Special teachers have various and complex conditions to consider in the pre-service training process and required more complex expertise and qualities than regular teachers, accordingly, study on the expertise and qualifications of special teachers ha...
Special teachers have various and complex conditions to consider in the pre-service training process and required more complex expertise and qualities than regular teachers, accordingly, study on the expertise and qualifications of special teachers has been carried out steadily, and related laws have been revised continuously. In addition, Various alternatives and solutions have been proposed for the reform of the training process, such as the reform of the training system, basic transfer subjects, and special teacher qualification types.
However, critics say that the government failed to discuss the teacher training and qualification system in accordance with the principles and standards agreed for a long time in the process. Therefore, the 'cross-discipline approach' of Bereday was used in this study to provide evidence-based policy implications for special teacher training and qualification systems.
In this study, we compared and analyzed the special teacher training system (training institution, training system) between Korea and Japan and the qualification system (general matter of qualification system, qualification testing). Korea and Japan have high comparabilities due to similarities in legal and educational administrative systems. In addition, from 2007 to 2008, the 「Act on Special Education for Person with Disabilities, etc.」 of enacting in Korea, and the revision of the 「School Education Act」 and the introduction of the ‘Special Needs Education System’ in Japan led to major changes in special education policies. Recently, the environment of special education also faces common challenges such as the increase in the number of students with severe and multiple disabilities, the diversification of types of disabilities, the expansion of the importance of integrated education, and the supply and demand of teachers due to the decrease in the population of school age.
Against this backdrop, research questions set up in this study are as follows:
First, what similarities and differences are there in the types of special teacher training institutions in Korea and Japan, the level of educational background and academic system, and the characteristics of departments?
Second, what similarities and differences are there in the special teacher training system in Korea and Japan?
Third, what are the similarities and differences between Korea and Japan's special teacher qualification system?
Fourth, what similarities and differences are there in the special teacher qualification process between Korea and Japan?
The result of this study, the similarities and differences between the special teacher training and qualification systems in Korea and Japan are as follows. First, in terms of the training system, both Korea and Japan have an open system, and it is common to train special teachers at four-year general universities. Special teacher certificates are also awarded through graduate schools, but graduate courses are not essential in the special teacher qualification process. The departments and divisions that train special teachers are more diverse in Japan and are integrated into the regular teacher training process. On the other hand, special teachers of Korea are mainly trained in departments of special education, which are separated from regular teacher training courses. In addition, there is a difference that in Japan, the regular teacher and special teacher training system for preschool, elementary, middle and high school courses are all open systems, while in Korea, only general elementary school courses are trained as purpose-built by separate training institutions.
In terms of the qualification system, both Korea and Japan have a common feature that special teacher certificates are separated from ordinary teachers, and the names are named around certain educational spaces, such as "special school teachers" and "special support school teachers," respectively. Meanwhile, Japan's special teacher licenses are more diverse and subdivided than Korea's, such as types of certificates (usually license, special license, temporary license), types of qualifications (by disability area), and number of qualifications (usually license type 2, type 1, transfer). On the other hand, Korea's special teacher certificates are non-category and integrated, enabling flexible supply and deployment.
In the qualification process, Korea has a higher proportion of special education-related majors, while Japan has a higher proportion of teaching subjects. Also, in order to obtain a special teacher certificate in Japan, regular teachers certificate is required as a basic qualification, so education practice will be received twice at general schools and special schools (special support schools). Based on these similarities and differences and their backgrounds, this study discussed implications for the improvement of the Korean special teacher training and qualification system.