Seminars

2024 Early Childhood Education Forum Held: Policy Forum for Establishing Admission Standards in Integrated Early Childhood Education and Care

The Ministry of Education (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Ju-ho Lee) and the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education (President Ock Kyeung Hwang) jointly hosted the 'Policy Forum for Establishing Admission Standards in Integrated Early Childhood Education and Care' on Tuesday, November 26, at the Jeongdong 1928 Art Center. This forum was convened to discuss the admission methods to be applied to future integrated early childhood education and care institutions, with participation from related organizations, academia, educators, and policy officials (including those from provincial and district offices of education) both online and offline.

President Ock Kyeung Hwang of the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education remarked in her welcoming address, "Education for young children is a crucial process that aids the first steps of their lives. Through this forum, we aim to explore more progressive and practical alternatives by examining admission standards of domestic and international early childhood institutions and by listening to diverse perspectives." Dae-rim Park, Director General for Early Childhood Support at the Ministry of Education, emphasized, "Following the announcement of the implementation plan for integrating early childhood education and care, we have been gathering opinions through forums and public hearings." He added, "Through this forum, we seek to devise reasonable admission standards that ensure all children enjoy fair and transparent opportunities."

The forum commenced with a presentation by Ah-reum Kim, Research Fellow at the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education, on 'Domestic and International Cases Regarding Admission Procedures.' This was followed by a presentation from Yong-nam Cho, Director General of the Korea Childcare Promotion Institute, titled 'Deriving Implications through the Collection of Opinions on Admission Standards for Integrated Institutions.' Subsequently, under the moderation of Professor Sun-ah Jung from Sookmyung Women's University, Professor Byung-ho Lee from Duksung Women's University, Adjunct Professor Hang-rin Jo from Yonsei University, and parents utilizing kindergartens and daycare centers engaged in discussions to explore reasonable approaches to institutional admission standards.