The purpose of this study was to examine the perception of the directors of daycare centers accredited by the daycare center accreditation system, which was introduced in 2005 as a model case, and their satisfaction level after being accredited. And i...
The purpose of this study was to examine the perception of the directors of daycare centers accredited by the daycare center accreditation system, which was introduced in 2005 as a model case, and their satisfaction level after being accredited. And it's also intended to what difficulties they experienced during the accreditation process and what they expected from it in an effort to help improve the efficiency of the accreditation system.
The research questions were posed as below:
1. What is the perception of directors of daycare centers about the daycare center accreditation system? Does the type of daycare center make any differences to that?
2. What is the view of directors of daycare centers about self- examination process? Does the type of daycare center make any differences to that?
3. What is the satisfaction level of directors of daycare centers after being accredited? Does the type of daycare center make any differences to that?
4. What difficulties did they undergo during accreditation process? What expectations do they have for that?
The subjects in this study were 129 directors of accredited daycare centers in Seoul and Gyeonggi province. The instrument used in this study was questionnaires that were prepared according to the guidelines presented by the executive office of the daycare center accreditation system and by having an interview with four directors of accredited daycare centers. A survey was conducted by mail between September and October 2006, and the subjects were asked to return their completed answer sheets by using enclosed envelopes. For data handling, statistical data on frequency and percentage were acquired to find out about their view of the accreditation system and their satisfaction level after being accredited, and another statistical data on mean and standard deviation were secured to identify their satisfaction level with the quality of accreditation indices.
The findings of the study were as follows:
First, as for their awareness of the accreditation system, most of the directors investigated agreed that the system was necessary for the improvement of the quality of daycare service. They were desperately in want of being subsidized by the government in association with that, and they wanted different sorts of financial aid according to the type of daycare center. They didn't have an enough chance to be given a full explanation about that system nor were motivated to apply for that.
Second, regarding their perception of self-examination process, more than half the directors found themselves to be given enough time for self-examination, but they didn't think it's easy to do that. As to the reason, they cited time constraints resulting from tight routine schedule, and another reason was that their workload got heavier due to preparation for accreditation. They had a different level of difficulty during self-examination process according to the type of daycare center, which signified that it's necessary to lend assistance to them in accordance with the type of daycare center and the given conditions. Among different kinds of assistances provided to them during self- examination process, they found it most useful to be helped by experts.
Third, concerning their post-satisfaction level, the majority expressed satisfaction at being accredited, and many felt that being accredited was followed by a higher quality of daycare and a systematic management of daycare centers. More than half them took pride in their daycare centers and improved their expertise after being accredited. Their post- satisfaction with the quality of the individual categories of daycare varied with the type of daycare centers, which seemed to imply that their satisfaction level depended on the type and circumstances of daycare centers. They were satisfied that the acquisition of accreditation served to enhance the quality of daycare centers, but most of them didn't feel there was a sufficient publicity about accredited daycare centers.
Fourth, heavy workload was pointed out as the biggest difficulty the directors underwent while making a preparation for the acquisition of accreditation, and a shortage of assistance, financial troubles, teachers' poor understanding of that system and their lack of cooperation were identified as additional troubles they had. As to their expectations for the accreditation system, the largest number of the directors considered it necessary to publicize accredited daycare centers, and some asked for a supply of incentives, of substitute or assistant teachers and of subsidy for the repair or improvement of facilities, and streamlined documentation was requested as well.