KJC Korea
Journal Central

This purpose of this study examined the experience of joint learning activities being developed in the “Good Talk” of the cultural cooperative in S city. To this end, seven members who have been active for more than four years were selected, and case study methods were selected among qualitative studies appropriate to reveal the uniqueness and interaction of their communities. The results of the study that analyzed the data collected through in-depth interviews, participatory observation, literature data, media, SNS, and blogs are as follows. First, the members were participating in an active attitude while experiencing common learning such as a sense of achievement and confidence through activities. Second, the experience of environmental play activities showed overcoming conflict, forming self-sustaining, and further realizing common values. Third, it was recognized that common learning experiences through activities can be self-reliant by understanding differences and building their own culture. Based on these research results, the meaning and significance of the members’ joint learning experiences were discussed.

A qualitative study was conducted to explore the digital literacy and lifelonglearning experiences of older learners during the COVID-19 pandemic. Theresearch question is ‘What is the experience of participating in lifelong learning ofolder learners who are digitally illiterate in the context of the COVID-19pandemic?’. Data were collected by conducting in-depth interviews with nine olderlearners attending the ‘Lifelong School’ located in ‘S’ city, and analyzed usingcontinuous comparative analysis. The study conclusion is as follows. First, olderlearners during the COVID-19 period feel a combination of frustration andgratitude as digital illiterate, and there is a need to support digital literacyeducation at all times. Second, the digital literacy and lifelong learning participationof older learners should consider the relational context and support learning clubsand small group activities. Third, there is a need for individualized digital literacysupport measures because there are differences in learning ability and educationalperformance due to aging and individual differences in experience.

With the forced adoption of online classes due to the spread of COVID-19, aneducational gap has become severe in school education. While empirical researchon this matter in the context of school education has burgeoned, little has beendone in the field of lifelong education. To address this loophole, this paperempirically analyzed the changes in Korea’s lifelong education in the aftermath ofCOVID-19 regarding the overall participation rate of lifelong education, theparticipation rate of online lifelong education, and the gap in participation ratebetween classes. From the analysis, we identified a few significant changes anddrew implications for the future of lifelong education.

This study examined educational policies and systems in other countries relatedto distance education support implemented in the context of the COVID-19pandemic to inform related domestic policy. For this purpose, we analyzed schooland education informatization in the United States, Canada, Germany, Finland, andJapan. School informatization was defined in terms of educational facilities,environment, and educational support platforms. Educational informatization wasdefined in terms of teaching methods, learning methods, and curriculums. Theresults showed that, before the COVID-19 pandemic, some passive digital equalitysupport was provided to promote the use of digital devices in classrooms. Duringthe pandemic, digital equality was further promoted in various ways, such asexpanding facilities and free support, enacting laws related to distance education,and developing related curriculums.