Higher education research in south Korea: Research themes and methodologies in national journals

Abstract

This chapter explores the development of higher education research in South Korea (Korea, henceforth) from international and national perspectives. It first presents a brief historical background of higher education research in Korea in terms of academic programs, related associations, and specialized journals. The chapter points out the limited international engagement of the higher education research community in Korea and particularly focuses on the analysis of higher education research publications in national journals in terms of research themes, methodologies, and levels of analysis. The results show that higher education research in Korea has been heavily focused on policy studies at the national level and some student issues at the individual level. Moreover, research has mostly been based on quantitative methodological approaches and document analysis. The study suggests that higher education research in Korea needs to be more internationally engaged and more diversified in terms of research themes and methodologies.