The Curriculum Structure and Textbook System of Korean subject

I. The Curriculum Structure and its Relation with Textbooks

• 1. Structure of the Curriculum

An education curriculum sets forth objectives that students should reach through a course of education, as well as standards for the educational contents, methodology and evaluation that should be applied in order to attain such objectives. In Korea, according to who sets the standards, the curriculum is divided into the national curriculum, local community-level curriculum, school curriculum and teachers' curriculum The national curriculum of Korea is decided and notified by the Minister of Education, Science and Technology, pursuant to Article 23(1) of the Primary and Secondary Education Act.

The curriculum at the local community level is set by the Superintendent of local education offices, pursuant to Article 23(2) of the Primary and Secondary Education Act and within the boundary of the national level curriculum, in reflection of regional characteristics. The national curriculum includes guidelines on the 'formulation and implementation of the local community- and school-level curriculum,' in addition to basic guidelines for 'curricular formulation and implementation.' In other words, the national curriculum sets forth general standards for the local community- and school-level curriculum

The national curriculum is divided into a general introduction part which includes the Direction of Curriculum Design, Educational Goals by School Level, Organization of the Curriculum Time Allotment Standards and Guidelines for the Formulation and Implementation of the Curriculum, and an explanatory part which describes the curriculum in detail by subject.

Based on the guidelines of the national curriculum which include subject names, curricular organization & time allotment standards and guidance for curricular formulation and operation guidance, schools are required to formulate and operate a curriculum tailored to their own needs. The numerical standards and guidelines set out in the national curriculum include those that all schools must follow as a minimum necessity, and also those that schools may autonomously adjust according to their own needs. For example, since the yearly class hours prescribed for each subject matter within the national curriculum refers to minimum requirements, schools are mandated to provide students with at least that many hours of class instruction per year for each subject. But schools have autonomy in deciding the monthly or weekly distribution of total instruction hours per year, which is why class timetables can differ among schools.

In order to provide education tailored to individual student aptitude and ability, schools should be granted expanded autonomy in formulating the curriculum. Teachers should also possess stronger expertise in curricular formulation. The revised curriculum of 2009, which is currently in the final stages of revision, thus sets it a basic direction to increase the autonomy of schools for curricular formulation and operation. The school curriculum is revised upon demand, with different parts being adjusted at different times such as the general introduction only, the subject curriculum part only, or the general introduction and curriculum parts altogether. Prior to 2000, the usual practice was to change both parts and revise the whole curriculum at a time. But in recent years, partial revisions are increasingly being made upon occasion for necessary subject areas only(i.e. 2008 revision to newly adopt the health subject; 2008 revision of the English curriculum to increase the number of English instruction hours; 2009 revision of the social studies curriculum to expand economic education contents, etc.)

• 2. Curricular revision and its relation with textbooks

Textbooks are teaching/learning material that reflects the characteristics, objectives and contents of subject areas stated in the national curriculum. In that sense, textbooks represent the most concrete materialization of national curriculum standards and goals. But not all teaching/learning material that has grounds on the national curriculum are approved as textbooks. Only when national curriculum-based teaching/learning material are compiled, deliberated, authorized and approved pursuant to related regulations('Regulation on Curriculum Material'), can they be certified as school textbooks.

Though textbooks are basically developed in alignment with the educational curriculum, the textbook names are not necessarily the same as the names of subjects specified in the national curriculum. For example, textbooks for the primary Korean language subject come in various names of Speaking Listening, Writing and Reading, and textbooks for the primary science subject include those on 'Science' and 'Experiment & Research.' Textbooks are written on the basis of the national curriculum. But in actual, the selection of content items and the pattern of curricular composition can differ according to the expertise and perspective of the textbook writer. The writing process is usually carried out by a group of teamed experts, who may adjust the original direction of textbook writing through group discussion.

II. Types of Textbooks

• 1. Types of curriculum material

Curriculum material is divided into textbooks and instruction material according to 'who utilizes the material.' Textbooks are mostly used by students, while instruction materials are mostly used by teachers.

Curriculum material is again divided into government-designated textbooks and authorized/approved textbooks according to who holds the copyright. The copyright to government-designated textbooks rests with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. These textbooks are compiled by the Ministry or by a Ministry-consigned research institute or university. Recently, the Ministry is selecting textbook compilation organizations through a call for applications and screening procedure, rather than directly designating a compilation organization. Authorized textbooks are developed by the private sector and screened by the Ministry for authorization. Approved textbooks are those that have passed the approval screening procedure of the Ministry.

Authorization screening is currently consigned to the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation. Approval screening is delegated to the Superintendents of Metropolitan City/Provincial Offices of Education. As an exception, among approved textbooks, the screening of textbooks used by air & correspondence high schools and certain public schools is consigned to the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation.

Upon the revision of the national curriculum, the Minister of Education, Science and Technology must establish a plan to develop textbooks in accordance. The Minister decides on materials in three categories: government-designated textbooks, authorized textbooks and approved textbooks. The Ministry then announces the decision to the public pursuant to Article 4, 6, and 14(3) of the Regulation on Curriculum Material. This is called the & Notification of the government-designation, authorization and approval of textbooks.

• 2. Difference between authorized and approved textbooks

Approved textbooks, together with authorized textbooks, are often classified in the category of authorized approved textbooks. They are similar to the extent that both are developed by the private sector and both are subject to government screening. But the two types of textbooks are intrinsically different, as explained below

First, the two are developed by different persons/organizations. Authorized textbooks are developed by private publishing companies, but approved textbooks have a variety of developers including incumbent teachers, private publishers and even local offices of education, who are also responsible for approving the textbooks.

Second, the two differ in terms of the order of screening and publication. According to the Constitutional Court, the authorization system first screens textbooks and afterwards allows publication, while the approval system screens textbooks that have already been published.

Third, the two have different market values. Textbooks developed by private publishers, who invest in the work in expectation of a certain amount of profit, usually have higher user demand. Textbooks for subject matters that all students must mandatorily study, or those for subject matters that many students select to study, will be submitted by the private publisher to the Ministry for authorization. So such subject textbooks have high possibility of being classified as authorized textbooks. Therefore, one of the most distinctive features that differentiate authorized and approved textbooks is the demand for textbooks, that is, the anticipated number of textbook purchases.

• 3. Types of approved textbooks(depending on the screening requirements of the Approved Textbook Deliberation Committee)

Approved textbooks are again divided into two types, depending on whether they are required to be screened by the Approved Textbook Deliberation Committee of Metropolitan City/Provincial Offices of Education. A majority of approved textbooks must mandatorily pass the Committee's screening procedure. But there are certain approved textbooks that are exempted from this requirement.

Approved textbooks are similar to authorized textbooks in that they are also subject to strict and rigorous screening. But as an exception, subject matter textbooks pre-designated by the Minister of Education, Science and Technology can be approved without having to acquire the approval of the Approved Textbook Deliberation Committee. Such textbooks are called by the name of 'screening-free approved textbooks.' For such textbooks, the principals of schools must apply for approval upon completing the deliberation process of the School Council and Screening Committee, which is composed of minimum 3 members designated or appointed among certified teachers. Private-published textbooks which are sold at bookstores may also be approved and used at schools, on condition that they adequately suit the subject matter's curricular needs. In this sense, 'screening-free approved textbooks' can be considered as a step towards the free publishing system.

In principle, approved textbooks must be screened by the Approved Textbook Screening Committee. But for textbooks developed by Metropolitan City/Provincial Offices of Education, the Screening Committee's deliberation may be omitted in certain cases, pursuant to the rules regarding approved textbooks of the local office concerned.

• 4. Types of approved textbooks(by purpose of usage)

According to the ‘Regulation on Curriculum Material,’ approved textbooks may be used in the following cases irst, approved textbooks may be used in the absence of national textbooks or authorized textbooks. This includes cases where subject matters are stated in the curriculum, but there is no specification of national or authorized textbooks for those subjects within the government notification of national/authorized/approved textbooks. For example, the 7th revised curriculum states that the liberal arts subject group includes philosophy, logic, psychology, pedagogy, life economics, religion, ecosystem & environment, and career & occupation. But Notification(No. 1998-17, December 12, 1998), which states type 1 and type 2 textbooks for middle and high school levels, does not include specification of textbooks for the above said subject matters. In this case, since no national or authorized textbooks exist for the subjects, the head of a school may use approved textbooks upon the approval of the Approved Textbook Deliberation Committee at the Metropolitan City/Provincial Offices of Education.

Second, approved textbooks are used as a supplement for national or authorized textbooks. However, caution is required, as there exists a regulation stating that 'approved textbooks that are used for the purpose of supplementing national or authorized textbooks must not replace those textbooks.'

Number of Curriculum Material by Type