초등 사회과 통합의 원리 구현을 위한 학교자율시간 과목 개발 동향 분석 = Analysis of Trends in Subject Development for School-Designed Autonomous Time to Implement Integration Principles in Elementary Social Studies

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study aims to analyze the development trends of elementary social studies subjects within the "school-designed autonomous time" introduced in the 2022 revised curriculum and to derive implications for implementing the ‘principle of integration’, which constitutes the core identity of elementary school social studies. For this purpose, 60 elementary social studies sub-subjects approved by metropolitan and provincial superintendents of education as of February 2026 were selected for analysis to examine the types of subject development and the patterns of applying integration principles. The analysis results indicate that the development of region-linked and school characteristic types was predominant, with subjects centered on themes closely related to students' lives, such as environment and climate change, economic and financial education, and democratic citizenship education. Regarding the application of integration principles, while academic integration (interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary) and educational integration (thematic and issue-based) were actively implemented, comprehensive integration based on strands was not observed. Furthermore, the study confirmed that individual schools, along with offices of education, are acting as primary agents in subject development, thereby practically realizing the curriculum autonomy pursued by the 2022 revised curriculum. Based on these findings, this study suggests that future elementary social studies curriculum should deepen discussions on interdisciplinary integration centered on themes or issues relevant to cultivating citizenship. Additionally, this study proposes the establishment of an elementary social studies research governance structure encompassing geography, social education, and history to select and reach a consensus on social studies strands, which serve as the core criteria for integration.