청소년 경제교육의 문제점과 개선방안에 대한 연구

Abstract

The growth potential of a country is closely related to proper understanding of the market economy by the public and their ability to deal with it. For the policy that is not based on understanding of the market economy can not achieve good results. In this respect, proper economic sense of adolescents is one of the factors which enhance potential competitive power of Korea. We live in knowledge and information-based society. Knowledge is created, acquired and delivered by people. Therefore, in the knowledge and information-based society, education works very significantly. So, when global people with competitive power are produced through proper education, our bright future will be assured. This is the time we have to reconsider what economic education is to adjust the change of the time for the adolescents who will lead the future. Recent tasks given to our economic society are economic growth and entry into advanced countries through maximized national competitive power. For the purposes, reasonable ability to deal with problems, proper economic recognition and attitude of the people should be established. So, these days, it is very desirable to emphasize the importance of economic education, but the increased interest in economic education indicates our economic situation is at risk. Actually, as unemployment and credit delinquency in our country are rapidly increasing, various crimes due to economic problems are appearing while overconsumption is increasing. The rate of saving is decreasing and more adults who graduated from college, but did not have a proper job are dependent on their parents. To prevent such risky situation, our recognition on economy should be improved. Though economic education for the young should be reinforced and proper approaches and contents are needed, our present conditions have been seriously distorted due to our college admission system and lack of professionalism of teachers. And economic views of teachers are also unreasonable, distorted and prejudiced. For effective economic education that enhances our economic potential, our economic education should be innovated. This study is to speculate the concept and character of economic education, its goals and necessity, and transitional process of curriculum on social studies centering on secondary and high school curriculum on social studies. For the purposes, this study compares the past economic education to the current, and the current status of economic education between Korea and foreign countries. To develop reasonable economic recognition and attitude, above all, proper economic education is necessary. The current economic education has less units as it is not considered as important for college entrance examination and as it is recognized as a difficult subject focusing on only theoretical aspect rather than practical aspect, students tend to evade it. And parents tend to be disinterested in economic education as they are dependent on school education, which caused children to have poor economic mind. So, a proper economic programs for the adolescents should be developed. As our economic education is dealt with in the curriculum presented by the Dept. of Social Studies Education at College of Education or College of Teachers or Dept. of Social Studies Education in other college and it is buried in a large frame of social studies education, it has no consistent system or clear educational goal. To overcome such problems, this study presents improvement plans with a classification into school policy and family life: First, to reinforce the weight of economic education, the subject of economy should be changed as a required subject or the units of economy in social studies should be increased. Second, training system for teachers who will be in charge of economic education should be reinforced. For effective economic education, teachers who major in economy at college should be employed. And training system for the present teachers should be improved. As the present economic education is included in the subject of social studies, the teachers who majored in politics, law, society? culture, geography, and history may teach economic education. So training for them should be separately organized in methods and contents for the teachers who did not major in economy and those who majored in economy. Third, out of the rote learning and cramming method of teaching focusing only on college entrance, learner-oriented education should be developed and problems in real economic life should be carefully considered to find solutions. Fourth, research on development of quality textbooks and how to educate should be learner-oriented. As the spirit of curriculum is specifically realized in textbooks, diversified efforts to develop quality textbooks are needed. This study presents suggestions on school policy and family life to solve the problems in economic education: First, our economic education should focus on practical life rather than school education focusing on theories. Current society has produced many credit delinquents due to insensible consumption and the issue of credit delinquency has been expanded to social level out of the individual level. To root out this problem, economic education for healthy consumption should be reinforced at home Second, financial support and education should be provided through cooperation with private enterprises. In the U.S.A., state governments have authority and legal and institutional systems to support the development of economic education for the adolescents. In Japan, schools provide economic education for even young children so that they may learn the basic concepts of economy and acquire economic thoughts, which is organized by the corporate economic education research association. Professional economic education organizations that enhance healthy consumption and economic mind should be established through cooperation between private enterprises and national institutional system. It is hoped that such suggestions will be helpful to overcome the problems in economic education and activate the education. As it is not believed that economic education can be accomplished with its partial improvement, schools, teachers, students and educators should cooperate and make every effort for better economic education.