A Study in Improvement Strategies in Rural Multicultural Elementary Schools in Korea

Objectives: To investigate possible improvements of rural multicultural elem1entary schools in Korea. Methods/ Statistical analysis: A survey of a total of 27 teachers at 3 multicultural elementary schools was conducted using a freeresponse questionnaire to collect their full opinions about improvement strategies in rural multicultural elementary schools; the survey responses were analyzed to identify the central concepts of their responses. Findings: The improvement plan for rural multicultural schools can be condensed to four main concepts: interactive experience, participation, diversity, and multicultural competence. For the experience, teachers themselves should receive multicultural education field experience. To promote multicultural sensitivity, the teachers mainly suggested multicultural learning by doing. In addition, the teachers suggested encouraging philanthropic and caring personalities and respect for diversity of students. Application/Improvements: Therefore, the study suggested that the proposed activation plans for these schools be implemented by considering central concepts such as experience orientation, participation orientation, diversity and multicultural competence.