Part Ⅱ. The Present of Secondary Vocational Education in Korea
58
Key policy Main contents
Amendment to Enforcement Decree of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act (June 29, 2010.)
∙Transform vocational high schools (excluding comprehensive high schools) into specialized high schools: Addenda Article 6 (1) (Transitional Measures for Conversion of Technical High Schools to Specialized High Schools)
Source: Huh and Kim (2013). P. 5.
2. Growth Stage
The growth stage is the period after the Measures for Promoting Vocational High School were announced. ｢The Measures for Promoting Vocational High School (2000)｣
came after the operation of the national curriculum failed to respond to the rapid shift in industrial demands in a flexible manner, and the principal of a school and teachers had little autonomy to operate a curriculum suitable for students’ learning abilities.
Through the restructuring of the existing vocational high schools and the diversification of school types, the measures were designed to reorganize the fundamental operating system, ensure the internal stability of school operation, and expand financial support (Ministry of Education, 2000). Most of all, matters concerning specialized high schools included reducing the excess number of classes in light of local conditions, encouraging specialization according to school and sector by avoiding fragmented subjects and a large assortment of subjects, and assisting in reorganizing the curriculum based on the demands of the high-tech industry and local industries for the purpose of the specialization of schools. For the diversification of school operating systems, the measures were aimed at expanding small-scale specialized high schools that would help students who decide their career at an early stage based on their abilities and aptitude at the high school level to develop career paths in which they would be skilled workers. As a result, the number of specialized high schools increased markedly, from nine schools in 1999 to 64 in 2005.
3. Establishment Stage
The establishment stage is the period after Innovative Measures for the Vocational Education System. With the system, policy and financial support in place, the period takes firm root in the position of specialized high schools. To expand “prestigious specialized high schools” directly associated with industrial demands on a large scale, the ｢Innovative Measures for the Vocational Education System (2005)｣ included three strategies: specialization of vocational high schools by local autonomous governments (metropolitan councils and lower-level local autonomy), specialization of vocational
Part Ⅱ. The Present of Secondary Vocational Education in Korea
60
high schools by industries and occupation organizations, and specialization of vocational high schools by each government department.
As part of follow-up measures, “Strategies for Technical High School Promotion”
(February 8, 2007) and “A plan for the development of specialized vocational high schools” were announced. The ｢Strategies for Technical High School Promotion｣ is intended to promote specialized vocational high schools and employment contract- based industry-academic cooperation. The main contents of the measures involve promoting specialized high schools commissioned/supported by government ministries from 2007 and building 100 additional specialized high schools jointly operated by local autonomous governments and industries starting from 2009, and expanding to more than 300 schools by the end of 2009. In the long term, the goal was to promote the conversion of the total of vocational high schools to specialized high schools (Ministry of Education & Human Resources Development, 2007a).
In “A Plan for the Development of Specialized Vocational High Schools,” with the aim of fostering core skilled workers by industry, the ministries and offices concerned are directly engaged in the development and support of specialized high schools by connecting national-level promotional industries and the high-tech industry to train industry-specific skilled workers both with knowledge and working experience. The main strategies are: ① to shift into small-scale specialized manpower away from large-scale function-oriented manpower through “the diversification of curriculum and the flexible operation of school”; ② to reorganize a system where each government department, local autonomous governments, and industries work together through “the diversification of the central operating body” away from the control of the Ministry of Education & Human Resources Development; and ③ to foster skilled manpower both with knowledge and working experience through an open-ended operation, including industry-academic cooperation and the link between education and training (Ministry of Education & Human Resources Development, 2007b).
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).