Forum of Educational Administration
June 2012, Volume 4 Number 1, pp. 113-132
The public kindergartens’ new challenges and the
possible solutions
Min-Tang Li
Abstract
This study is geared toward the Act of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) implemented from January 2012. The impacts of the ECEC Act were studied, and a questionnaire survey was conducted. The research participants included 12 teachers of the Kindergarten Education Guidance Group, as well as 30 teachers of Kaohsiung’s public kindergartens.
The study results were as follows:
1. The ECEC Act demanded the best interests of children, and its policies were in line with the international preschool trends. The act protected the teachers’ rights and emphasized the quality of children’s education and care, Formulates parents' right and the duty.
2. The “Integrated Kindergarten-Nursery School Policy” might cause the difficulties of teaching mix-aged classes, and the teaching quality would be doubtful. In addition, the policy might cause the commercialization of preschool education, and both the school and the teachers might have great pressure to protect the rights of the parents and the children. The positioning of teachers’ role should be determined as well.
3. Suggestions for public kindergartens and the government were as follows: The number of students of a class should be lowered, and the number of teachers of a kindergarten should be increased. The government should provide on-the-job-training courses for the teachers, and the age difference of a class should be limited within two years of age. It should be the priority to take care of the vulnerable children, and the postponement of kindergarten assessments should be taken into consideration, Formulates the teacher care personnel's duty standard.
Key words：the Early Childhood Education and Care Act,
