인성교육의 한국적 전통 = A Conceptual Analysis of the Traditional Character Education in Korea

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Many people including educators perceive that the character education is one thing, and the knowledge education is another. With that understanding, they insist that major teaching methods in character education should be practice-oriented methods which are totally separated from methods of the knowledge education. In the traditional education, however, no separation has been supposed between character education and knowledge education. The traditional education, whether at home or in the school, is focused on the realization of `the sage`, as the ideal self. The core of family education is `the filial piety` (孝), which provides children with the affective energy which makes the children recognize and internalize `the Way` (道). The filial piety is also a base of the affective relationship between the teacher and the disciple(s). The affective relationship is indispensable to the process of education. Both `Elementary Learning` (小學) and `Great Learning` (大學) are different from the filial piety, in that the former two are subjects which are taught in the school. Elementary Learning teaches younger students to practise `ritual conducts`. The subject, furthermore, emphasizes the practice as a gateway to the realm of the sage. Great Learning discusses the human nature and the Way in the theoretical level. The filial piety, Elementary Learning, and Great Learning are different one another in that each presents different stage of learning, respectively. However, they are the same in that all of them embody the Way. In conclusion, current perception that seperates the character education from the knowledge education is irrelevant to the traditional character education in Korea.