Seminars

On September 24, 2022 (Saturday), the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education held a joint session with the Korean National Commission for UNESCO and the Korea Society for Early Childhood Education (KSECE) at the KSECE Autumn Conference under the theme of "Effect and Impact of Sustainable Development Education on the Early Child Sector." This session was hosted by the Korean National Commission for UNESCO, which is in charge of the Sustainable Development Goals in Korean education (SDG4-Education 2030), and the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education, which operates a working group for the Detailed Goals of Sustainable Development in the Early Childhood Sector (SDG4.2), in cooperation with KSECE.

Moon Moo-kyung, director of the International Exchange and Data Policy Research Office of the Institute of Child Care and Education, took charge of the session on the “Effect and Impact of Sustainable Development Education (SDG 4.2 Division).” A total of four papers and one case were presented, and the discussion was conducted by Park Won-soon, a researcher at the Institute of Child Care and Education, and Hong Bo-kang, head of education team of the Korean National Commission for UNESCO. Specifically, the following studies were presented: "The Impact of Climate Change Education using Climate Crisis Picture Book on Children's Eco-Friendly Attitudes" by Professor Ahn Min-kyung and Lee Hyun-jin (Daegu Catholic University); "Comparison of the Perception of Sustainable Development Education by Korean and Chinese Early Childhood Teachers" by  Jin, Xiaodan (China's Jimei University) and Professor Kim Eun-hye (Keimyung University); “Development and Effect of Creative Personality Education Program Using Natural Materials” by Lee Yeon-hwa (Naju City Hall); and “Modeling Analysis of News Topics Related to Infant Health in the COVID-19 Era” by Jung Boo-min and Lee Hyo-rim (Kyungpook National University). As for case study presentation, a UNESCO ESD kindergarten case titled "Cotton Project Based on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)" was introduced by Heo Oe-hwa, Shin Eun-yeon, Jung Jung-mi, and Lee An-hwi (Daegu Dongyoung Kindergarten).

During the discussion, Hong Bo-kang, head of education team of the Korean National Commission for UNESCO, emphasized that teachers' perception and knowledge of SDGs should be improved in order to strengthen the field practice of sustainable development education in the early childhood sector. Meanwhile, Park Won-soon, a researcher at the Institute of Child Care and Education, stressed the need to conduct sufficient empirical research using sophisticated methodologies so as to accumulate the impacts of sustainable development education.