The current study explored the relationship between test-based accountability and teachers' involvement in school-level decision-making and classroom autonomy, examining how this varied by country, specifically in the United States, Australia, South Korea, and Japan. Additionally, the study investigated whether this relationship differs based on…

Since it was introduced in 2007, holistic admissions have been one of the most controversial policies in Korea. In 2007, the Korean government launched the Admissions Officer Project and selected leading institutions to administer holistic admissions in reviewing their applicants. The selected institutions received financial assistance for…

The present study explores the role of writing in undergraduate education students' learning experiences in the United States. It focuses on how writing about previously significant experiences in the forms of narratives and journal entries transforms international education students' perceptions and identities and provides them with the space for…

This dissertation started from the concern that in order to realize multicultural education successfully, in-service teacher learning should be considered a significant element. Therefore, I investigated how the South Korean government, regional offices of education, and teachers frame and create discourses about teacher learning for multicultural…

South Korea is undergoing a demographic change. Long term expatriates and immigrants are challenging how and to whom Korea provides public education. With new generations of mixed-Korean children, assimilation policies and practices in education can damage students who come from multicultural backgrounds if their diversity is not addressed…

In many countries, teacher evaluation has been viewed as a policy lever to improve the quality of teaching and student achievement. Recent research suggests that teacher evaluation can also be implemented as a mechanism for professional growth with careful consideration of the organizational context. However, few studies have examined the way in…

In 2001, the Korean government launched a new English language education policy called "the 7th national curriculum," in an attempt to meet the growing public demand for improved communication skills in English. With this policy in mind, the aim of this dissertation is to examine the ways in which the mandatory English language…

The objectives of this dissertation include describing and analyzing the patterns of inequality in ALE participation at both the micro and macro levels. Special attention is paid to social origins of individual adults and their association with two groups of macro-level factors, social inequality (income, education, and skill inequality) and…

Many Christian universities in Korea are pursuing the globalization of Christian higher education to promote maximization of institutional competition, improvement of students' English skills, and enhancement of professors' research development through English Medium Instruction (EMI). EMI's flaws in application are not at all uncommon, as many of…

This study investigates the changing dynamics between the Korean state and society in the field of educational policymaking. From the 1960s to the 1980s, the Korean developmental state implemented a series of drastic egalitarian educational policies to address serious educational crises that were mainly driven by Korea's affluent middle class.…

The current government in Korea, in order to encourage more fluent use of English, has shifted the focus of the English curriculum from language accuracy to language fluency by encouraging English teachers to use English as a classroom language. However, many English teachers in Korea feel burdened by this policy, mainly because they themselves…

The study aims to expand studies on ESL/EFL teachers' beliefs by investigating the relationship among Korean teachers' beliefs about English language education in Korea, sources of their beliefs, their perceptions of the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (MOE)-initiated reforms in English language education, and the degree of…

This study is an initial analytic attempt to iteratively develop a conceptual framework informed by both theoretical and practical perspectives that may be used to analyze non-textual elements in mathematics textbooks. Despite the importance of visual representations in teaching and learning, little effort has been made to specify in any…

This qualitative study examined South Korean teenagers' views on North Korea and possible reunification. In-depth interviews conducted with fourteen (14) South Korean high school students reported that these teenagers were torn about whether or not they should support reunification. While students acknowledged the lack of dialogue and discussion…

In this dissertation I investigated how teachers interpreted intercultural differences and tensions embodied in fictional short stories and films. Participants in the study were 14 English teachers from China, South Korea, and the United States. My key research questions were: How are cultural differences understood and articulated by teachers…