Posthuman Learning Culture and Internet-Based Private Tutoring in South Korea: Implications for Online Instruction in Public Schooling

In the digital age, education through the Internet becomes a new form of teaching and learning, which leaves many challenges as well as possibilities for teachers and students. In this study, we analyzed the effective practices for online learning comparing schools and private supplementary tutoring. South Korea is an appropriate country for this investigation, as public and private education sectors have attempted to advance online teaching and learning and approximately 80% of Korean elementary and secondary school students take online courses provided by private tutoring institutes. This qualitative study reveals that online learning in private supplementary tutoring, commonly known as shadow education, is highly advanced and favored by students and parents compared to that of schools. The features of online learning in shadow education include individualized learning, effective communication skills under post-human space, attention skills for cyber learning, and advanced Internet technologies and tools. The study results have practical implications for educational administrators and schoolteachers concerning effective online teaching and learning. In addition, we suggest that a more comprehensive understanding of online learning is needed to guide schoolteachers and policymakers.