Ministry of Education to Increase Communication with Parents Amid Decline in Teacher Authority... Establishes 'Parent Policy'

Comprehensive Support Plan for Parents Established After 15 Years
Development of Lifecycle-Based Curriculum Guidebook
Promotion of Legislation for Parental Support Legal Basis

The Ministry of Education is reinstating a dedicated department for parents after 15 years and strengthening communication with parents. This move responds to demands for increased direct communication with parents amid recent concerns over the decline in teachers' authority.

On the 30th, the Ministry of Education held the '4th Social Relations Ministers' Meeting' at the Government Seoul Office, where it presented and approved four agenda items, including 'Directions and Tasks of Parent Policies for the Healthy Growth of All Students.'

The Ministry of Education has prepared a comprehensive support plan for parents for the first time in 15 years since announcing the 'Directions for Parent Policy Promotion' in 2009. First, in January, it established the 'Parent Policy Division,' a dedicated department for parents within the Ministry of Education.

Looking ahead, the Ministry explained that starting in the second half of this year, it will develop 'Lifecycle-based Parent Education Curricula and Guidebooks' to strengthen parents' capacity for educating their children. The curriculum will be designed to provide tailored parent education according to the child's growth stage. Additionally, a standard parent guidebook will be created containing essential information that parents need to know according to their child's school level, from infancy and early childhood to elementary, middle, and high school.

To enhance communication between the government and parents, the Ministry will expand the network among the Ministry of Education, metropolitan and provincial offices of education, and nationwide regional parent support centers. The 'Korea Parent Award' will be established to honor parents who have contributed to school education, with the Deputy Prime Minister presenting the award.

If parents require counseling for their child's education, support will be provided to enable counseling through various channels such as face-to-face, telephone, and online. To ensure systematic counseling, manuals will be prepared and a collection of counseling cases will be produced.

In addition, the Ministry will promote the reorganization of online parent education. It will also consider providing preliminary parent education content targeted at university students.

The Ministry of Education will pursue the enactment of legal grounds to establish a parent support system. To this end, it will newly operate a 'Problem-solving Humanities and Social Sciences Research Institute' in the second half of this year to conduct policy research.