Increasing the Number of Children per Teacher in Seoul Daycare Centers Raises Satisfaction Among Parents and Teachers

Announcement of Pilot Operation Results for Supporting Salaries of Teachers at 110 Childcare Centers: Reduction of Teacher-to-Child Ratio

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City, as the first metropolitan local government, conducted a pilot project to reduce the teacher-to-child ratio in daycare centers starting in July through the ‘Mid- to Long-term Childcare Master Plan.’ The results showed that both parents and childcare teachers were satisfied with the policy.

On the 22nd, Seoul City announced that the pilot project showed clear improvements in all areas, including teacher-infant interaction, improvement of childcare teachers’ working conditions, and enhanced communication between teachers and caregivers. According to a survey of 102 childcare teachers who participated in the pilot project, 60% of teachers in the 0-year-old class and 43.2% of teachers in the 3-year-old class cited ‘prompt response to infants’ needs’ as a benefit.

The reduction of the teacher-to-child ratio in daycare centers is one of the core policies promoted through Seoul City’s ‘Mid- to Long-term Childcare Master Plan.’ It is a project that fully supports personnel expenses with city funds to allow the hiring of one additional childcare teacher. In July, Seoul selected 110 excellent national and public daycare centers and supported personnel expenses to hire additional childcare teachers. The pilot project reduced the ratio in the ‘0-year-old class’ from 3 children per teacher to 2 children, and in the ‘3-year-old class’ from 15 children per teacher to 10 or fewer.

With the placement of new teachers and redistribution of tasks, childcare teachers’ working hours decreased by more than one hour per day on average, and the fatigue and stress levels of childcare teachers decreased by 20% in the 0-year-old class and 16% in the 3-year-old class. Parents, as caregivers, also felt increased trust in daycare centers as communication time with the homeroom childcare teacher increased and childcare activities expanded. According to a survey of 425 parents (156 of 0-year-olds, 269 of 3-year-olds), communication between teachers and caregivers increased from 4.10 to 4.41 for infants and from 4.07 to 4.44 for young children on a 5-point scale.

Experts’ analyses were also positive. When one teacher was responsible for many infants, interactions tended to be passive, focusing only on the child’s safety. However, after additional teachers were assigned, interactions shifted to active, play- and child-centered engagement.

Based on these field demands and satisfaction, Seoul City plans to expand the pilot project of reducing the teacher-to-child ratio, which was initially implemented for certain age groups, to all age groups by 2025.

Kim Seon-soon, Director of the Seoul City Women and Family Policy Office, said, “Lowering the child-to-teacher ratio is the most important project to improve the quality of childcare and create a happy workplace for childcare staff in an era of low birth rates.” She added, “In 2022, we plan to expand the target to include not only national and public centers but also private and home-based Seoul-type daycare centers. Based on these results, we will actively propose to the central government to structurally improve the quality of childcare.”

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