The university screening policy in Korea has been influenced by the changes in the life style, behavior and ideology of various social groups in the society. The changes in the "screening process" and its meaning and values have in turn changed the be...
The university screening policy in Korea has been influenced by the changes in the life style, behavior and ideology of various social groups in the society. The changes in the "screening process" and its meaning and values have in turn changed the behaviors and life styles of the parents. This again contributed to the modification of the screening policies.
The new middle class as a new ruling group of the society implements various strategies and takes actions in order to make their own children earn a competitive edge in the society. In this atmosphere, the actors employ various strategies in pursuit of university admission. These various strategies, in turn, induced the gradual change in the university screening policy. To sum up, the changes in the university screening policy in Korea represent the changes in the class culture of the new middle class parents.
In this paper, it is assumed that the culture of the new middle class in an important factor determining the changes in the university screening policy. The following are the main questions this paper seeks to answer.
First, how has the university screening policy evolved in Korea?; What are the main features of these changes?
Second, what were the main changes in the class culture of the society?; What are the main features of these changes?
Third, how is the new middle class culture influencing the university screening policy?
Last, what is the relationship between the culture of the new middle class and the university screening policy?
To analyze the questions above, this paper includes in-depth interviews with admission directors of the high rank universities in Seoul, and the parents of the new middle class. The sample of parents was limited to the ones who have sent or might send their children to the high rank universities in Seoul.
The result of the interviews shows the relationship of the university admission policy and the new middle class culture as follows.
First, the new middle class parents who are in favor of high quality education want the university screening policy to rely on various means and materials of evaluation. This fact leads to the changes in the university screening policy that increases the cost of screening process.
Second, the open mind of the new middle class has removed the distinctions between different methods, areas and systems of education. This induces the changes in the university screening policy that considers more of the specialties and creativities of the applicant.
Third, the high cost education of this class changes the ideal image of a educated person in the society. In order to be acknowledged of the educational resources they have acquired through time, they influenced the university screening policy to provide more opportunities to their children with various talents and abilities.
Last, the mutual understanding between the universities and the parents leads to positive changes in the university screening policy. This mutual understanding and trust enable the university screening policy to be more qualitative and subjective in a way that allows a more complete and total evaluation of the applicants.
These changes do not occur in a short period of time. However, as Gramsci conveys, changes gradually takes place, and they influence other groups of the society to position themselves within the changed circumstances of the society.