국가 교육과정과 사회과 교과체제 구성의 문제점 및 개선 방향

Abstract

This paper analyzes shortcomings of the current Korean national policy on the school curriculum for social studies and proposes new directions that may be useful for developing an improved curriculum. It is apparent that the main problem with the curriculum is rooted in the fact that national policy micromanages many aspects of teaching. Specific regulations are given to control issues ranging from educational aims to subject themes and teaching methods. There are two main ways in which there problems could be addressed. Firstly, national curriculum should be restructured so that it only broadly presents the educational aims without articulating the specific themes and teaching methods to be used. It should then be up to the developers of textbooks and teachers to come up with a wide range of creative contents and teaching methods that address the educational aims identified by the national policy. Such an approach would enhance the quality of teaching in schools by fostering a competitive atmosphere. Secondly, it would be a more effective way of teaching if schools are given more room to implement the integrated curriculum in more diverse ways. Under the current national curriculum, all schools are required to follow the same format to teach geography, history, and civics. If governmental regulation on national curriculum is eased then better textbooks and the school curriculum could be developed to upgrade the educational quality in schools.