Teaching Effectiveness and Implications from the Practice of Legislative Education: Focusing on the intersection of legal and political education
Authors: Seo Hansol ,   Center for Legislative Studies, Gyeongin National University of Education
Published: July 2024

This study aims to critically analyze the fragmentation of legal education and political education in the elementary social studies curriculum and to analyze what educational effectiveness can be achieved through the intersection of legal education and political education by analyzing the practice of a legislative education program that embodies the chemical fusion of political education and legal education.
Unlike the secondary school social studies curriculum, which has been criticized for its strongly compartmentalized nature, which is different from the reality experienced by students, the elementary school social studies curriculum has been considered as an integrated curriculum that includes various areas in one unit called social studies education. However, when analyzing the curriculum in practice, it can be seen that the areas such as law and politics are divided into semesters and units, with the only difference being that one teacher teaches one subject, resulting in various problems.
To address these issues, this study applied a PBL-based legislative education program to fourth graders in elementary school, using real-life issues as the subject matter, and identified its effectiveness and limitations through reflective inquiry. First, legislative education based on the chemical combination of legal education and political education enabled students to see themselves as subjects of legislation and changed their pre-modern legal consciousness. Second, the “mock parliament” simulation class, which is a legislative debate activity, enabled students to recognize the existence of others with different values and to develop an attitude of dialogue and compromise. Third, I gained a deeper understanding of not only the legislative process, but also what it takes to make laws work after they are enacted.
However, in order for political and legislative education to be implemented in schools, we believe the following changes are necessary. First, we need to rethink how political neutrality is defined in schools. Second, a social system that allows students to perceive themselvesas legislators is needed.
Prior to the implementation of the entire program, students did not believe that they would be able to bring about the various institutional changes presented as examples in the textbook, nor did they have the practical knowledge to do so. After the end of the project, the students recognized themselves as legislators based on their own experiences and gained practical knowledge and relevant experience to bring about changes in institutions and laws. However, it was also observed that some children had knowledge that they were legislators but did not think they could truly change laws or institutions. This is because, in the absence of children's right to vote, it is expected that lawmakers will listen more to the voices of people with other identities than to children.
The intersection of law and political education in schools has helped students “grow up” as democratic citizens, but with the recent enactment of the Law on Initiating Local Ordinances (2021.10.19.), which was recently enacted, if policy changes are supported to allow students' seriously considered alternatives to be proposed through local councils or the National Assembly beyond the simulated National Assembly if they receive a certain level of consensus, students will be able to go beyond simply “growing up” as citizens and become the agents of their own desired social change as individual citizens, and legislative education in public education can be an important means of providing such experiences.