys for the different characteristic groups of parents, focus-group interviews with different characteristic groups, surveys, Delphi research for developing education curriculum for parent education, and finally, expert advisory meetings. Across the country, 1,000 families with infants and preschoolers participated in the survey on participation and the needs for parent education, and 500 experts participated in the Delphi study aimed at developing the education curriculum.

The results of the research can be divided into an analysis of the parent survey and focus group interview results; and the parent education curriculum suggested as it was, based on the result of the analysis. In general, parent education and perceptions indicate that 80.4% of parents have heard of parent education but only 26.4% have actual participation experience. The highest degree of participation was for a 1-time program in childcare support institutes or local centers, and the most frequent topic of such training was desirable parent roles. The parents of multicultural families showed higher participation rates than other groups for home visit education through support centers for multicultural families. The main reasons given for not participating in parent education were 'no time' or 'lack of information' on parent education. This indicates it is more effective to induce participation and active promotion of institutes than parents seeking out the information on parent education themselves.

The general demands concerning parent education are active promotion, childcare during education, short-term education within small groups, selecting the right lecturers and topics. The preferred contents of education are knowledge on children's emotions and social skills development (a preference regardless of the characteristics of the parents), conversation skills with their children, and disciplining their children. A closer look at the demands reveals the connection between these demands and the different characteristics of the parents: play methods for dual-earner parents, disciplining for single parents, language development, children's health, nutrition for multicultural families, conversation skills for parents in rural areas, and learning instructions for parents with low-income levels.

The foundation courses on curriculum suggested by the Delphi study are as follows: (1) role of parents, (2) development of children, (3) understanding family, (4) nurture and instructions. In addition, there were a number of special requests for parent education topics by some parents which experts also viewed as being very necessary. These have been suggested as elective courses in order to meet the demands of different parent characteristics.

In terms of strategies for applying the curriculum for active parent education, the distribution and promotion of parent education curriculum, training experts in parent education, and on-line parent education courses are suggested. For stronger policy approaches for parent education, appointing persons in charge for tasks related to parent education, the diversification of promotion, easier accessibility, and using kindergartens and childcare centers as delivery systems are all valid suggestions. Lastly, workplace education, on-line education that takes different parent characteristics into account, and a hotline for parent education, and education through a variety of mediums are all expected to contribute to expanded opportunities for parent education.