Analysis of ESG Differences and Educational Needs Based on ESG Awareness amongPre-Service Early Childhood Teachers
Authors: Jo HyeYoung ,   The Korea Associantion For Early Childhood Education Administration
Published: July 2024

The purpose of this study is to analyze Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)differences and educational needs among pre-service early childhood teachers based on their ESG awareness. The subjects of the study are 113 students at A University in the Chungcheongbuk-do region. SPSS 25.0 and Excel programs were used to analyze the data. The data were analyzed using IPA, Borich Needs Model, and The Locus for Focus Model, and differences between current awareness levels and importance were examined using t-tests. The main findings are as follows: First, an analysis of the differences in current awareness levels of ESG based on the awareness of prospective early childhood teachers revealed statistically significant differences in current awareness levels of ESG and its subdomains, Environment and Social, whileno statistically significant difference was found in the current awareness level of Governance. The analysis of differences in the importance of ESG revealed that while there were no statistically significant differences in the importance of ESG and its subdomains, Environment and Social, there was a statistically significant difference in the importance of Governance. Second, the analysis of educational needs regarding ESG among prospective early childhood teachers who are aware of ESG resulted in common items derived from both the 1st quadrant (HH) of The Locus for Focus Model and the priority items identified in Borich's needs analysis. These include the necessity for transparent operation of early childhood education institutions, as follows: '12.Prevention of inappropriate succession in early childhood education institutions', '13.Prevention of unethical behaviors, such as embezzlement, by members of early childhood education institutions', '14.Efforts to maintain the soundness of the governance structure of early childhood education institutions'. Third, the analysis of ESG educational needs among prospective early childhood teachers who were previously unaware resulted in no common items between the 1st quadrant (HH) of The Locus for Focus Model and the priority items identified in Borich's needs analysis. However, the third priority item in Borich's analysis was prioritized in The Locus for Focus Model. Thus, while no common items were found between the two models, the third-ranked item in Borich's analysis was prioritized in The Locus for Focus Model, suggesting that '10.Establishment and execution of fair trade, anti-corruption, and ethical management policies for cooperative partners of early childhood education institutions'should be considered the top priority. The research findings underscore the necessity of developing a curriculum for early childhood education that incorporates subjects such as ethics, morals, philosophy, organizational behavior, leadership, and social responsibility to introduce ESG courses. Consequently, based on these findings, we propose integrating ESG principles into early childhood education from a managerial perspective.