KRIVET 한국직업능력연구원 국무총리 산하 정부출연 연구기관

Ⅰ. Introduction	03
Ⅱ. Literature Review and Theoretical Discussion	05
Ⅲ. Research Methodology: Focus Group Interview	09
Ⅳ. South Korea’s Disaster Response System in Vocational Education	14
Ⅴ. Analyzing the Process of Improving Vocational Education Disaster Response Model from the Perspective of Time Lag Theory	20
Ⅵ. Conclusion	33 
References	38

Though understudied so far, it is hard to overemphasize the role of temporal dimension in empirical policy making and policy implementation. While we cannot entirely eliminate policy lags, any potential for effectively abbreviating it will translate into enhancement in government’s ability to produce quality outputs within a given timeframe. Through looking at the policy process of reforming South Korea’s vocational education disaster response model from the perspective of time lag theory, this study tests the theory’s applicability and explanatory power to derive important implications that may be of use in other countries. To that end, two sets of focus group interviews were conducted with 14 educators from vocational high schools to identify and analyze changes in the vocational education disaster response model over the course of the current COVID-19 pandemic. This study found that certain elements in the new model did benefit from abbreviated maturation periods even under the pandemic-caused constrained time horizon.  Important lessons and implications of the finding are then discussed .