[Public Opinion Briefing 63-1] The Controversy over Foreign Language High Schools and Educational Perceptions

[Public Opinion Briefing No. 63] The Controversy over Foreign Language High Schools and Solutions to Educational Dilemmas Through Public Opinion

1. The Controversy over Foreign Language High Schools and Educational Perceptions

2. The Three Major Dilemmas in Educational Perceptions

How to Resolve Educational Perceptions and the Triple Dilemma: Complex Problem Structures, Dual Nature of Public Opinion, and Pessimism

Is a Third Educational Solution Possible that Replaces the Confrontation Between Excellence and Equalization?

Will the Heated Controversy Over Foreign Language High Schools Transcend the Confrontation Between Excellence and Equalization?

35.8% for Conversion to Autonomous Private High School vs. 28.6% for Complete Abolition vs. 26.4% for Maintaining Foreign Language High Schools

The controversy surrounding foreign language high schools (FLHS) is in full swing. For a long time, various specialized high schools, including FLHS, have been understood as symbols of competitiveness and education for excellence. Therefore, from the perspective of the Democratic Party and the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU), which adhere to equalization, they were targets for abolition as systems that undermine equalization, while the government and ruling party, emphasizing competition and education for excellence, have focused on expanding FLHS and other specialized schools. As with most educational issues, the political and educational circles have primarily approached the FLHS issue with a dichotomous framework: 'progressive = equalization = opposition to FLHS, conservative = excellence = support for FLHS.' However, the debate structure has been significantly shaken recently as some within the ruling party and government have advocated for abolishing the student selection rights of FLHS and converting them into specialized high schools or autonomous private high schools through a lottery system.

Public opinion shows considerable support for the autonomous private high school (APHS) plan, which compromises between the two positions, rather than siding with either equalization or excellence. The 'conversion to general high school' plan, which advocates for changing FLHS into general private high schools based on the equalization theory, received support from 28.6%, while the 'maintenance of FLHS' plan, based on the excellence theory, received only 26.4% support. The position that 'FLHS student selection rights should be abolished and they should be converted into autonomous private high schools that select students through a lottery system' received the most support at 35.8%. These results are from a regular public opinion poll jointly conducted by the East Asia Institute, JoongAng Sunday, and Korea Research on October 24th, selecting 800 adults nationwide using a quota sampling method. The margin of error is ±3.5% at a 95% confidence level, and the response rate was 13.7%.

These results indicate that the public's view of the current FLHS system is not favorable. The complete abolition plan, which would revert FLHS to general high schools, fundamentally implies a negative evaluation of the current FLHS system. Combining both positions, 63.5% of the public believes that changes are needed in the current FLHS system. This appears to reflect negative evaluations of the excessive promotion of private education and the conspicuous success of FLHS graduates in gaining admission to prestigious universities and securing prominent positions in society.

However, it is difficult to conclude that public opinion unilaterally favors the equalization theory. The proposal to convert to APHS differs from the idea of complete equalization, which seeks to eliminate all school characteristics and disparities and impose uniformity. This proposal distances itself from the idea of uniform high school equalization as much as it does from the negative perception of the current FLHS system. From this perspective, the 62.2% who supported the maintenance of FLHS and the conversion to APHS can be interpreted as critical public opinion towards the concept of complete equalization.

The 'conversion to APHS' plan is a policy that contains contradictory elements, being critical of the current FLHS system while also negatively evaluating the equalization system that excludes school-specific characteristics and differences. The high support for such a policy signifies a strong resonance with a conflicting attitude that desires compromise and coexistence between both positions, rather than viewing the FLHS issue through an ideological lens.

[Figure 1] Preferred Measures for Foreign Language High Schools

Notably, this APHS conversion plan is receiving support from both progressive and conservative groups. High support for a dualistic policy like the APHS conversion plan indicates a weakening of the ideological dichotomy connecting 'progressive = equalization = abolition of FLHS, conservative = excellence = maintenance of FLHS' and a mitigation of differences in stance based on ideological orientation. Indeed, among those who identify as progressive, the proposal to convert FLHS into APHS received the highest support at 40.9%. The plan to convert them into general private high schools based on equalization theory followed at 31.3%, and the plan to maintain the current FLHS system was the lowest at 19.8%. Among those who identify as conservative, support for the APHS conversion plan was also highest at 36.5%. The plan to maintain FLHS as they are received 28.1% support, while the plan for complete abolition and conversion to general high schools received only 24.9%. Among moderates, the FLHS maintenance plan stood at 29.2% and the complete abolition plan at 29.7%, showing a close race. Similar to other ideological groups, the proposal to convert to APHS garnered the highest support at 34.2%. The APHS conversion plan received the most support across all ideological groups, successfully securing at least public opinion's backing.

It remains uncertain whether the APHS conversion plan, recently proposed by some within the ruling party and government, can become a third model that harmonizes and balances these two values, or if it will end up as a crude compromise that fails to leverage the strengths of either position and only exacerbates side effects. However, the fact that this plan is generating considerable support and reverberation politically and socially amidst much controversy can be attributed to its attempt to actively reflect the conflicting value orientations held by the public, moving beyond the existing dichotomous perspective.

[Table 1] Differences in the Foreign Language High School Controversy by Stance