'Jeonbuk Rural Student Exchange' Revives Small Schools in Farming and Fishing Villages... '3 Times Increase Compared to Last Year'

Policy Effects of 'Jeonbuk Nongchon Yuhak'... High Satisfaction Among Students and Parents

The rural study program operated by the Jeonbuk Provincial Office of Education (Superintendent Seo Geo-seok) has shown high satisfaction among students and parents.

According to the Jeonbuk Office of Education on the 16th, the rural study program has been in operation since October last year, and currently, 84 students are participating this year, more than three times the 27 students last year.

Jeonbuk Provincial Office of Education building.

As a result of a satisfaction survey conducted in August targeting parents and students, among 197 respondents (51 parents of rural students, 75 parents of enrolled students, 19 rural students, and 52 enrolled students), 94.1% answered "very satisfied" or "satisfied."

For parents of rural students, the satisfaction rates were ▲overall satisfaction 94.2%, ▲school life satisfaction 96.1%, ▲willingness to recommend to acquaintances 92.1%, and ▲intention to participate again 92.1%. Reasons for satisfaction included ▲stress reduction and emotional stability 22.0%, ▲various programs 20.0%, and ▲increased interaction with friends and teachers 15.0%.

For rural students, the satisfaction rates were ▲overall satisfaction 84.2%, ▲school life satisfaction 84.2%, ▲friendship satisfaction 78.9%, and ▲willingness to recommend to friends 78.9%.

The reasons for choosing rural study included ▲recommendation by parents for rural study 41.9%, ▲wanting to play freely in a safe environment 16.1%, and ▲stress from studying 12.9%.

Among parents of enrolled students, 77.3% responded that they hope the rural study program continues, citing that the increase in student numbers revitalizes the school (44.0%) and that their children have more friends to interact with (41.3%).

Enrolled students also showed 75.0% satisfaction with living with new friends, mentioning that they have more friends to play with (52.6%) and that they teach each other their strengths (17.1%), indicating that the advantages of rural study are positive not only for rural students but also for enrolled students.

However, only 64.7% responded that the current rural study support expenses are appropriate, and when Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education’s study expense support is cut, 29.4% said they would "extend regardless," while 25.5% said they would "end and return to their original school."

Based on the results of this survey, the provincial office of education plans to strengthen the rural study policy by preparing various support models and improvement plans to revitalize small schools and restore vitality to agricultural and fishing villages.

Im Gyeong-jin, Director of Educational Cooperation, stated, "By protecting small schools through rural study, we hope to overcome the extinction of rural villages, revitalize the local economy, and contribute to population growth in the long term through returning to farming and rural living."

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