경기교육의 거대한 파도: 안민석 체제 출범과 ‘교실 대전환’의 시험대 > K-wave Trends

The ‘phone free school’ system, announced in President-elect Ahn Min-seok’s first executive order, has emerged as the hottest potato after this election. His plan to increase the density of face-to-face classes and discussions by completely banning the use of smartphones on campus originated from his educational philosophy of cultivating thinking skills in the AI ​​era. Phased introduction is being considered, starting with elementary and middle schools, but there are concerns on the front lines about infringement on school autonomy and student human rights. In particular, it is difficult to avoid criticism that the method of implementing it en masse through compulsory administrative orders without sufficient prior communication with students is contrary to respect for student human rights, which is the value of the progressive education camp.

The results of this election are not just an issue in Gyeonggi-do, but symbolize a change in the national education superintendent election structure. As a result of the elections for superintendents of education in 16 cities and provinces across the country, progressive candidates won in 10 places, breaking the tight balance from four years ago and gaining the upper hand again. Despite the aftermath of the regime change and the complex interests in the education field, voters are analyzed to have given higher scores to the values ​​of strengthening the public nature of education and restoring the educational community that the progressive camp has emphasized. These results suggest that progressive superintendents of education will take the lead in promoting major educational issues such as protecting teaching rights, high school credit systems, and expanding artificial intelligence education in the future.

The outline of Gyeonggi education drawn by President-elect Ahn Min-seok does not stop at simply taking away smartphones, but also focuses on building a ‘creative classroom where questions and discussions are encouraged.’ Immediately after being elected, he visited the Mongyang Yeo Woon-hyeong Memorial Hall and declared the normalization of history education and the expansion of field-centered historical experience education, showing a strong will to make the entire Gyeonggi-do a living classroom. In order to move away from bureaucrat-centered administration and actively collect the voices of field teachers and education experts, we are making careful preparations from the stage of forming the transition committee. In particular, his move to form a transition committee at the Office of Education's Jowon Building and bring in experts can be read as a concrete step to bring about substantive policy changes.

The forward-thinking attitude of the superintendent-elected superintendents of education toward guaranteeing teachers’ basic political rights is also a noteworthy change. As a result of this survey, elected officials from 12 regions, including President-elect Ahn Min-seok, expressed their support for allowing teachers to join political parties and expanding freedom of political expression. This can be interpreted as a determination to create an environment where teachers can raise their voices as democratic citizens of our society beyond simply conveying knowledge. However, field organizations such as the Federation of Teachers' Unions point out that an effective protection system at the education office level is urgently needed even before the law is revised. A safety insurance system to protect teachers from malicious complaints and the establishment of a psychological counseling organization have become key pledges in responding to issues of violation of teaching rights.

However, the reality facing President-elect Ahn Min-seok is not easy. This is because behind the grandiose slogan of ‘a great transformation in Gyeonggi education’, there coexists the anxiety of parents who have become accustomed to an education system centered on entrance exams, and the voices of teachers urging not to undermine the autonomy of the educational field. In particular, strong policies such as banning smartphones are likely to suffer the double whammy of complaints from parents and backlash from students. The key to the success or failure of President-elect Ahn in the early stages of his term will be how flexibly and persuasively he will demonstrate the strong drive he showed during the election process in the actual administrative field. The process of breaking away from bureaucracy, communicating with the field, and securing the legitimacy of policies is more important than anything else.