본 연구는 평생교육의 양극화와 개별화가 심화되는 현상에 대한 문제의식에서 출발하였다. 평생학습의 ‘양극화’ 현상은 학습기회의 결핍에서 오는 교육 소외와 관련된 사회적 과제이며, 평생학습의 ‘개별화’ 문제는 학습의 결과가 지역 참여나 일상의 변화로 전환되지 못하기 때문에 발생한다. 본 연구는 평생학습 중심의 마을만들기를 통해서 평생교육의 양극화·개별화 문제를 해결하고 마을공동체를 형성하려는 10년간의 실천활동을 체계화하기 위한 목적으로 시도하였다.
평생학습마을만들기(Building Lifelong Learning Village)는 마을의 지속가능한 성장과 발전을 위해 관련된 환경과 조건을 평생학습으로 재조직하여 주민들이 마을공동체의 가치를 새롭게 발견하고, 이웃과 돌봄의 관계를 만들며, 삶을 의미있게 엮어 갈 수 있는 힘을 키우는 ‘배움 문화’를 형성하는 활동과 실천을 말한다. 본 연구에서는 평생학습마을만들기의 과정을 살펴보고, 이 과정에서 성장해 온 주민들과 마을의 변화를 확인하며, 평생학습마을만들기의 실천원리와 전략을 검토하였다. 구체적으로는 다음과 같은 연구문제를 설정하였다.
첫째, 평생학습마을만들기의 참여실천과정은 어떻게 전개되어 왔는가?
둘째, 평생학습마을만들기에 주도적으로 참여하게 된 주민들은 어떻게 성장해 왔는가?
셋째, 평생학습마을만들기는 지역에 어떠한 변화를 만들어 냈는가?
넷째, 평생학습마을만들기의 참여실천과정에서 어떠한 실천 원리가 생성되었는가?
연구자는 참여실천연구를 통하여 이 작업을 수행하였다. 1·2차 실행은 참여실천연구 방법을, 3차 실행에서는 참여연구방법으로 접근하였다. 연구의 공간적 범위는 시흥시와 평실협이 함께 실행한 1차·2차·3차 평생학습마을 6곳이며, 시간적 범위는 2007년 5월부터 2016년 9월까지 약 10년간이다.
첫째 연구문제에 대한 결과는 제Ⅳ장에서 분석하였다.
1차 실행은 참이슬아파트에서 평생학습시범마을만들기를 2007년부터 3년간 추진하였다. 관리동에 마을학교를 설치하여 주민의 학습권 보장을 이루었고, 학습동아리와 마을강사 등 핵심리더를 발굴하였으며, 아파트 엘리베이터 문화, 어린이 프리마켓, 마을축제와 같은 공동체 문화가 형성되었다.
2차 실행은 참이슬 평생학습마을의 모델을 확산할 목적으로 2012년부터 3년간 시흥시 5개 마을에서 추진하였다. 각 마을에 마을학교를 설치하고, 유급 마을코디네이터를 배치하여 5개 마을에서 핵심리더를 발굴하였으며, 5개 평생학습마을 네트워크가 시작되어 평생학습마을의 가치를 확산하게 되었다. 이를 통하여 학습동아리가 협동조합으로 진화하는 사회적 경제로의 연계가능성을 확인할 수 있었다.
3차 실행은 시흥시 다문화 원룸단지에서 평생학습을 통하여 마을의제를 해결할 목적으로 2013년부터 3년간 추진하였다. 마을활동가, 평생교육실천협의회, 시 행정과 참여연구팀을 구성하여 평생학습마을사업의 계획-실행-평가-성찰-재계획의 실천과 연구를 병행한 참여연구방식을 택하였다. 마을공원을 마을학교로 활용하여 마을광장, 문화공연장, 육아나눔터, 동네문화를 형성하고, 마을활동가 모임(정일품)과 중국인 마을활동가 모임, 마을을 생각하는 마을어른들의 모임(냅둬유)의 주민모임이 결성되었다. 다문화 원룸단지의 고질적인 쓰레기문제 해결을 위해 시 행정과 민관 거버넌스 학습모임을 정례화함으로써 협력적 거버넌스를 형성하였다.
둘째·셋째·넷째 연구문제는 제Ⅴ장에서 분석하였다.
평생학습마을만들기는 공간ㆍ과제ㆍ관계ㆍ문화 차원의 하위요소가 필요하며, 이 세 요소를 선순환시키는 토대가 평생학습이다. 주민 평생학습을 매개로 변화된 주민·마을·중간지원조직의 성장을 논의하고, 현장에서 생성된 실천원리와 전략을 제시하였다.
평생학습마을의 성장은 주민의 주체형성, 마을 평생학습생태계 조성, 중간지원조직의 매개적 전문성을 통한 성장으로 나눌 수 있다. 주민은 평생학습에 무관심한 주민→소극적 참여자→적극적 참여자→마을시민으로의 단계적으로 성장한다. 마을학교라는 거점 공간이 조성되고, 마을 문해력을 확장해 가는 주민공동학습이 활성화된다. 이 과정에서 주민의 생활과제와 마을의제 들이 해결된다. 이러한 경험이 축적되면서 배움 문화와 교육나눔 문화가 형성되며, 주민들의 상승된 역량이 지속가능한 평생학습마을을 이끌어가는 마을 자치력으로 발현된다.
둘째, 평생학습마을만들기의 실천 원리는 공간만들기, 생활과제 해결, 관계만들기, 문화만들기의 동형적 실천을 통해 선순환된다.
셋째, 공간 만들기는 마을학교의 공적 공간 조성·마을학교 운영전략 측면에서, 생활과제 해결은 평생학습이 삶과의 관계 속에서 구현될 수 있는 전략 차원에서, 관계 만들기는 마을주민의 시민성 함양을 위한 전략 차원에서, 문화 만들기는 배움 문화와 공동체 문화를 조성해가는 전략차원에서 논의하였다.
본 연구는 평생학습마을만들기의 모든 과정에 연구자와 연구참여자가 함께 계획-실행-공유-성찰-재계획하는 참여실천연구 방식을 시도하여 주민과 마을의 변화와 성장을 확인하고, 평생학습마을에 대한 총체적 이해를 시도했다는 점에서 의의를 찾을 수 있다. 평생교육학 연구에서 참여실천연구적 접근에 대한 관심이 필요하며, 평생학습도시사업 측면에서는 마을 중심의 평생학습활성화에 대한 전략적 설계가 요청되고 있다.

This study started with the awareness of the phenomenon that
polarization and individualization of lifelong education gets worse.
Polarization of lifelong education is a social issue related to educational
marginalization that comes from the lack of learning opportunities and
individualization of lifelong learning occurs due to the limitation that the
result of learning does not lead to regional participation or changes in daily
life. This study started with the goal to systematize a 10-year-long
practice that aims to resolve the issue of polarization and individualization
of lifelong education and to form village communities by building villages
centered on lifelong education.
Building Lifelong Learning Village refers to activities and practices that
the residents reform environments and conditions with lifelong learning for
sustainable growth and development of villages, rediscover the value of
village communities, form the caring relationship with neighbors, and
establish the learning culture through which people get the power to create
their life in a meaningful way. This study showed the process of creating
lifelong learning villages, found out the changes of residents and villages
that grew in the process, and reviewed the practical principles and
strategies to create lifelong learning villages. Research questions are as
follows.
First, how has the process of participatory practices of building lifelong
learning villages proceeded?
Second, how have the residents who took the leading role in building
lifelong learning villages been growing?
Third, what changes did lifelong learning villages bring to the regions?
Fourth, what principle of implementation was created in the process of
participatory practices of building lifelong learning villages?
The researcher conducted the research through participatory action
research. The first and second implementation was conducted as
participatory action research and the third was approached as participatory
research. The research sites was the six lifelong learning villages that
Siheung City and Pyungshilhyup together implemented, and temporal scope
of the research was about 10 years from May 2007 to September 2016.
First, the result of the research question was analyzed in chapter IV of
the research report. For the first implementation, the project of building
lifelong learning villages was carried forward for 3 years from 2007. By
establishing a village school in the administration building, residents’ right
to learn was guaranteed, learning groups were formed and core leaders
such as village instructors were found, and community culture was created
such as the culture of apartment elevators, children’s flea market, and
village festivals.
The second implementation proceeded in 5 villages in Siheung City for 3
years from 2012 with the goal of spreading the model of lifelong learning
villages. Village schools were established in each village, paid village
coordinators were assigned and core leaders were discovered in 5 villages,
and the network of 5 lifelong learning villages started, spreading the value
of lifelong learning villages. It verified the possibility of social economy
that learning groups evolve into cooperative associations.
The third implementation was carried out with the goal of resolving
issues of villages through lifelong learning in multi-cultural studio complex
in Siheung City for 3 years from 2013. By composing village activists, the
lifelong education practicing conference, teams of participatory research on
city administration, it took the participatory research method that combine
practice and research that includes planning-implementation–evaluation
-introspection-replanning of the lifelong learning village project. By using a
village park as a village school, village culture was formed surrounding a
village plaza, a concert hall, and a shelter for sharing child-rearing
information, and residents’ clubs were created such as the group of village
activists(Jeong-ilpum), the group of Chinese village activists, and the group
of seniors who care about the village(Nepdoyu). To resolve the chronic
waste issue in the multi-cultural studio complex, it was decided to
regularly hold public-private governance learning group meetings with city
administration and cooperative governance was formed.
Second, third, and fourth research questions were analyzed in chapter V
of the research report.
Building lifelong learning villages require sub-factors in the dimension of
space, relationship, and culture. The ground for the virtuous cycle of the
three factors is lifelong education. With the medium of residents’ lifelong
learning, this study discussed the growth of residents, villages, and
medium supporting organizations and suggested the principle of
implementation and strategies that were created in the field.
Lifelong learning villages grow through the process of residents
becoming the main agents, creation of the ecosystem for lifelong learning
villages, and the mediational expertise of medium supporting organizations.
The growth of residents show the phased progression: residents who are
indifferent in lifelong learning→passive participants→active participants→
people in the village. Strongpoint gaps which are village schools are
created and residents’ group learning that grows the literacy of the village
people is promoted. While such experiences accumulate, learning culture
and educational sharing culture is created and the improved competency of
the residents serves as the autonomous power of the village that leads
sustainable lifelong learning villages.
Second, the implementation principle of building lifelong learning villages
go through a virtuous cycle through the isomorphic practice of creating
space, solving life issue, creating relationship, and creating culture.
Third, creating space was discussed in the aspect of creating public
space of village schools and the strategy of operating village schools;
solving life issue was discussed in the aspect of the strategy to practice
lifelong learning with life relation, creating relationship was discussed in
the aspect of the strategy to raise citizenship of village people; and
creating culture was discussed in the aspect of the strategy to created
learning culture and caring culture.
This study is significant in that it found out the changes and growth of
residents and villages, and sought a comprehensive understanding of
lifelong learning villages, using the PAR method that the researcher and
research participants together plan, implement, share, introspect, and
re-plan. In researches on lifelong education, there should be interests in
approaches of participatory action research and in the aspect of lifelong
learning village projects, there should be strategic designing about
promoting village-centered lifelong learning