한국 유아숲교육 질적 발전을 위한 현황 고찰 = A Study on the Current Status of Early Childhood Forest Education in Korea to Support Qualitative Development

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study examines the current status of early childhood forest experience centers, which have significantly influenced the expansion of early childhood forest education in Korea, and reviews the operational status of forest education in Korean childcare centers and kindergartens from 2012 to 2021 through an analysis of 14 prior studies, Starting with only seven sites in 2012, the number of early childhood forest experience centers dramatically increased to 499 in 2024, enabling many young children from early childhood educational institutions nationwide to participate in forest education. An examination of the operational status of early childhood educational institutions, including participation frequency, forest activity duration, organizer of forest activities, and activity locations, revealed no significant changes over the 10 years. However, it was confirmed that the current operational status of early childhood forest education falls short of the standards proposed by the Korean-style forest kindergarten model for effective early childhood forest education, which recommends forest activities 2-3 times a week or more, lasting 2-3 hours. To advance the quality of early childhood forest education, this study proposes establishing more early childhood forest experience centers near residential areas to increase the frequency of children's forest education, promoting year-round operation, and fostering efforts to change teachers’ and parents’ perceptions of forest education.