Path-dependency or path-shaping? An analysis of the policy to target exam-orientation in South Korea

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12905960
AutoresC Tan (0000-0002-5711-3749, Nanyang Technological University, autor de correspondencia), JeongA Yang (0000-0002-7880-7088, Sungkyunkwan University)
Año2019
Volumen62
Número2
Páginas195-210
Fecha de publicación2019-05-05
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaCritical Studies in Education (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1750-8487 • E-ISSN: 1750-8495
EditorialTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17508487.2019.1611612
OpenAlexW2944456451
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas8
Referencias citadas44

This article draws upon Torfing’s dialectics of path-shaping and path-dependency to shed light on the persistent challenge faced by the policymakers to reduce academic burden in Korea. It is argued that the policy agenda to promote a more all-encompassing form of education reflects the path-shaping motivation of the Ministry of Education to modify the existing stable path of exam-orientation. In the course of enacting the policy to target exam-orientation, path-dependency is manifested through a paradoxical increase in exam pressure and perpetuation of the students’ dependence on private tutoring. Furthermore, both path-shaping and path-dependency are evident in the strategy of Korean educators to devise teaching approaches that synthesise indigenous and foreign ideals and practices. The example of Korea testifies to the formation of a dominant policy path due to the complex interplay between official rhetoric, local histories, socio-cultural norms on teaching and learning, and major policy actors

Christian ministry · Dialectic · Economic system · Economics · Epistemology · Indigenous · Path (computing · Path analysis (statistics · Path dependency · Political science · Rhetoric · Sociology · Computer Science · Global Educational Policies and Reforms · Global Educational Reforms and Inequalities · Law · Socioeconomic Development in Asia