한국 초등지리교육 학위논문의 연구 동향에 대한 언어 네트워크 분석

The objective of this study was to systemically and structurally analyze trends in primary geography education of M.A. and Ph.D. dissertations in South Korea. The analysis was conducted using KrKwic, a program for semantic network analysis specialized in Korean language. Since early 2000, the number of M.A. and Ph.D. dissertations has increased. Thirty-three core concepts were extracted from titles and keywords of these dissertations. In the semantic network, core concepts of various themes of primary geography education including primary geography teaching and children’s geographies were interconnected and centered on main central concepts directly related to primary social studies. Practitioner-perspectives were reflected in research trends in South Korean primary geography major dissertations. The semantic network also included some minor fields of primary geography education, including children’s geographies. These results imply that South Korean primary geography education dissertations might be used to understand and improve primary geography education in practitioner perspectives. This study also suggests the need to approach relatively peripheral themes in the semantic network such as children’s geographies and primary teachers. Follow-up studies are needed to understand individual dissertation’s detailed discussion at qualitative levels.