Gyeongnam education office to train 120 school administrators in restorative practices
In short
The Gyeongsangnam-do Office of Education said it will run a job training course on “restorative life education” for 120 school principals and vice-principals in the province. The course, at the Gyeongnam Education Training Institute, runs 16 hours for principals from Oct. 6–7 and for vice-principals from Oct. 13–14, led by four specialist instructors. The office says the aim is for administrators to handle school conflicts educationally and keep them from escalating into school violence.
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The Gyeongsangnam-do Office of Education said on Oct. 6 that it will operate a “school administrator restorative life education” job training course for 120 principals and vice-principals in the province, saying the aim is to resolve conflicts inside schools educationally and prevent school violence. [ 1 , 2 ]
Restorative life education is described as a way of guiding students that does not stop at punishing the person who did wrong but instead restores relationships damaged by conflict through dialogue, with the community sharing responsibility. The principals' course runs Oct. 6–7 and the vice-principals' course Oct. 13–14 at the Gyeongnam Education Training Institute, each 16 hours in a practice and participation format led by four specialist restorative life education instructors. [ 1 , 2 ]
The office said the training is designed so that principals and vice-principals act not only as administrators who process problems when conflict arises, but as leaders who turn conflict into an opportunity for educational growth and work to restore relationships. According to the documents, the curriculum moves away from lecture-centred teaching and uses conflict and complaint cases actually encountered in schools, covering the educational transformation of conflict, restorative dialogue and mediation, and responding to school violence cases from a restorative viewpoint, with participants practising restorative dialogue through role-play and mock mediation. [ 1 , 2 ]
Participants are taught to focus not only on deciding who was at fault but on what happened, who was affected and how relationships can be restored. The office said it plans to support administrators in intervening appropriately in conflicts between school members and, where needed, mediating quickly so that conflicts can be resolved educationally before they develop into school violence. It also said it will keep expanding restorative life education training and practice opportunities for school staff, so that the approach does not remain the individual practice of some teachers but becomes a culture in which all school members view and resolve conflicts in the same way. [ 1 , 2 ]
Kang Hyeong-cheon, head of the office's democratic citizenship education division, said conflicts can arise in schools at any time, but that how such conflicts are viewed and intervened in can either cut a relationship off or become a chance for growth. He said the office will continue to support schools so they become safe spaces where people learn and grow together rather than places that avoid or simply process conflict, according to the reports. [ 1 , 2 ]
Why it matters
The program signals a shift in how the provincial education office wants school conflicts and school violence cases handled: from punishment-centred responses toward dialogue and relationship repair. Because it targets principals and vice-principals first, it could shape how individual schools intervene in disputes before they become formal school-violence cases. The office also says it plans to widen the training to all school staff, which would extend the approach beyond individual teachers.
Key facts
- The Gyeongsangnam-do Office of Education will run a “school administrator restorative life education” job training course for 120 principals and vice-principals in the province. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Restorative life education is described as a way of guiding students that restores damaged relationships through dialogue and shares responsibility across the community rather than focusing on punishing the offender. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The principals' course runs Oct. 6–7 and the vice-principals' course Oct. 13–14 at the Gyeongnam Education Training Institute, each 16 hours in a practice and participation format. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Four specialist restorative life education instructors lead the lectures and exercises. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The curriculum covers turning conflict into an educational opportunity, restorative dialogue and mediation, and responding to school violence cases from a restorative perspective, using role-play and mock mediation. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The office said it will support administrators in intervening early in conflicts and will expand restorative life education training to all school staff. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Kang Hyeong-cheon, head of the office's democratic citizenship education division, said how a conflict is handled can either break a relationship or become a chance for growth. [ 1 , 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The training is for a total of 120 principals and vice-principals in Gyeongsangnam-do. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The course is held at the Gyeongnam Education Training Institute, with principals on Oct. 6–7 and vice-principals on Oct. 13–14, 16 hours each. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Four specialist instructors lead the 16-hour practice-based course. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The office said it plans to expand restorative life education training to school staff more broadly. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Kang Hyeong-cheon of the provincial education office said schools should be safe spaces where conflicts are not avoided but used as opportunities to learn and grow. [ 1 , 2 ]
Still unclear
- Whether this training program is new or an expansion of existing training. Neither document says whether the course has been held before; both describe it only as being operated this time.
- The cost or budget for the training and the total number of instructors or sessions beyond the four named instructors. No financial or further staffing details appear in either document.
- The superintendent's name. Only one document identifies Kwon Sun-ki as the provincial superintendent of education; the other document does not name the superintendent.