대입정시논술고사에 나타난 주제 분석 : 정시 인문 사회 계열 중심으로 = An Analysis of Themes in the Essay-type Tests of Korean University Entrance Examinations focused on Humanities / Social Sciences Course of the Regular Application Mode

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study attempts to identify the themes and analyze the characteristics of them in the essay-type tests of Korean university entrance examinations. It is well known that the
enthusiasm for education in Korea is really high and most parents want their children to go to university or college. Major universities have run some kinds of essay-type test as one of the entrance examinations. Both the implementation itself and the themes of essay-type tests are bound to have an effect on secondary schooling and shadow education in Korea. Then what kind of themes have been dealt with in the essay-type tests of major universities? This study tackles on this issue.
The subjects were the themes of essay-type tests of 10 Korean major universities entrance examinations from 1998 to 2010. Seoul National University, Korea University, Yonsei University, Ewha Womans University, Busan National University etc. are included in 10 major universities. These themes which have appeared in the humanities/social sciences course of regular application mode of their universities were the subjects of this study.

The findings of this study may be summarized as follows. First, generally speaking, the main target of essay-type tests may be defined as evaluating the intelligent and integrated caliber which covers logical thinking, rational decision-making, problem solving ability, reasoning etc. on the basis of the reading comprehension regardless of differences in university or year.

Second, the main characteristics of essay-type tests have been changed from non-integrated to integrated since 2008. While the focus of non-integrated essay-type tests were put on the comparative and analytic ability, the focus of integrated essay -type tests, the creative capacity for problem solving.

Third, the main themes of essay-type tests from 1998 to 2010 can be divided into 21 categories which have been dealt with in the textbooks of Korean high school curriculum. The examples of these categories may be social inequality, globalization, the character of Korean society, civilization and the future, epistemology and language, modernity, truth/inquiry methodology and individual / community or state etc.

Fourth and last, the themes, problems and answers of essay-type tests seem to be stereotyped and have to be reformed to ward encouraging to express the test-takers' own voices or opinions.