Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2025

DOI

10.1007/s13158-025-00431-7

Publication Title

International Journal of Early Childhood

Pages

21 pp.

Abstract

Early childhood and elementary education scholars have argued that multicultural education is vital to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. However, its consistent and coherent implementation across different educational stages remains relatively understudied. This research examines the levels of multicultural awareness among educators in childcare centers, kindergartens, and elementary schools in South Korea, focusing on the continuity of multicultural education between these stages. Based on responses from 176 educators, the study found that childcare center teachers had lower levels of multicultural awareness compared to kindergarten and elementary teachers, suggesting gaps in early childhood training. Although educators across all levels recognized the importance of continuity in multicultural education, it hindered its effective implementation. Awareness of sociocultural factors influencing teaching also varied, with kindergarten teachers showing the highest awareness and childcare center teachers the lowest. Analysis using one-way ANOVA and a nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis Test underscores the need for targeted professional development that addresses both multicultural competence and institutional collaboration. These interventions are essential for ensuring more cohesive and inclusive educational experiences in an increasingly globalized educational landscape.

[추상적인 유아 및 초등교육 분야의 선행연구에서는 다양성, 형평성, 포용성을 증진하기 위해 다문화 교육의 중요성이 강조되어 왔다. 그러나 교육 단계 간 일관되고 체계적인 다문화 교육의 실행에 대한 연구는 상대적으로 미비한 실정이다. 본 연구는 한국의 어린이집, 유치원, 초등학교 교사를 대상으로 각 교육 단계에서의 다문화 인식 수준을 비교하고, 이들 간의 다문화 교육 연계성을 중심으로 분석하였다. 총 176명의 교사 응답을 바탕으로 분석한 결과, 어린이집 교사의 다문화 인식 수준이 유치원 및 초등학교 교사에 비해 낮게 나타나 유아교사 교육과정의 미비점을 시사하였다. 모든 교육 단계의 교사들이 다문화 교육의 연속성에 대한 필요성에는 공감하였으나, 실제 실행 과정에서는 이를 저해하는 요인들이 존재하였다. 또한 교수활동에 영향을 미치는 사회문화적 요인에 대한 인식 수준은 유치원 교사가 가장 높고, 어린이집 교사가 가장 낮은 것으로 나타났다. 일원분산분석(one-way ANOVA) 및 비모수 검정(Kruskal-Wallis Test)을 통해 분석한 결과, 다문화 역량 강화와 기관 간 협력을 동시에 고려한 맞춤형 교사 연수의 필요성이 제기되었다. 본 연구는 세계화가 심화되는 교육 환경 속에서 보다 통합적이고 포용적인 교육 경험을 제공하기 위한 제도적 지원의 중요성을 강조한다.]

[Abstracta Los expertos en educación infantil y primaria han sostenido que la educación multicultural es fundamental para fomentar la diversidad, la equidad y la inclusión. Sin embargo, su implementación coherente y sistemática a lo largo de las distintas etapas educativas ha sido relativamente poco estudiada. Esta investigación examina los niveles de conciencia multicultural entre educadores de guarderías, jardines de infancia y escuelas primarias en Corea del Sur, centrándose en la continuidad de la educación multicultural entre estos niveles. A partir de las respuestas de 176 docentes, el estudio reveló que los maestros de guarderías mostraban niveles más bajos de conciencia multicultural en comparación con los de jardines de infancia y escuelas primarias, lo que sugiere deficiencias en la formación durante la primera infancia. Aunque los educadores de todos los niveles reconocieron la importancia de la continuidad en la educación multicultural, dicha conciencia no se tradujo necesariamente en una implementación efectiva. Además, la conciencia de los factores socioculturales que influyen en la enseñanza también varió, siendo los maestros de jardín de infancia quienes demostraron una mayor sensibilidad, y los de guardería la menor. El análisis mediante ANOVA de un solo factor y la prueba no paramétrica de Kruskal-Wallis subraya la necesidad de programas de desarrollo profesional enfocados que aborden tanto la competencia multicultural como la colaboración institucional. Estas intervenciones son esenciales para garantizar experiencias educativas más cohesivas e inclusivas en un entorno educativo cada vez más globalizado.]

Rights

© 2025 The Authors.

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original authors and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

ORCID

0000-0003-1087-3713 (Yu)

Original Publication Citation

Yu, S., Gil, M., Lyu, S. R., & Son, K. (2025). Multicultural awareness and educational continuity among early childhood and elementary school teachers in South Korea. International Journal of Early Childhood. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-025-00431-7

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