Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics - IEA

More documents

Recommendations

Info

PART 2: KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 111 Korea, Republic of 13 Composition of the teacher labor force Elementary schools have suffered from a teacher shortage in recent years, mainly because a sudden reduction in the teacher retirement age in 1999 saw a large number of teachers choosing to take a favorable early retirement package. Secondary schools, however, have had the opposite problem of a very large oversupply of candidates vying for a limited number of spots. There is close to a 5:1 ratio of candidates to positions available, mostly because the government and teacher education institutions have failed to control the number of students entering these institutions. In numerical terms, about 5,000 elementary school candidates are supplied every year by the national universities of education, and about 25,000 secondary school candidates are supplied through other institutions of education. Therefore, while a number of excellent students compete for spots in elementary schools, highly qualified students shy away from secondary schools. This oversupply of the secondary school teaching workforce has led to a weakening of secondary school teacher education. The total number of teachers in 2002 was 357,084. Of this number, nearly 21% were in high schools, just over 11% in vocational schools, nearly 27% in middle schools, and just over 41% in elementary schools. The ratio of female to male teachers has increased rapidly over the last two decades, with female teachers comprising roughly 68% of the teacher workforce in 2002. The proportion of female teachers in that year was 71% in elementary schools, 61% in middle schools, and 32% in high schools. Females cite the still high social status accorded to teachers and the favorable maternity leave policy as their main reasons for choosing the teaching profession. Rapid industrialization, economic growth, and many new, financially rewarding employment options in the 1980s and 1990s lowered the aptitude of those choosing to enter the teaching profession. Talented individuals who had graduated from institutions of education moved into these newly opened sectors, and some teachers left schools for better-paying jobs. This factor, along with those mentioned above, contributed to the teacher shortages within the elementary schools. In the late 1990s, however, South Korea’s economy went through a recession and individuals were once again attracted to the stable nature of the elementary school teaching profession. High school graduates with excellent achievement backgrounds began increasingly to enter elementary school teacher education institutions because elementary schools offered ready employment opportunities. Women, who still experience discrimination in other job sectors, especially find the prospect of teaching in elementary schools attractive; 78% of the entrants into elementary teacher education institutions are females with excellent academic records. If the government did not set a quota on the number of female applicants, the proportion would be over 90%. In contrast, the oversupply of secondary school teachers means that the number of highly qualified applicants to secondary school teacher education institutions is declining quickly. In like manner, scores on the university entrance examination that applicants must pass in order to enter teacher education institutions have dropped in recent years. Secondary school teacher quality has further declined because of potential applicants being deterred by the more negative social image of teachers that has recently 13 Referred to as South Korea throughout this section.
112 TEACHER PAY AND STUDENT MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT developed, and by the relative drop in teachers’ economic status. The government has consequently put forward measures to increase teacher salaries and welfare benefits, establish a better promotion and evaluation system, and improve working conditions by reducing class sizes. Teacher education and certification South Korea’s elementary school teachers are trained in national universities of education and departments of elementary education at colleges of education. They can also take elementary education courses in graduate schools. Most elementary school teachers receive their pre-service education at the 11 teachers colleges that make up the National University of Education. Pre-service education for secondary school teachers occurs mainly through four different channels: departments of education, colleges of education, graduate schools of education, and teacher education courses in comprehensive universities. Potential candidates for both levels of education can also qualify by taking re-education or compensational education courses. To obtain an actual teaching certificate, candidates must earn credits in both teacher education and major subject courses in one of the aforementioned education programs, and subsequently obtain formal authorization. For example, secondary school teachers must take around 140 credit hours over four years, and they must complete at least 42 credits from a major subject and 20 credits in teacher education courses. Students taking education courses in comprehensive universities must additionally score 80 points or higher in both subject areas. Students who fulfill these requirements earn automatic authorization and a Grade 2 teacher certificate. If employed as a teacher, they can subsequently work for another three years and participate in in-service education so as to acquire a Grade 1 teacher certificate—a qualification that provides a significant step up the salary scale. Elementary school teachers who want to teach mathematics must take at least 21 credit hours of subject-based and pedagogical courses related to mathematics in order to earn a certificate. Their subject courses can include classes on calculus, probability and statistics, algebra, geometry, and linear algebra. Their pedagogical courses tend to cover areas such as teaching methods and the theory, assessment, and psychology of mathematics education. The secondary school teacher mathematics curriculum emphasizes subject matter to a much greater extent than does the elementary school teacher mathematics curriculum. Seoul National University, for example, requires students to take 18 mathematics knowledge courses and five pedagogy knowledge subjects. The course requirements for secondary school mathematics teachers are thus essentially the same as for majors in regular departments of mathematics. After acquiring the teaching certificate, teachers must also pass a national employment examination in order to be assigned a teaching job. The first part of the examination is a written test, 30 points of which derive from education-related questions and 70 points of which derive from major subject questions. This first part whittles down the number of applicants to equal 120% of the employment spots. The remaining candidates are then screened via the second examination component, which comprises essay writing and a short interview. The test for mathematics teachers is particularly comprehensive and covers 10 major areas of college mathematics and mathematics education, as well as general education theory. Because only about 16% of secondary school mathematics teacher candidates
Page 1 and 2:
TEACHER EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT S
Page 3 and 4:
2 TEACHER PAY AND STUDENT MATHEMATI
Page 5 and 6:
Page 7 and 8:
Page 9 and 10:
Page 11 and 12:
10 TEACHER PAY AND STUDENT MATHEMAT
Page 13 and 14:
Page 15 and 16:
Page 17 and 18:
Page 19 and 20:
Page 21 and 22:
Page 23 and 24:
Page 25 and 26:
Page 27 and 28:
Page 29 and 30:
Page 31 and 32:
Page 33 and 34:
Page 35 and 36:
Page 37 and 38:
Page 39 and 40:
Page 41 and 42:
Page 43 and 44:
Page 45 and 46:
Page 47 and 48:
Page 49 and 50:
Page 51 and 52:
Page 53 and 54:
Page 55 and 56:
Page 57 and 58:
Page 59 and 60:
Page 61 and 62: 60 TEACHER PAY AND STUDENT MATHEMAT
Page 101 and 102: 100 TEACHER PAY AND STUDENT MATHEMA
Page 111: 110 TEACHER PAY AND STUDENT MATHEMA
Page 163 and 164:
162 TEACHER PAY AND STUDENT MATHEMA
Page 165 and 166:
Page 167 and 168:
Page 169 and 170:
Page 171 and 172:
Page 173 and 174:
Page 175 and 176:
Page 177 and 178:
Page 179 and 180:
Page 181 and 182:
show all

Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics - IEA

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?