The purpose of this study is to understand the needs of parents based on their importance and satisfaction with childcare center selection factors. To this objective, a questionnaire was administered to parents enrolled in 20 childcare centers in B city. The final 191 data collected were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 and Excel. The results of the analysis are as follows. First, among parental background characteristics, there were differences in the importance of childcare center selection factors based on parental employment status and child age. Parents in their 20s and 30s were more satisfied than parents in their 40s. Second, the IPA results of the childcare center selection factors showed that health, safety, and staff were in the maintenance quadrant (quadrant 1), and childcare curriculum and interaction were in the focus quadrant (quadrant 2). However, in the results of each subfactor, there were differences in the IPA results of the selected factors and the selected subfactors, as health and safety, staff, and childcare curriculum and interaction were in the maintenance area (quadrant 1), and childcare curriculum and interaction, child care environment, and operation management were in the intensive effort area (quadrant 2). Third, the Borich needs analysis showed that the needs for balanced meals, respect for children by teachers, respect without discrimination, appropriate interactions, and health care for children were ranked high. Based on these results, implications for childcare center management and childcare policies were presented.
Read full abstract