• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.122-129
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• 2014

Objectives: Because of its properties such as resistance to heat, chemicals and corrosion; tensile strength; sound absorption; and affordable price, asbestos has been widely used as a building material, fire resistant and retardant, thermal and heat insulator, soundproofing material, and electrical insulation. Since the prolonged inhalation of asbestos can cause serious illnesses such as lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis after an incubation period of 20 to 40 years, the mineral was classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, an intergovernmental agency forming part of the World Health Organization. Children and infants are more at risk than are adults if they are exposed to carcinogens, due to aweaker immunity that has not yet been fully developed. Most childcare centers are operated all day and children tend to spend a great amount of time in the centers. This is why it is important for them to be systematically isolated from environments that may expose them to asbestos. Materials: In order to understand both indoor and outdoor hazards to which children may have been exposed, the study focused on actual surveys of asbestos used in childcare centers, paying special attention to slate-roofed buildings in the vicinity of the centers. Results: A survey of a total of 211 childcare centers showed that the buildings of 18.1% of the centers contained asbestos, with 60.53% of the material being found in classroom ceilings. "Tex" was the most used material for ceilings, making up 89.47% of all ceilings. An outdoor survey showed that childcare centers in Daegu Metropolitan City had an average of 143 slate-roof buildings within a distance of 1km. Conclusions: Buildings housing mainly toddlers, children, teenagers and others more vulnerable to the toxicity of asbestos are not subject to asbestos investigation by law. A legal and practical basis for asbestos control is required for such buildings. In particular, housing materials which contain asbestos in day care centers require asbestos control. GIS should be used to identify the location of buildings with slate roofing materials in the vicinity of daycare centers in order to gauge toxicity of exposure to asbestos caused by potential asbestos friability possibility in outdoor conditions.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.93-103
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• 2017

This study investigated the difference of perception and needs among director, teacher, and parent for an open-childcare center focused on parent participation. The subjects of this study consisted of 56 directors, 231 teachers, and 299 parents in childcare centers in Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon, Chungcheong, and Gyeongsang province. They completed a questionnaire about the perception and needs of an open-childcare center, which was later analyzed by SPSS ver. 23.0. The findings were as follows. First, five areas of open-childcare center were 'participating activities as various roles,' 'willingness of parent participation,' 'reflection of parent needs,' 'concern about CCTV,' and 'sharing outdoor spaces.' Second, the perception of directors concerning open-childcare centers were higher than the ones for teachers or parents; however, there were differences in perception depending on their perspective position. The biggest perception of directors was 'participating activities as various roles,' and parents' one was 'concerned about CCTV.' However, the perceptions of teachers were a lower level than the other two groups'. Third, the directors showed a higher level of needs to promote an open-childcare center (except for one concerned about CCTV). Parents also showed their needs 'increasing awareness of open-childcare program,' 'promoting to parent's participation,' 'communication with on-line,' and 'concerning CCTV.' The implication of these results were discussed as action plans to promote an open-childcare center.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.51-70
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• 2022

Objective: In order to promote the rights of childcare teachers, there is a need to identify problems and demands about the rights of childcare teachers. Therefore, this study sought to examine the perception of childcare teachers' rights in order to identify the concepts of teacher rights. Methods: This study used the concept mapping method to identify the concepts of childcare teachers' teacher rights and interpreted these concepts utilizing the multi-dimension analysis method. Results: As a result of interviews from eight childcare teachers, 37 statements were derived. The result of similarities evaluated by 28 childcare teachers showed that 37 statements about teachers' rights consisted of two dimensions and four clusters (direct-indirect and indoor-outdoor of day-care center). Conclusion/Implications: This study suggested that direct and indirect efforts are needed to enhance the rights of childcare teachers and that change is necessary not only within daycare centers such as the principal but that change is also necessary outside daycare centers such as at government agencies in relation to daycare teachers's rights.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.201-215
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• 2007

This study examined cortisol patterning in 160 children(79 boys, 81 girls; aged 4-5) attending twelve childcare centers in Seoul and Kyunggi Province. Saliva samples for the assay of cortisol were collected twice a day at 10 : 30 am and 3 : 30 pm. Saliva samples were collected again within a week after the first collection. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. The cortisol level of the afternoon showed neither increase nor decrease compared to morning. Regression analysis indicated that time children spent at childcare centers accounted for increased afternoon cortisol levels; that is, higher levels of afternoon cortisol were associated with more hours per day at childcare centers.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.21-36
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• 2019

Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of infant temperament on adaptation at childcare centers and the moderated effects of teacher-infant relationships between a vertical transition group and horizontal transition group. Methods: The subjects of the study were 284 infants, aged 1-years-old and 2-years-old, who were hospitalized in childcare centers. To investigate the correlation between variables, Pearson correlation analysis was used. Regression analysis was performed to check the effects of temperament and teacher-infant relationship on childcare adaptation. Results: Infant temperament influenced childcare adaptation in both vertical and horizontal transition groups. The quality of teacher-infant relationships was found to moderate the relationship between infant temperament and childcare adaptation in both groups. Conclusion/Implications: The results of this study, which showed different moderating effects of the teacher-infant relationship in the vertical transfer group and the horizontal transfer group, suggest the need for more diverse studies on the various transition experiences regarding childcare transition.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.29-55
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• 2012

The main purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between infants' early adjustment and later adjustment in childcare centers and to analyze the mothers' adjustment support strategies. The subjects consisted of 244 infants from newborns to 36 months old and their mothers and childcare teachers of public childcare centers. The results of the study were as follows. First, there was a significant difference according to infants' age in mothers' adjustment support strategies. The more mothers use appropriate strategies for adjustment earlier in childcare centers, the better infants showed adjustment according to infants' age respectively. Second, there was a significant difference between the early adjustment(Time1) and the later adjustment(Time2) of infants. Third, mothers' adjustment support strategies affected on infants' later adjustment in childcare centers. These results show that appropriate mothers' adjustment support strategies were related to infants' adjustment by age longitudinally. The implications of these results indicate that developing adjustment programs including effective strategies for infants' mothers in childcare centers considering their demographic characteristics and specified needs is needed.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.547-557
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between directors' servant leadership, teachers' organizational citizenship behavior and psychological empowerment in childcare centers. The subjects were 479 teachers employed in childcare centers in Daegu and Gyeongbuk Province. Questionnaires, which required self-report by teachers, were used to investigate directors' servant leadership, teachers' organizational citizenship behavior and psychological empowerment. The collected data were analyzed by mean of Pearson's correlation, simple regression, hierarchial regression, by the use of SPSS Win 19.0. The results of our study was as follows. First, directors' servant leadership had a direct effect on teachers' organizational citizenship behavior. Second, teachers' psychological empowerment had a direct effect on teachers' organizational citizenship behavior. Third, directors' servant leadership had an indirect effect on teachers' organizational citizenship behavior mediated by teachers' psychological empowerment. Therefore, teachers' psychological empowerment partially mediated the relationship between directors' servant leadership and teachers' organizational citizenship behavior.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.497-510
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• 2011

We tried to find out parents' satisfaction and needs for foodservice quality of the childcare centers with an intention of improving it. Self-completed questionnaires were randomly collected from the parents of children in 174 childcare centers around Asan and were analyzed. Most of respondents were mothers who were housewives with college degrees (69%) in their 30's (80%). They thought nutrition (50%) and food hygiene (43%) were the most important factors for decision. Eighty percent of parents recognized the strong relationship between foodservice quality and childrens' mental and physical development. Most centers (94%) were delivering menu notices home, so parents well recognized the center's foodservice situation and problems of their kids' eating habits. The parents' satisfaction scores were 3.26 out of 5-point scale. The biggest dissatisfaction was from no variation in menu, but remarkable appreciation was from the effect of foodservice on the correction for kids' unbalanced diet habit. They had demands for improvement of nutritious menu and professional nutrition teacher in charge of foodservice and nutrition education for children and also for parents.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.1-14
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between depression, colleagues/ supervisor's emotional support and burnout experienced by teachers in kindergartens and childcare centers. The subjects were 195 teachers who worked in kindergartens or childcare centers in Daegu and Gyeongbuk Province. Questionnaires, which required self-report by teachers, were used to investigate depression, colleagues/supervisor's emotional support and burnout. The data collected were analyzed by means of paired t-test, Pearson's correlation, simple regression, hierarchial regression, using SPSS Win 15.0. The results are as follows. (1) The emotional support from colleagues was significantly higher than from that provided by the supervisor. Moreover, teachers' depression levels were positively associated with burnout. (2) Colleagues' emotional support operated as major determining factor with the effect that burnout decreased as colleagues' emotional support levels increased. There were observable interactional effects between depression and the emotional support provided by colleagues' to colleagues experiencing burnout. (3) The supervisor's emotional support operated as a major factor with the effect that burnout decreased with a rise in the levels of a supervisor's emotional support. No interactional effects were observed between depression and supervisor's emotional to colleagues dealing with burnout.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.109-131
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• 2024

Objective: This study aims explore the experiences of consulting in childcare centers and identify policy implications through focus groups consisting of childcare personnel, including directors, teachers, consultants, and program staff. Methods: Focus group interviews were conducted with participants divided into three distinct groups. The interviews, held via Zoom, used an open-ended discussion format based on pre-announced topics. The collected data were then systematically categorized and classified into themes. Results: Since the primary purpose of consulting was to meet the requirements of the childcare evaluation system, expanding the scope of consulting is necessary to invigorate these programs. Additionally, the voluntary participation of childcare teachers and their positive relationships with consultants were identified as key success factors. Emphasizing the need to enhance consultants' expertise and address regional disparities was also highlighted. Conclusion/Implications: This study suggests that it is essential to systematize and diversify the consulting field, as well as enhance the expertise of consultants, to establish consulting as an effective method for improving the quality of childcare centers.