The purpose of this study is to arrange the research trends of the domestic women’s lifelong education study into the purpose of study, the subject of study, and the method of study by analyzing the research papers of women’s lifelong education pu...
The purpose of this study is to arrange the research trends of the domestic women’s lifelong education study into the purpose of study, the subject of study, and the method of study by analyzing the research papers of women’s lifelong education published in domestic journals between 1990 and 2005, to provide the research trend and the direction of development through examining the transitions according to each paper and the years of publication, and to provide the basic data for scientific establishment of Korean women’s lifelong education study.
For this reason, the researcher selected and analyzed 114 papers related to the women’s lifelong education published in [Korea Journal of Women’s Lifelong Education] and [Korea Journal of Women’s Social Education] from <Korea Council for Women’s Lifelong Education>, [A Research on Social Education] and [A Research on Lifelong Education] from <The Korean Association for Lifelong Education>, [Andragogy Today] from <The Adult and Continuing Education of Korea>, and [A Study on Education Research] from <The Korean Society for the Study of Education> between 1990 and 2005 and based on the results, interpreted and examined the research trend of Korea women’s lifelong education study.
The analytical framework used in this paper is constructed based on the basic understandings on the related preceding studies, theory of feminism, education theory of feminism, and women study. The analytical framework of the purpose of study was subdivided into practice intentional studies including 1) examining women’s subordination and alienation in men-centered education organizations and searching for alternatives, 2) searching of women’s empowerment strengthening plan, and 3) researching educational tasks that aim life, environment, and cooperation, as well as theory intentional studies including 4) examining women’s subordination and alienation in educational ideology and academic area and searching for alternatives, 5) understanding women learners from new perspective rather than from men centered standard, and 6) searching for scientific foundation of feministic lifelong education. The analytical framework of the subject of study was subdivided into 1) understanding of women learners of lifelong education, 2) understanding of the groups and cultures of women learners in lifelong education, 3) understanding the responsible person for women’s lifelong education, 4) understanding of the programs and education curriculum for activation of women’s lifelong education, 5) understanding of organizations and actual sites of women’s lifelong education, 6) understanding of the systems and policies of women’s lifelong education, 7) comparative studying on international women’s lifelong studies, 8) researching on the concept, characteristics, ideology, history, philosophy, and the theoretical basis of women’s lifelong education, and 9) research for women’s lifelong education study. The analytical framework of the method of study was subdivided into 1) history research, 2) experimental research, 3) examination research, 4) comparative research, 5) quantitative research, and 6) analytical/technological research.
The followings are the results of the analyses of the scientific papers from Korea women’s lifelong education based on the above standards. In the purpose of study, practice intentional studies were more actively conducted compared to theory intentional studies according to the researches on Korea women’s lifelong education. However, although practice intentional studies that pursue actual site application were dominant earlier, the recent studies show the trend of increased number of theory intentional studies that diagnose the current situation of the women’s lifelong education and provide basic data to find the academic direction of the education. In the subject of study, the papers that deal with <the understanding of the learners in women’s lifelong education> were the most frequently published followed by <researching on the concept, characteristics, ideology, history, philosophy, and the theoretical basis of women’s lifelong education>, <understanding of the programs and education curriculum for activation of women’s lifelong education>, <understanding of organizations and actual sites of women’s lifelong education>, <comparative studying on international women’s lifelong studies>, <understanding of organizations and actual sites of women’s lifelong education>, <understanding the responsible person for women’s lifelong education>, and <research for women’s lifelong education study>. In the method of study, the most frequently used research method was <analytical/technological research> that explains new theories by analyzing the existing theories or the preceding studies followed by <examination research> that depends on quantitative statistical results. On the other hand, as <qualitative research> become a predominant figure as the methodology for studying feminism that explains the women’s experiences, its use was dramatically increased. <comparative research> that attempts to compare the domestic result to the international results are continuously used at a low ratio. <historical research> that depends on historic data was used only on four papers and <experimental research> that has time and cost constraints was used only on one paper.
Looking at the yearly trend of the studies, the papers from the Korea women’s lifelong education show no clear consistency in yearly frequency distribution. Especially, the distribution is very voluntary and occasional at the beginning of the research period. However, a series of intentions that try to activate women’s lifelong education such as publication of [Korean women’s lifelong (social) education] from <Korea Women’s Social Education Society> in 1994, enactment of lifelong education law in 1999 brought women learners into relief, the project to recollect, reflect, and search for the future direction of women’s lifelong education as the <Korea Women’s Social Education Society> attains its 10th anniversary in 2000, and the dispersion of increased intention to the women study as the Ministry of Gender Equality in 2001 lead continuous growth in women’s lifelong education researches.
Considering the trend according to each paper, [Korea Women’s Lifelong (Social) Education] from <Korea Council for Women’s Lifelong Education> published the biggest amount of research papers on women’s lifelong education, and the researches are in progress in each field according to the purpose of study, the subject of study, and the method of study. [Lifelong (Social) education study] from <The Korean Association for Lifelong Education> had the majority of paper with the purpose of <improvement of women’s empowerment> and <searching for education that aims for life, environment, and cooperation> in considering the purpose of study. They were lean upon specific areas in considering the subject of study and the method of study. [Andragogy Today] from <The Adult and Continuing Education of Korea> shows in depth understanding on adult women learners compared to the other papers in the purpose of study, the subject of study, and the method of study and it focuses on theoretical foundation establishment to provide practical learning method for women learners. Since [A Study on Education Research] from <The Korean Society for the Study of Education> is not the paper that deals women learners centrally, it tries to confirm the problem that women learners have in the general context of educational structure and designs political treatments in macro context rather than to understand women learners more in depth.
The followings are the major characteristics and the current issues of Korea women’s lifelong education researches based on the above research trend.
First, the researches on Korea women’s lifelong education are the active academic spaces that conduct practical researches focusing on actual sites as well as theoretical researches for academic establishment. While the early researches on women’s lifelong education more focused on practices that give more interest in its operation and practice attaching to the actual sites, the recent researches focus more on diagnosing the actual site focused characteristics of the researches on women’s lifelong education and finding the direction of it by establishing firm theoretical foundation.
Second, the researches on Korea women’s lifelong education has been qualitatively improved transforming into feministic lifelong education study that leads to the deeper understandings on women learners. The researches on women’s lifelong education try to approach to understandings on women learners as time goes by and try to characterize women’s lifelong education into feministic lifelong education.
Third, the researches on Korea women’s lifelong education are moving to the direction that pursues academic independence of Korea women’s lifelong education. In other word, the researches on Korea women’s lifelong education are moving into the trend of improving women empowerment and study subject for the human beings’ education from simple disclosure of gender inequality such as alienation, discrimination, and subordination of women. It means that the researches on women’s lifelong education started as education sociology that discuss mainly about the gender discrimination and gender inequality in the early years and they are now constructing independent academic field of women’s lifelong education study that focuses more on women’s empowerment improvement.
Fourth, the specialized research journals those deal heavily with women learners and women’s lifelong education to develop and establish Korea women’s lifelong study. From this point of view,〔Korea Women’s Lifelong (Social) Education] from <Korea Council for Women’s Lifelong Education> and [Andragogy Today] from <The Adult and Continuing Education of Korea> have significance since they understand women more in depth.
Fifth, the researches of Korea women’s lifelong education has insufficient amount of researches for academic foundation of women’s lifelong education. To find the right academic direction, women’s lifelong education study requires Meta research approach method. However, current researches on Korea women’s lifelong education do not recognize the importance of this research subject. Therefore, it is necessary to actively try to conduct <researches to establish academic foundation for women’s lifelong education study> for Korea women’s lifelong education to be born again as the characterized study that has distinctive recognition on the problems it has.
Sixth, to accomplish quantitative and qualitative improvement in the researches on women’s lifelong education, it must have an intention to research women study above all things. The early researches on women’s lifelong education study were conducted as a part of the education study or lifelong education study rather than to be conducted as an independent study. However, establishment of <Korea Women’s Social Education Society> in 1990, publication of [Korean women’s lifelong (social) education] which was the specialized paper for women’s lifelong education, and enactment of lifelong education law in 1999 brought women learners into relief, the project to recollect, reflect, and search for the future direction of women’s lifelong education as the <Korea Women’s Social Education Society> attains its 10th anniversary in 2000, and the dispersion of increased intention to the women study as the Ministry of Gender Equality in 2001 lead continuous growth in women’s lifelong education researches.