A Study on the Monitoring Framework of GCED in South Korea

The purpose of this study is to establish a feasible monitoring system for the implementation of Global Citizenship Education (GCED) in South Korea that can both align itself with the global indicator (SDG 4.7.1) and reflect the domestic context and feasibility. The study further builds upon previous studies carried out by the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU). Particularly, it aims to refine and validate the GCED indicator system for domestic monitoring as proposed in the previous studies, which are also in line with SDG 4.7.1, the global indicator to monitor the mainstreaming of GCED/ESD.

To this end, the study involved a Delphi survey and expert consultation to build the refined list and classification of GCED related thematic areas and keywords contextualized in Korea, and aligned these with global indicators so that it could establish a set of sub-indicators for the South Korean context. Then, it pilot-tested the sub-indicators by codifying and statistically analyzing key policy documents and the curricula of Teacher Education Institutes (TEIs) to validate the sub-indicators and to examine the extent to which GCED is mainstreamed in the given domains of the Korean context. Case analyses with focused interviews for some TEI curricula were also added to enrich the study. Lastly, the study draws key implications and proposes some recommendations for the establishment of a feasible and sustainable GCED monitoring system in South Korea. Considering the importance of national input in initiating the SDG agenda, the research concluded with a proposal on how to manage the global citizenship indicators in South Korea.