Reducing the Number of Children per Childcare Teacher Cuts 'Safety Accidents' by More Than Threefold

Reduction of Teacher-to-Child Ratios in 160 Zero- and Three-Year-Old Classes at Public and Seoul-Style Childcare Centers
One Year Operation of the 'Teacher-to-Child Ratio Reduction Pilot Project'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] As Seoul continues its 'Pilot Project to Reduce Teacher-to-Child Ratios,' the number of children per childcare teacher has decreased, resulting in a more than threefold reduction in safety accidents.

According to Seoul City on the 21st, the pilot daycare centers have reduced the ratio in the '0-year-old class' from 3 children per teacher to 2, and in the '3-year-old class' (equivalent to five years old in Korean age) from 15 children per teacher to 10 or fewer. The city fully supports the wages of additional childcare teachers hired for the pilot classes with municipal funds.

On the first anniversary of the pilot project, Seoul City, together with the Seoul Foundation of Women and Family, analyzed the project's effects through surveys and other methods. The analysis confirmed that the positive effects observed in the first and second phases?such as increased interaction between infants and teachers, improved working conditions for childcare teachers, and enhanced communication between teachers and caregivers?have been sustained. Among the 85 childcare teachers who responded to the survey (55 from the 0-year-old class and 30 from the 3-year-old class), the most significant effect cited was the 'faster response to infants' needs.'

Notably, the number of safety accidents involving infants has decreased more than threefold compared to before the pilot project. A survey of safety accident frequency at 96 pilot daycare centers showed a drop from an average of 2.94 incidents per month before the project to 0.71 incidents after, representing a 75.9% decrease on average for both the 0-year-old and 3-year-old classes.

Parents also showed a positive shift in their perception of overall service quality. The average score for childcare service quality increased from 4.23 to 4.49, with 'communication with the homeroom teacher' recognized as the most significant change. Parents identified the biggest change before and after the pilot project as the response that 'the homeroom teacher cooperates closely with me in caring for and educating my child,' followed by 'there are sufficient opportunities to consult and talk with the homeroom teacher about my child.'

Furthermore, clear achievements were observed in daycare center operations. In a survey on changes in the use of annual leave by childcare staff over one year, 96 participating directors positively evaluated 'increased autonomy in using annual leave by childcare staff (3.7 out of 4 points)' and 'less pressure from caregivers when teachers are absent (3.7 out of 4 points).'

Additionally, 69.8% of respondents reported a decrease in expenditures for substitute and temporary teachers compared to before the pilot project, and 65.7% reported a reduction in overtime pay expenses. These results indicate that two-thirds of daycare centers assessed the teacher-to-child ratio pilot project as having a cost-reduction effect related to leave and overtime.

Based on these operational achievements, the city plans to expand the project next year through cooperation with autonomous districts. It will also continue to propose institutional improvements to the central government, including easing placement standards for childcare staff, improving the area standards per child, and securing national funding support for the project. Kim Seon-soon, Director of the Women and Family Policy Office, stated, “Reducing the teacher-to-child ratio is a top priority policy demanded for improvement in childcare settings and is an important project for ensuring infant safety and improving teachers’ working conditions.” She added, “We will share the proven effects of the pilot project over the past year with the central government and closely cooperate to facilitate the smooth nationwide expansion of the ‘Infant Class Teacher-to-Child Ratio Reduction Project,’ which is a key task of the new government.”

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