Lately a variety of cultures and ethnic groups are living in Korean society and the number of foreigners is increasing over time. So a foreign community is not strange to Korean society at all. Overseas Chinese in Korea is the most representative ethn...
Lately a variety of cultures and ethnic groups are living in Korean society and the number of foreigners is increasing over time. So a foreign community is not strange to Korean society at all. Overseas Chinese in Korea is the most representative ethnic group living in Korea for more than 100 years. They have the longest migrant history in Korea and the number of the people is in the upper rank in Korea. Further, these people constitute Korea already in the past and present, and they will continue to do so in the future unlike other foreigners who temporarily stay in Korea and return to their mother countries. However, this unique ethnic group has been under the domain of diverse discrimination and exclusion.
Genuine consideration and communication are required to build an environment to acknowledge and live altogether with overseas Chinese who share the identical life and culture in the global times. Thus the efforts to recognize the education of who they are will be the first step toward understanding them. This is because education sustains and reproduces ethnic identity whenever or wherever the ethnic group is. Especially middle and high school education for the growing generation plays an important role in developing their self-identity and consciousness as a member of the society.
Studies on overseas Chinese in Korea are very limited in the sense of quantity and quality; the scope of the research mainly focuses on politics and economics. Even the number of studies on the education of overseas Chinese is not plentiful so it is difficult to grasp the current situation of overseas Chinese schools in Korea. This means that Korean and Taiwanese government and researchers have not paid attention to the schools. This study is significant since it is the first study on the present situation and perceptions of students, parents, and teachers of overseas Chinese middle and high schools and education in Korea with systematic and empirical research methods.
The aim of this study is to investigate the current condition of overseas Chinese middle and high schools in Korea in the year of 2013 and to analyze how the educational stakeholders recognize the school education. With factual data from the questionnaire survey method, this study seeks to grasp the exact state of affairs regarding operation and attributes of overseas Chinese middle and high schools in Korea, examine perception of the subjects of education about the school education, and draw up methods for improvement plans for the future.
This study looks into the awareness of the subjects of education of overseas Chinese schools in Korea concerning structural background, physical background characteristics, human background uniqueness, school management, psychosocial environment, teaching and learning activities, duties, extracurricular activities, and education outcomes. In particular, this study inspected the different realization among the subjects of education by surveying importance and satisfaction of parents and teachers as to the qualities of teachers and by surveying importance and satisfaction of students, parents, and teachers as to the functions of overseas Chinese schools.
The major results of this study are as follows. First of all, students, parents, and teachers all recognize the school management negatively. The domain of school management is organized by questions regarding welfare facilities, decision-making participation, and discipline and regulation. The educational stakeholders also had negative perceptions about the school environment including the general condition of school buildings, classrooms, infirmaries, playgrounds, computers, lockers, etc. In addition, students and parents recognized that not being able to participate in the decision making is one of the drawbacks. Accordingly, it is necessary to improve overall school circumstances and to advance democratic methods to collect a variety of opinions from the subjects of education when decision-making occurs at school.
Second, students and parents viewed unfavorably the core part of school education which is academic guidance, life guidance, and career guidance. The perceptions of students and parents on extracurricular activities were also very negative. They expressed strong dissatisfaction with field experience study and creative school programs. Therefore, overseas Chinese schools in Korea need to identify the points at issue in all aspects of school curriculum and upgrade the state of affairs.
Third, the level of satisfaction among parents and teachers was lower than the level of importance with reference to the school teachers’ major qualification. Notably, the satisfaction level of parents was relatively low compared to teachers. For the teachers’ qualification, parents and teachers responded that “Chinese language knowledge and communication ability” is the most important, and “experience and awareness of overseas Chinese culture and characteristics” is rather not essential. Concerning the functions of overseas Chinese schools in Korea, students, parents, and teachers all replied that “to increase Korean and Chinese bilingual language proficiency” is the most important. On the other hand, “to take part in the events held by overseas Chinese community” is the least essential. Consequently, emphasis must be placed on the Chinese and Korean bilingual education for overseas Chinese schools and endeavors for teachers to strengthen Chinese proficiency.
On the basis of the results of the survey in this study, improvement plans for overseas Chinese middle and high schools in Korea are as in the following. First, the overall school management is in need of betterment. The majority of students in the schools have Taiwanese nationality but most of them and their parents desire to live in Korea after graduation. Furthermore, the respondents have a high ambition to learn and they can become prospective human resources as experts in Korean society. Thus, support from the Korean government is required to develop the surroundings and facilities of overseas Chinese schools in Korea. The Korean government should not regard the overseas Chinese students in the schools as foreigners in an area of extraterritorial jurisdiction but pay attention to them as a member of Korea by investing in overseas Chinese schools and by executing substantive plans to grow the students. As can be confirmed in the present condition of the schools in Korea, school budgets are mostly from tuition and the decreasing number of students leads to the inferiority of school finances. The deficit should be completed by the Korean government in the sense that Korea makes an active investment into composing competitive manpower resources.
Secondly, core school curriculum such as academic guidance, life guidance, and career guidance are required to reform and diversify extracurricular activities. In overseas Chinese schools, even though Taiwanese nationality is the majority, there are also Korean and other nationalities. Students from different home backgrounds are under difficult conditions to receive adequate assistance according to their educational needs. Thus, schools should identify the demands and implement academic support, student guidance, admission consulting, psychology consultation, and vocational training. Likewise, the schools should provide various experiential activities to educate students with outstanding extracurricular competence. Notably, although the education in the overseas Chinese schools in Korea is carried out on the basis of the Taiwanese curriculum system, comprehension and adaptability to Korea are vital to overseas Chinese students who were born in Korea for their future academic and career path. Complementary measures for overseas Chinese students are desperately needed to enable the students to perform their own roles with unique identity not as an outsider but as a part of a society.
Lastly, overseas Chinese schools are required to set a goal which is to increase Korean and Chinese bilingual proficiency and to make efforts to achieve it. The results of the survey in this study show that students, parents, and teachers recognize that Korean and Chinese bilingual proficiency is of momentous importance in the schools. In addition, parents and teachers recognize that “Chinese language knowledge and the ability to communicate in Chinese” is the necessary qualification for overseas Chinese middle and high school teachers. To improve students’ Chinese and Korean language proficiency, overseas Chinese middle and high schools need to pursue diversified authentic learning methods. works of graduates can be utilized who are faithful to their roles in the society to motivate students to study effectively. Moreover, a self-directed language learning environment should be provided to students. Language and culture learning can be attained at the same time through events such as National holidays or Spring Festival that only overseas Chinese can enjoy. Making full use of the current situation where a course of study can be flexible would easily result in concrete and feasible measures.
This study investigated the current state of affairs of overseas Chinese middle and high schools in Korea and the recognition of subjects of education, analyzed the drawbacks, and deducted improvement measures. However, this study has limitations in drawing out in-depth perceptions of the subjects of education due to the adoption of the survey method. More and further studies and research should be conducted to lead to enthusiastic attention to and assistance for overseas Chinese who are living together with Koreans in Korean society.
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