Table 1 Dual Developmental Trajectories of Special Education Policy and the Behavior-Analytic Professional System in Korea

Period Developments in Special Education Policy Development of the Behavior-Analytic Professional System Remaining Challenges from the Perspective of Educational Behavioral Intervention
Before the mid-2010s Expansion of educational opportunities, therapeutic support, and access to services Discussions on education and credentialing standards for behavior- treatment personnel and the need for public quality assurance Clarifying the relationship between therapeutic and welfare services, the school curriculum, and teachers’ roles
2017-2020 The Fifth Five-Year Plan for Special Education Development formally identified the training of behavior support specialists, positive behavior support, and the improvement of inclusive education as national policy priorities Development of PBS models reflecting the organizational context of Korean special schools and expansion of preventive, school-wide support Specifying how policy goals lead to changes in instructional tasks, teacher behavior, and student responses in actual classrooms
2021-2023 Expansion of training programs provided by metropolitan and provincial offices of education; behavioral intervention guidelines and the Sixth Five-Year Plan further specified individualized support, the roles of support centers, and formal school procedures Expansion of policy analyses on behavioral support and discussions of the ethics, accountability, and supervision of behavior analysts Distinguishing and connecting the existence of teams, documents, and professional personnel with the quality of actual implementation
2024-2025 Discussions on standardizing the preparation and operational system for behavioral intervention specialist teachers Accumulation of research on competency-based training, performance feedback, supervision, and school-based professional roles Extending the evidence base beyond course completion and expert consensus to actual teacher performance, student outcomes, and long-term maintenance
※ Note. Policy documents indicate how behavioral support has developed into an official responsibility of national and local education authorities and describe the direction of the relevant service-delivery system. They should not be interpreted as evidence of the effectiveness of interventions, training programs, or system implementation. The final column represents the conceptual analysis proposed in this study. Representative sources include Choi et al. (2025); Choi et al. (2025); Ministry of Education (2017, 2023a, 2023b, 2025); Park (2014, 2020, 2022); Park et al. (2023); Song and Choi (2024); Song, Choi, and Lee (2025); and Song, Choi, and Park (2025).