Current Busan Education Policy Has Overcome 'Corona'

First Regular Public Opinion Survey of the Year: 74.2% of Busan Citizens 'Satisfied'
Satisfaction Up 8% from Last Year's Survey
Busan Metropolitan Office of Education COVID-19 Response Satisfaction at 80%

Regular public opinion survey results on Busan education policy.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] How do citizens perceive the education policy in Busan? Recent survey results have drawn attention by showing a much higher satisfaction with education compared to the survey conducted just before the COVID-19 outbreak.

In a regular survey conducted during the national crisis caused by COVID-19, more than 74% of Busan citizens expressed satisfaction with Busan education.

Busan City conducted the ‘2020 1st Regular Survey on Busan Education Policy’ regarding the city’s education policy and COVID-19 response over two months from May to June and announced the results on the 8th.

This survey was commissioned to the professional polling company Southern Post Co., Ltd. and conducted through telephone interviews with 1,600 adult men and women aged 19 or older residing in Busan, as well as group in-depth interviews with students, parents, and teachers.

According to the telephone interview results, 74.2% responded that they were ‘satisfied’ with Busan education policy, 14.6% answered ‘dissatisfied,’ and 11.3% replied ‘don’t know (no response).’

This marks an increase of about 8 percentage points compared to the 66.4% satisfaction rate from the most recent survey, the 4th regular survey conducted last year. The proactive response of the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education during the COVID-19 situation is analyzed as a cause for this rise.

Regarding the question on empathy with the vision and direction of Busan education policy, 74.4% expressed ‘agreement,’ while only 16.4% showed ‘disagreement.’

Busan citizens also showed high satisfaction with the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education’s COVID-19 response, with 80% ‘satisfied,’ 10.2% ‘dissatisfied,’ and 9.8% ‘don’t know (no response).’

On the appropriateness of remote classes, more than half, 56.8%, answered ‘appropriate.’ Regarding difficulties arising after remote classes, 38.7% cited ‘concerns about decline in children’s academic achievement,’ and 17.2% mentioned ‘difficulty communicating with teachers.’

When asked about the most needed support for current high school seniors, 31.6% wanted ‘student-tailored consulting,’ 22.2% requested strengthening of online and offline college entrance counseling networks, and 16.1% desired holding admissions briefing sessions.

In the face-to-face group in-depth interviews, both teachers and parents responded that the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education’s response during the COVID-19 situation was generally swift and appropriate.

However, concerns were raised about students’ information exposure due to remote classes and the spread of infectious diseases within schools.

In particular, teachers also expressed the opinion that administrative workload reduction is necessary so they can focus on teaching and student guidance.

Kim Seok-jun, Superintendent of Busan Metropolitan Office of Education, said, “Various policies promoted for the change and reform of Busan education have earned high trust from the education community and citizens. We will continue to listen to the voices from the field and implement field-centered education policies.”

This regular survey has a sampling error of 95%, confidence level ±2.45 percentage points, and a response rate of 5.6%. The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education conducts four telephone interviews and two group in-depth interviews annually to collect opinions from the education community and citizens and reflect them in education policy.