Moral and Character Education in Korea

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Throughout history across the world, moral development and character formation have been considered to be among the most important goals of school-based education (Lee, 2002; Lickona, 1991; Molnar, 1997; Nucci, 1989; Park & Chu, 1996; Ryan & Bohlin, 1999; The Korean Association of Education, 1997). Although the structure, content, and educational practices of moral and character education approaches differ across countries as a function of their respective traditional, religious, societal, and cultural backgrounds they share similar educational aims to help students grow into well-established and functioning members of society. This chapter will take up these issues as they play out within moral and character education in Korea. Moral and character education for youth varies in structure based on who is being taught (the students), where they are being taught (the setting), and in what form instruction occurs (differing curriculums, such as specific programs or following an example in everyday settings). Within Korea, moral and character education is closely related to one another, with “moral subject education” and “character education” comprising two complementary components within the educational system as a whole. However, the more common and typical form is the curriculum-based moral education-“moral education as a curriculum.” Let us begin with a look at the key terms used in Korean moral education, their definitions, and their relation to one another. First is “moral education” and “moral education as a curriculum”—hereafter mentioned as MEC. The ultimate goals of these two forms of education do not differ, but the time periods, objects, and the settings in which each form of education occurs are different. “Moral education” is a broader concept that encompasses the formal and informal learning of morals in common settings such as home, schools, and society. MEC is an official and systematic interaction between the teacher and student that takes place in a classroom setting that helps students learnknowledge, values, behaviors, and other skills needed to understand and habituate the expected moral lifestyle of a functioning adult in Korean society. The Moral Education Curriculum presents general guidance for how to teach the characteristics, goals, and content of moral education as a nation-wide standardized subject in Korean elementary and middle schools. A second key distinction is the differentiation between MEC and character education (hereafter referred to as CE). These two terms are similar with respect to general goals, but each approach reaches its goals with different methods and emphasizes different aspects of the topic. Historically, MEC was the central point of moral education following the first introduction of moral education in all levels of schooling in South Korea in 1973. However, over time increasing attitudes of rudeness, self-centeredness, physical violence, and bullying accompanied the competition of students trying to get into higher-ranking schools. As a result of these broader effects of the educational environment, MEC was criticized as a knowledge-based curriculum that students “know of but do not put into practice.” As a consequence, CE was promoted as an effective plan to overcome this problem. The issues thought to be addressed by CE are larger than those of MEC. Good character, which is the goal of CE, is demonstrated in people’s lifestyles as a whole and is influenced by their school, home, and society. In Korea, there are two types of academic activities-curriculum-based activities and extracurricular activities, with CE belonging to the latter type (Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, 2011). In Korea, on May 31st, 1995, the concept of CE was made public via a written report, “The Agenda of Education Reform for the Establishment of a New Educational System.” It was produced by an Ad hoc Committee of Education Reform and basically states that education needs to change in such a way that it positively enhances the development of sound moral character and creativeness in students. To this end, “Practical CE” needs to be strengthened throughout all educational activities in the school. This became the case that would “reinforce practical character education” through extracurricular activities such as discussion (debates), experiences, and community service in 1995 (K. C. Heo, Jo, Kim, Yu, & Lee, 1994; S. H. Heo, 1998; Kang et al., 2008; Lee, 2002). However, CE has expanded to become more curriculum-based in recent years, and has been integrated with MEC. This is because, despite the attention that was directed toward CE, the effects of CE have not been evident. The assumption is that this ineffectiveness was because CE has not been integrated within curriculum-based activities that take up the majority of school hours. In March 2012, the national curriculum was reformed under “Project based character education”—a plan that was created in response to the significant amount of violence among students. Each school level came up with goals that reflect core values, and students were encouraged to initiate, explore, experience, and put these values into practice. Referring to this event, it was declared that MEC is to become the “central curriculum for character education,” and it was said that “Considering the role and mission that schools hold in CE today, MEC is to become its core, supervising curriculum” (2012 Revised National Curriculum, Notification No. 2012-14, Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology). This led to an increased emphasis on the significance of MEC in the school curriculum. Whereas MEC typically focuses on teaching students to understand moral values and develop a sense of moral judgment, and, in addition, encourage them to put these teachings into practice as its main goal within the classroom setting, CE encourages acomprehensive approach to improving character and virtue through curriculum-based activities (including MEC), creative extracurricular or experiential activities, and optimistic climate building through the modeling of good deeds within the student body. Therefore, the knowledge about moral values taught in MEC can be put into practice more easily through extracurricular activities or experiential activities in the bigger subject field of CE. The remainder of this paper focuses upon the specific systems and the practices of moral education as a curriculum and its relation to character education. Together these components comprise the approach to moral education in Korea.