Can Teachers Be Change Agents? Critical Analysis of Images of Teachers in School Reform Policies

• In Event: 34.095 - MTCC Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: 34.095-5 - The Role and Perceptions of Stakeholders in Implementation

Abstract

The rhetoric of teachers as change agents has gained prominence in education reform policies. Although reform policies in many countries, including Korea, increase teachers’ autonomy, some ironically also limit teachers’ practice. This paradoxical approach raises doubts about the meaning of the rhetoric of teachers as change agents in reform efforts.The study aim is to critically scrutinize images of teachers as change agents in Korean school reform policies from the past 20 years. To this end, we analyzed 76 national school reform policy texts following the Foucauldian archaeological approach. Based on the results, we attempt to unravel the contradictory images of teachers in Korean reform policies and provide insights into the policy conditions positioning teachers as agentic actors in school reform.

Authors

• Kyunghee So, Seoul National University

• Nashil Park, Seoul National University

• Soohan Lee, Seoul National University