Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education Conducts Training for Wee Center School Violence Officers

On the 8th, the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education held a "Training to Strengthen the Competence of Specialized Counseling Staff at Wee Centers Dedicated to School Violence Victims" at the Naju Jungheung Gold Spa Resort. Photo by Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education announced on the 8th that it held a ‘School Violence Victim Dedicated Wee Center Professional Counselor Capacity Building Training’ at Naju Jungheung Gold Spa Resort, with 100 school violence officers participating.

According to the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education, school violence incidents that occurred in schools across Jeonnam from the start of the new semester until May this year reached 789 cases over three months. This is 3.5 times higher than the 172 cases of school violence that occurred during the same period last year, accounting for 76% of the total 1,070 school violence cases last year.

In particular, as the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic brought significant changes to daily life, the number of students complaining of emotional difficulties such as depression and anxiety also increased.

Accordingly, the Office of Education prepared the training to understand the society changed by COVID-19 and to support student counseling accordingly.

The training featured a lecture by Professor Bang Soo-young from Nowon Eulji University Hospital on warning signs and coping methods for students experiencing psychological difficulties, and education by Professor Seo Wan-seok from Yeungnam University Hospital on the characteristics of adolescents changed by COVID-19 and counseling support methods. In addition, there was a hands-on session for creating a ‘Mind Healing Terrarium,’ which can be used as an actual counseling technique.

A counselor who attended the training said, “It was good to learn practical counseling and intervention methods that need to be prepared according to the environment changed by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic,” and added, “I expect these to become student counseling techniques applicable in the field in the future.”

Lee Byung-sam, Director of Democratic Citizenship Life Education Division, said, “I hope this training will be an opportunity to understand the difficulties of children and learn support measures in line with the daily life changed by COVID-19,” and urged, “Please do your best for school life full of students’ smiles.”

Meanwhile, the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education plans to support the ‘Self-esteem Enhancement Mind Talk! TALK! Healing Camp’ for students and parents struggling with school violence victimization and school maladjustment at the end of this month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.