Case analysis of competency-based school curriculum design and implementation: focused on curriculum research schools

Six key competencies have been selected and introduced to 2015 revised national curriculum which will be implemented to schools from 2018 school year. In an effort to reflect the key competencies to school curriculum implementation, curriculum research schools have been operated nationwide. Through case analysis, this study aimed to explore the main characteristics regarding designing and implementing competency-based school curriculum. In order to achieve this research goal, we investigated six curriculum research school cases and interviewed 13 teachers belonging to those schools. The research findings are categorized as the four main characteristics: (1) reconfiguration of school level competency, (2) activation of competency-based curriculum reconstruction, (3) change of instructional approach for students’ competency cultivation, and (4) change of evaluation approach as a process of teaching and learning. First, each school reorganizes school level and grade level competencies based on the needs and developmental levels of its own students. Second, activation of competency-based curriculum reconstruction is focused on the incorporation of the competency based curriculum into achievement standards in order to reflect the competency into curriculum. One way of this activation can be exemplified in a way to incorporate a certain competency into inter-subject curriculum including subject-matter as well as extra-curricular domains. Third, the change of instructional approach can be found in the participatory and experiential instruction, project-based inquiry learning, and cooperative learning. Forth, change of evaluation is realized in terms of process-based and formative evaluation, and multi-dimensional evaluation process including students and parents’ participation. Based on the research findings, several suggestions are provided in order for school researchers and educators to design and implement competency-based school curriculum.