President Park Geun-hye’s economic vision is to make Korea a “creative economy,” which is driven by creative entrepreneurship and a convergence of technologies and industries.
But it is a vision difficult to attain, as it calls for a departure from the growth paradigm that Korea has been dependent on for decades.
In education, Park’s vision is to cultivate creative individuals who can help the nation’s economy thrive on creative endeavors.
This vision may be even more difficult to accomplish as it calls for a revolution in the classroom.
At present, the classroom is a place where students’ creativity is stifled rather than developed. Changing this reality is a Herculean task to say the least, as it requires not just a complete overhaul of the educational system but reform of the corporate recruitment practices.
Seen from this perspective, the government’s educational reform package unveiled on Tuesday hardly goes far enough. It proposes a long list of measures aimed at helping students discover their true talents and pursue their dreams.
Yet it leaves intact the current college entrance system, which forces middle and high schools to focus on equipping their students with the ability to get high scores on standardized tests.
In this regard, the package would have only a limited effect on changing the classroom and cultivating creativity in students.
Yet it is important for the government to keep pushing its educational agenda and build the momentum for change.
One proposal contained in the package calls for developing a “work-study dual system” modeled after the work-based learning system in Germany.
Currently, this approach is applied to students at Meister high schools, who split their time into study at school and work experience at businesses. This not only allows them to start work upon graduation but gives them an early chance to develop their talents.
The government plans to expand this approach to seniors at vocational schools and students at two-year vocational colleges. The program needs to be expanded to cover more students.
For a more systematic implementation of the program, corporate cooperation is essential. Corporations should be allowed to participate in the whole process of the program from curriculum development to assessment of students.
Fostering creative individuals is the first step toward building a creative economy. The key to cultivating such individuals is to give students an opportunity to realize their creative potential in the workplace.
