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The Present Trend of School Reform(1994-the present)
1.The Presidential Education Reform Committee(1994-1998)
Riding on the present of reforms in the society at large and in response to the aspiration of the people, the new government established and ran the Commission on Education Reform to create the "New Korea". Although the major trend of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Education was passed on to the current government, the government is well aware of the previous tendency toward simply promulgating reform plans rather than instituting actual practical educational reform. Thus, rather than just continuing to promulgate such plans from above, the government will continue to seek those educational reforms, formed from below, and will continue to remedy defects which are revealed in the process.
The Establishment of a School Council at Each School
To promote local autonomy in each school and to enable schools to provide diverse programs that reflect the needs of individual communities, a school council was set up and creative school management based on an individual school's expanded autonomy was made possible in 1995. The council, made up of teachers, parents and community figures, is to deliberate school budget bills, settle financial accounts, propose elective courses and other extra-curricular programs, and consider the school charter and regulations.
The Evaluation Policy of Schools
Although the delegation of power to schools has been making schools more autonomous, it will not automatically guarantee the results of school management.
As a school community has been empowered, it is necessary to ensure the accountabilities of school education. To ensure accountabilities, the evaluation policy of schools has been carried out throughout the country since 1997. However, the results of this policy are obscure and controvertible.
2. The Presidential Commission for the New Educational Community
The economic crisis which swept South Korea in 1997 led the korean to the realization that much of Korea's quantitative growth was a mere illusion lacking a firm foundation. Thanks to national popular understanding of the importance of education in building an advanced nations, the government, by the direct order of the President, has recently established the Presidential Commission for the New Educational Community, whose name was changed recently into Presidential Commission on Education & Human Resource Policy. This commission will take on responsibilities for publicizing educational reform, working to improve the status of the educational reform movement, utilizing civic movements for the promotion of educational reform, reviewing and evaluating the status of educational reform, and other relevant activities to place the emphasis on promoting real reform in education rather than just the promulgation of new reform plans.
Vision for Education beyond 2002 : Creation of a New School Culture
The Korean Ministry of Education launched an educational campaign in order to create a New School Culture by announcing the reform package titled "Vision for Education beyond 2002: Creation of a New School Culture." The reform package aimed at changing the traditional school culture into a more autonomous and diverse one which will make students more creative. Traditionally, Korea has sustained a teacher-centered and grade point-centered uniform educational system. In order to move away from such system and to cultivate fully each learner's personality and creativity, as well as to maximize individual potential, the existing frameworks of elementary and secondary education have been revised and a new school culture has evolved. The major polices of the package include: creating an autonomous school community; implementing a student-centered curriculum; diversifying the methods of evaluating students; vitalizing after-school extra-curricular activities and emphasizing the professionalism of teachers
Introduction of Diverse Student Evaluation Methods
In the past, most schools used a norm-referenced evaluation. Therefore students were ranked according to the average total score they receive by combining grades from all subject areas. Class instruction, was designed for students to get good grades on their test scores at the expense of achieving the genuine goals and objectives of education.
Consequently, school education has failed to develop student's abilities to understand and think in comprehensive and creative ways. In order to these problems, the Ministry of Education & Human Resources Development has introduced Diverse Student Evaluation Methods to school education. One prominent feature of this policy with respect to evaluation is the diversification of the criteria for evaluating students. In addition, this policy is believed to contribute to resolving educational problems the entrance examination to college has brought out.
The Establishment of the Accounts of School
School-Based Management has been substantially pursued by the Government since 1995. With such efforts, the Government has made efforts to delegate financial power to local educational authorities. Through these efforts, the financial power of school has been strengthened. At last, in 2001, the accounts of school has been established.
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