77% of Kindergarten Teachers Say "16 or Fewer Students per Class is Appropriate"

More Than Half of Kindergarten Teachers Handle Over 20 Students Per Class
Top Difficulty Due to Overcrowded Classes: 'Indoor Educational Activities and Experiential Learning'

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] A survey found that 77% of kindergarten teachers consider 16 or fewer children per class to be appropriate. In reality, more than half of kindergarten teachers reported being responsible for 20 or more children per class.

On the 26th, the Korea Federation of Teachers' Associations, the Korea Public Kindergarten Teachers' Association, and the Korea Early Childhood Education Administration Council conducted an online survey from the 20th to the 23rd among 4,681 kindergarten teachers nationwide. Regarding the appropriate number of children per class, 77.4% answered 16 or fewer. Those who answered 18 or more accounted for 13.6%, and 20 or more was only 9%.

Among the teachers, 75.6% said they are responsible for classes with 15 or more children. Of these, 53.0% reported being in charge of 20 or more children, and 16.8% were responsible for classes with 25 or more children. By class size, the most common response was "20 to 24 children," at 36.2%. The average class size set by metropolitan and provincial offices of education is 16 for 3-year-olds, 22 for 4-year-olds, and 25 for 5-year-olds.

Regarding difficulties caused by overcrowded classes, the most common response from kindergarten teachers was "operating indoor educational activities and experiential learning" (59.2%). Other concerns included ▲ increased incidence of child safety accidents (51.9%) ▲ vulnerability to infectious disease spread and difficulty establishing infection response systems (30.9%) ▲ occurrence of conflicts among children and increased parental complaints (30.4%).

The Korea Federation of Teachers' Associations pointed out, "When the number of children per class is high, the difficulty of educational activities is greatest, and concerns about the risk of safety accidents are very high. To improve structures vulnerable to infectious disease spread, appropriate standards for the number of children per class must be established and adhered to."

Most kindergarten teachers felt a heavy burden from administrative tasks that interfere with educational activities, such as managing tuition fees, water purifiers, and school buses. According to the survey, 90% responded that tasks such as tuition and environmental improvement, facility maintenance including playground management, and recruitment should not be handled by teachers. Additionally, tasks unrelated to education, such as security and PC-related work, CCTV and other facility and safety management, after-school programs, and health and safety administrative duties, are being shifted to teachers. Opinions were expressed that improvements are needed, such as providing additional administrative staff or reducing the number of children per class.

The Korea Federation of Teachers' Associations stated, "There is a large gap between the appropriate number of children per class and the actual number, negatively affecting education and safety. To provide individualized education, guidance, and prevent infectious diseases and various safety accidents, the number of children per class should be reduced to about 12 to 16 depending on age. A dedicated administrative system for kindergartens should be established, and measures to reduce non-educational tasks for kindergarten teachers must be prepared."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.