"Burden of Liability for Safety Accidents"... 96% of Elementary School Teachers View Field Trips Negatively

Shrinking Due to Liability Burden and Parental Complaints
92% of Teachers Say "Legal Measures Needed to Ensure Exemption from Liability"

The majority of elementary school teachers are found to have a negative perception of field trips. The main reasons cited are the legal liabilities teachers must shoulder in the event of safety accidents, as well as complaints from parents.

Students on a school field trip. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the results of a survey on "Operation and Improvement Measures for Field Trips" released by the Elementary School Teachers' Union on May 4, 96.2% of respondents said they view field trips negatively. The survey was conducted nationwide among 21,918 elementary school teachers from April 28 to April 30.

Specifically, 90.5% responded "very negative," the most common answer, while 5.7% said "somewhat negative." In contrast, only 3.8% rated their perception as neutral or positive.

The biggest challenge in operating field trips was identified as the "legal liability burden on teachers in the event of safety accidents." Based on multiple responses, 49.8% selected this issue, followed by parental complaints (37.0%) and the administrative burden of tasks such as selecting venues and accounting (12.4%).

When asked about the type of support needed, an "established institutional mechanism to ensure exemption of teachers from liability in the event of an accident" was overwhelmingly chosen at 92.5%. Responses selecting the deployment of safety personnel, support with auxiliary staff, or reduction of administrative work remained at around 3% each.

The Elementary School Teachers' Union stated, "All educational activities, including field trips, are valuable opportunities for students to expand their learning. However, institutional safety measures must first be put in place so that teachers are not held indefinitely liable for unpredictable accidents," urging the government to "introduce legal measures that fundamentally limit teachers' criminal and civil liability."

Previously, President Lee Jaemyung addressed the issue of shrinking field trip participation at a Cabinet meeting on April 28, stating, "These days, it is said that even picnics and school trips are rarely taken. Group activities and field experiences are also important learning opportunities, but there is a tendency to avoid them due to concerns over safety accidents and the burden of management responsibility."

He continued, "If there is a problem with group activities, it should be corrected, and if there are safety concerns, costs should be supported to strengthen safety personnel or allocate additional staff as needed," emphasizing the need for support to ease the burden on teachers.

On April 30, two days later, President Lee again addressed the issue, instructing, "Review whether there are any unreasonable aspects concerning the legal liability and exemption areas for teachers." He also ordered the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Justice to collect opinions from teachers, parents, experts, and various stakeholders through a public discussion process.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.