Educational Development in Korea, 1975-76/1976-77.

Overview & Synopsis

Korean education is developing in the context of a rapidly changing industrial society. Growth rate in the schools has been phenomenal; in the last three decades an average of four new schools a week have opened. The fundamental principles underlying educational policies in Korea are based on the democratic ideals that educational opportunities should be equally provided for all the people to enable them to develop individual potentiality to a maximum extent, and that educational programs at various levels should be geared to national development. A major goal is to cultivate a strong sense of national identity through social studies, history, language, and the arts. Community education is an important element of the system; innovations have resulted in a master teacher of community education at each school, training programs, adult education, and farm implement repair courses. Innovation at all levels has been implemented through the promotion of school-industry relations, skill learning programs for middle schools, extracurricular activities, and the development of population education. Educational research is being done through institutes and government and university related centers. Problems include large class sizes and a gap in the quality of urban and rural education. Goals are to improve the quality of compulsory elementary education, to extend the years of compulsory education from six to nine, to develop scientific and technical manpower, and to improve effectiveness in education. (KC)