Multicultural education in South Korean public elementary schools: An analysis of teachers' experiences and perspectives and school curriculum
Abstract
Multicultural education is a growing interest in South Korea and is viewed as a way to respond to the multicultural challenges resulting from the recently increasing number of foreign migrants and international marriages. The primary purpose of this study was to explore how multicultural education is contextualized in South Korea. For this purpose, I explored how the Korean public school education system is responding to the educational challenges posed by its newly emerging ethnic and racial diversity and how multicultural education has been implemented in South Korean schools, by (1) investigating the experiences and perspectives of teachers who were implementing multicultural education and interacting with ethnically and racially diverse children; and (2) examining the government policies and school curriculum that were created in response to the current multicultural challenges in South Korea. I then applied US multicultural education theories to the South Korean situation in order to heighten the analysis and interpretation of the findings. Using narrative inquiry and phenomenology, I conducted a qualitative multiple case study through which I gained an in-depth understanding of particular cases, focusing on each case individually, and then discovering the similarities and differences among the cases. I used in-depth individual interviews with ten elementary school teachers and one policy maker as well as document analysis for the key data. Five teachers from five schools were the key cases in this study, while the other six participants provided supplemental evidence. I found that most teachers viewed multicultural education as addressing issues of social justice and inequality and ensuring educational equity for minority groups, as increasing cultural awareness and developing positive racial and ethnic attitudes, and as enhancing global citizenship education and promoting global connections. This study provides an in-depth understanding of the current status of multicultural education practices in South Korea through the lived stories of the participants as well as a global, international understanding of multicultural education.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Phillion, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Multicultural Education|Elementary education|Curriculum development
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