The special issue of Korean Journal of Psychological and Social Issues focuses on the educational achievement in Korea. This article reviews the following five themes: (1) Theoretical analysis of educational achievement; (2) Educational achievement of Korean adolescents; (3) Delinquency among Korean adolescents; (4) Cultural context and cross-national comparisons; and (5) Korean society and future prospects. This article analyzes the outcome of the 2006 International Conference on Asia's, Educational Miracle. First, this article examines the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing Korean society and education. Second, the purpose and significance of the international conference are examined. Third, background and focus of the publication of the special issue are reviewed. Finally, the limitations and potential of the International conference and the special issue are analyzed. Through this analysis, the need for indigenous psychological analysis of educational achievement and quality of life are outlined.
The purpose of this study was to analyze the negative circumstances of Korean education and to provide some suggestions in terms of cultural psychology. Researcher considered the negative situation as Han(恨) to Korean people and analyzed it with the cultural psychological theories. In Korean culture, Han(恨) could be overcome by Shinmyeong which is known as a Korean unique positive emotional experience. According to results of a recent research, Han has been thought that it was the negative feeling from loss of self-worth, and Shinmyeong might be the feeling related with retrieval of self-worth. On the base of discussion about Shinmyeong, several psychological solutions to negative circumstances of Korean education were proposed.
The ‘education panic’ is one of the most phenomenal social issue in the current Korean society. The explanations of it until now, however, are rather superficial in a way that they only describe apparent facts and its seriousness, rendering further examination of the psychological motivation of parents who are the protagonist of education panic necessary. With 548 elementary, middle, and highschool students and their parents, the present study has investigated the impact of parents' past experience of ‘han’, regret, and learning effect regarding education on their parenting style as well as on their children's academic experience. The result revealed that parents' learning effect was related with more affective/autonomous parenting style and reasonable expectation for their children's educational career. On the contrary, parents' ‘han’ and regret indicated relationship with hostile and controlling parenting style and also with blind intention toward their children's educational career. The negative emotions also seemed to increase their children's academic stress, and lower academic self-efficacy. Such results suggest that the extraordinary education panic in Korea is more than a simple quantitative matter of intensity. The psychological basis and motivation of the people included, a much more quantitative information, should be taken into account.
This article examines psychological factors that contribute to educational achievement of Korean adolescents. By reviewing empirical research, three core areas are outlined. First, positive and negative roles that Korean society play on academic achievement are analyzed. Compared to other countries, Korean society places a high premium, pressure an investment on educational achievement. This has contributed to the rapid economic growth and development, but at the same time it has created numerous social problems. Second, psychological and relational dynamics of investing in and achieving success in education are delineated. Through indigenous psychological analysis, the role parents play in motivating and regulating their children to succeed academically is reviewed. In addition, the role of teachers and friends and the coordinated efforts of Korean society are outlined. Third, future directions and transformations in education that are needed in Korean society are discussed. Although Korean adolescents are high achievers in high school, this is not the case at the university level. Since Korean students are interested in entering a prestigious university, they have developed skills in doing well in standardized tests. Educational reforms need to take into consideration individuals' personal interests, skills and creativity to ensure that the knowledge that they acquired can be used to further their career and improve their subjective well-being. Educational transformation does not imply simply adopting Western models, but developing indigenous models that can maximize human and cultural potential and stimulate curiosity, diversity and creativity that are necessary in the global era.
In this article, a fairly extensive literature review was conducted to depict the current status of academic motivation and its developmental trend among Korean adolescents. The focal factors were perceived competence and autonomy which have been considered as major determinants of academic motivation. Theoretical frameworks adopted were self-efficacy theory, expectancy-value theory, and self-determination theory. Empirical studies conducted in Korean educational settings during the past decade were the target of the literature review. Results of the literature analysis revealed that, in general, there was a decreasing tendency in perceived competence from elementary to middle school which followed by a slight increase after entering high school. Similar trend revealed in the development of autonomous motivation, in that middle and high school students' intrinsic motivation levels were lower than that of the elementary groups. The amotivational tendency was increased as the grade level proceeded toward high school, which requires attention from educators. Discussion was followed in an attempt to provide plausible interpretations for this undesirable current status of Korean adolescents' academic motivation and to suggest implications for possible remedial actions both in pedagogical perspectives and students' well-being.
The purpose of this study is to research psychological and social devices to foster self-regulated learning of Korean adolescents. This study investigated metacognitive, motivational, and behavioral factors of self-regulated learning through current research. In terms of metacognitive factors, we reviewed the importance of cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies of adolescents for better self-regulated learning. Especially we gave a great emphasis on the role of comprehension monitoring metacognitive strategy for the learning to read in this review. For motivational factors, recent research of self-regulated learning has tended to focus on self-efficacy and goal orientation. The current research examining behavioral factors of self-regulated learning has tended to focus on time management and academic procrastination. Research findings in the motivational aspect suggest that we need to develop the program to improve adolescents' self-efficacy and recognize new re-conceptualization of the goal theory. Research findings in the behavioral aspect recommend practical tips and strategies to improve time management skills and to overcome academic procrastination. Finally, future directions for research are discussed.
The purpose of this study was to investigate middle school student's self-directed learning(SDL) using a hierarchical linear modeling. By considering variances of SDL at individual and school level, the student's SDL was explained in terms of school quality as well as individual efforts. For the HLM analysis, participation in private tutoring, teacher's support for SDL, caring students' individual needs, and participation in extra curriculum activities were explored at individual level. At school level, school SES, quality of national curriculum implementation, and parental support for school were utilized. The results of analysis showed that more than 95% of variance of SDL was explained by variables at individual level. Among the variables at individual level, private tutoring was not a significant variable explaining the SDL. Based upon the results, multiple regression analyses by background variables were also conducted. By interpreting the results of analyses, the impact of school quality and individual efforts on the SDL was discussed.
This study is to investigate, from the perspective of implicit theory, what elements influence children's motivation to learn and how their configurations are different according to different sexes. One analysis was based on answers to a motivation questionnaire by fourth to sixth graders from four different cities in South Korea. The subjects children were most highly motivated to learn were math and science for boys, and math and English for girls, respectively. Factors influencing the motivation were near 30 in number, including later happier life, joy of learning, parental rewards, pleasure of being informed, and meeting parental expectations, among others. Another analysis was an exploratory and confirmative factor analysis on motivation to learn among 856 fourth to sixth graders randomly sampled from 7 different cities all over South Korea. Factors revealed to contribute to the motivated learning here were five factors of utility, interest, recognition, knowledge acquisition(being informed), and expectancy sufficiency. There were some differences in the structure of factors between sexes; importance was given to five factors of utility, interest, recognition, knowledge acquisition, and expectancy sufficiency in descending order for boys, and six factors of interest, utility, rewards, recognition, expectancy sufficiency, and competition for girls.
Although academic interest, the intersection of cognition, emotion, and motivation, is a primary goal of learning and mediates the effects of learning, the present learning environment is full of impeding factors which undermine learner's interests in learning situation. The purpose of this study is to examine current state of academic interests of Korean students and to identify several potential causes of developmental declines in academic interests. It has been consistently found that academic interests in various school subjects decrease with age and grade in school. Three potentially contributing factors to the observed loss of academic interests are mainly discussed: deprived autonomy, severe competition, and normative evaluation. Based on theories on interest and motivation, and empirical findings, various prescriptions are also suggested for designing an interest-based learning environment in order to trigger and enhance learner's academic interests.
This article examines the cost of pressure to achieve in Korea, which is the theme of the special issue focusing on the psychological dynamics and factors influencing delinquent behavior among Korea adolescents. This article reviews empirical studies of delinquent behavior among Korean adolescent and articulate policy and programs necessary to prevent the rising trend. First, in order to prevent delinquent behavior and enhance their self-efficacy, programs need to be developed to allow them to succeed in non-academic areas. Second, adolescents who engage in delinquent behavior are likely to experience problems in interpersonal, such as parental rejection, social exclusion from friends and hostility from teachers. Third, adolescents delinquent behaviors are influenced by negative parental socialization practices, delinquent behavior of their peers, moral disengagement and their previous participation in delinquent behavior. Fourth, the importance of indigenous psychological approach to increase the quality of life for adolescents who engage in delinquent behavior is outlined.
When observing the subjects and seriousness of Korea's Wang-ta, it is urgent that we know the characteristics of Wang-ta and its conditions. In this study, we investigated the definition of Wang-ta, which partly differs from bullying. Also, the phenomenal characteristics of collectivism, the victimization of an individual once stigmatized in the Wang-ta process, the generalization of the Wang-ta process where bullies extend their territory into general students were examined. Moreover, external environment such as Korea's school environment, negative house environment, and collective culture were examined. The three general structures in researching Korea's Wang-ta were presented. The first structure consists of a bully, victim, and a bully-victim. The second structure focuses on the certain groups, which consists of followers, outsider, and the defender. The last structure deals with the psychological characteristics of the participant roles, which are the bully, reinforcer, assistant, defender, victim, and outsider. Wang-ta prevention programs, which reflects the characteristics of Wang-ta, are presented. Implications on future Wang-ta prevention programs are discussed.
The purpose of this study is to explore a risk and a protective factors of adolescent runaway based on the previous researches. Runaway of adolescents is increasing, and it is longer and more habit gradually than past. The prevailance methods of runaway is no longer effects on the decrease of adolescent runaway. Now there is to accept adolescent runaway, and has to support the difficult life conditions and the emotional distress of adolescent post-runaway. This means that must be identify and treatment the protective factors having an buffering effect as well as the risk factors influencing on runaway. Although the worse factors related family are the highest risk factors of runaway, others factors including negative peer relation, a academic stress also an have significant influence on runaway. And the protective factors mediating the negative influence of risk factors are an monitoring and controlling of parent as authoritative rearing attitude, a social support, a positive coping strategies, a self-esteem, and a conventional peer group. Protective factors prevent from runaway behavior, as well as improve a resilience of adolescents in the poor environment. The tasks of follow study are to investigate empirically the mediating effects of the protective factors on the problem behavior of post-runaway and resilience of runaway adolescents based on the systematic research design.
The school drop-out among the youth has grown to become a serious social problem since about 2000 and calls for an attention to its seriousness. Therefore, this study reviewed the statitistical reports and the previous empirical findings on the school drop-out and integrated to establish a comprehensive understanding of this social phenomenon. The main concepts and terminologies on school drop-out, the current statistics, the possible causal factors and the usual trajectory the youth take after dropping-out of school were discussed to conceptualize the issue. Analyses indicated 12 characteristics of the students who dropped out of school. Those 12 characteristics were restructured according to the ecological conceptual model. The social instability and the financial crisis in the 1990's has eroded the stability of the primary environments of adolescents such as family and school. The family breakdowns from divorce and other reasons weakened psychological and financial support for adolescents. The diminished authority of teachers and school over students exposed conflicts between teacher and students, students' loss of purpose and interest in academic attainment. The adolescents showed emotional reponses like increased level of depression, helplessness, aggression, indicated cognitive reponses such as the loss of purpose and interest in studying, a heightened sense of uncertainty of the future, and behavioral responses like sexual acting out behaviors, and bullying. The unmet psychological needs of adolescents result in run-away and school drop-out behaviors, which in turn progress into juvenile delinquency as the society fails to provide adequate and appropriate guidance and interventions. The intervention strategies at the national level were proposed and the limitations of the study were discussed.
Self-efficacy, achievement goals, task value, and attribution are some of the representative motivation constructs that explain adolescents' cognition, affect, and behavioral patterns in achievement settings. These constructs have won researchers' recognition by demonstrating explanatory and predictive utility that transcends various social and cultural milieus learners are exposed to. Korean adolescents' motivation is generally in line with this universal trend and can be described adequately with these constructs. Nonetheless, there also exist a host of indigenous factors that shape these motivation constructs to be uniquely Korean. The purpose of the present article was to explore some of the socio-cultural factors that appear to wield particularly determining effects on Korean adolescents' academic motivation. Review of the relevant literature identified interdependent self-construal, traditional morals of filial piety, familism, educational fervor, academic elitism, and the college entrance system as important cultural, social, and policy-related such factors. Also discussed in this article were the roles of these factors in creating more immediate psychological learning environments for Korean adolescents, such as parent-child relationships, teacher-student relationships, and classroom goal structures.
The Reality Dynamic Counseling which reflects Korean culture and Korean sensibilities has been introduced as a model of Korean counseling approach. This is a qualitative study to examine how the characteristics of Reality Dynamic Counseling appear upon the real counseling process for the clients who were physically attacked by their own son and were brought to this counseling export from juvenile counseling service center. The major properties of Reality Dynamic Counseling are grasping the problem with connecting whole context, dealing with an external world as well as an internal world, emphasizing a role in relation with others, serving as a fosterer or an educator for counselor, confronting a client to awake from a disillusion, restoring to the good relationship between a parent and a child, and pulling a client to the relation with people. These properties are well brought out in the real counseling process. The Manual written by a counselor which gives us detailed commentary on counseling process was selected and analyzed in this study because the protocol between a counselor and a client was too large quantity and it could not show on how to change like facial expression and voice.
The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the college students' implicit theory of Korean creativity. This study deals with the degree to which the students exploit the creativity, and the obstacles for them to exploit the creativity. Another purpose of this study is to explore their implicit knowledge of Korean creative environments. The results are as follows. The implicit knowledge of Korean creativity could be characterized by the following key words: ‘flexibility’, ‘application’, ‘transformation’, ‘originality’, ‘perseverance’, ‘not being stereotyped’, ‘esthetic flavor’ and ‘understanding-new-by-exploring-old’. Students thought themselves to be more or less creative. Students in art and physical education, and male students estimated themselves more creative than other discipline and female. They thought that socio-institutional factors such as educational system focused on the college entrance test are the most serious obstacles against creativity. About half of the students thought the creative persons would have been raised in poor family whereas other students thought differently. The home environment of the creative person was thought to be characterized by the words such as democratic, free and encouraging. Creative persons were thought to be maladaptive school life, but good at peer relations. This study will be used as a pioneer research which suggest a model of Korean creativity.
In order to observe from a cross-cultural point of view, the temperament and character of German and Korean adolescents were compared. The 715 German subjects aged 12-18(M=14.70, SD=1.80) and 1411 Korean subjects of the same age(M=15.18, SD=1.69) were assessed through JTCI 12-18 as to whether there exist differences in temperament and character between the two groups. According to the outcomes of the t-test, the German and Korean adolescents show significant differences in all 6 main scales of temperament and character, with only one exception in the character scale, that of ‘self-transcendence.’ If we analyze the effect size, because even small differences in great samples becomes statistically significant differences, the significant outcomes appeared only in two scales, one of temperament(Harm Avoidance) and the other of character(Self-Directedness): Korean subjects showed a higher tendency of Harm Avoidance related to inhibitions and anxiety and a lower tendency of Self-Directedness, meaning self-acceptance, purposefulness etc. Sex-differences according to the effect size showed only on the scale of Reward Dependence, which was the same in both samples. The outcomes are discussed according to the concepts of individualism and collectivism which are used to divide the Western and Asian cultures. It is also suggested to view these outcomes in the education-political and social bases of each country.
The roles-grafting research is an approach to educational studies intended to graft five roles of supervisors, graduate students, teachers, principals and administrators. The approach is divided into four chained and cyclical aspects: drafting research blueprint, revising research blueprint, executing research blueprint and assessing performances. The approach maintains five basic principles: principles of inheritance, innovation, practicality, scientific basis and grafting. It is a paradigm of innovative research that has been developed in China that is worth a thorough investigation and extensive analysis.
There are many social issues that should be solved through activity in the local community, such as community development, social service, environmental protection and disaster prevention. Despite a large number of activities, they are not always effective. In this investigation, we examine some alternative approaches to disaster prevention in local communities based on Japanese research and practices. Activity theory (Engeström, 1987) was adopted as a theoretical viewpoint. Implications for community education, which is another important issue in the community, are also discussed.
This article examines the role and influence of educational achievement on Korean society and its future. Four major factors that associated with and influence educational achievement in Korea (i.e., trust, efficacy beliefs, quality of life, and societal transformation) are reviewed. First, the role of educational achievement on establishing a basis for trust in Korean society is examined. By reviewing studies of perception of Korean society, people and institutions, the importance of establishing trust in Korean society is outlined. Second, the role of efficacy belief in promoting educational achievement is examined. The importance of collective efficacy, at the adolescent, adult and political levels is emphasized. In addition, the concept and application of self-efficacy for teachers and parents is reviewed. Third, the role and influence of educational achievement on quality of life is outlined. Studies indicate that educational achievement plays an important role in improving the quality of life. The pressure to achieve, however, can have negative impact on stress and mental health and support systems need to be developed to alleviate their impact. Fourth, the future and prospects for Korean society through educational achievement is discussed. Through education, the importance of bridging the divide with North Korea is an important agenda for the future of Korean society. Finally, the importance of indigenous psychological perspective in understanding Korean society and providing direction for the future is discussed.
The purpose of the present study was to see through literature review if Korean formal schooling plays role in enhancing community spirit on the part of students. Seen as quite relevant to community spirit, moral schooling, students' volunteer activities and their evaluation of the Korean society were examined. Results indicated that Korean schooling orients itself to instrumental functions for personal goals rather than heightens community spirit of students. Moral schooling remains formal and superficial, and students' volunteer activities are mandatory in nature for getting good marks. Further, students' evaluation of their school, Koreans and the Korean society are quite negative. In conclusion, methods for enhancing community spirit were discussed.
The study identifies the major themes for integration education program which enhances the relationship between the north Korean refugees and their south Korean hosts. The themes were selected based on qualitative analysis of the socio-cultural conflicts experienced by the refugees and the hosts in the acculturation process. Twenty-eight north Korean refugees over age 20 participated in semi-structured interviews, and two south Korean groups in close contact with the refugees, police and volunteer teachers, were interviewed in focus groups. The interviews were recorded and transcribed for categorization and coding. The study views the acculturation issue as the two-sided integration task for both the north Korean refugees and the south Korean hosts rather than as the one-sided acceptance and assimilation task for the refugees.
The purpose of this study is to propose what psychological education is needed for activation of interchange between the South Korea and the North Korea and ultimately for the completion of Korean unification. We learned this reason from the German unification case. The Germany was unified 17 years ago, but many researchers evaluate that it will take about 30 years more for German people to complete real and inner unification. So, we proposed our own unification education in a psychological aspect for faster and inner unification, which is based on the principle that we should go ahead according to our situation, not simply follow the way Germany went. Therefore, we should start psychological education for unification from now on, even though unification is not accomplished at the present and Germany didn't do that. Because we can predict the pre-unification (interchange) stage would be long unlike the Germany, psychological education for unification is needed during this interchange stage consistently. For the person-oriented unification education, we should educate adaptation-enhancement strategy for each person to keep psychological stability in the interchange and unification stage, beyond simply educating ideology focusing on the political and structural unification.