• Korean Journal of Comparative Education
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.1-24
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• 2012

This comparative study attempts to explore in what politico-social context 'Education Welfare Invest Priority Zone Plan' has been developed and to find politico-social implications of Korean EWIPZP through critically comparing the cases of UK and France. Korean financial crisis brought up the importance of 'Education Welfare' turning into a concrete system, 'EWIPZP' in 2003. This educational welfare policy has expanded since 2005 up to now by the changed name of 'Education Welfare Priority Plan' in 2008, that is structurally different from the original framework which was to support schools in educationally disadvantaged areas. Even the cases of EAZ in UK and ZEP in France started by progressive political parties and established on the ground of 'equity' philosophy, turned into the excellence-based equality policy confronting with the harsh condition of neo-liberalistic global economy under the conservative regime. So does Korea under the critics against this tendency. Comparing Korean case with the cases in UK and France, the current Education Welfare Priority Policy in Korea should be back to the original principle of educational equity and transform into the bottom-up bilateral cooperation model from the top-down model by the authorized party itself in order not to be manipulated politically.