Career and Vocational Counseling Teachers Unite in One Voice for College Admission System Reform

Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education Holds Open Forum for Career and Academic Counseling Teachers
Opportunity to Hear Opinions Based on Career and Academic Counseling Teachers' Field Experience
Unified Effort to Foster Student Growth and College Admission Reform in Line with Future Changes

On the 20th, the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education held a non-face-to-face open forum attended by about 70 career and college admission counseling teachers in the province. The purpose was to broadly gather teachers' opinions to restore the essence of education and to explore the direction of college entrance exam reform together with the educational field.

Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education building. Provided by Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education

The forum was conducted as a non-face-to-face video conference considering school schedules. There are 460 career and college admission counseling teachers assigned to high schools in the province, dedicated to student career education and counseling activities.

The main topics included △ College Entrance Exam Reform, Opening a New Future △ Limitations of College Entrance Exams as Seen by Career and College Admission Counseling Teachers △ Student Evaluation for Restoring the Essence of Education △ Changes in the Role of the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT). After the presentations, participating teachers engaged in an open discussion.

Before holding the forum, the Office of Education conducted an online survey on the efforts for ‘Future College Entrance Exam Reform to Restore the Essence of Education’ targeting the Gyeonggi education family (students, parents, and teachers). A total of 33,420 people (9,165 staff members, 10,922 students, and 13,333 parents) participated, and the survey results showed that about 70% of staff, 55% of students, and 67% of parents agreed with the direction of college entrance exam reform.

One teacher who participated in the forum said, “Although the change from a 9-grade system to a 5-grade system in the 2028 college entrance exam reform plan is said to ease competition, the first grade still exists,” adding, “We need to provide curricula that consider various careers and aptitudes in line with the purpose of introducing the high school credit system.”

Another teacher said, “It is time to consider whether the College Scholastic Ability Test is functioning properly as a competency assessment,” and added, “If an evaluation centered on critical thinking that links school classes and the CSAT is conducted to enhance students’ learning abilities, the high school curriculum can be normalized.”

All participating teachers expressed their gratitude for the Office of Education’s efforts to listen to opinions from the school field. Finally, they urged to create a social atmosphere that fosters the capabilities of all students and helps them grow into future talents in line with the ultra-low birthrate and the era of artificial intelligence.

Kim Seong-jin, Director of Career and Vocational Education at the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, said, “Career and college admission counseling teachers play an important role in directly communicating with students not only about college entrance exams but also in the career field,” and added, “We will actively reflect the various opinions proposed to firmly establish the framework for future college entrance exam reform.”

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