Column
2022 Textbook Seminar for Educators of Belgium
Promote Korean-Related Skills in Belgian Social Studies Textbooks
Nowadays, when we take a look at the Belgian history and geography textbooks, the presence of Korea is relatively weak. If it is true that school books reflect the curricula—which are very European-centered—they do not exclude talking about other countries or other civilizations.
Therefore it is normally possible to see the presence of Korea growing. Here, we will look at what materials Belgian textbook experts need in order to improve understanding of Korea and how the development of these materials can be strengthened.
First, let us look at the profession of textbook authors and their initial education.
Although some of them participate in the writing of programs or serve in committees of reflection on education or pedagogy, majority of the authors are above all teachers with proven practice in the classroom. Therefore, the development of a textbook is an extension of their profession.
As such, in order to answer the main question, we must first look at their initial education. Even though there is only one teaching profession in the French Community of Belgium, it is differentiated according to the age of the students and the level of education.
Thus, there are two different paths: a 4-year course in high school to become an elementary school teacher (from 3 to 12 years old) or a lower secondary school teacher (6th – 7th – 8th Grade or 13 - 15 years old) and a 5-year course (3 years of bachelor's degree and 2 years of master's degree) to teach in upper secondary (9th - 10th - 11th Grade or 16 - 18 years old).
During this initial education, students are trained in both the teaching profession (didactic, pedagogy) and the mastery of disciplinary content depending on the subject they will be teaching (history, geography, etc.). Therefore, there is a first entry point to strengthen knowledge of Korea, and partnerships between universities could be established or strengthened if such already exists; exhibitions and visits for these students would also be useful in creating the first relationships.
Finally, in the French community of Belgium, teacher training does not end with teachers' studies. Throughout their careers, teachers have the right, as well as the duty, to complete their training. School staff members are required to take six half-days of training per year but may also take additional courses if they wish. This in-service training is organized by the Internetwork Institute for Continuing Professional Education and by the various school networks in the French community of Belgium. Therefore, these trainings are also an entry point to make Korea better-known to French-speaking Belgian teachers.
Secondly, let's look at course preparation. While initial education and continuing education provide the theoretical basis for the creation of teaching sequences, they are not the only sources used to create the courses. The types of sources used include, but are not limited to, personal experience, scientific and literary works, teachers' journals, the Internet, etc.
If we look closely at journals for teachers, they are rare but do exist for some subjects such as geography. The Federation of Geography Teachers of the French community of Belgium publishes the G.E.O. magazine, which includes teaching sequences for secondary school geography teachers. This journal was found not to offer complete information on Korea upon searching online, so a partnership with such journals could be beneficial.
Beyond printed resources, the Internet is now the main source for teachers. For example, the most recent study conducted on this topic by Wallonia (2018) showed that more than 80% of them used it at least once a week for their lesson preparation.
On the Internet are sites that are very frequently consulted by teachers because they have been created to reinforce their practices. Let's mention for example the case of "enseignons.be," a pedagogical portal for French-speaking teachers claiming to have 2,000 to 7,000 visitors daily. The site allows sharing and proposing pedagogical sequences in different subjects and for different teaching levels. The pedagogical documents are classified by level (basic and secondary), by subject (in basic, also by competence), and by year.
Another example is the association Les Clionautes, which created the "Cliotexte" website, a catalog of documents classified by historical period (from prehistory to contemporary history) and thematic files useful for teaching history. These documents come from witnesses of an era, historians, and archaeologists.
Proposing learning sequences related to the history or geography of Korea, making available Korean texts translated into French, or iconographic documents from Korean museums on websites such as those described here would be beneficial to improving understanding of Korea.
In addition to specialized sites, teachers enhance their lessons by going directly to the Internet to find texts, statistics, images, and videos as was done for the Chronos collection of history textbooks (published by Plantyn) where many videos from YouTube channels specializing in history ("L'histoire nous le dira," "Histoire-Géo," etc.) have been used. Therefore, it would be relevant to establish a partnership with French-speaking YouTube channels in order to increase Korea's visibility even more.
To conclude, teachers, depending on the reality of their own field, will have different requirements and resources, so presence on different media is important for more visibility.
Such presence can take place at different moments of the teaching career: during the initial education through partnerships with colleges and universities or through the organization of visits and exhibitions; or during the continuing education where it would be interesting to integrate it in the catalogs of the trainings proposed to teaching professionals. It is also possible to act on the sources used by the teachers and to propose sequences of courses, pedagogical files on various Internet sites and magazines intended for teachers.
If the presence of Korea is currently weak in the Belgian school world, it is important to note that young people are increasingly interested in this country. Since teachers are often concerned with capturing the attention of their audience and finding commonalities between their courses and what students are interested in, it is necessary for Korea's presence to be strengthened in the coming years to meet this demand.
Therefore it is normally possible to see the presence of Korea growing. Here, we will look at what materials Belgian textbook experts need in order to improve understanding of Korea and how the development of these materials can be strengthened.
First, let us look at the profession of textbook authors and their initial education.
Although some of them participate in the writing of programs or serve in committees of reflection on education or pedagogy, majority of the authors are above all teachers with proven practice in the classroom. Therefore, the development of a textbook is an extension of their profession.
As such, in order to answer the main question, we must first look at their initial education. Even though there is only one teaching profession in the French Community of Belgium, it is differentiated according to the age of the students and the level of education.
Thus, there are two different paths: a 4-year course in high school to become an elementary school teacher (from 3 to 12 years old) or a lower secondary school teacher (6th – 7th – 8th Grade or 13 - 15 years old) and a 5-year course (3 years of bachelor's degree and 2 years of master's degree) to teach in upper secondary (9th - 10th - 11th Grade or 16 - 18 years old).
During this initial education, students are trained in both the teaching profession (didactic, pedagogy) and the mastery of disciplinary content depending on the subject they will be teaching (history, geography, etc.). Therefore, there is a first entry point to strengthen knowledge of Korea, and partnerships between universities could be established or strengthened if such already exists; exhibitions and visits for these students would also be useful in creating the first relationships.
Finally, in the French community of Belgium, teacher training does not end with teachers' studies. Throughout their careers, teachers have the right, as well as the duty, to complete their training. School staff members are required to take six half-days of training per year but may also take additional courses if they wish. This in-service training is organized by the Internetwork Institute for Continuing Professional Education and by the various school networks in the French community of Belgium. Therefore, these trainings are also an entry point to make Korea better-known to French-speaking Belgian teachers.
Secondly, let's look at course preparation. While initial education and continuing education provide the theoretical basis for the creation of teaching sequences, they are not the only sources used to create the courses. The types of sources used include, but are not limited to, personal experience, scientific and literary works, teachers' journals, the Internet, etc.
If we look closely at journals for teachers, they are rare but do exist for some subjects such as geography. The Federation of Geography Teachers of the French community of Belgium publishes the G.E.O. magazine, which includes teaching sequences for secondary school geography teachers. This journal was found not to offer complete information on Korea upon searching online, so a partnership with such journals could be beneficial.
Beyond printed resources, the Internet is now the main source for teachers. For example, the most recent study conducted on this topic by Wallonia (2018) showed that more than 80% of them used it at least once a week for their lesson preparation.
On the Internet are sites that are very frequently consulted by teachers because they have been created to reinforce their practices. Let's mention for example the case of "enseignons.be," a pedagogical portal for French-speaking teachers claiming to have 2,000 to 7,000 visitors daily. The site allows sharing and proposing pedagogical sequences in different subjects and for different teaching levels. The pedagogical documents are classified by level (basic and secondary), by subject (in basic, also by competence), and by year.
Another example is the association Les Clionautes, which created the "Cliotexte" website, a catalog of documents classified by historical period (from prehistory to contemporary history) and thematic files useful for teaching history. These documents come from witnesses of an era, historians, and archaeologists.
Proposing learning sequences related to the history or geography of Korea, making available Korean texts translated into French, or iconographic documents from Korean museums on websites such as those described here would be beneficial to improving understanding of Korea.
In addition to specialized sites, teachers enhance their lessons by going directly to the Internet to find texts, statistics, images, and videos as was done for the Chronos collection of history textbooks (published by Plantyn) where many videos from YouTube channels specializing in history ("L'histoire nous le dira," "Histoire-Géo," etc.) have been used. Therefore, it would be relevant to establish a partnership with French-speaking YouTube channels in order to increase Korea's visibility even more.
To conclude, teachers, depending on the reality of their own field, will have different requirements and resources, so presence on different media is important for more visibility.
Such presence can take place at different moments of the teaching career: during the initial education through partnerships with colleges and universities or through the organization of visits and exhibitions; or during the continuing education where it would be interesting to integrate it in the catalogs of the trainings proposed to teaching professionals. It is also possible to act on the sources used by the teachers and to propose sequences of courses, pedagogical files on various Internet sites and magazines intended for teachers.
If the presence of Korea is currently weak in the Belgian school world, it is important to note that young people are increasingly interested in this country. Since teachers are often concerned with capturing the attention of their audience and finding commonalities between their courses and what students are interested in, it is necessary for Korea's presence to be strengthened in the coming years to meet this demand.
