This study has given phenomenological consideration to the overall crisis issues of public education, based upon a variety of literatures related to public education in order to find out improvement methods to solve the crisis in Korean public educati...
This study has given phenomenological consideration to the overall crisis issues of public education, based upon a variety of literatures related to public education in order to find out improvement methods to solve the crisis in Korean public education. First, for theoretical consideration of public education system, the study addressed the history of modern public education and establishment and developmental processes of Korean public education, and examined not only the concepts of public education such as universality, equality, free education and public values but also practical functions to realize these concepts such as educational equality, social integration and training and supply of human resources. The overall situation of public education issues from ''school collapse'' to ''crisis of public education'' was explored, and analyses were conducted from microscopic and macroscopic views on the basis of previous studies, which was all summed up at the end of this thesis. The macroscopic view involved changes into knowledge-based society, while microscopic view concerned four aspects - school system, educational policies, cultural conflicts and unique features of the Korean society. Moreover, other issues such as deterioration of academic ability, oversized private education, studying abroad at early ages, fall of teacher''s authority and increasing dropouts were examined through research materials and media materials.For the next step, this study listed government''s plans to improve educational environment, to improve quality of public education and to reduce the expenses for private education while talking an analytical look at foreign trends of educational reforms in the USA, England and Japan. It even considered alternative education movements such as alternative schools, home-schooling, which are against public education in terms of educational consumers to actively address problems of public education. The following conclusions can be drawn from the above examinations and analyses to suggest improvement methods to overcome the crisis issues of Korean public education. First, authoritative and inflexible administrative systems inside the government and school system should be reformed. Second, reliable relationships should be established amongst members constituting public education system - government and public education related agencies and organizations, educational administrators, teachers and students, and joint efforts are required to solve problems in public education.Third, educational facilities and environments should be constantly improved to guarantee productive and effective educational activities.Last, educational curriculums should be improved to get out of unified education and textbook-centered education, and educational varieties and wider opportunities for choices should be provided for educational consumers.