유보통합 정책분석을 통한 미래 영유아학교 정체성 탐색

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the level of integration, historical development of Korea’s early childhood education and care (ECEC) integration policy, and to explore the identity of early childhood schools in future society, with a focus on establishing a unified early childhood school system for ages 0-5. To this end, relevant literature, previous studies, and international reports on ECEC integration, schooling, early childhood education and care, and caregiving were reviewed to derive implications for Korea’s policy direction. The key findings are as follows. First, the study provides a systematic understanding of the ECEC integration discourse through a classification of integration levels and analyzes the historical shift from separation to integration of early childhood education and care. Second, it investigates the identity of future early childhood schools based on the integrated concept of education and care (ECEC), its connection to the concept of school, characteristics of future early childhood institutions, their relationship with the formal school system, legal and institutional foundations, and relationship between ECEC integration policy and the school system. In conclusion, this study emphasized the need for a paradigm shift for policy and institutional integration in the transition period of education and care in order to reconstruct the ECEC integration and the future early childhood school system. Based on this, it suggested the direction of future discussions on the identity of ECEC integration policy and future early childhood schools.