최근 들어 국가 사회의 구성원이자, 성숙한 시민으로서의 역할을 준비하는 시기의 청소년들이 자신에 대한 이해를 토대로 자기의 잠재적 역량을 강화하고, 사회적 성숙을 도모하기 위해 리더십을 소유하는 것이 점점 중요하게 인식되고 있다. 그러나 한국의 청소년들은 과중한 학업과 진로에 대한 부담감으로 다양한 경험의 기회를 얻지 못한 채 획일화된 제도의 틀 안에서 제한된 사고를 하고 있다. 이에 본 연구는 이제까지 논의가 미미하였던 청소년 대상 리더십 교육의 기초 작업으로서 한국 청소년의 리더십에 대한 인식 및 교육경험을 분석하고 향후 리더십교육의 방향을 설정하는 데 목적이 있다. 이러한 목적을 달성하기 위하여 국내외 리더십 관련 문헌을 고찰하고, 청소년 대상 전국단위 설문조사를 실시하였다. 본 연구의 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 다수의 청소년들이 리더십이란 특정 조직을 이끌어가는 개인이 소유한 능력이라고 보았으며, 향후 리더에게 필요한 자질로 조직원 전체를 포용하고 섬기는 능력과 같은 리더의 내적인 측면을 들었다. 둘째, 청소년들은 훌륭한 리더의 모델을 자신의 주변에서 찾는 경향이 많았으며, 자기 스스로 리더십을 가지고 있다고 보았다. 셋째, 대다수의 청소년들이 모든 사람들이 리더십 교육을 받아야 한다고 생각하는 것으로 나타났으나, 대부분의 시간을 보내고 있는 학교에서의 교육이 리더십을 발휘하는 데 있어 도움을 주지 못했다고 인식하는 것으로 드러났다. 끝으로 청소년들은 자신의 리더십 경험과 보유 정도를 친구들과의 관계를 통해 확인하며, 리더십이 발휘되는 데에는 친구나 부모님과 같은 주변 인물들의 영향을 많이 받는 것으로 나타났다. 이상을 토대로 볼 때 향후 청소년들을 위한 리더십 교육은 리더와-팔로워의 관계를 넘어서는, 즉 모든 사람에게 필요한 자질로서의 리더십이라는 인식의 변화에 초점이 맞추어져야 한다. 이를 위해서는 다양한 리더의 모습을 제시하는 것과 더불어 청소년들 스스로가 리더로서 자신을 점검해 볼 수 있는 기회를 제공해야 한다. 또한 청소년들이 가장 많은 시간을 보내고 있는 학교의 현재 교육과정을 아우르고, 교육과정 속에서 실천될 수 있는 실효성 있는 리더십 교육의 방안이 모색되어야 한다.

The purpose of this study is to analyze Korean adolescents' perceptions and their educational experiences. In this global society, they are required to understand themselves, consider other people's feelings and take care of them, and moreover be proactive global leaders. To achieve the research goal, we used the methods of literature review and survey. The range of literature reviewed includes the concept and theories of leadership, and the meaning of leadership education to adolescence. To conduct the survey, we selected 1,500 adolescents attending junior high and high school in across the korean nation. The questionnaire was composed of several contents, such as the concept of leadership, the leadership skills to be stressed, role model of leader, the self concept as leader, the relationship between education and leadership development, desirable leadership courses, and leadership skills to be learned. We analyzed the data with the SPSS 12.0 program. The research results are as follows. First, adolescents have had a restrictive perception of leadership. They thought leaders need the servant mind mentality of all the people around them. Second, adolescents used to find leaders from their current living conditions and people around themselves. History education courses they have taken seem not to have been powerful. Third, even though they agreed that all of the students should take leadership courses, they thought leaders were naturally born. Fourth, they wanted to learn leadership skills, such as proactive thinking power and the active energy of pursuing objectives through an experiential learning method. From the research results we suggest Korean adolescents are in need of leadership education which will enable them to have a bigger picture of leadership. It is also important to provide opportunities for the adolescents to learn leadership by group activities and hands-on experiences.

The purpose of this study is to analyze Korean adolescents' perceptions and their educational experiences. In this global society, they are required to understand themselves, consider other people's feelings and take care of them, and moreover be proactive global leaders. To achieve the research goal, we used the methods of literature review and survey. The range of literature reviewed includes the concept and theories of leadership, and the meaning of leadership education to adolescence. To conduct the survey, we selected 1,500 adolescents attending junior high and high school in across the korean nation. The questionnaire was composed of several contents, such as the concept of leadership, the leadership skills to be stressed, role model of leader, the self concept as leader, the relationship between education and leadership development, desirable leadership courses, and leadership skills to be learned. We analyzed the data with the SPSS 12.0 program. The research results are as follows. First, adolescents have had a restrictive perception of leadership. They thought leaders need the servant mind mentality of all the people around them. Second, adolescents used to find leaders from their current living conditions and people around themselves. History education courses they have taken seem not to have been powerful. Third, even though they agreed that all of the students should take leadership courses, they thought leaders were naturally born. Fourth, they wanted to learn leadership skills, such as proactive thinking power and the active energy of pursuing objectives through an experiential learning method. From the research results we suggest Korean adolescents are in need of leadership education which will enable them to have a bigger picture of leadership. It is also important to provide opportunities for the adolescents to learn leadership by group activities and hands-on experiences.

leadership, Korean adolescent, leadership education