199Why Students Don’t Want to Be Teachers in Korea?
Teaching has always held a special place in my heart. Growing up in a family where teaching values were considered prime was very inspiring: the great passion and zeal presented by my parents towards this respect made me even mimic and respect the profession. My father was a very respected person in the community, and what he did seemed very rewarding and beneficial. I remember how my father brought home stories of the way he helped failing students reach their potential, and my mother prepared lessons for hours and hours with a desire to inspire her students. Their commitment implanted the attitude of respect toward teaching into my heart.
So, with all of this background, you can imagine why I was so surprised when my niece recently mentioned that she had second thoughts about her lifelong dream of becoming a teacher. This is because, according to her, she feared the increasing workload and decreasing respect that come with teaching in Korea. During this talk, she voiced thoughts that I’ve been hearing with increasing frequency of late among young people about why so many Korean students today are turning away from teaching.
This type of story is too often heard in this country. The teaching job has been regarded as an attractive profession in view of traditional value, of course, but such respect has been dramatically torn down. In this paper, we outline and discuss various perspectives on why the reputation and popularity of teachers are both in a free fall, with consequent multi-level challenges surfacing in this disturbing trend.
Humanly Relevant: Job Satisfaction of Teachers in Korea
A recent survey by the KFTA found that only 23.6% of the teachers are satisfied with their career, down greatly from the 67.8% level in 2006. Only 20% would like to choose the teaching profession a second time. These are some gloomy numbers on the state of teaching in Korea.
Student Discipline and Legal Exposure
One of the leading reasons for this dissatisfaction is that increasing student discipline is taken to the court. The teachers are being criminal charged for their action, which earlier was a standard measure of discipline. The Child Welfare Act, formed for the protection against abuse, has overridden this protection in such a way that even meager disciplinary actions can put a teacher among the number charged in child abuse cases. The fear of legal courts has made many teachers back off from having put any discipline, which has hampered their authority even more in the class.
Parental Complaints and Relationship Maintenance
And parent–teacher relationship management had become identified as the major stressor. In the KFTA survey, 25.2% cited parental complaints and relationship management. The Teacher Labor Union survey reported that the same causes were why 33% of teachers polled wished to avoid homeroom teacher positions. There was an increasing burden placed on teachers by the educational bureaucrats, to become more clerkish, to become customer service representatives rather than teachers, and this was undermining professional satisfaction.
Job Security and the Economic Challenges
Many of these economic reasons are at the base of the decline of interest in the teacher’s job. Salaries are stagnant, and a recent pension system reform for public servants has drastically cut financial security derived from the teaching profession. For instance, a survey from the Korean Teacher Union indicated that 3.1% specified their current nominee was appropriate, while 75.7% of teachers expressed dissatisfaction. Also, the ever-increasing workload, while wage increases showed no commensurate increase, has rendered the profession of teaching unattractive.
Impact of Declining Birth Rates
Another factor is the decreasing birth rate in Korea. As the student population decreases, so does the demand for teachers. The Ministry of Education has been cutting the numbers of public school teachers, thereby decreasing job opportunities for new graduates. This also has formed a backlog of qualified teachers waiting in line for positions, which further discourages students from teaching.
Teaching in Korea in the Future
The prospects for teaching in Korea are thus far from bright. The profession requires something like a reversal of fortunes that would draw a fresh inflow of teachers through enhancements in working conditions, economic incentives, and societal prestige. Policymakers need to be concerned with the conditions so that teaching remains both an attractive and an honorable career option.
Personal Reflection on Teaching
I am a teacher, and these are things I can’t really seem to let happen to the profession I love. Teaching is not a work; it is a vocation for shaping the future of man and society. We should come together to bring back the lost pride and honor in the profession of teaching back to Korea. Then, only can we ensure that the best and most passionate take it as a career in teaching so that the next generation can be inspired and guided.
Conclusion
There are challenges facing the teaching profession in Korea, which are mammoth in nature, but these are not impossible. Deals with the legal, economic, and social issues that have contributed to the decline in interest, aiming to draw back the sanitation and romance of teaching. Importantly, there is a need to sensitize that teachers are the backbone of our educational system, and they really do contribute greatly to the nation’s builders because they shape the future served society.
FAQs
Why do fewer students in Korea want to become teachers?
There are many reasons for this: the rising legal risks involved in disciplining students, economic pressure from stagnant wages and reduced pension benefits, and the loss of respect for teachers that has been deeply entrenched in society.
What will be the legal risks for the Korean teachers?
Teachers in Korea are therefore much more vulnerable to charges of child abuse for disciplinary measures. The objectives of the Child Welfare Act to safeguard the interests of children have been achieved on a larger scale as there have been numerous cases in which teachers were charged with criminal offenses for normal disciplinary steps.
How have economic factors affected the teaching profession in Korea?
Falling wages and recent reforms of the public servant pension system have diluted the financial security that had attracted so many to the profession; therefore, teaching becomes less attractive as a career option.
So, what can be done to help improve the situation for Korean teachers?
Policymakers must find ways to leave teachers free of the legal, economic, and social concerns that plague them. This involves sweeping changes to laws to shore up teachers against unnecessary legal attacks, paychecks that provide for their families and restore the profession to the revered position it once held in society.
How could respect for teachers in Korean society be restored? The restoration of such respect in society can be achieved by improving working conditions, giving better economic incentives, and indicating the important role teachers play.
What do you think?
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