Questions/Answers

Our project is an educational program called the “Citizen Engagement School”, a term that collectively describes a number of experiential learning programs throughout the region. This project was first conceived in 2010 to encourage residents who were planning on relocating due to educational prospects to instead stay in the area. We wished to create an environment in which educational participation takes place across the whole community, not just at school. As the African proverb says,“It takes a whole village to raise a child," we aim to create a community that connects the region as a whole under the same principle, focusing in education. Our local education program aims to provide a deeper understanding of our community and culture that will inspire people to remain in the region in the long run rather than to relocate. Generally, field trips take place in Korean elementary schools to broaden students’ experience and knowledge of the real world. While seemingly positive, such trips are actually often unrelated to class content and impose an unnecessary financial burden on students. Even if a particular excursion is educationally beneficial, given the costs involved, not all students can participate. Ironically, there is no curriculum by which they learn about their local region. To address this, Osan introduced the ‘Citizen Engagement School’, providing students with curriculum-connected and regionally specific experiences at exploratory schools in various locations. This model was successfully realized with the active involvement of community parent-teachers. In addition to associated economic advantages, the program provides opportunities to enable children to grow into upstanding citizens with a sense of local settlement by utilizing human resources to improve the city’s quality of education. To ensure sustainability, the City of Osan undertook the challenge to integrate its educational system with the community, benefitting all parties involved in the program.

We follow the principle “Education is given fairly for all and no one should be left behind”. By innovating beyond the traditional education system, it serves a greater purpose in providing equal benefits to members of the community by opening up education field to all. By adopting an inclusive strategy and a broader vision for education, we promote a people-oriented project that leads not only students but also parents and other stakeholders to engage together under the shared purpose of educational provision. Local experiential learning sites offer students a means of learning through direct knowledge acquisition-in other words, experience.

Our program supports #4 Quality Education and #11 Sustainable Cities and Communities from the 2030 agenda goals. There are two main points in which it supports #4. Quality Education for individuals. Firstly, Osan Children are entitled to attend any ‘Citizen Engagement School’ Program at no financial cost. Different living standards from house to house should not negatively affect children’s situation anymore. Secondly, adults can take an active role in becoming educators after completing training. In another sense, these adults earn the opportunity to be educated for a life-long period if they choose to. By allowing them to take a role in providing classes and exploring cultural sites with young students, they help to ensure socially healthy Quality Education. In addition, this program ensured #11 sustainable cities and communities within the region. To implement the ‘Citizen Engagement School’ Program effectively, Osan City Government continually expanded its network for connecting locals with educational site developers. As a result, the satisfaction level regarding staying in the city went from 34% in the year 2013 up to 84% in 2017. In conclusion, this program produced remarkable results in maintaining sustainable growth in cities and communities.

In order to ensure the sustainability of our project, it is necessary to establish a well-organized system. Through regional cooperation and consensus formation, we will maximize awareness of the importance of regional education community and share it. To facilitate, a reliable public institute needs to take responsibility and support the project by planning means of accessing the human and material resources of the region. In addition, the project should be provided free of charge as a compulsory educational scheme, taking consideration of the opinions of recipients of the education, in order for it to be considered thoroughly.

In Korea, local governments conduct administrative and educational work across different institutions. The Office of Education is responsible for the school curriculum, which makes cooperation with local governments difficult to engage. Although it is called “free” education, hands-on activities are conducted at students' personal expense. Students also receive different benefits depending on their parents' economic capacity. In Osan, students were generally less likely to receive all the high-quality education-related benefits because of relatively low regional incomes, lack of local experiential learning sites and educational activists, and a poor systemic curricular system. In response to such problem, Osan administrators visited schools recommending changes to the educational curriculum. Next they planned a regionally based experiential curriculum with teachers in connection with the school curriculum. Then visited sites of experiential learning and convinced them to participate in the project, and finally, the Osan Foundation of Education trained parents to mobilize regional education activists. During this process, the education governance of local human and material resources was established, as well as a curriculum system connecting the region to the school. Through these efforts, our program earned students the ability to receive free school and local area-based educational opportunities known as ‘Citizen Engagement School’.

Firstly, this program is open for all students regardless their gender nor living standards in terms of finance. Educational opportunty should be given out fairly for any of those who are willing to learn and participate. Secondly, ‘Citizen Engagement School’ allows student to participate, observe, listens to, and directly experience different careers. It breaks down stereotype or limited-thoughts about the job, and shape new image of professional careers. Lastly, it lessens gender inequality for letting Volunteer-parent-teachers to perform. Talented women after retirement, or those who needs reinstatement can approach for the second-chance to get back to work.

The first target group is all students from grades one through six. They go beyond acquiring knowledge through textbooks in the classroom and receive high-quality free educational opportunities by visiting various sites of experiential learning that are linked to each grade’s curriculum, and get the chance to observe, hear, and experience region-specific material. We provide customized curricula by classifying various subjects such as ecology, culture, history, and environment within the curriculum by grade. For example, fourth-graders learn about “local autonomy and democracy” in the textbook and then visit Osan City Hall and City Council and directly experience what they learned in the textbook. They meet City Hall staff and experience the democratic procedure through mock assembly activities at the City Council. In this sense, learning does not stop with textbooks, but continues through the opportunity of “live“ learning. The second target group is the community. Through this program, the regional administration was empowered to execute its role as a component part of the local community, and Osan citizens participated independently in turn. Parents were trained as education activists and consequently were able to engage actively in social activities as direct beneficiaries of job creation for such social contribution.

In 2011 the ‘Citizen Engagement School’ had no affiliate experiential sites in Osan, so local gov. start off program by planning for having Exploratory School infrastructure. Consequently, Osan Foundation of Education was first established as an organization to run the ‘Citizen Engagement School’ Program on permanent basis. This institution has now fostered over 100 Volunteer-parent-teachers and has operated more than 1,500 exploratory schools annually since 2018. Next, to implement our vision, the Osan Foundation of Education has launched an operational plan that consists of 700 visits per semester, and consults with local contributors such as the exploratory schools and bus companies. Through the establishment of a one-click online system in 2011, teachers select the desired dates and exploratory school, connect to the website (https://www.osan.go.kr/osanedu), and can easily navigate to the program course guide, application, and assignment results at a glance; enhancing administrative convenience. The actual operational period uses a semesterly system. In the first half of the year, applicants are accepted in March and the program runs from April to the second week of June. For the second half of the year, applicants are accepted from July and the program runs from September to the second week of November. In the summer, there is an in-depth curriculum exploratory school run according to age group, called the “peer-to-peer program”. For the evaluation, each Exploratory Schools are rated on their positive features and areas for improvement at mornitoring session. Volunteer-parent-teachers who completes the madatory curriculum can start participating on their own. Both evaluation analyzes review results at the end of each semester and discuss areas for improvement are share the reviews for better implemented in the following semester. Therefore, we not only establish a systematic operation by planning, implementing, reviewing, and evaluating in 4 stages, but also continually assure quality of the Education.

For experiential learning in the greater region outside of school, the biggest obstacles are 1) safety issues associated with mobility and ensuring a 2) credible curriculum. Therefore, Osan Foundation of Education funded with return bus services-back and forth- to the local experiential learning sites accompanied by four volunteer-parent-teachers placed in each exploratory school to manage students' safety. To assure the quality of general curriculum in a long-run, a continuous monitoring system was required. During the process, we followed evaluation standards that covered ‘Training session’ to ‘Presentation skills’, ‘Consistent coaching and mentoring‘ and ‘direct survey and interview’ after the implementation.

In 2011, Korea's concepts of “school” and “district(in terms of local places)” were separated sector for purpose of Education. Learning was considered to be taken place only at school and no other external experiential learning sites with volunteer-parent-teachers existed. After ‘Citizen Engagement School’ launched, local authorities subsidized transportation and costs, so students could equally access high-quality education opportunities. This heralded a shift from the previous Self-managing Learning Environment to the concept of a 'school outside of school’ as a form of Standardized curriculum. It was the first case in Korea to foster an educational community together between Schools and Local-community.

In 2011, Finland, we observed their local authorities taking role as main agents responsible for all education. A community was established in which children could grow as citizens, and the curriculum was focused to teach students about their community and provide various local forms of experiential learning programs. Inspired by this observation, the ‘Citizen Engagement School’ was launched to provide diverse experiences and equal Education to all within the local region, not leaving anyone behind. When we presented this occasion in Espoo after six years, everyone of attendance were amazed and expressed their hope for this concept to spread further.

Since its beginnings in May 2011, the ‘Citizen Engagement School’ has been cited in numerous media reports as an innovative educational program. Additionally, this model is benchmarked by other local agencies and continues to grow. The ‘Citizen Engagement School’ is an educational program of interest for all groups that come to Osan for benchmarking. This program is feasible as a sustainable system in which schools and regions grow together by utilizing human and material resources from differentiated regions without incurring significant financial cost. Many local authorities have adopted the system and changed the project name accordingly. Siheung City, Gyeonggi-do runs an “Experience School of Siheung”, Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi-do runs its "Experience School of Hwaseong", and other cities such as Hongchun in Gangwon-do, Suncheon in Jeollanam-do, and Busan Metropolitan City run this program as well. In particular, Asan City in Chungnam appreciated the educational significance of the ‘Citizen Engagement School’ and requested a partnership for purposes of project planning and implementation. They adopted the project title in 2016 and now operate the "Asan Citizen Engagement School." There are still many regions that highly recognize the importance and feasibility of the ‘Citizen Engagement School’ with a view to implementation.

Not applicable.

Local resources used for running the ‘Citizen Engagement School’ program include physical and human resources. Firstly, in terms of physical resources, there are 42 exploratory schools working to establish local experiential learning sites, such as Osan City Hall, the city council, Mulhyanggi Arboretum, Doksanseong, and the police station. Secondly, regarding the human resources, we support more than 100 volunteer-parent-teachers who work to provide safe and lively experiences. Lastly, all financial burden including platform construction, bus transportation, and experiential activity fees, are provided by the Osan local government, ensuring that all children have equal access to high-quality Education.

Osan Education platform functions as the driving force in integrating the city, since students receive equally fair Education that helps understanding of Primary school curriculum and in meanwhile, Volunteer-Parent-Teachers and member of community can have access to equal benefits in teaching. There are proven facts and statistical data on how this program work efficiently and effectively for those who are involved. Therefore, With this positive perspective, once it become compulsory course in the school curriculum, the ‘Citizen Engagement School’ program will be a sustainable project with bigger financial support from local government.

Yes

Two evaluation methods are used every year. One is the self-assessment by the Osan Foundation of Education which runs the ‘Citizen Engagement School’ and the other is by the Osan Innovation Education District. The Osan Foundation of Education evaluation is based on the following: 1) an evaluation team makes on-site observations, and 2) a satisfaction survey of students and teachers participating in the ‘Citizen Engagement School’. The Osan Innovation Education District evaluation is conducted as an individual self-evaluation by management and a survey of students and parents in the Innovation Education District.

The Osan Foundation of Education satisfaction survey is an offline paper-based format. Students review 3 indicators of program 1)Level of Interest, 2)Program comprehension, and 3)Parent education activist' kindness levels. Teachers review 4 indicators of program 1)Level ofcompleteness, 2)Curriculum relevancy, 3)Professionalism in teaching, and 4)Mutual interactions among Volunteer-Parent-Teachers. The monitoring-observation evaluation serves to identify positive features and areas for improvement in the general operation for the Experiential education. The Innovative Education District's assessments evaluate the project manager and randomly selects students and parents to complete an online survey, the indicators of which measure project recognition and satisfaction levels.

The main results of the annual ‘Citizen Engagement School’ evaluation deemed it an invaluable education program not only in terms of project completeness and curriculum connectivity, but also as a regional curriculum-connected experiential education program. There was a high satisfaction level of 90%+ among participating students and teachers. There was an especially positive assessment in our methods of transportation and safety measure appropriateness for external experiential learning activities. Teacher trust also increased as teachers became directly involved in the running of the program. However, some concern was expressed regarding teaching methods. Since regional human resources were utilized, parent education activists are not professional education personnel and may require specialized training. Teaching direction from experiential sites and overall skill strengthening is being provided accordingly to ensure maximum professionalism. The main outcome of the ‘Citizen Engagement School’ is the yearly expansion of experiential learning sites and proliferation and implementation in other regions. Launched in 2011, the program has been highly regarded for its contributions in spreading localized education culture and lifelong education through community participation in the school curriculum. Osan received the 2014 Korea Lifelong Education Grand Prize and thus developing into a “Lifelong Education City".

Since 2011, City of Osan was assigned as an "Innovative Education District“ by Gyeonggi-do Office of Education(Bigger province that includes Osan as an independent entity to function as Education Control tower. By "Innovative Education District", it means an area where it promotes trust-worthy public education following policies carried out by Gyeonggi-do. In doing so, Osan implemented a number of policies to support education in and outside of school and establish a diverse curriculum. The Citizen-Engagement-School program was first planned by osan administrators in department of Education, Osan City-Hall, however, considering given circumstances it became to cooperate with other Institutions. Now as part of a horizontal relationship, each relevant institution plays its role in the operational process. While identifying the Local Experiential Learning Sites and funding financial support are handled by Osan officials, the Office of Education is responsible for conducting educational advisory meeting and building partnership from schools. Lastly, managing the program and general operations for the Volunteer-Parent-Teacher is under the charge of Osan Foundation of Education. In accordance with its institutional environment, when three different entities integrate to function, "Citizen-Engagement-School" program can operate fairly and efficiently.

The ‘Citizen Engagement School’ is an education program designed by teachers, education experts, and the community, with Osan being the center for equal benefits on Education and development of limited environmental resources. The contents of program is composed by regular teachers and education experts, whereas Osan government holds responsibility for identifying the Local Experience Sites, and the Osan Foundation of Education is responsible for fostering parent education activists. In the later Implementation stage, Osan government provides financial support when Osan Foundation of Education manages the general program. But most importantly, it was critical to bring students into program as well as Volunteer-Parent-Teachers to unique places. Evaluation is conducted individually by all the participants in this project. Students, teachers, parents, and managers of the project seek opinions and feedback in order to determine objective and sustainable positive measures that can be taken to continually improve the project. It is fortunate to practice the whole process for last 9 years and continues to sustain in the future. To conclude, the ‘Citizen-Engagement-School’ program involves all member at every stage of the program from the design, implementation, and evaluation.

The ‘Citizen Engagement School’ did not simply expand direct knowledge-field experiences-for students. It enabled various stakeholders to cooperate toward establishing an integrated program. Numerous efforts were directed toward the same goal, with education the key to building a successful learning environment for young and old alike. We learned that education is a key mechanism for guiding people as to the right way to survive and co-exist in modern society. Thus, we will continue to provide educational opportunities to young children with a deeper and wider scope, caring also for adults by offering Volunteer-Parent-Teacher a lifelong education program. Osan City supports a step-by-step curriculum that is appropriate for children’s development. The various regional experiences aid the process of future career selection via brainstorming and active planning during the school years, rather than remaining stagnant in the present. It also provides a good opportunity to nurture a sense of affection for the local region. In the end, Osan plans to create a city where daily learning becomes normalized for all citizens through lifelong education beyond the school. With this vision, we aim to help develop a sustainable city where everyone grows together through non-discriminative access to educational opportunities.