오늘날 우리나라는 급속한 고령화의 진행으로 노인문제에 대한 사회적 인식이 매우 높아지고 있는 추세이다. 통계청에서 발표한 ‘2006년 고령자 통계’에 따르면, 현재 65세 이상 인구의 비율이 9.5%에 달하며 향후 20년 후에 노인인구가 전체의 20%가 넘는 초고령사회가 될 전망이다(통계청, 2006). 평균 수명이 연장됨에 따라 노동과 사회참여의 기회를 상실한 채 노후 생활의 기간이 연장되고 있다. 특히 앞으로 노인들의 생활태도는 얼마나 오래 사느냐 보다는 어떻게 사느냐에 대한 관심이 커질 것이다(안정숙, 2005). 같은 노인일지라도 연소 노인1)의 경우엔 사회활동에 대한 욕구도 높으며, 새로운 삶에 대한 기대도 있다. 노인들도 예외 없이 변화하는 사회 속에서 질 높은 삶을 영위하기 위한 노력을 젊은 세대 못지않게 가지며(한정란, 1994), 노인 삶의 질(Quality of Life)에 대한 관심이 고조되고 있다(김충기, 1991).
The purpose of this study is to promote the quality of education for the aged by developing traditional art programs for the aged based upon DBAE theory, as reported previously in developmental procedures of Senior Art Education. To develop the program of Senior Art Education, all the data were collected from textbooks, publications, and the aged-related Institutional programs and examined to analyze the characteristic features of Senior Art Education. From the data analysis, this program consists of three theories including Tyler(1949), Knowles(1980), and DBAE. In addition, the program was confirmed by procedure of art education program for the aged and introduced a folktale to execute at sites for the aged education. The results are 1) this program was organized into four categories such as art production, appreciation, and activities to understand aesthetics, art critics, and art history etc based upon DBAE theory; 2) this program was intended to visualize complete understanding of art and creative art work not only from the expression activity of art production but also from the inter-related approach between understanding and appreciation; 3) the program was designed for flexible application under environmental conditions considering program composition and its practical use; 4) the program was evaluated by the performance of the aged learners. The lecturer could play an important role to evaluate the program based upon DBAE theory by complete understanding of contents and procedures. In summary, this study will provide the basis for the development and propagation of various art education program for the aged who can manage their happy lives by overcoming tough tasks in old age.