Ministry of EducationA total of more than 7,000 public opinions were received on the proposal for the 2022 revised curriculum, which is being promoted by the Ministry of Education.
The Ministry of Education announced on the 19th that a total of 7,860 opinions were received as a result of collecting opinions through the online ‘People Participation Communication Channel’ from the 30th of last month to the 13th of this month.
In order to develop the 2022 revised curriculum, which will be finalized and announced by the end of this year, the Ministry of Education released the main issues of the curriculum in November last year and the draft for each subject on the 30th of last month, and collected public opinions to broadly reflect public opinion. This is the first time that a process for collecting public opinions has been included in the curriculum revision.
Of the 7,860 opinions, 4,751 opinions from the general public, including parents, and 2,648 for teachers, 461 opinions were also provided by students.
1,523 cases were received, the most in the general discussion. By subject, social studies had the highest number of subjects with 1,361 cases, morality with 178 cases, and Korean language with 886 cases.
715 comments were received for the history subject that attracted the most attention. Among the opinions presented in the general introduction and social studies subjects, many contents related to history subjects were included.
Earlier, in the draft of the high school Korean history common curriculum published by the Ministry of Education, the word ‘South Korea invasion’ was omitted in relation to the description of the Korean War, and it was pointed out that the word ‘liberal democracy’ did not exist in the part describing the content related to democracy. .
Among the public opinions received this time, there were many arguments that ‘the neutrality of left-leaning textbooks should be maintained’ by correcting this expression.
On the other hand, there were opinions in favor of the proposal or that the current curriculum should be maintained.
In the case of the music subject, which was controversial because of ‘gugak alienation’, the proposal was not disclosed on the public participation communication channel because the related discussion is currently in progress. When the discussion is over, the music curriculum proposal will also be released through the public participation communication channel and go through the process of collecting opinions.
The Ministry of Education announced on the 16th that it had forwarded the opinions received from the public to the researchers for each subject policy.
In particular, as the history subject was controversial, the Ministry of Education emphasized that it sent a special request to the research team to closely revise and supplement so that the content that must be learned for a balanced history education can be faithfully reflected in the curriculum.
‘Gugak in the classroom’ signature campaign to normalize traditional music education▶ Click here for a larger view
The public opinion delivered by the Ministry of Education will be decided by the research team to revise or supplement the draft.
The Ministry of Education will hold a public hearing by general discussion and subject from the 28th to the 8th of next month with the revised and supplemented proposal. After the public hearing for each subject, the proposal will be released on the public participation communication channel for another 5 days and public opinions will be collected.
Even before the public hearing, the subject matter in question is coordinated through the Discourse Mediation Committee and the Revision Promotion Committee.
Some pointed out the bias of the researchers in relation to the controversy over the Korean history description of the revised curriculum. He explained that he would keep it private until the end of the day.
There are also concerns that it will not be easy to coordinate in the process of revising and supplementing the draft if conflicting contents such as history or morals are received.
Regarding this, Vice Minister of Education Jang Sang-yoon said, “The public opinion was transparent and the researchers and related experts discussed it and revised and reviewed the parts to be corrected and supplemented. It is not proceeding with a specific group and opinion, but I think it is possible to adjust enough.”
Even if coordination is not reached, the Ministry of Education explained that direct judgment is discouraged.
Amendments reflecting the results of public hearings will be announced by the Minister of Education following deliberation and resolution by the National Board of Education by the end of December following going through the curriculum deliberation and administrative notice.
The confirmed 2022 revised curriculum will be applied annually to the first and second graders of elementary school from 2024, when those born in 2017 enter elementary school, and to middle and high schools in 2025, when current first graders of middle school enter high school.
However, since the National Education Commission has not yet been launched, there are concerns regarding whether the deliberations and resolutions for the announcement within the year will proceed as scheduled.
An official from the Ministry of Education said, “We are proceeding according to the procedure.” “I am trying to make an announcement by the end of the year as much as possible because there is still room in my schedule.”
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