An Analysis of the Trends in Character Education in University Using Topic Modeling with Big Data News

Abstract

This study attempted to identify the trends in university Character Education from a macro perspective and to derive meaningful implications for the internalization of university Personality Education by analyzing major keywords and topics used by the government before and after the implementation of the Personality Education Promotion Act (PEPA). For this study, after collecting news big data, which was announced from 2010 to 2021, topic modeling techniques were applied to a total of 510 news stories through a data refinement process. The topics and key keywords related to college Personality Education were analyzed before and after the PEPA was implemented.<br/> As a result of the analysis, before the government's implementation of the PEPA, the trends at university were centered on “essential Personality Education to promote sociality,” “cultivating global creative talents with personality capabilities,” “strengthening student Personality Education,” and “government policy to enhance Personality Education.” In particular, the topics that account for a relatively large proportion during this period were “fostering global creative talents with personality capabilities” and “government policies to internalize Personality Education.” In the period after the implementation of the PEPA, the Personality Education trends at university centered on “Personality Education for future society preparation,” “building a personality-centered paradigm in universities,” “building talent with personality and expertise,” and “expanding Personality Education through formal and informal curriculum.” In particular, the topics that account for a relatively large proportion during this period were the “expansion of Character Education through formal and informal curriculum” and “building a character-centered paradigm in universities.” Based on the results of this study, implications for the direction of university Personality Education were presented.