Colloquium in December 2023
Kyungmin Baek (Professor, Department of Information Sociology, Soongsil Univ., South Korea)
In Korea, alternative education emerged in the late 1990s. It is widely acknowledged that, in comparison to conventional education, alternative education provides a more varied curriculum tailored to individual student needs in a more egalitarian atmosphere. Much of the previous research in Korea has centered on alternative education within the realms of education and policy studies, delving into its processes, outcomes, and legislation. However, there remains a dearth of research conducted from sociological perspectives.
As preliminary research, this study explores the motivations behind establishing alternative schools in Korea and investigates how the institutional environment has shaped these motives. To address this question, in-depth interviews were conducted with four principals of alternative schools in Yangpyeong, Korea, between July and August 2023. The results indicate that, despite the diversity in participants’ motives, there is a shared foundation in viewing the establishment of alternative schools as a strategy to resist the inherent values of mainstream education in Korea.
Building upon these findings, the study seeks to explore the variations in organizational structures between alternative and conventional schools in Korea. Additionally, it aims to evaluate the strategies employed by alternative schools to establish their legitimacy. The study will also investigate whether alternative education in Korea can be considered part of a broader social movement.
