본 연구에서는 한국교육고용패널 1차년도 데이터를 사용하여 학업성취 측면에서 일반계 사립 고등학교의 효과성을 검증하였다. 분석방법으로는 설립유형별 학생들의 배경변인 차이에 의해 발생하는 선택편의를 제거하기에 적합한 경향점수매칭모형(propensity score matching model)을 사용하였다. 연구결과는 공립학교에 비해 사립학교에 다니는 학생들의 가정배경이 더 좋다는 사실을 보여주었다. 그리고 이 같은 학생들의 배경변인에 대한 통제가 이루어졌을 때, 학교 설립유형은 학업성취에 별다른 영향을 미치지 않는 것으로 나타났다. 설립시기와 설립유형을 함께 고려하여 효과성을 검증해본 결과, 해방 이전에 설립된 학교들을 제외하고는 적어도 외국어 영역에서는 사립학교가 공립학교보다 효과성이 뛰어난 것으로 밝혀졌다. 해방 이전에 설립된 사립학교는 비슷한 시기에 설립된 공립학교에 비해 학업성취 측면에서 오히려 효과성이 떨어지는 것으로 드러났다. 이는 일부 선행연구에서 얻어진 결과와는 상반되는 것이다. 본 연구에서 사용된 데이터의 제한점을 고려할 때, 사립학교의 효과성에 대해 좀 더 타당하고 명쾌한 결론을 도출하기 위해서는 연구목적 달성에 적합한 1차 자료의 수집을 통해 체계적이고 과학적인 분석을 수행할 필요가 있는 것으로 판단된다.
This study assessed the effectiveness of private general high schools in improving academic achievement, using data from the Korean Education and Employment Panel. A propensity score matching method was used to control for preexisting differences between students who attend a private school and those who attend a public school. Results showed that there were significant school-sector differences in student background characteristics favoring private high schools, but there were no significant school-sector differences on average in academic achievement after controling for student background characteristics. However, results showed some variation in the effectiveness of private schools by their foundation year. While private schools established after 1945 were more effective than their public counterparts at least in boosting English achievement, so called traditional private schools established prior to 1945 were less effective than traditional public schools, inconsistent with prior research. Some unique features of traditional public schools that may explain the greater effectiveness of traditional public schools were highlighted. The study concluded by calling for appropriate data collection and further research to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of traditional public schools as well as private ones in Korea.
This study assessed the effectiveness of private general high schools in improving academic achievement, using data from the Korean Education and Employment Panel. A propensity score matching method was used to control for preexisting differences between students who attend a private school and those who attend a public school. Results showed that there were significant school-sector differences in student background characteristics favoring private high schools, but there were no significant school-sector differences on average in academic achievement after controling for student background characteristics. However, results showed some variation in the effectiveness of private schools by their foundation year. While private schools established after 1945 were more effective than their public counterparts at least in boosting English achievement, so called traditional private schools established prior to 1945 were less effective than traditional public schools, inconsistent with prior research. Some unique features of traditional public schools that may explain the greater effectiveness of traditional public schools were highlighted. The study concluded by calling for appropriate data collection and further research to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of traditional public schools as well as private ones in Korea.
