Statism is a political economy that prevails in many East Asian countries. This paper explores its negative role in South Korea's education reform since the restoration of civilian democracy in 1993. It takes note of South Koreans' aberrant use of the terms "public education" and "private education" and the frame of reference…

For the past 150 years public schools in the United States have, in one form or another, tried to address the presence of children in classrooms whose cognitive, behavioral or physical characteristics have been deemed sufficiently problematic to merit a "special" education. Current federal law identifies thirteen categories of…