Gwangju Office of Education Officially Launches School Autonomy Revitalization

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Gwan-woo] The Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education announced on the 31st that it has begun a new leap forward to revitalize school autonomy by guiding the ‘Bitgoeul School Autonomy Comprehensive Plan’ to each institution and school to realize a democratic school community.

The ‘Bitgoeul School Autonomy Comprehensive Plan’ focuses on ▲establishing a democratic decision-making structure within schools ▲curriculum created together by the educational community ▲expanding autonomy in finance, personnel, and audits ▲strengthening the school support functions of the Office of Education.

To this end, a School Autonomy Support Group will be formed and operated to provide field-oriented training and consulting, and support materials for faculty meetings with agenda and discussions will be distributed.

In particular, by activating the ‘School Autonomy Council’ where students, parents, and faculty participate together, the plan aims to guarantee the right of educational stakeholders to participate in school management and lay the foundation for creating a democratic school culture.

From the 30th until today, the Office of Education held an ‘Educational Professional Workshop’ at the Gwangju Education Training Institute attended by all educational professionals from kindergarten, elementary, and secondary levels.

During the workshop, participants had an in-depth discussion on support measures to revitalize school autonomy through training on the Bitgoeul School Autonomy policy direction and group discussions.

Lee Kang-su, Director of Policy at the Gwangju Office of Education, said, “The key issue at school sites is school autonomy, and it is time to consider support measures for schools and the working methods of the Office of Education as educational professionals.”

An official from the Office of Education stated, “Schools where members demonstrate distributed leadership and where school democracy and professional learning communities are activated showed higher crisis response capabilities during the COVID-19 situation, and this is the power of school autonomy.”

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