Analysis of the Online Support Systems for Curriculum Organization and Implementation in Korea

Abstract

This study examined the following five websites operated by government for public interest: ‘National Curriculum Information Center’, ‘Edunet T-clear’, ‘School Information’, ‘Student Evaluation Support Portal,’ and ‘High School Credit System’. In order to examine the use of the five curriculum online support systems, a total of 3,391 teachers (860 elementary school, 1,223 middle school, and 1,308 high school) who are the target users of the systems were surveyed. The results of the survey were as follows. First, the main means for acquiring curriculum information was through ‘online systems operated by government’, with the highest user rate at 40.8%. Second, curriculum online support systems were utilized the most in the order of ‘School Information’, ‘National Curriculum Information Center’, ‘Edunet T-clear’, ‘Student Evaluation Support Portal’, and ‘High School Credit System’. Third, the reason for using an online curriculum support system was to plan the curriculum, which was the reason ranked in the top three for all the sites. It was found that ‘National Curriculum Information Center’ and ‘High School Credit System’ are mainly being used to understand the national curriculum, when setting the direction for school curriculums. For an in-depth analysis on the use of curriculum online support systems, a monitoring group of 25 educational officers in cities and provinces and 51 elementary/middle/high school teachers (total of 76) was formed. The study suggested what menus, functions, and practices for curriculum organization and implementation need to be supplemented or added to the five websites.