The purpose of this study is to identify the status quo and problems of the current after school classes through public and private kindergarten teachers and provide preliminary data for exploring means to improve the quality of after school classes i...
The purpose of this study is to identify the status quo and problems of the current after school classes through public and private kindergarten teachers and provide preliminary data for exploring means to improve the quality of after school classes in kindergartens in the Jeollabuk-do Province, in which such classes are expected to increase.
To reach the purpose of this study the following research questions have been posed.
1. In what form do after school classes in kindergartens take place, and who are its constituents, and are there any differences according to the type of establishment?
2. What is the detailed status quo of after school classes in kindergartens, and are there differences according to the type of establishment?
3. How do teachers assess problems and points for improvement in the after school classes in kindergartens, and are there differences according to the type of establishment?
The subjects of this study were 241 curricular and extra-curricular kindergarten teachers in 241 public and private kindergartens in the Jeollabuk-do Province. As research tools, the researcher has referred to related references and preceding research on the status quo of after school classes in kindergartens. In order the analyze the collected data, the frequency and percentage of each survey question has been calculated, and to investigate the differences between the types of establishment by each category, an χ2 verification has been conducted. A weighted value average was calculated for the question which required a priority analysis.
The conclusion of the study reached through the results and discussion is as follows:
Firstly, the form in which after school classes in kindergartens in the Jeollabuk-do Province and their constituents were mostly conducted in the form of independently organized all-day classes, and there was a significant difference according to the type of establishment. Whereas public kindergartens ran mixed age group, independently organized classes, private kindergartens mostly operated same age group, independently organized classes.
Secondly, the after school kindergarten classes in the Jeollabuk-do Province usually began at around 14:00 and ended around 17:00 and mostly did not run classes on Saturdays. The after school classes were mostly conducted in classrooms where the pre-schoolers' curricular classes were held, and the case of public kindergartens one short-term, part-time teacher was in charge of all after school classes, whereas in most private kindergartens, there was no teacher exclusively in charge of after school classes. The educational activities conducted during the after school classes are a continuation or enrichment of the morning classes, and included outdoor activities of less than 1 hour, 5 times a week. The vacation period is shorter than the vacation period of the regular curriculum and during the vacation, kindergartens ran short-term programs and specialized programs or day care programs. Whereas most kindergartens provided lunch and two rounds of snacks, there were few institutions which had both separate kitchen facilities and cafeterias. Compared to the long hours, there were few kindergartens that included a nap time in the curriculum, and those institutions that did, gave only the 3-year olds between 30 minutes and an hour to nap in the classroom. More than half of the institutions conducted safety education in their after school activities, most of which covered traffic safety and play safety. Almost all of the kindergartens offered three different after school subjects by age, which were taught by visiting teachers, and were offered without extra charge. The specifics of such after school activities revealed significant differences according to the type of establishment. The number of classes, enrolled pre-schoolers, hours, the duration of vacation, availability of teachers exclusively in charge, percentage of dual-income families out of those enrolled, afternoon activities, average hours and frequency of afternoon outdoor activities, offering after school educational activities, availability of nap time, implementation of safety education and its contents, weekly hours of participation in specialized after school programs and reason for participation revealed a statistically significant difference according to the type of establishment, and in the remaining categories, no significant differences were found.
Thirdly, while public kindergartens responded that the recruitment and management of short-term, part-time teachers was most difficult, private kindergartens responded that the enrollment of pre-schoolers in after school classes, causing overburdening of work was most difficult. For qualitative improvement in after school classes, both private and public kindergartens agreed that the need for recruitment of teachers exclusively in charge of after school classes is the most pressing concern needing to be addressed at the national and kindergarten unit level.