Delphi Survey Study for Developing Early Childhood STEAM Education Program Based on Visual Literacy

Objectives The purpose of this study is to establish the basis for program development by deriving the educational objectives, educational content, educational methods, and teacher roles of an early childhood STEAM education program based on visual literacy by analyzing the opinions of 14 expert panelists. Methods For this purpose, a panel of 14 experts in early childhood education, art, music, and science and engineering was selected, and a Delphi survey was conducted three times in total. The first Delphi survey consisting of open-ended questions was subjected to content analysis, and the second and third Delphi surveys were conducted using the SPSS 22.0 program to calculate the mean, standard deviation, median, quartile, CVR value, agreement, convergence, and stability. Results First, the definition and components of early childhood visual literacy were conceptualized, and the components of visual literacy were matched with the learning criteria frame of early childhood STEAM education. Second, the educational goal areas of visual literacy-based early childhood STEAM education were derived as ‘development of convergent thinking skills’, ‘development of creativity’, and ‘development of visual literacy’, etc. And the educational content was derived as ‘linked to the curriculum’, ‘child-centered play-centered’, ‘use of visual materials’, ‘creative experience’, and ‘linked to STEAM educational elements’. The educational methods include ‘child-centered, play-centered education linked to the curriculum’, etc and ‘problem-solving-centered education’, and the roles of teachers include ‘linguistic and media-based social support’ and ‘understanding of individual differences in children’s temperament, interests, and developmental levels’, etc. Conclusions This study is significant in that it conceptualizes the definition and components of visual literacy suitable for young children and explores ways to effectively connect visual literacy with STEAM education. It is also significant in that it provides basic data for developing early childhood STEAM education programs based on visual literacy and suggests specific measures to enhance the practicality of this education in the future.