Korean Educational Development Institute(KEDI)

Actual Conditions of Rural Education Stemming from the Shrinking Student Population and their Contermeasures

This study aims to investigate the students’ decrease of rural schools and rural education in South Korea and critically analyze previous policies regarding rural education to find appropriate, viable policy options.

This study focused on seven points about rural education in rural areas to achieve the purpose of this research. First, the pattern and actual condition of whole population change in South Korea were examined. Second, the pattern of whole population change was specifically compared with student population change. Third, we identified the impact of student population change in rural areas on rural education. Fourth, some cases of rural areas were studied to see the change of local population, which include overall and student population, and the transition of local communities and school education while understanding possibilities and limitations of previous educational policies responding to those changes within the rural areas. Fifth, policies related to rural education were critically analyzed. Sixth, we examined how foreign countries, including England, Canada, and Japan responded to the problem of their rural schools. Finally, educational options were suggested to change rural education in relation to the decrease of student population.

To address the issues mentioned above, this project adopted various methods, including document analysis, statistical analysis, individual interview, discourse analysis, Delphi method, conference, and workshop.