The aim of this study is to diagnose the current state of the Korean Society forthe Study of Christian Religious Education (KSCRE) and suggest ways to consolidateits identity as an academic community by extracting related factors. KSCRE is asynthesis ...
The aim of this study is to diagnose the current state of the Korean Society forthe Study of Christian Religious Education (KSCRE) and suggest ways to consolidateits identity as an academic community by extracting related factors. KSCRE is asynthesis of diverse academic generations, multitudinous practice fields, and variedacademic disciplines. This study investigates the levels of recognition, participation,and satisfaction depending on the membership periods, practice fields, and academicmajors of the participants. The total number of participants is 70, among whichjunior scholars and leading ministers responded most actively. The return rate was35.9%, and the results are as follows.
First, with regard to the level of recognition of KSCRE activity, it is shown thatthe participants with memberships of 3 to 5 years had the lowest average; therewere significant differences among the different groups. Identity as a KSCRE memberand belongingness were also lowest among the participants with memberships of3-5 years and among those who were enrolled in master’s and doctoral programs.
The participants considered “the need of diversified academic perspectives andresearch areas” and “the need to change KSCRE” as the most important issue and“the absence of cooperative research among scholars and ministers” as the mostserious problem.
Second, the average participation rate was the lowest among the three factorsof recognition, participation, and satisfaction, and was even lower compared withthe results of previous studies in which participants responded that they werewilling to actively participate in KSCRE activities for the development of theacademy. However, the mean of the participation rate decreased in practice,which requires further investigation from various aspects. To grow as a soundacademic community, KSRCE needs to sufficiently announce their activities andevents to their members and find ways to increase the member participation.
Third, the level of satisfaction was subcategorized as satisfaction with organizationaloperations, conferences, and academic books and journals. For each subcategory,group with a participation background of 5 to 10 years, group covering primaryand secondary schools, and group with majors in Christian Education showed thehighest mean, whereas the mean for those with memberships of 3 to 5 years wasthe lowest. With regard to the satisfaction with academic books and journals, themean utilization rate was lowest for research and/or education purposes. This isdirectly related to the academic identity of the study of Christian education, whichpossibly threatens the academic community, and thus a follow-up examination ofthis matter is needed.
Based on the results, this study proposed measures to provide equal opportunitiesfor participation, form close relationships, reinforce the connection between theoryand practice, provide occasions for diverse academic discussions, and enhancemutual solidarity in life.