여성 CEO와 여성 정치인의 출현, 삼군사관학교로의 여성 진입 등 여권신장을 알리는 소수 여성들의 선전(善戰)은 우리사회의 성차별 체감지수를 낮춰주기는 하지만 실제로 전문직 여성의 비율을 측정하는 세계 여성권한척도(GEM)에서 우리사회는 여전히 낮은 수준에 머물러 있다. 우리나라의 대학교는 전문직 여성들을 배출하는 거의 유일한 기관임에도 불구하고, 그 안에서 행하여지는 교육적 실천의 내용들이 젠더 시각으로 조명되어진 적이 없다. 필자는 우리사회의 낮은 GEM 지수가 대학 내 여성들의 경험과 무관하지 않을 것이라고 생각한다. 이와 같은 맥락에서 남녀공학대교와 여자대학교를 모두 경험한 다섯 명의 연구 데이터 제공자들과의 인터뷰를 통해 남녀공학대학교 내 여성들의 경험을 이해하고자 한다. 연구 결과가 갖는 상하위 범주들은 남녀가 ‘공존’하는 공간으로서의 남녀공학대학교가 성평등적이지 않음을 드러내준다. 따라서 남녀공학대학교의 ‘정상성’을 회의할 것이 주장된다.

The ever-increasing number of female CEOs, female politicians, and female cadets of Military Academy has made Korean society insensitive to the gender discriminative reality against women. However, the Gender Empowerment Measure by the United Nations, as of the year 2003, indicates that Korea still ranks 63rd among 70 surveyed countries. Nonetheless, colleges that are to produce future professionals and experts have been exempted from being evaluated in terms of how and what students are learning. As the necessity of gender perspectives to be applied to many aspects of the society increases, policies and educational practices have been modified or transformed accordingly. However, Korean ‘Ivory Tower' does not open its door to any kind of evaluation process but some organizations of so-called ‘advanced' countries. In this context, one hardly knows what takes place in the Korean Ivory Tower. Particularly, seldom do we know how students experience the educational practices performed on co-ed campus. The present paper is based on an assumption that the low position of Korean society on the GEM scale is associated with how female students experience and interpret the educational practices in colleges. It is because students' experiences and interpretations of the educational activities on campus are likely to direct their careers in the future. In this context, five female college students who have been in both women's college and co-ed college are interviewed to compare their experiences on both sides. Interviews with them reveal the male-centeredness of co-ed colleges. Two themes have emerged out of the interviews: the image of patriarchal women college as a ‘deficit’ space; male-centeredness of co-ed colleges.

The ever-increasing number of female CEOs, female politicians, and female cadets of Military Academy has made Korean society insensitive to the gender discriminative reality against women. However, the Gender Empowerment Measure by the United Nations, as of the year 2003, indicates that Korea still ranks 63rd among 70 surveyed countries. Nonetheless, colleges that are to produce future professionals and experts have been exempted from being evaluated in terms of how and what students are learning. As the necessity of gender perspectives to be applied to many aspects of the society increases, policies and educational practices have been modified or transformed accordingly. However, Korean ‘Ivory Tower' does not open its door to any kind of evaluation process but some organizations of so-called ‘advanced' countries. In this context, one hardly knows what takes place in the Korean Ivory Tower. Particularly, seldom do we know how students experience the educational practices performed on co-ed campus. The present paper is based on an assumption that the low position of Korean society on the GEM scale is associated with how female students experience and interpret the educational practices in colleges. It is because students' experiences and interpretations of the educational activities on campus are likely to direct their careers in the future. In this context, five female college students who have been in both women's college and co-ed college are interviewed to compare their experiences on both sides. Interviews with them reveal the male-centeredness of co-ed colleges. Two themes have emerged out of the interviews: the image of patriarchal women college as a ‘deficit’ space; male-centeredness of co-ed colleges.

co-ed colleges, women's colleges, male-centeredness, female college students.