Drawing the Future of Special Education Together Through Challenges Toward Change and Opportunity

Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education Hosts '2024 National Special Education Performance Sharing Conference'
Focus on Behavioral Support for Students with Disabilities, Disability Student Human Rights Support Team, and Special Education High School Credit System
Special Performance and Musical 'Together Woori' Presented by Special Education Staff Participation

Lim Tae-hee, Superintendent of Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, emphasized the importance of special education, stating, “The sky we should look up to is the students, and special education can only develop when we provide education that is not shameful to the students.”

Lim Tae-hee, Superintendent of Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, is delivering a greeting at the '2024 National Special Education Achievement Sharing Meeting' held in Suwon on the 11th. Provided by Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education

The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education held the ‘2024 National Special Education Performance Sharing Conference’ to discuss the future direction of special education together. The conference, held in Suwon from the 11th to the 12th, is attended by about 400 people, including Superintendent Lim Tae-hee, representatives from the Ministry of Education, 17 metropolitan and provincial offices of education, 25 district education support offices within the province, and special school staff.

Based on the recent changes required in special education, the Provincial Office of Education set the policy opportunity (Chance) for practicing ‘special education that envisions the life of students with disabilities 20 years from now’ with focuses on ▲behavioral support ▲disability student human rights support team ▲special education high school credit system. This performance sharing conference was organized to present the challenges and solutions for these policies.

On the 11th, the event began with a keynote lecture titled ‘Changes in the Special Education Field, Drawing the Future of Education Together.’ This was followed by a special performance (Mission IMPOSSIBLE → I’M POSSIBLE) by staff from the Special Education Division of the Provincial Office of Education. This special segment was designed to share the calling and philosophy that special education staff responsible for students with disabilities should have.

Additionally, the musical ‘Wiri, Tell Me Your Story,’ produced last year to spread a culture of empathy for disabilities within the province, was reinterpreted and presented as ‘Together with Wiri,’ a work created directly by students of Anyang Jungang Elementary School in 2024.

Subsequently, cases of behavioral intervention and human rights support team operations from 17 metropolitan and provincial offices of education were shared to lay the foundation for the co-growth of behavioral support and human rights support for students with disabilities. Examples of teacher community operations dedicated to protecting educational activities and the achievements of educational activity infringement prevention materials being developed for special schools by the Provincial Office of Education were also introduced.

On the 12th, efforts will focus on realizing responsible education for special education students in line with the introduction of the high school credit system in the 2025 academic year. Accordingly, the Provincial Office of Education plans to share the first-ever ‘Special School High School Credit System Operation Guide’ developed by the office and the ‘Minimum Achievement Level Guarantee Guidance Materials’ for special education students placed in integrated high school education environments.

Jin Chang-won, Director of Special Education Policy at the Ministry of Education, said, “The behavioral support, human rights support team, and high school credit system materials developed by the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education in 2024 will be important resources supporting special education sites nationwide,” adding, “I hope this will be a valuable time for special education professionals across the country to gather and contemplate the future of education and policy directions together.”

In his greeting, Superintendent Lim Tae-hee said, “It must be the hope of everyone present here that the students we face will have dreams for the future,” and added, “I believe that helping students grow into confident members of society within South Korea’s special education system is a precious and valuable activity above all.”

He continued, “The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education has established a three-year plan to support the special education field, investing 50 billion won annually,” and said, “Hearing parents say they are happy seeing students and special education change gives me a sense of fulfillment, and I thank special education teachers nationwide.”

Superintendent Lim urged, “Let us put our heads together to develop good models, help each other when needed, and join forces,” and concluded, “Let us create an education system where South Korea’s education can proudly stand anywhere in the world, enabling students to set their own hopes.”

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