To meet the global and informational 21st century, numerous countries around the world, including Korea, have begun to reform their own educational systems. However, the experience of their reforms did not solve the problems of traditional education but rather have made the problems worse. In the early 1990s, thousands of students committed suicide, and tens of thousands of students dropped out from schools or could not adapt themselves to the schools in Korea. In order to solve the problem, the government and people from all classes started to promote the idea of alternative education enthusiastically. The first alternative school in Korea was established in March of 1997, and the number of alternative schools had amounted to about 80 in 2005. Although most alternative schools did not get the recognition from the education authorities because they didn¡¦t conform to the education legislations and regulations, and thus making them lack of financial support, the number of alternative schools still kept rising due to the efforts of the religious groups, the societal communities and parents. By analyzing the backgrounds such as philosophies, humanities, politics, economy, history and geography of Korea, the researcher try to realize why the alternative education quickly developed in Korea these past years. The conclusions of the research are as follows: I.As policies changed, traditional education can¡¦t help but ignore the expectations of the minority. The minority then turned to seek new methods, and alternative education constantly developed under the situation. II.Before the development of alternative education, the masses of every field were awakened by this social revolutions. Hence, they could be the main force to develop alternative education. III.In Korea, alternative schools began in senior high school, and most of them were authorized by the education bureaucracies. But most alternative schools at junior high and elementary education levels were not authorized because of the compulsory education statue. IV.Unlike the other education revolutions, the alternative education movement was actively participated by various kinds of groups. V.Without adequate preparation, many alternative schools were established too hastily in a short time. In addition, the society and educators didn¡¦t have enough time to gain the correct knowledge about alternative education, and thus have encountered quite a few difficulties which need to be solved. VI.The development of alternative education in Korea is deeply concerned with its history, geography, politics, economy, philosophy and humanities roots. According to the above conclusions, the researcher proposes some suggestions with the consideration of Korean culture: I.Suggestions for alternative schools A.To try to find workable strategies, and ask the government for more practical help. B.To improve the working conditions and environment of the teachers. C.To get involved in the activities in the neighborhood or in the society, and to make the activities successful. II.Suggestions for the government A.To enforce the compulsory education legislation flexibly and to respect the right of school choice in the part of parents. B.To actively support alternative schools. C.To lessen and simplify the sophistication of regulations at school administration procedures. D.To provide some measures to train the teachers of alternative schools. III.Suggestions for the teachers of traditional education A.To identify oneself as the subject of education activity itself. B.To actively explore alternative education and apply the workable part of it to the traditional education. IV.Suggestions for further research A.To do a thorough research on alternative education of Taiwan. B.To locate some possible ways to apply several aspects of Korean alternative schools to education in Taiwan. Keywords: Korean education, alternative education, alternative schools.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--York University, 2007. Graduate Programme in Education. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 177-183). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR32023

Thesis (M.A.) - Simon Fraser University, 2005. / Theses (Faculty of Education) / Simon Fraser University. Also issued in digital format and available on the World Wide Web.

Title from title page of PDF (University of Missouri--St. Louis, viewed February 22, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 57-63).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, School of Education and Human Development, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Boise State University, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 247-257). Also available online via the ProQuest Digital Dissertations database.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2000. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 102 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 90-95).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2009. / Open access. Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-73). Print copy also available.

Thousands of children are absent from school every day. Students miss school for a multitude of reasons connected to the student, their family, the school, and the wider society. This research conceptualizes absenteeism as voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary absences revolve around students’ deliberate decisions to miss school; whereas involuntary absences are often imposed on the student. For example, preferring to engage in some recreational activity outside of the school is considered a voluntary absence, whereas having to work during school hours to earn an income is an involuntary absence. Unfortunately, the majority of mainstream schools do not demarcate between voluntary and involuntary absences and reprimand pupils for absenteeism regardless of its cause. As a result of these actions, many youths are pushed, pulled, or fade away from their education. A lucky few find their way to alternative schools where they are offered a last chance to earn a high school diploma. Some alternative schools are able to not only raise attendance, but also to accommodate involuntary absenteeism, where a student is allowed to miss some class without penalty. However, little Canadian evidence exists documenting how alternative schools respond to absenteeism. This research interviewed 40 students and 17 staff members in four alternative schools in Ontario, Canada, to capture their perspectives on absenteeism. The findings indicate that mainstream schools the students attended were not effective in responding to absenteeism; whereas the alternative schools were better positioned to ensure that the students were able to progress with their education regardless of their ability to attend consistently. Nevertheless, there are concerns about the pupils’ readiness to succeed in postsecondary education and/or subsequent work upon graduation from an alternative school.

The widespread effects of student failure and dropout have social, judicial, and economic implications. This study addressed factors that can affect students academic identification, an element that can influence dropout among U.S. high school students identified as at-risk. Research indicates that student motivation and academic identification may be linked to improvements in students academic achievement and reductions in dropout rates. The purpose of this quantitative investigation was to address high dropout rates among at-risk, high school students by exploring the extent to which students motivational beliefs in school predicted their academic identification and achievement. Specifically, I explored the extent to which the MUSICSM Model of Academic Motivation Inventory (MUSIC Inventory) produced valid scores among at-risk high school students, and the extent to which students motivational beliefs about school predicted their academic identification and achievement. This quantitative study utilized structural equation modeling (SEM) and involved a sample of 100 at-risk students from an alternative high school in the Mid-Atlantic United States. Data were collected via paper surveys, which I administered to students during October, 2015. All survey data were entered into SPSS 23 for analysis. Results indicated that Cronbach's alpha coefficients were low for all MUSIC Model components except for care, which demonstrated modest reliability. Data analysis also indicated that three of the five components of the MUSIC Model " usefulness, success, and caring" were positively associated with academic identification. Thus, there is preliminary evidence to suggest that teachers may be able to have a positive effect on the academic success of at-risk high school students by finding ways to improve students perceptions of usefulness, success, and care. Educational stakeholders can utilize findings from the present study to prompt an exploration of ways to improve these motivational components to promote greater academic success among this student population. / Ph. D.