통과의례 유물을 활용한 삶과 죽음 교육이 생명존중의식에 미치는 영향

Abstract

Humankind made strides in the advancement of science and technology by coming to grips with the fear of death amid deep reflection on the finiteness of their life. As a result, humankind over-came many diseases and extended lifespan, and furthermore, is bracing for the post-human era where they can live an immortal life beyond biological limits. In such a process, however, life was objectified and relegated to the existence consumed and produced under the principle of market economy. Consequently, it has become more likely that life will be selected by capital, which has given rise to the problems such as the complaints and commercialization of life. Such problems stem from the viewpoint that considers death as a human defect and separates death from life and daily life. Unilateral avoidance and incomprehension of death rather precipitates excessive fear and fright and leads to distorted view of life. Moreover, our society has witnessed an increase in the number of students who experience death directly due to the surge in the number of companion animals and plants at home, and a growing number of people are having indirect experience with death via mass media or social media that disseminate the news of accidents and wars that occur around the world. Particularly, students, who are exposed to stimulating contents, tend to consume excessive fear of death and are more likely to have false perceptions of life and death. That necessitates the life-and-death education which is essential in helping ensure adequate understanding of life and death. Life-and-death education is a type of education that helps shape the lives of the humanity in a more positive way based on the subject matter of life and death that can change the human beings most effectively. In this study, therefore, the 18th education program was designed to induce meaningful changes in the respect for life by selecting the artifacts necessary for the life-and-death education and examining their educational value. The artifacts were selected with a focus on the rite of passage, a series of ritual processes that human being would experience in the course of life, and a practical study was selected as the methodology. At this time, triangular verification, which uses various data sources, was applied in order to strengthen both validity and reliability of study, and in parallel with that, observations, interviews, journals of researchers and research participants, activity data, audio and video data, etc., were collected. The results of the study were as follows: First, study participants showed a significant change in the respect for life of individual. In particular, noticeable qualitative change was observed in con- nection with ‘Self-respect’, a trait valuing oneself based on self-understanding and reflection, and ‘The will to live’ which reflected the attitude of making the best efforts for valuable life. Second, significant changes were observed in the respect for life of others. Particularly, there was notice-able qualitative change in terms of the ‘Respect for others’, the trait considering others as important as himself/herself, and the ‘Care’, the trait intending to take care of others and provide help warmheartedly. Third, there was significant change in the respect for life of animals and plants. In particular, there was significant qualitative change in terms of the ‘Respect for animals and plants’ based on the recognition of the value of animals and plants and the attitude of cherishing them and the ‘Gratitude’ that appreciates the nature with humility. This study, which drew a conclusion that life-and-death education would have a significant influ-ence on the respect for life, is meaningful as follows: First, the results of this study showed the imperativeness and possibility of life-and-death education at the educational sites of schools and can be used as specific class materials as they would provide theoretical basic data for life-and-death education targeting the elementary school students, which can meet the wider-ranging educational demands of education consumers. Second, this study is an implementation study that investigated the correlation between the life-and-death education and the life-respect consciousness, the first in-depth study carried out by education experts of school education institutions, and therefore has a significant practical value. Third, the results of this study can be used as a basic material for mapping out educational policies related to implementation of life-and-death education in various educational institutions. Thus, this researcher hopes that the life-and-death education will become part of general education for the public and underpinned by the support at educational policy level in the period head, and that various educational contents would be developed so as to help teachers at various sites of education.