Teacher Unions,Social Movements and the Politics of Education in Asia: South Korea,Taiwan and the Philippines

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In the globalizing world, South Korea is widely regarded as a model example where the school education system has been a partner in national economic development. However, less understood is the fact that over the past decade the education system has been the site of intense conflict, as a large movement of teachers struggled with the government over democratic reforms and human rights in schooling. In a society where education traditionally has a high priority, this conflict has divided the government and political parties, corporations, communities and families and has at times plunged the nation's schools into chaos.This book provides an account and analysis of the emergence of the National Teachers Union of Korea and traces its struggle for educational reform. It reveals the workings of the Korean education system within the national and global contexts of development and the historical experiences that have shaped the modern South Korean nation ￯﾿ﾽ namely its Confucianist history, its experiences of colonialism and the legacy of the Cold War conflict with North Korea. As the divided nation searches for pathways for reunification the issues of economic modernization, social control and democratic reforms are at the forefront of schooling and are brought into new perspectives through this analysis of the teachers social movement.

Author Biography: John P. Synott, Dr, Queensland Institute of Technology, Australia.

SYNOPSIS

Synott (humanities and human services, Queensland U. of Technology, Brisbane) studies several aspects of the politics of education in Asia. Synott focuses on South Korea, examining the teachers' movement for educational reform from 1989-1998, and the grievances of that movement. The study uses sociological theory and fieldwork research to describe and analyze the crisis in Korean schools after 1989, to illuminate the differences between the international perception of Korea as an educational success story and the local reality of a system characterized by misery, repression, and on-going crisis. The text also includes brief comparative chapters on educational reform politics in Taiwan and the Philippines. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

FROM THE CRITICS

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