The purpose of this study was to examine the counter-measures of the government against the dilemma situations it faced in the course of pushing ahead with the evaluation policy of teacher competence development. It's specifically meant to analyze how...
The purpose of this study was to examine the counter-measures of the government against the dilemma situations it faced in the course of pushing ahead with the evaluation policy of teacher competence development. It's specifically meant to analyze how the government coped with the dilemma situations that took place in the decision-making process of the evaluation policy of teacher competence development, as there were severe conflicts between two different groups. One agreed to the introduction of the policy, and the other didn't.
Three research questions were posed:
1. Analyze the factors triggering the dilemma situations in the decision-making process of the evaluation policy of teacher competence development.
2. Analyze the interests and coping of the policy performers and policy makers toward the major points of disputes on the evaluation policy of teacher competence development.
3. Analyze the characteristics of the government's political measures and strategies in the dilemma situations of the evaluation policy of teacher competence development.
To address the research questions, literature involving all sorts of relevant documents, reports and statements were analyzed, and government officials and people concerned who worked in related organizations were interviewed to make a qualitative analysis of the government's coping with the dilemma situations of the evaluation policy of teacher competence development.
The major findings of the study were as follows:
First, the introduction of the evaluation policy of teacher competence development was expedited by changes of situations such as the appearance of neo-liberalism, and the dilemma situations took place since the specificity and professionalism of the teaching profession weren't taken into account in that process. Another factor that caused the dilemma situations was the different positions of parent associations and teacher organizations. The parent associations that put emphasis on the accountability of teachers and the excellence of education demanded the prompt implementation of the evaluation system of teacher competence development, and the teacher organizations tried to deter the implementation of the system on the ground that the specificity and autonomy of the teaching profession were important.
Second, as a result of looking into the interests of the policy performers and policy makers related to the major disputes on the evaluation policy and their coping patterns, the parent associations and the government approved of parent involvement, and the teacher organizations didn't. In regard to their coping process, the parent associations withdrew from the council when they weren't selected as teacher evaluatees. On the other hand, both of Korea Teacher's & Educational Worker's Union(KTEWU) and Korea Federation of Teacher Association (KFTA) offered opposition to parent involvement at the first. But the KFTA changed its position and gave a conditional approval to that.
Third, in the dilemma situations, the government that was the decision maker decided to postpone the introduction of the policy for political reasons at a time when an election was held. Basically, the government took a consistent attitude, as there was no change in the fact that the evaluation policy was scheduled to be introduced. But the government couldn't be said to take a consistent attitude in terms of the content of the policy. The name of the evaluation was changed three times, and it was decided at first to reflect the outcome of the evaluation in personnel administration and pay, and then the decision was changed so that the outcome of the evaluation could be utilized as a means to enhance teacher professionalism. At a time when it wasn't easy to make a decision on this issue, a separate committee was set up, and the government threw the responsibility on the committee. Thus, the government continued to be in dilemma due to the opposition of the organizations concerned, namely the policy performers, and it attempted to try out the evaluation policy under the circumstances. Although the Lee Myung-Bak administration made another attempt to implement the policy across the nation to enact educational provisions, the dilemma situations still continued to remain unchanged in October, 2010.
When the government's coping with the dilemma situations of the evaluation policy of teacher competence development, it's found that this policy continued to be in dilemma, and no law was yet established about that. This phenomenon resulted in incurring additional cost and undermining people's confidence in educational policies, which cannot be overlooked. The best way to push ahead with teacher-related policies is by preventing the occurrence of dilemma. To make it happen, the core decision makers such as the minister and vice-minister should be discreet enough not to make the wrong judgment, and they should try not to let their own interests affect decision making. Ultimately, it's required to put the relevant laws and systems in good order to ensure.