This study has attempted to search for a basis of research and fulfillmentto be proceed with having further interests in the future by examining theresearch trends until now and looking for its implications after analyzing andexamining the papers related to ‘multicultural’ published in the journals.
This study made an analysis of 46 treatises that deal with multicultural matterssuch as multicultural families and education, selected out of 4,970 registeredfrom 2000 until 2013 in Korean, in terms of distribution, target group, researchmethod, theme and contents(6 sub-theme & 5 category). The results wereas followed.
First was that such treatises began to be published from 2007 with anincrease in political interest and support, and since then their number has beenincreased or retained. Second, adults who finished off their school comprisedthe highest percentage (28%) of target groups, followed by preschoolers(26%)and school children(17%). Adults and preschoolers showed similar percentages.
Such high percentages were observed in combinations of two or more agegroups or in other types in literature(28%). As regards the composition oftarget groups, comparative groups composed of babies and children and singlegroups composed of babies, children or adults accounted for the highestpercentage(26% each). And it was a very small piece of the type on disabledchildren in multicultural families’ studies(13%). Third, most of the studies wereconducted with quantitative method, i.e., ‘comparison’ or ‘survey.’ Actually,such methods were found to comprise 76%. Fourth, it was found that thestudies came under 6 sub- theme and 5 category(chracteristics/survey/intervention/assessment-related/other studies). Among that the highest percentages wereaccounted for by ‘the characteristics, development or ability of children ofmulticultural families or bilingual people’ and ‘the awareness and experienceof multiple cultures, and the need for them’(50% and 22% respectively). Lastly,the studies embody a total of 78 keywords, also high frequency(81%) ofwhich were accounted for by ‘Linguistic Development and Characteristics’and ‘Multiple Cultures.’ The directions, tasks and limitations, etc of futureresearch have been discussed based on these results.