4. Stability Stage
The stability stage refers to the period when the policy for the advancement of high school vocational education was announced. With the authority to designate and redesignate specialized high schools, the standards for designation and redesignation, and the conversion of technical high schools to specialized high schools under the laws and regulations, specialized high schools take firm root in serving as secondary vocational education institutes. The Policy for Advancement of High School Vocational Education (2010) was aimed at expanding/ensuring industry-academic cooperation- type specialized high schools away from specialized high schools focused on the advancement to higher education and at promoting employment-focused specialized high schools by encouraging “Employment first-Advancement to university later.” To this end, the following measures were taken: ① expanding cooperation between industries and specialized high schools and strengthening the connection; ② making more government departments engage specialized high schools linked to government ministries (150 schools by 2015); ③ and reorganizing specialized high schools supported by the education office with joint cooperation among autonomous governments, industries, and the education office (200 schools by 2015) (Joint-relevant authorities, 2010). Unlike the previous measures and plans, these measures were required to revoke the designation by preparing common standards for national-level specialized high schools (employment rate and linkage to industries, etc.) and by making regular assessments of the Metropolitan and Provincial Offices of Education if they fail to meet the requirements. The matters were reflected in the amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (June 29, 2010).
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of an Office of Education may designate and make notification of high schools which provide experience-centered education, such as education aiming at training talents in a special field or field training in nature intended for students who are similar in temperament, aptitude, and abilities (hereinafter referred to as ‘specialized high schools’)”
(see [Table 4-2]). The Article includes both specialized high schools in the vocational education field (preamble) and specialized high schools in the alternative education field (postscript). The term specialized high schools, which is generally used in this study, means specialized high schools in the vocational education field. The legal concept of specialized high schools has existed since the Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was enacted, as shown in [Table 4-2].
Since then, in the process of several revisions, the legal concept of specialized high schools has not been changed. In other words, specialized high schools have legally existed since 1998. Since then, despite the change in the status of specialized high schools, the legal concept remained.
Table 4-2 ❙Changes in provisions related to specialized high schools under the Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
Amended enforcement
decree
Contents Article/
paragraph Remarks
Enactment (February 24,
1998)
The Minister of Education may designate and make notification of high schools which provide specialized experience education, such as field training in nature or “education aiming at training talents in a special field intended for students who are similar in temperament, aptitude, and abilities” (hereinafter referred to as “specialized high schools”).
Article 91 (1)
The first legal regulation of the
concept of specialized high schools
Amendment (January 29,
2001)
The Ministry of Education & Human Resources Development may designate and make notification of high schools which provide specialized experience education, such as field training in nature or “education aiming at training talents in a special field intended for students who are similar in temperament, aptitude, and abilities” (hereinafter referred to as "specialized high schools").
Article 91 (1)
Changes in the name of government
(Continued)
Amended enforcement
decree
Contents Article/
paragraph Remarks
Amendment (October 20,
2001)
The Superintendent of an Office of Education may designate and make notification of high schools which provide specialized experience education, such as field training in nature or
“education aiming at training talents in a special field intended for students who are similar in temperament, aptitude, and abilities” (hereinafter referred to as “specialized high schools”).
Article 91 (1)
Changes in the main agent of the designation
Amendment (June 29,
2010)
The provisions of Article 90 (2) and (4) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the matters concerning specialized high schools.
※ Article 90 (4) : Where the Superintendent of an Office of Education shall evaluate the performance of the designated special purpose high schools designated by the Superintendent of an Office of Education within five years in accordance with the rules stipulated and announced by the Minister of Education, Science, and Technology and he/she recognizes them impossible to achieve the designated goal, he/she shall revoke the designation.
Article 91 (2)
Making an additional part of paragraph (4)
(redesignation)
Necessary matters concerning the designation and operation of specialized high school in addition to those provided for in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be prescribed by Education Rules of a City/province.
Article 91 (3) Making a new paragraph (3)
Amendment (June 7, )
The provisions of Article 90 (2), (4) and (5) shall the matters concerning specialized high schools.
※ Article 90 (5): Where the Superintendent of an Office of Education intends to revoke the designation of a special purpose high school referred to in paragraph (1) 5, 6, and 10 (only applicable to public or private high schools), he/she shall consult with the Minister of Education, Science and Technology in advance.
Article 91 (2)
Making an additional part of paragraph (4)
(in consultation with when there
is a revocation of the designation Source: Ministry of Government Legislation (2013)
In the process of the amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the main changes are as follows. First, specialized high schools became designated and announced by the superintendent of an Office of Education, not by the Ministry of Education (October 10, 2001). Second, with regard to the designation and redesignaton of specialized high schools, additional provisions included the revocation of the designation related to the assessment of the designated specialized high schools within five years (June 29, 2010) as well as a consultation provision in cases where it is necessary to revoke the designation (June 7, 2011).
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Third, necessary matters concerning the designation and operation of specialized high schools, in addition to those provided for in paragraphs (1) and (2), shall be prescribed by the Education Rules of a City/province (June 29, 2010). In the process of the amendment, although the Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act dated June 29, 2010 had the same legal concept of specialized high schools, the scope of specialized high schools expanded. The Enforcement Decree dated February 24, 1998 referred to secondary vocational education institutes as vocational high schools and stipulated that vocational high schools meant high schools that mainly conduct technical education such as agriculture, industry, commerce, forestry, information, communication, fishery, shipping, and vocational home economics (Article 80 (1) of the Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Feb. 24, 1998)). The Enforcement Decree dated April 12, 2007 made an amendment of renaming technical high schools to vocational high schools (Article 80 (1)), referring to secondary vocational education institutes as. In the Enforcement Decree dated June 29, 2010, Article 80 (1) was deleted and Article 76 (2) (classification of high schools) was newly created, in which high schools are classified as four groups:
general high schools, special-purpose high schools, specialized high schools, and autonomous high schools. Accordingly, secondary vocational education institutes were referred to as specialized high schools. In other words, vocational high schools were changed into technical high schools (2007), and then were changed again into specialized high schools (2010). At present, they are called specialized high schools.
However, the current specialized high schools do not include “comprehensive high schools” that had been included in vocational high schools or technical high schools in the past. Under the Article 7 (2) of Addenda of the Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (June 29, 2010), “comprehensive high schools” were classified as “general high schools established with technical departments.”
In addition, after technical high schools were changed into specialized high schools, a former technical high school was deemed to be designated and publicly announced as a specialized high school under the Article 6 (1)2) of Addenda of the Enforcement
2) “Specialized schools designated under Article 90 (1) 1 through 4 at the time of the entry into force of
Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. In other words, among the existing technical high schools, except comprehensive high schools, specialized high schools, general high schools, and special-purpose high schools (the field of vocational education) were converted to specialized high schools. In summary, in 1996, specialized high schools were presented for the first time in the “Methods for Education Reform to Establish a New Education System” (February 1996) by the Presidential Committee on Education Innovation. In March 1998, the first specialized high school, Busan Design High School, was established in Busan. About 12 years later, all technical high schools across the nation were converted to specialized high schools.