‘입시위주 교육’에 전제된 ‘교육’ 개념의 비판적 검토 -한국교육개발원 종합보고서 <입시위주 교육의 실상과 대책>을 중심으로-

Abstract

This study, as the first phase of the “Educational Concept Analysis Project for countering ‘education for the entrance examination’”, critically examined the concept of ‘education’ presumed in the Korean Educational Development Institute(KEDI) research report that dealt with the current situation and countermeasures of education for the entrance examination. The problematic issues associated with the concepts of education can be classified into four separate categories. First, the concept of education assumed in the KEDI report was revealed to consider education as merely a means for school entrance or preparation for school entrance and have a distorted perspective on the subject of education, based on the common sense that all aspects within schools constitute education. Second, the KEDI report, by reducing education to the external contexts, specifically within the realms of psychology and sociology, concealed educational phenomena, inevitably resulting in confusing the context. Third, in this report, issues were identified where education was defined only in relation to the results that education is expected to bring out. This approach defers the construction of the conceptual system and the value of education and leads to the divergence in causality and contradictions between concepts. Fourth, while the report emphasized the importance of the “essence of education” and its “intrinsic value” as an alternative to overcome the shortcomings of education for the entrance examination, it paradoxically renders the argument empty due to the neglect of a clear understanding of the conceptual system of education. The issues outlined above originate from the confusion between entrance-centric schooling and education. While entrance assessments and educational phenomena should be distinctly demarcated within the school context, the report is deficient in establishing the requisite conceptual boundaries and theoretical underpinnings necessary for their coexistence. Addressing these limitations is a challenge that must be overcome through the supplementation of appropriate theories distinguishing education from entrance examinations.