KWDI Korean Women’s Development Institute

After 2005, the number of teenagers who have dropped out of school showed a increase every year and reached 73,434 people in 2008. After the year, the number slowly decreased to 61,910 in 2010. The government have reinforced the support system to improve the problem of teenage girls who maladjust to or drop out school. However, the government's measures of support does not consider gender difference and it is a gender-neutral policy for the general teenage. The only gender sensitive policies for teenage girls remain at the level of protecting them from sexual crimes. Moreover, there is no policy which considers the situations and the conditions of teenage girls who have dropped out of school properly, because the protect policy targets all teenage girls.

Therefore, this research analyzes the actual life condition of teenage girls who have dropped out of school and figures out how to support them. By doing so this research intends to suggest policy direction for them. For the research, in-depth interviews were carried out with 41 teenage girls who have dropped out of school at the moment. In addition, attempts were made to understand the actual operating condition of teenage support institutes by carrying out a survey through out 99 teenage support institutes. Gender analysis was also practiced on the services and programs that are given to teenagers who have dropped out of school. With this, case studies of four institutes that support teenage girls who have dropped out of school up were carried out.

The result of the in-depth interview shows that more than half of the subjects of the in-depth interview had grown up in disorganized or reconstructed family surroundings. They were assaulted consistently by their parents or had to do housework or care work because of the disorganization of their family. For this reason the teenage girls repeatedly ran away from home to escape from their family. Because most of the girls go on to school without enough economical or emotional support from their families, they gradually accrued study deficits caused by low interest in school life or frequent absence from school. Deviant and hierarchial characters among the peer group culture worsened the situation. This complied situation caused teenage girl's to leave school.

After leaving school, most of the teenage girls made efforts to get a part time job or to keep studying. However, the teenage girls who made efforts to keep studying were hard put because they were blocked from access to study support resources or information in the course of preparing for qualification exams or career exploration. Gender discriminated experiences of the teenage girls were vividly revealed in the process of their seeking part time jobs or the surroundings of their work places. Many teenage girls in-depth interviews answered that they had experienced 'kiss rooms' or 'karaoke' assistant ets. This shows that the general working conditions of teenage girls may introduce them to prostitution at any time. It also portrays that teenage girls are always exposed to confinement, black-mailing, violence and sexual violence. As the period of dropping out of school becomes elongated, most teenage girls felt shame, depression and suicidal urges. 

Some of the teenage girls who have dropped out of school experienced positive change through the social support service offered by teenage support institutes. However, the number of positive experienced girl is small. The majority of the girls had not experienced support by social services or had negative perceptions towards social services by adverse experience.

The result of the research of the actual conditions of teenage support institutes show that the institutes run study support program, career support programs, social emotion support programs and sex education. However, lack of government support and people's negative prejudice toward them worsen the fund-raising which could be used for securing human resources for the program and budget. In addition, after the teenagers leave school, specific measures to connect them to the teenage support institute are needed. The employees in the teenage support institutes have not only gender related prejudice but also fail to offer specific services considering the trait of the teenage girls who have dropped out of school. Based on the result of the research, policy measures for teenage girls who have dropped out of school are suggested as followed.

○ Building school support system for teenage girls in danger of dropping out of the school. - Vitalizing school social welfare services. - Reinforcing teacher training courses for guidance, reflecting the trait of the teenage girls.

○ Reinforcing school counselling services by systemizing school counselling.

○ Introducing a mature consideration period system for students who are in the process of dropping out of school and information system of social support service. ○ Extending service to early detection of teenage girls who are in danger of dropping out of school. - Vitalizing mobile counselling - Enlarging Cyber-Out reach work.

○ Practicing gender sensitivity education for employees who work at teenage support institute.

○ Supporting the education of teenage girl who have dropped out of school to start again. - Introducing a policy for general certificates of education examination, that recognize alternative school graduates' learning. - Modifying the law of commissioned alternative education for unmarried mothers. - Securing space for the stable operation of the unauthorized schools.

○ Supporting career and self-reliance for teenage girls who have dropped out of school. - Developing program considering gender inclusive career sense - Launching 'Dream-Wings(assumed name)' work for self-support teenage girl who have dropped out of school.

○ Expanding backing system for self-support work for teenage girls who have dropped out of school in low income bracket.

○ Supporting self support workshop management for teenage girls who have dropped out of school.

○ Introducing a 'communal family system' to support self-reliance for girls who have dropped out of school.

○ Supporting establishing and managing 'network for the teenage girls who have dropped out of school.