The Journal of The Korean Association of Geographic and Environmental Education ISSN:1226-511X(Print) 2586-5641(Online) 한국지리환경교육학회지

The status of ‘Social Studies Inquiry (local textbook),’ a subsidiary textbook for social studies used in localized education, is changing. This study investigated how teachers practice localized education in these situations. In-depth interviews were conducted with the teachers who had produced a teaching-learning resource book’ instead of a local textbook and lectured in fourth-grade social studies classes that were reorganized jointly with fellow teachers. They improved their literacy skills in their curriculum, pursued practical knowledge based on implementation, and operated a professional learning community (PLC) with fellow teachers to effectively implement localized education. They adopted methods such as field-experience surveys and drawing map of their region to better understand their region. The teachers point out that it is unreasonable to set the learning target area as an administrative district unit that does not match the scope of the students' daily life experiences and to mechanically apply localized education to all social studies topics. They also suggest that it is necessary to give financial and administrative support, such as securing the expertise of the person in charge of supporting localized education in a regional office of education.