Home > Explore Content > All Issues > Article View
Lifelong Learning in Higher Education in Korea
Journal of Lifelong Learning Society
Abbr :
JLLS
2015, 11(4), pp.1-24
Publisher : Institute of Distance Education
Research Area : Education
2015, 11(4), pp.1-24
Publisher : Institute of Distance Education
Research Area : Education
-
As the number of college students has decreased, lifelong learning has attracted the attention of policy makers as a key driver of higher education reform. In this context, this study aims to analyze the development process of lifelong learning in higher education of Korea from a historical perspective. The findings of this study reveal that both student quota policies to regulate the supply of higher education as well as sociocultural factors (i.e., strong educational aspiration and credentialism) have contributed to the expansion of demand for higher education. The unmet demand has led to the expansion of potential demand for lifelong learning in higher education in 1990s. In response, the 1995. 5. 31 Education Reform introduced various policies that would increase the opportunities of higher education for mature students. The policies on credit bank system, part-time enrollment and cyber university altogether have partly met the demand of mature students for higher education. However, currently those policies have been regarded as a marginal success. It is because higher education is still considered not as a continuum of lifelong education in Korea, but as a completion of formal education. As a way of addressing this problem, the Korean government should reform higher education from a lifelong learning perspective and thus make higher education available for all, regardless of age. It should also make university education more diverse and flexible to accommodate various needs of mature students.
271 Viewed
Print this page
Download PDF