Marc Finks
October 6, 2014

Activity 3: Special Education Referral Process

Transcripts of the interviews are below.

From what I can tell, the referral process in South Korea is similar to that in the United States. The teacher or parent notices a problem and then they contact the school, who usually fill out an evaluation. I was surprised by several comments, though. Similar to the United States, parents can protest if they don’t acknowledge that their child might have a problem, but it was interesting that it’s just accepted for CCTV footage to be available from every classroom, and readily available to show the parents in case they want to see how their child acts in the classroom. I wonder how most parents feels when they watch this because I have no doubt that how most parents believe their child acts in the classroom isn’t usually completely correct.

The IEP process seems similar to the United States, but I was surprised at what age most students are diagnosed with a learning disability. If they wait until the student is in fifth or sixth grade to identify them, then, to me, that seems quite late in the child’s educational life to try to help them and begin addressing possible problems. By this point, after a few years of struggling and not understanding why they aren’t succeeding, I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of these students have developed negative attitudes towards school or towards themselves.

It was interesting to note, as well, that the teacher thought that having students evaluated for a learning disability was a good way to motivate non-disabled students to behave better in the classroom. I know that the Korean culture places a high emphasis on the perception of others, and so maybe this is just an effect from that.

I would really like to see Korean schools make more of an effort at identifying students with special needs at a much younger age, similar to how Finland does. The goal needs to be how to help all children at the earliest age possible to succeed in school, as opposed to trying to identify them when they’re not doing well enough, or when you think that they need extra motivation to try harder in class.

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Administrator – Eunsun Choi

• How is a student identified for special education referral?

They are usually identified by referrals from parents or school personnel.  They request an evaluation, and then after filling out a form, we contact the child’s parents or teacher and ask if they have noticed anything and think that the child should be evaluated.

• Have any parents ever said no, or refused to acknowledge that there may be a problem?

Several times. We are usually able to convince them, or we let them observe the cctv footage that we have in every classroom.  If they still won’t give permission, then we usually convince them to allow an independent evaluation…as some parents seem to think that we are intentionally biased against their child, for some reason.

• I see. How does the evaluation process work?

First we look at the child’s existing work or data, which comes from the classroom, previous test results, information from the parents, and so on. If it seems as if the child has an impairment, then we will evaluate the child using a range of tests, depending on we suspect may be an issue. The goal here is to figure out if there is something wrong, and to what degree the impairment is, which will then allow us to create an IEP, if necessary.

• And an IEP is…

An individualized education program. What we do is we assess the child’s current levels of academic performance, and then set goals for the child and decide what type of special education and personnel will be needed to help reach these goals.

• Who takes responsibility for the progress of the child before and after the referral?

Our school does. Our teacher who is in charge of our special education program constantly checks in on the progress of each child in the program every week, and meets with the parents at least every other week…more often, if desired, though.

• What is the school administration's directive for special education?

According to the Korean Ministry of Education, special education students should be integrated as much as possible in normal classrooms, but the IEP should be utilized to help the child progress and reach the goals set for him or her.

• What provisions are made for students identified for special education?

We give them the individualized attention and treatment that they need in order to succeed.  When needed, the child will be accompanied in a regular classroom by his or her special teacher, who is there to make sure there are no problems.

• What is the level of parent involvement in referral process and special education?

Quite a bit. They are part of the IEP team. Most of them meet with our teacher 2-3 times per month. We probably talk to them on the phone twice a week. Korean mothers are really involved in their children’s education, and it seems as if students receiving special education have mothers who are even more so.

• At what age are most children identified?

The severely disabled ones are identified before they even begin kindergarten and often go to a special school. The ones with behavioral issues or slight mental issues are usually not recognized until fifth or sixth grade, and then begin the evaluation process as I mentioned before.


Teacher –  Jihye Kim

• How do you identify a student for special education?

 Usually through test scores or observing how the student acts in the classroom around other students and when they’re alone. If a student continues to make the same mistakes and can’t improve, then we are supposed to recommend an evaluation. Also, if the student seems anti-social, or doesn’t interact well with others, or has trouble sitting still or paying attention, I may recommend an evaluation as well.

• What are the signs of a struggling student?

 Difficulty sitting still. Doesn’t progress like the other students in many subjects. Sometimes, they are withdrawn or angry, and will throw things. I’ve had a couple of students who urinated in the classroom when they were angry.

• Are there alternate methods of instruction tried out before referring the student for special education? If yes, what are they?

I try to help them one on one, but if they still can’t learn, it is recommended that we request an evaluation.

• How many children do you request evaluations for each year?

Maybe 3-4.

• And do they return to the classroom?

They don’t usually return to my classroom. Some feel like there’s a stigma attached to them, and since we have twelve fifth-grade classes, they just join another one for certain periods, while also doing their special education.

• Have you ever had a child evaluated but then was told that there was nothing wrong with them?

  Yes. Once or twice, and when they came back, they were much better behaved. Sometimes the threat of special education seems to be almost as good as special education itself, I think.