1. Outline of this study
The purposes of this study were to analyze the challenges and paradigm shift in the transforming age which requires a reform of vocational education system, and to provide the reform directions and strategies of Korean vocational education system based on the analysis of the current problems.
To accomplish the purposes of the study, the current situation and problems of Korean vocational education policies and system were reviewed through the previous related studies, and the reform trends of the vocational education of the selected countries, centered on Japan, the United States, Germany, and Finland, were comparatively reviewed. Furthermore, the SWOT analysis and Delphi method were utilized to diagnose and forcast the future views of Korean vocational education through experts related with vocational education. In addition, expert councils, advisory meetings and seminar were convened.
2. The Changes and the Challenges of the Vocational Education at the Transforming Age
Korea now confronts the momentum for paradigm shift by the changing internal and external environments requires the reform of the vocational education system. These environmental changes include knowledge-based society, globalization, decentralization, the expansion of autonomy, the liberalization of the education market, the changes of the population structure, the reduction of the school age population and the arrival of an aging society resulting from the slowdown of the population increase rate.
In addition, as for the changes of the employment structure, the expansion of the relative importance of the service industry, the expansion of the relative importance of the high skilled professional jobs, and the introduction of the employment approval system were presented.
The main characteristics of transforming age give rise to the vocational education paradigm shift and provide the challenges to the reform of the vocational education to cope with these changes.
3. Analysis of Korean Vocational Education Policy and System
1) Analysis of the major vocational education polices
In order to analyze the direction and the contents of the reforms of the vocational education intended by the government so far, the 2nd education reform plans of 1996 and the 6 vocational education reform plans that have been formulated on the government level were analyzed.
The results of the analysis were as following: ① The absence of a master plan for the reformation of the vocational education system based on educational system in general ② The lack of evaluation mechanism of the vocational education policies. ③ The lack of a key policy means for the implementation of vocational education reforms. ④ The lack of the understanding or the PR toward the groups related to the vocational education policy. ⑤ Insufficient investment and decline of administrative support. ⑥ The confusion of the identity and the roles of the vocational education institutions. ⑦ The lack of quality control system for vocational education. ⑧ The insufficient supports for the projects and programs that can strengthen the career and guidance in schools. ⑨ The lack of collaborative partnerships among government bodies for the efficient operation of vocational education. And, ⑩ The lack of the fostering policies of the private vocational education and training industry outside formal education system.
2) Aanalysis of the current vocational education system
The major features of the laws related to vocational education were as follows: ① The laws that comprehensively include the whole of the vocational education system are dispersed instead of being unified. ② The concepts and the terminologies related to vocational education are not stipulated in the laws and the related terminologies are used in a very mixed way. ③ The laws related to vocational education do not comprehensively include the details that can embody lifelong vocational education. ④ The matters related to the vocational career counselling and guidence at the primary and secondary education level are not stipulated. ⑤ The functions and the roles of vocational education institutions are not clearly stipulated and there is a lack of the reflection of the economic and social changes.
The following can be pointed out as the main features and the problems of Korean vocational education Institutions:
① Insufficiency of the support system of the career counselling and guidence through lifetime; ② Poor academic achievements of those who have completed vocational education; ③ Insufficiency of the quality control of vocational education; ④ Insufficiency of the roles and the identities between vocational education institutions; ⑤ Difficulty in securing enrolles by the decrease of school-aged population; ⑥ Lack of field adapatbility of vocational education completers resulting from Irrelevant curriculum operation deviated from industrial demand ⑦ The insufficiency of the redesign of vocational education system in terms of lifelong learning; ⑧ The problem of the appropriateness and the flexibility of secondary vocational education system; ⑨ The confusion and the inappropriateness of the use of the terminologies related to vocational education; ⑩ Insuffienct investment and decline of administrative support
In addition, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and the threat of the current Korean vocational education by the SWOT analysis of vocational education system. Also, in order to forecast the future changes of the Korean vocational education system, 2 levels of the Delphi were executed. The possibilities of change and the degree of hope were asked by extracting and organizing 32 items that anticipate the changes of vocational education at the transforming age, and the experts agreed the possibility of change and the degree of hope highly regarding the 32 items.
4. Reform Trends of the Vocational Education Systems in Selected Countries and the Suggestions
Japan, the United States, Germany, and Finland were selected by basing on ① whether there are administrative links between vocational education and vocational training, and ② the path features of the secondary vocational education.
As for the special features and the suggestions of the reforms of the major countries, the following can be pointed out: ① the reforms of the vocational education system responding to the knowledge-based economy by federal or central government; ② Diversification and flexibility o of the secondary vocational education system; ③ Re-organization and strengthening of the vocational education in higher education system; ④ Enlargement of the participation opportunities for field training and the strengthening of the supporting system; ⑤ Strengthening of the vocation guidance and support through various experience activities.