The purpose of the study is to investigate perception on the discontent and solving process of the mothers who send their 3- to 5- year-old children to early childhood education institutions. The research questions are as follows.
1. What is the gener...
The purpose of the study is to investigate perception on the discontent and solving process of the mothers who send their 3- to 5- year-old children to early childhood education institutions. The research questions are as follows.
1. What is the general perception of the mother regarding discontent and the solving process with early childhood education institutions?
1-1. What is the mother’s general perception of discontent with early childhood education institutions?
1-2. What is the mother’s perception of trivial discontent and the solving process with early childhood education institutions?
2. What is the level of mother’s discontent with early childhood education institutions?
This study was conducted with 230 mothers who are sending their 3- to 5- year-old children to early childhood education institutions in South Korea. A questionnaire manufactured for this research was used to identify mother’s perception and process on discontent with early childhood education institutions. The questionnaire consisted of 9 items asking the mother’s overall perception of the discontent and process on the discontent she had at the early childhood education institutions, 116 items asking the level of discontent she had at the early childhood education institutions, and 5 items asking the mother’s general background. Frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation were calculated for analysis by research questions.
The results of this study were as follows. First, mother’s discontent with early childhood institution was low and mothers were aware of the fact that there could be differences of opinion between mothers. Some mothers perceived other parents’ discontent as excessive. The discontent has increased because fewer children than in the past have increased interest in their children and it said that this social phenomenon is desirable.
On the other hand, although most mothers said they endure the trivial discontent, some mothers expressed the discontent because it is necessary even though it is trivial. Mothers believed that the discontent is related to necessary changes, because their children were uncomfortable and difficult. The discontent was mainly with the teachers and faculty members of the institution.
Most of mothers said it was inappropriate to write online articles, express discontent to administrative agencies, or request CCTV video from early childhood education institutions for trivial discontent. Mothers recognized that the early childhood education institution listened or ignored their opinions depending on whether or not trivial discontent were resolved. In addition, even unresolved discontent could be found to be less dissatisfying if the early childhood education institutions adequately explained the reasons for them.
Second, mothers who send their children to early childhood education institutions were highly dissatisfied in some areas. In particular, they showed higher-than-average discontent in the areas of health, safety and teaching staff, while discontent about infectious disease, sanitation management and fine dust were high among the areas of health & safety. In addition, there were many discontent about teacher’s knowledge, teacher-child interactions, assessment and teacher attitude in the area of teaching staff. On the other hand, the areas of operation management and curriculum showed lower-than-average discontent, while the areas of operation management were high, and the areas of the curriculum were all low.
In this study, while most mothers perceived little discontent and considered over-expression of minor discontent is inadequate, some mothers found that discontent were excessive and tended to over-express. Also, the level of discontent decreased even though the matter was not solved when early childhood institution explained appropriately. Therefore, it suggests that proper parenting education and support should be provided through specific cases to alleviate discontent and excessive expressions of discontent that the mother has with the early childhood education institution. Furthermore, it is meaningful that it can be used as a basic material for building a cooperative relationship between institutions and mothers in the future.
In addition, the mother's discontent with early childhood education institution was high regarding the child's health, safety and faculty, and it was found that she expressed her discontent mainly when she was acting for her child or if her child was inconvenienced or discriminated. Therefore, specific discontent suggest that it is meaningful to reveal which areas mother is seriously perceived to be dissatisfied with early childhood education institution, and that it is necessary to provide support to the mother through parental participation and education about what is the appropriate attitude for the mother toward the child’s growth and development.