KJC Korea
Journal Central

This study examined the practice of lifelong learning cities participating in the GNLC in Korea based on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. In order to achieve this goal, the practical projects of lifelong learning cities were explored in accordance with the challenges presented in UNESCO’s “Guide for Sustainable Development of Learning Cities.”, which are “Equitable and Inclusive Learning cities” “Green and healthy Learning cities” and “Decent work and entrepreneurship Learning cities”. According to the analysis, it can be confirmed that lifelong learning cities are pursuing projects with more interest in the value of ‘Equitable and Inclusive’ in implementing sustainable development goals. As a result of examining the practical project in network cooperation with project promoters, projects with cooperative governance between the promoters ensured the sustainability of lifelong learning cities. In realizing the sustainable development goals in a lifelong learning city, it was confirmed that organic collaborative between various social members including local governments is important. Based on the results of the study, several suggestions were presented on sustainability while pursuing sustainable development goals in lifelong learning cities.

This study aims at revealing the significance of digital media literacy as a factor of democratic citizenship in lifelong education through analyzing digital media activities of middle-aged adults through narratives. Five middle-aged ‘analog generation’ adults, who have been in media activities for more than three years, reflected their experiences of media literacy. We analyze with anethnography of their narratives which shed light on the development democratic citizenship. Analyzing the relationship between citizenship and media activities, we conclude that the media production activities alone develop citizenship due to the practice of writing public problems and cooperation of media production. Media activities have influence on not only the capability to access, communication ability and critical understanding, but also personality factors such as activity, collaboration, and responsibility. Specifically, citizenship of research participants who produced news reports is drastically enhanced because of the opportunities of dealing with public materials. More active pedagogical analysis of media activities is needed to reveal the meaning of digital media that have already become a living environment.

As distance education expands its territory, various empirical studies on distance learners and their learning are more necessary. The purpose of this study is to understand distance learners’ motivation and suspension of their learning and to provide useful institutional implications for supporting distance learners. This study is designed to explore the types of learners’ motivation for entering distance institutions and to examine the relationship between their motivation types and suspension in higher education curriculum. The learners’ motivation for entering distance institutions consists of entering higher education(2 factors) and choosing distance institutions(3 factors). Students from a national distance university participated in the online survey including inventory of motivation and non-persistence, and 3350 cases were analyzed. Using cluster analysis, five types of learners’ motivation were presented and named with their characteristics; highly-motivated, distance education preference, college seeking, easiness expectation, and low-motivated type. There were significant differences among individual background variables(sex, age, educational attainments, entering academic years) by learners’ motivation types. The learners’ motivation types had a significant effect on their suspension of the study. Three groups of learning motivation type, college seeking, easiness expectation, and low-motivated have shown their high portion in considering and implementing suspension of learning. The influence factor of suspension consists of individual and institutional ones. The individual factors had more impacts on suspension in highly-motivated, college seeking, and easiness expectation types. The institutional factors affected more on suspension in easiness expectation type. Based on the output of the study, institutional implications to examine learners’ motivation and academic process were discussed.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of spiritual leadership on learning organization, and to identify the mediating role of learning organization in the relationship between spiritual leadership and knowledge performance as a organization performance. For this study, a survey was conducted for 514 employees working for large companies in a variety of industry, and the data was analyzed using AMOS. The results of the study showed that spiritual leadership had a statistically significant effect on learning organization. Next, spiritual leadership were found to have a statistically significant effect on knowledge performance. Also, learning organization was found to have a statistically significant effect on knowledge performance. Finally, learning organization was found to mediate the relationship between spiritual leadership and knowledge performance as a organization performance. The indirect effect through learning organization was found to affect on knowledge performance almost twice as much as the direct effect by spiritual leadership. Based on the research results, theoretical and practical implications were described, and research restrictions and suggestions were presented.

The purpose of this study is to explore the structural relationships and influences among variables that affect the continuance intention of adult learners to use distance learning. In this study, based on the Technology Acceptance Model(TAM) and the Expectation Confirmation Model(ECM), perceived ease of use and confirmation were set as exogenous variables, perceived usefulness, satisfaction, and attitude as mediating variables and continuance intention as dependent variable. In addition, a path was established for the relationship between the variables. Data was collected from 241 adult learners who were taking distance learning at specialized graduate schools located in the metropolitan area, and the relationship between variables was verified using a structural equation model. Through this study, first, it was found that the attitude had the greatest direct effect on adult learners’ continued intention to use distance learning. Second, it was found that the perceived usefulness has the greatest direct or indirect effect on the intention of the adult learner to use distance learning. Third, it was found that confirmation and perceived ease of use indirectly influenced the intention of the adult learner’s continued use of distance learning. In this study, discussions and practical implications were presented based on the results.

The purpose of this study was to empirically analyze the structural relationship between ethical leadership of director, empathy, self-esteem, and human rights sensitivity perceived by employees of lifelong education institutions. In order to achieve the purpose of this study, this study conducted a questionnaire survey of 558 employees of lifelong education institutions receiving financial support from the state and local governments. The results of the study are as follows. First, although the ethical leadership of director did not directly affect the human rights sensitivity of employees of the lifelong education institutions. it had an indirect positive effect by mediating empathy and self-esteem. Empathy and self-esteem had a positive effect on human rights sensitivity of employees of lifelong education institutions. Second, the ethical leadership of director and the empathy of employees of the lifelong education institutions had a positive effect on self-esteem. Third, the ethical leadership of director had a positive effect on the empathy ability of employees of the lifelong education institutions. In other words, in order to increase the human rights sensitivity of employees of the lifelong education institutions, there is a limit only by the ethical leadership of director, and it is necessary to increase the empathy and self-esteem of employees of the lifelong education institutions. In particular, it was found that empathy and self-esteem are important mediators affecting human rights sensitivity.

The main purpose is to verify the mediating effect on the motivation and impeding factors in learning participation. To this end, data were collected from 691 adult learners majoring in youth education at Korea National Open University, and Structural model analysis was performed using the SPSS 24.0 and AMOS 24.0 statistical programs. First, this study has shown that the learner characteristics had positive effect on the learning participation motivation, and the learning participation motivation had direct positive effect on the learning outcome. Second, the learner characteristics had a negative effect on the impeding factors in learning participation in a relationship with the learner characteristics, impeding factors in learning participation, and learning outcome for the adult learners in a distance university, and this study has shown that the impeding factors in learning participation had a direct negative effect on the learning outcome. Third, this study has found out that the learner characteristics as variables affecting the learning outcome directly had indirect effect on the learning outcome mediated by the motivation and impeding factors in learning participation. Lastly, this study was to discuss the implications and limitations in these research findings.

The purpose of this study was to develop a blended learning class analysis tool for adult learners at university and to find ways to improve the management of blended learning courses. To achieve the purpose, we reviewed adult learners, adult education, flipped learning and blended learning class components, and literature related to class analysis, and developed tools for class analysis based on expert review results. In addition, using the developed class analysis tool, class analysis was conducted on four subjects targeting adult learners in the university, and opinions of class-related learners were surveyed to find ways to improve the operation of blended learning courses. As a result, class analysis tools for blended learning courses were divided into online pre-learning areas and offline learning areas, and were drawn into 45 items. As a result of class analysis, it was found that the pre-learning check, which means the level of connection between online pre-learning and offline learning, was the most inadequate. Based on the results of the study, a plan to improve the operation of blended learning classes was suggested by designing classes considering the connection between online pre-learning and offline learning, expanding online pre-learning with adult learners participation, and strengtheningthe ability of instructors to operate offline classes.

This study explores the meaning of the government financial program in the field of higher lifelong education from the view point of the university and identifies its impact on the university. To this end, the perceptions of university’s members and the stakeholders on the three government financial projects carried out by KNOU were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed. It was found that the projects gained positive evaluation internally rather than externally in KNOU. Although, projects were intended to support the implementation of policies in the field of higher lifelong education, the university regarded the projects as a general financial support for the university development as well. In addition, it was suggested that university should enhance the understanding and participation of university members on the project to achieve more positive evaluation and elevate policy perception. In particular, the analysis emphasizes the neccesity of intensive communication process to reach a consensus internally in university and the stakeholders in the outside. Thus, this study proposes the identification of government financial program in the field of higher lifelong education, the refinement of methodology for the projects, and the supply of the methods for carrying out and managing the projects to strengthen the connection between the university’s development plan and the government financial programs.