21세기의 교육에 대한 한국인의 기대 조사

Morality and Unification : What Koreans Expert the Role of Education to Be for the 21st Century

본 연구는 우리 사회가 당면하고 있는 문제의 해결에 도움이 될 수 있도록 하는 교육의 방향과 과제를 제시하려는 데 그 목적이 있다. 이러한 목적을 위하여 본고는 다음과 같은 구체적인 목표를 가지고 있다. 첫째, 90년대 한국 사회가 당면하게 될 중요과제를 검토하고, 둘째, 그러한 과제를 위하여 한국인이 교육에 대하여 가지고 있는 기대가 무엇인지를 분석하고, 셋째, 미래를 위한 교육개혁의 방향을 제시하는 것이다. 이를 통해 21세기를 맞이하는 데 있어서 도덕성과 통일은 한국인이 교육에 대해서 기대하는 가장 중요한 목표와 과제로 등장하고 있음을 알 수 있다.

What do Koreans thinks of the role of education for the development of Korea in the 21st century? The present paper examines opinions concerning education by analyzing questionnaires given to 466 people in Seoul and local cities in Korea in 1991. Korea may face accelerated industrialization, demand for democratization, expansion of international relations, and concern over unification on the way to the 21st century. Koreans expect that education will play a vital role for these problems : the study suggests directions and programs of Korean education for the 21st century. The major findings, contrary to the common practices of Korean education, which emphasize study for competitive college entrance examinations, tell us that Koreans thinks the role of education is primarly for morality and unification. We gave the respondents questions regarding the goals and the methods of education, about political, economic, and social problems in Korea and the proper role of education in solving these matters. We asked the respondents to indicate what they think by checking one of five points on a five-point rating scale. The results give us important suggestions for education policy, and make us understand what Koreans thinks about education. Among other, the respondents emphasized very strongly : (1) education for morality, (2) education for democatization, (3) education that involves inquiry and discussion in classrooms, and (4) education for unification, education that recovers the peninsula's homogeneous culture. While respondents gave higher priority to the above items, they gave lower ratings to : (1) education for economic productivity. (2) education that reaches knowledges, (3) education for global consciousness, and (4) education for capitalism or communism. In conclusion, the study is very suggestive. Korean look at education essentially from a moral point of view, which seems to be a very healthy sign for the country. Also, we are able to confirm that Koreans are eager for democratization and unification. At the same time , we should give considerable attention to the lower rations on education's economic and global aspects. Needless to say, our results should be carefully kept in mind by policymakers when designing Korean education for the 21st century.