In order to establish the professional identity of Korean Sign Language (KSL) teachers and to enhance the substantive quality of the teacher education system, it is imperative to systematically diagnose the structural limitations of the current teache...
In order to establish the professional identity of Korean Sign Language (KSL) teachers and to enhance the substantive quality of the teacher education system, it is imperative to systematically diagnose the structural limitations of the current teacher education curriculum and certification system and to develop appropriate improvement strategies. Based on this premise, the present study aims to critically analyze the legal foundations, operational structures, and professional competency validation mechanisms of the KSL teacher education and certification system, and to propose directions for institutional improvement through comparison with major international cases in the United States, Brazil, and Germany.
This study adopts critical reflective inquiry as its primary research methodology. The main sources of analysis include two policy reports published by the National Institute of the Korean Language—Development of the Level-1 Standard Curriculum for KSL Teachers (2024a) and A Study on the Level-1 KSL Teacher Education Curriculum (2024b)—along with relevant legislation, administrative guidelines, and curriculum materials from universities and teacher training institutions covering the period from the enactment of the Korean Sign Language Act in 2016 through 2024. Following the procedures of critical reflective inquiry, the study structurally examines discrepancies between policy intentions and actual implementation, focusing on how teaching competencies are formed and validated from the perspective of a professional system.
The findings reveal that the KSL teacher system exhibits structural limitations at both the legal-institutional level and the level of curriculum operation. First, although a two-tier certification structure (Levels 1 and 2) is stipulated by law, the Level-1 promotion system has never been implemented, resulting in the absence of a mechanism for the staged development and continuous management of professional competence. In addition, disparities in instructional duration and learning experiences between degree-based and non-degree pathways undermine the reliability and consistency of the certification system. Second, in terms of curriculum operation, major weaknesses were identified, including the lack of standardized teaching materials, insufficient documentation-based and portfolio-centered competency assessment structures, the absence of institutionalized teacher literacy, and a uniform curriculum design that fails to adequately reflect modality differences between hearing and Deaf teachers.
In contrast, the cases of the United States, Brazil, and Germany demonstrate several shared characteristics: curriculum operation based on standardized or quasi-standardized instructional materials; performance-based assessment grounded in portfolios and instructional documentation; continuous professional management through certification renewal or training-based systems; and the institutionalization of teacher literacy as a core component of professional competence. These comparative findings indicate the necessity of restructuring the KSL teacher system around a nationally standardized curriculum and a public, competency-based evaluation framework.
Through critical reflective inquiry, this study identifies the structural challenges of the KSL teacher education and certification system from the perspective of professional system theory. Furthermore, it provides theoretical and institutional foundations for future policy development, including the establishment of a nationally standardized curriculum, the construction of a literacy-based public evaluation system, and the design of a differentiated teaching competency model that reflects modality-specific characteristics of hearing and Deaf teachers.