Seminars

The 1st KICCE Policy Forum of 2025: Building a Support System for Young Children with Developmental Delays and Disabilities – Within the Context of ECEC Integration

On May 23, 2025 (Friday) at 2 p.m., the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education (KICCE) held its 1st Policy Forum of 2025 under the theme of “Building a Support System for Young Children with Developmental Delays and Disabilities” at the National Assembly Library Auditorium. The forum was organized to address the needs of young children with developmental delays and disabilities, who tend to be marginalized in the ongoing discussions surrounding the integration of early childhood education and care (ECEC) systems.

In the first presentation, Senior Research Fellow Eun Jin Kang (KICCE) emphasized the growing number of young children with developmental delays in Korea and addressed the limitations of the current support system, which is based on a passive, application-driven approach. She highlighted the complexity and fragmentation of the current services and proposed the following improvements: establishing a special education division within the Ministry of Education’s ECEC policy bureau, building an integrated early screening system linked to health checkups, expanding the roles of teachers and professionals in early identification and intervention, creating regional support centers for families of children with disabilities or developmental concerns, and promoting active coordination across medical, educational, and welfare sectors.

In the second presentation, Professor Hyeon-ok Park (Baekseok University, Department of Early Childhood Special Education) pointed out the need to restructure the education and care support system for children with developmental delays and disabilities under the national agenda of ECEC integration. She called for the placement of qualified special education teachers in all relevant institutions, enhancement of all teachers’ competencies to provide child-centered education rather than class-centered instruction, and implementation of specific measures such as the deployment of experienced screening and assessment teachers, adjustment of teacher-to-child ratios, assignment of special education teachers even in general kindergartens, and inter-ministerial collaboration.

The forum underscored the urgent need to strengthen early detection and intervention for young children with developmental delays and disabilities. Participants shared the view that the establishment of a dedicated department and staffing within the Ministry of Education, along with the assignment of early childhood special education teachers at local support centers, should be prioritized. Additional key measures included improving follow-up systems after early health checkups, setting up regional support centers for families, and building a solid foundation for cooperation across health, education, and welfare systems.

KICCE has standardized the K-SIED, a developmental checklist tool for teachers and parents, and is currently conducting joint research with the Samsung Welfare Foundation to develop a digital platform that supports early childhood developmental screening and intervention.