The Relationship Among School Culture, Self-Efficacy, and South Korean Teachers' Agency in Curricular Autonomy Exercise

• In Event: 58.083 - Roundtable Session 26
  In Roundtable Session: 58.083-10 - Curriculum Reform in Chile, South Korea, China, and the United States

Abstract

A series of national curriculum reforms enacted since 1992 in South Korea have switched the gears of educational policy from centralization to decentralization and expanded teachers’ autonomy over curriculum. However, many teachers in Korea still rarely exercise this autonomy. This study explores the effects of school culture and self-efficacy on South Korean elementary school teachers’ agency in exercising curricular autonomy and examines the structural relationship among them. A total of 605 South Korean elementary school teachers participated in this survey study, and structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. The findings underscore the importance of a supportive school culture by principals and students and of teachers’ self-efficacy in their exercise of curricular autonomy.

Author

• Mina Min, Indiana University - Bloomington