One Step Forward, Many Steps Back: Korean Feminist Teachers Navigating and Negotiating Patriarchal Discourses

• In Event: Gender Equity in Global Perspective

Abstract

Gender equity education is considered trivial in the grand scheme of the South Korean national curriculum. It first appeared in the national curriculum in 2007 but was opted out again in 2015. However, as a result of pivotal events related to gender inequity and women’s rights that occurred in recent years, K–12 teachers in South Korea began recognizing the need to address gender inequity proactively. Drawing on Critical Narrative Analysis, this study seeks to understand the situated experiences of Korean feminist teachers who enact gender equity education in elementary schools in South Korea and how they navigate and negotiate the school space. We unpack institutional discourses that shape the feminist teachers’ experiences and suggest ways to support the teachers.

Authors

• Yeonghwi Ryu, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Hyeyoung Veronica Ghim, Daegu University