Negotiating Curricular Knowledge: North Korean Defector Students' Experience of Relearning in South Korean Classroom

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 16
  In Roundtable Session: Negotiating Students' Experiences in Classrooms

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to unravel the experience of “negotiating curricular” of North Korean defector students through their schooling in South Korea. The defector students in South Korean school experience different systems of curricular knowledge from both countries. In this paper, the students’ experience of forgetting, re-learning, and correcting the prior knowledge is referred as “negotiating curricular.” In analyzing the qualitative interview data, the author used Foucault’s idea of normalization and surveillance as theoretical lens to understand the experience of the defector students. Through the investigation, this study provides opportunities to understand the muted struggle of students from culturally different social group.

Author

• Ji-Hye Kim, Korean Educational Development Institute