The existence of a dictionary that systematically and clearly organizes the specialized terminology of a particular field of study is an indicator that the field of study has taken root, is established, and has sufficient self-sufficiency.

The National Institute for Special Education's 'Special Education Terminology Dictionary' was also launched as part of efforts to solidify the academic independence of special education.
At the time, the first edition was published after a three-year period from 2007 to 2009, based on the consensus within the special education field and academia that the names and meanings of terms used in special education needed to be standardized and organized in a clear and easy-to-understand manner.
Since the first edition of the 'Dictionary of Special Education Terminology' was first published, it has been consistently loved in the special education field for a long time.

Anyone in the Republic of Korea can easily resolve their questions about special education by searching the dictionary, and in keeping with the times, we have also registered it in the Naver Internet Encyclopedia to help people look up special education terms more easily and quickly in the field.
These processes and efforts were evaluated as having greatly contributed to the more systematic development of special education.
However, nine years have already passed since the glossary was published, and there have been many quantitative and qualitative changes in terms due to changes in the times.
In response to the need to reflect these times and recent terminological changes, we have been preparing a revised edition of the 'Special Education Terminology Dictionary' since 2016, and have now achieved the great result of publishing this revised edition.


This revised edition includes a review and revision of 1,138 terms included in the first edition, the inclusion of 290 new terms, and the deletion of 41 terms, bringing the total to 1,387 terms.
Going forward, the National Institute for Special Education will continue to revise and supplement terminology to reflect the changing times and advancements in special education.