일본 대학의 ‘늦은 전문화’의 도입과 실천 사례
Introduction and Implementation Cases of “Late Specialization” in Japanese Universities
2
조회
0
다운로드
0
인용
0
참고문헌
키워드
초록
人口減少や地方消滅といった社会的課題に直面している日本の大学では、将来社会に対応するための大学教育の革新が求められており、変革と改革に向けた様々な試みが行われている。その中で、大学入学時に専攻を決定せず、幅広い分野の基礎学問や多様な教養教育を受けた後に専攻を選択する「遅い専門化」が、主要大学を中心に広がっている点が注目される。 「遅い専門化」を導入している大学では、専攻が決まっていない入学生を対象とした教養教育が強化されており、文系と理系を横断する多様で幅広い教養教育が重視されている。一方で、専攻への進入時期が遅れることにより専門性の習得が遅れることへの懸念もあり、それを補うために、入学後に専攻の基礎学問などが教養教育に組み込まれるなど、専攻へとつながる教育課程が構成されるようになっている。 本論文では、日本の大学における「遅い専門化」の実践事例を通じて、韓国の大学で融合教育の一環として拡大されている専攻自律選択制への示唆を提供することを目的とする。日本の場合、教養教育を中心に文理融合教育のための教育体制を再編しようとする動きがあり、大学教養教育の重要性が新たに注目されている。また、主要大学を中心に高年次の教養教育が実施されている点も注目に値する。専攻課程に進学した後も、学部3・4年や大学院課程で継続的に教養教育を受けることができる点や、教養教育と専門教育を有機的に統合する教育プログラムの実施が求められている。今後も多様な大学の事例調査と研究が継続的に必要である。
Abstract
Faced with social challenges such as population decline and the disappearance of local communities, Japanese universities are being called upon to innovate their educational systems for the future. As a result, various attempts at change and reform are underway. Among these, the spread of “late specialization”—a system in which students do not select their major upon university entry but instead engage in a broad range of foundational and liberal arts studies before choosing a major—has been gaining attention, particularly at leading universities. At institutions implementing late specialization, liberal arts education is being strengthened to accommodate students who enter without a predetermined major. This has led to an increased emphasis on interdisciplinary liberal arts programs that span both the humanities and the sciences. On the other hand, concerns have been raised that delaying the timing of major selection may postpone the acquisition of specialized knowledge. To address this, some universities are incorporating introductory major courses into the liberal arts curriculum, thereby creating educational pathways that bridge general and specialized studies. This paper sought to provide implications for the flexible major selection system, which is being expanded as part of convergence education in Korean universities, by examining practical cases of “late specialization” in Japanese universities. In Japan, there have been efforts to reorganize educational frameworks around liberal arts education to promote integration between the humanities and sciences, thereby highlighting the renewed importance of general education at the university level. Moreover, it is noteworthy that upper-level liberal arts education is being implemented at major universities, allowing students to continue taking general education courses even after entering their major in the third and fourth years of undergraduate study, as well as at the graduate level. Such programs, which organically integrate liberal arts and specialized education, are increasingly in demand. Continued investigation and research into diverse university cases will be necessary moving forward.