Contested motherhood: self and modernity in South Korean homeschooling

Jae Hun Jung

doi:10.7273/000005877

This dissertation is an ethnographic investigation of homeschooling mothers in South Korea. South Korean education mothers invest massive financial and psychological capital in their children s schooling. In the midst of a neoliberal transformation of South Korea s educational system, increasing numbers of parents opt for homeschooling. The major driving forces are religious values and parents discontent with the uniform public educational system. There are two distinct types of homeschooling: unschooling and Christian homeschooling. Unschooling parents believe in their children s individualities and want to promote academic independence and creativity. Christian homeschooling stresses character development and a Bible-centered worldview in educating children. In South Korea, homeschooling typically signifies parents adoption of Western individualism and fosters either independent citizenship or Christian moral maturity. Mothers are critical agents in homeschooling experiences and are usually in charge of educating children. Their new status as homeschooling mothers, sparks significant transformations in their self-concepts and interpretations of motherhood. Homeschooling is a reflexive project through which mothers realize their separate selves and discover their children s idiosyncrasies. Instead of pursuing their personal ambitions through their children, they concentrate on developing their potential. Reflexity and a new sense of self empower these mothers to resist traditional values and to contest the traditional model of the self-sacrificing mother. The time and space mothers and their children share contribute to generating maternal warmth and mother-child intimacy. Such psychological rewards provide motivation for further maternal commitment. Homeschooling in a South Korean cultural context is more than a pedagogic choice. It is a form of cultural resistance, which thrives on neoliberal discourses of education and helps restore family-centered values and lifestyles. In a rapidly changing and increasingly impersonalized society, home becomes a symbolic space where mothers retreat and equip their children with a competitive edge as successful members of the society.

Contested motherhood: self and modernity in South Korean homeschooling

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