Teachers as curriculum maker? Discourse on teacher professionalism in Korean national curriculum

This study analyzed the evolution of teacher curriculum authority in Korean national curriculum documents from the 6th (1992) to the 2022 Revised Curriculum using critical discourse analysis. Examining agent designation, modal expressions, and curriculum verbs across policy provisions, findings reveal that while practical authority has expanded, persistent linguistic constraints shape how teacher professionalism is conceptualized. Although policy language evolved from NC6’s obligatory “shall organize” to NC2022’s “autonomously design,” documents consistently employ “reconstruction” rather than “making,” positioning teachers as modifiers of predetermined materials rather than creators of educational experiences. From NC2009, a paradoxical discourse of mandated autonomy emerged—exemplified by “must autonomously design”—expanding practical authority while constraining conceptual possibilities. Documents designate “schools” rather than “teachers” as curriculum agents, subsuming individual professionals within collective entities. This framing fundamentally shapes how teacher professionalism is constructed in Korea’s centralized system, suggesting that genuine educational innovation requires policy language recognizing teachers as curriculum maker.