Behavioural support in the Republic of Korea

The provision of learning support for students with challenging behaviour has been an ongoing practice in Korean special and inclusive education settings. However, it was only recently that behavioural support was specifically included in the Ministry of Education’s special education policy. For example, improvements in the capacity of special education teachers to provide behavioural support were documented as a focus area in the 4th Special Education 5-year Development Plan (2013–2017). Subsequently, Education Offices have developed and distributed behavioural support manuals to teachers of schools within their jurisdiction. The recent developments also include a shift in behavioural support practices. Current practices stress the importance of the context and environments within which students’ problem behaviour take place. This is a noticeable change from traditional approaches, which place a focus on an individual student who exhibited problem behaviours. In this chapter, we examine characteristics of positive behaviour support (PBS) in Korea; the social and educational backgrounds that necessitated the new initiatives in behaviour management; newly introduced and implemented behavioural support policies for students with disabilities; educational, administrative, and financial support for behaviour management; and research conducted to investigate the effects of PBS interventions in Korean education settings, along with school members’ experiences of participating in and implementing PBS. We conclude this chapter with future directions for PBS in Korea.