Breathing Life into Broken Hearts... Gyeongnam Office of Education's 'Ma-eumbat Ilgugi'

Development of Psychological and Emotional Support Programs for Lower Grade Elementary Students

The Gyeongnam Office of Education is revitalizing classrooms that lost their energy during the massive spread of COVID-19.

On the 6th, the provincial education office announced that it has developed and distributed the ‘Maeumbat Ilgugi’ (Cultivating the Mind Field) program to help children recover what they lost in terms of mindset and relationships before COVID-19.

According to the provincial education office, Maeumbat Ilgugi is a psychological and emotional support program developed through Gyeongnam education policy research for lower-grade elementary school students.

It helps heal the children’s minds that were broken by the psychological and emotional impact of COVID-19 and supports their growth through the process of overcoming these challenges.

Just as one tills the land to create a new field, this program enables children to till their minds and cultivate a new mental field.

The Gyeongnam Office of Education's Maumbat Cultivation Program training is underway.
[Photo by Gyeongnam Office of Education]

The provincial education office is conducting training for staff members responsible for the 100 elementary schools selected in the ‘2023 Student Counseling Education Program Operation’ policy contest, as well as for practitioners at Wee Centers who handle student counseling, to introduce and utilize Maeumbat Ilgugi in educational settings.

The training sessions will be held on the 6th at Changwon Library’s Kkumdam Hall and on the 13th at the Jinju Sharing Hall of the Education Training Institute.

Participants will share their impressions on ‘Padlet,’ a program for sharing various activities experienced during the training, and the instructors will upload the latest materials on Padlet to share diverse activity cases and facilitate communication.

Maeumbat Ilgugi is a classroom program that can be used in general classes.

Considering the psychological and emotional needs of lower-grade students, it is composed of three areas: ▲Emotions and Empathy ▲Conflict and Resolution ▲Relationships and Community.

Each area is divided into ‘Session 1 ? Me and Myself,’ ‘Session 2 ? Me and You,’ and ‘Session 3 ? Us,’ gradually expanding the scope of relationships from the individual level to the community level to develop psychological and emotional growth in a concrete and detailed manner.

The provincial education office plans to activate counseling education by appointing the developers of Maeumbat Ilgugi as professional instructors to conduct on-site training at schools and institutions.

The development team included Jin Younghak, a teacher at the Future Education Institute of the provincial education office; Jo Yunjin, a teacher at Seungsan Branch of Bukmyeon Elementary School; Hwang Boreum, a teacher at Sahwa Elementary School; Kim Suim, a counseling teacher at Uichang Elementary School; and Park Hyunhee, a counseling teacher at Gamgye Elementary School.

Song Hochan, director of the Democratic Citizenship Education Division, said, “The aggressiveness of children vulnerable to emotional issues has worsened during the COVID-19 period, with problematic behaviors such as running around the classroom during lessons and uttering abusive language becoming more severe. We need to focus not only on supporting children’s psychological and emotional recovery but also on the efforts of adults.”

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