168 Autonomous Schools Selected... Operation of Mandatory and Recommended Tasks
The Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education is expanding autonomous schools, which are part of the ‘Gwangju-type Future Schools’ initiative.
On the 13th, the Office announced that next year it will operate 168 autonomous schools, an increase of 27 schools (19.1%) compared to this year. Autonomous schools are promoted by the Office to implement diverse and distinctive school curricula that meet the demands of future society.
Selected autonomous schools receive support ranging from 10 million to 40 million KRW depending on class size and scale, to develop and implement curricula reflecting the opinions of the local community, parents, and students.
This year, the Office operated 141 autonomous schools. As a result, a satisfaction survey among faculty and staff showed that 96% of respondents were satisfied. Additionally, 94% agreed with the purpose of the initiative.
The newly operated autonomous schools will, starting from March next year for one year, develop and implement curricula by selecting one mandatory task and one to two recommended tasks based on the opinions of members. The mandatory tasks include nine categories: future education, skill improvement, climate environment, ecology, educational welfare, global citizenship, multiculturalism, culture, arts and physical education, community linkage, and school autonomy themes. The recommended tasks include four categories: vision sharing, character education, basic academic skills, and teacher class support.
Superintendent Lee Jeong-seon said, “Autonomous schools will provide our children with opportunities to grow healthily and accumulate diverse skills. We will do our best to ensure that schools can regain the essence of education with autonomy and responsibility.”
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