Four education-related organizations in Jeonbuk (Jeonbuk branch of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers' Union, Jeonbuk Innovative Education Network, Jeonbuk Practicing Educators' Group, and People Dreaming of Good Teachers) identified the protection of educational activities and infringement of educational rights as the most urgent issues in Jeonbuk education, based on a survey of teachers conducted on April 29. The survey, conducted online from April 15 to 27 for 13 days, aimed to propose education policies ahead of the June 3 local elections, with 504 teachers from kindergartens, elementary, middle, high, and special schools in Jeonbuk participating.
In response to the question about the most urgent issue, the protection of educational activities and infringement of educational rights overwhelmingly topped the list at 57.1% (288 respondents). Difficulties in student guidance and emotional/behavioral problem responses (35.3%), excessive administrative tasks for teachers (27.6%), confusion in personnel system operation (26.6%), and school disappearance issues (23.8%) followed. The survey organizations analyzed the results as reflecting structural problems that lead to infringement of educational rights due to insufficient protection of educational activities amidst the increasing difficulty in student guidance.
Although only 9.1% of respondents found the protection of educational activities system to be helpful, 58.7% stated that it was not helpful. However, this was a decrease from the previous year's survey in 2025, where negative responses were at 75.5%, indicating some improvement. The biggest challenges in the field were identified as teachers having to handle complaints directly (67.7%) and concerns about reporting child abuse and retaliation (65.9%), with the urgent tasks being strict responses by the education office to unusual complaints (65.9%) and pushing for amendments to the Child Welfare Act (47.2).
The negative response that the support from the education office is insufficient significantly outweighed the positive response (46.3% vs. 14.3%). The factor most challenging for teachers' educational activities was overwhelming administrative tasks and increasing workload due to new policy introductions at 76.2%, followed by concerns about safety accidents and conflicts in educational activities (60.1%) and the pursuit of performance reporting and outcome-centered policies (49.6%). The survey organizations pointed out that the cumulative workload is increasing with the addition of new tasks and performance-centered operations on top of existing duties.
Perceptions of school community received a relatively high positive response at 60.8%. However, the weakening trust among teachers, students, and parents (55.2%) was identified as the top factor making community restoration difficult, indicating that some conflict cases significantly shake the trust of members across the board.
Responses indicating that the teacher personnel system is operated fairly and reasonably were only at 18.5%, with negative responses at 44.5%. The major problem was avoidance of working in rural and small schools after urban school promotion point incentives were introduced (56.7%), followed by lack of professional reflection in the personnel system (47.8%) and confusion at the field level due to system changes (42.9%).
Regarding the mandatory transfer system for elementary schools after 10 years (scheduled for full implementation on March 1, 2027), only 20.9% agreed that it should proceed as planned, while 74.9% suggested improvements, reconsideration, or abolition. For the internal principal recruitment system, opinions were divided, with 28.2% suggesting expansion, 20.2% improvement, and 16.7% reduction or abolition, indicating the need for a reevaluation of the system's direction.
A high percentage (85.5%) felt the threat of school disappearance, with an average score of 4.33 out of 5, indicating a very high level of awareness of the crisis. The continuous decrease in student numbers and outflow of the local population were overwhelmingly identified as the main causes of the crisis at 91.5%, followed by parental preference for urban schools and educational disparities (44.4%).
Policy suggestions included promoting concentration of hub schools through mergers (29.0%), assigning support teachers to small schools (27.8%), and ensuring commuting rights through expanded school bus services (24.8%). The expansion of rural study abroad support, a priority project of Jeonbuk Education Office, received the lowest response rate at 8.9%, revealing a discrepancy between the policy preferences of field teachers and the direction pursued by the education office.
Responses indicating that the future education policy centered on AI and digital technologies is appropriate were only at 22.9%, while those indicating it is inappropriate were at 38.9%, showing an overall prevailing negative perception. The major difficulties in the field were identified as operation focused on device distribution and utilization rather than educational purposes (64.5%) and concerns about overreliance on smart devices and potential side effects (59.9%).
The core values that Jeonbuk education should pursue were identified as democratic citizenship and community consciousness at 68.5%, with the most needed competency for teachers being student emotional and relational support skills at 61.1%, significantly surpassing AI and digital utilization skills at 31.5%. This indicates that teachers prioritize the intrinsic value of education over a technology-centered approach.
Responses indicating that the integrity of Jeonbuk Education Office is "high" were at 44.4%, higher than the "low" responses at 23.4%, showing a significant increase in positive perceptions compared to the previous year. However, factors making integrity difficult included traditional work processing methods and lack of accountability (54.8%), lack of fairness and transparency in personnel operations (35.1%), and insufficient supervision and guidance of private foundations (31.2%). Strengthening the integrity leadership of the education superintendent and leading by example was identified as the top task that should be pursued for integrity realization at 50.0%.
Based on the survey results, the four organizations plan to deepen discussions at the 'Jeonbuk Education Roundtable' on May 13 and propose the outcomes as policies to the candidates for the education superintendent in the June 3 local elections.
📝 Brief Summary:
Four education-related organizations in Jeonbuk conducted a survey among teachers to identify the most urgent issues in education. The survey results highlighted concerns such as the protection of educational activities, difficulties in student guidance, and overwhelming administrative tasks faced by teachers.
🗣️ Natural Korean Translation:
전북에 있는 교육 관련 단체 네 곳이 교사들을 대상으로 설문조사를 실시하여 교육 분야에서 가장 긴급한 문제를 확인했습니다. 이 조사 결과는 교육 활동 보호, 학생 지도에 대한 어려움, 교사들이 마주하는 많은 행정 업무 등과 같은 우려사항을 강조했습니다.
❓ Comprehension Questions:
1. What were the top two most urgent issues identified in the survey?
가장 긴급한 문제로 지목된 두 가지는 무엇이었습니까?
2. How did the respondents feel about the support from the education office regarding educational activities?
교육청의 교육 활동 지원에 대해 응답자들은 어떻게 느꼈습니까?
3. What were the major challenges identified in relation to the teacher personnel system?
교사 인사 체계와 관련하여 식별된 주요 도전 과제는 무엇이었습니까?
💡 Vocabulary Learning:
1. infringement (침해, noun)
- an encroachment or trespass on someone's rights
- 권리에 대한 침해나 침입
- The company was sued for copyright infringement.
- 회사가 저작권 침해 혐의로 소송을 당했습니다.
2. personnel (인사, noun)
- people employed in an organization or engaged in an activity
- 조직에 고용된 사람들 또는 활동에 종사하는 사람들
- The personnel department is responsible for hiring new staff.
- 인사 부서는 새 직원을 고용하는 역할을 맡고 있습니다.
3. reevaluation (재평가, noun)
- the act of assessing something again or differently
- 무언가를 다시 또는 다르게 평가하는 행위
- The project will undergo a reevaluation before moving forward.
- 해당 프로젝트는 계속하기 전에 재평가를 받을 것입니다.
4. discrepancy (불일치, noun)
- a lack of compatibility or similarity between two or more facts
- 두 가지 이상의 사실 사이의 호환성이나 유사성 부족
- There was a discrepancy between the two reports.
- 두 보고서 사이에 불일치가 있었습니다.
5. integrity (정직, noun)
- the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles
- 정직하고 강한 도덕적 원칙을 가지고 있는 품질
- The candidate was chosen for his integrity and trustworthiness.
- 그 후보는 그의 정직함과 신뢰성 때문에 선택되었습니다.
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