Recently, a variety of human right abuses at young children's edu-care facilities, such as corporal and psychological punishment, poor meal and snack service, and accidents on the school bus, have been covered by news media and become social issues. I...
Recently, a variety of human right abuses at young children's edu-care facilities, such as corporal and psychological punishment, poor meal and snack service, and accidents on the school bus, have been covered by news media and become social issues. In this vein, it is necessary for head persons and teachers at young children' education agencies to change their perception of children's human right and put the change in practice. The purpose of this study was to examine edu-care teacher's sensitivity to human rights and perception of children's human rights at kindergarten, an actual scene of child welfare practice, and then present political and practical suggestions to establish edu-care teacher's human right perception, enhance their sensitivity of human rights, and improve the actual status of children's human rights at kindergarten.
For this, following study questions were established:
First, 'What is the actual status of edu-care teacher's sensitivity to human rights?'
- 'What is the degree of such human right sensitivity components as situational perception, obligatory perception and consequential perception?'
Second, 'What is the degree of edu-care teacher's perception of children's human rights?'
Third, 'What is the influence of demographic features and human right education upon the level of human right sensitivity and perception of children's human right?'
- 'What is the relationship between the level of human right sensitivity and the level of perception of children's human rights?'
Study subjects were 260 edu-care teachers at kindergartens in Seoul, Gyeonggi and Incheon and they were sampled with the convenience sampling method. And a questionnaire survey of them was carried out and the data of 233 respondents (the data of 241 respondents were collected) were used in study analysis, except the data of 8 respondents whose reliability was problematic. Collected data were statistically processed with the SPSS/Win 17.0 Program and the reliability of used scales was verified by the calculation of Cronbach's alpha.
As analytic techniques, frequency analysis and cross tabulation analysis were carried out in order to examine edu-care teacher's demographic background and human right education. Second, in order to examine edu-care teacher's level of human right sensitivity and perception of children's human rights, mean and standard deviation were calculated. In order to examine the influence of edu-care teacher's demographic features and human right education, t-test, ANOVA and Scheffe post hoc test were carried out. Third, in order to examine the relationship between edu-care teacher's human right sensitivity and the level of perception of children's human rights, correlation analysis was carried out.
Study findings are as follows:
First, edu-care teacher's sensitivity to human right and level of perception of children's human rights were relatively high. As for the sub-variables of human right sensitivity, the ability of consequential perception (the perceptual ability of emotion that can imagine and understand the influence of behavior upon self and others) was highest, and it was followed by the ability of obligatory perception (the will and ability that can perceive the obligation of human right-related behavior upon self and put it in practice by actual behavior) and the ability of situational perception (the explanatory ability that can perceive and accept the situation as the issue of human rights) in order.
Second, among independent variables, the experience of human right education had no statistical influence upon the level of human right sensitivity and perception of children's human rights. Respecting demographic background, females' human right sensitivity was higher than that of males. And the career was longer, human right sensitivity was higher. As for the sub-variables of human right sensitivity, situational perception was higher in teachers of longer career. In consequential perception, females were higher than males and the career was longer, consequential perception was higher. In obligatory perception, there was no statistical influence. And there was relatively high positive correlation between human right sensitivity and perception of children's human rights. In this vein, human right sensitivity is higher, perception of children's human rights is higher.
Based on study findings, the investigator presents following suggestions:
In order to improve edu-care teacher's sensitivity to human rights, and establish and enhance edu-care teacher's level of perception of children's human rights, it is necessary to prepare various human right education and training programs. In the curricula of edu-care teacher education institutes and technical colleges and universities at which edu-care teachers are cultivated, it is necessary to open a class that can improve the sensitivity to human rights not only from the aspect of theoretical approach but also from the aspect of practice. Currently, it is difficult for edu-care teachers who perceived the problematic situation of human rights at kindergartens at which a variety of human right problems could occur in reality to intervene the situation on his own personal capability from the aspect of welfare. Therefore, it is necessary to form social welfare networks with which social welfare service can be carried out smoothly for the problematic situation of children's human rights, together with the establishment of governmental systems or policies concretely.