The Impact of Low Fertility on Korean Teachers' Colleges: A Focus on the Structural Adjustment of Teacher Training Programs

As declining birth rates progress in the world, society faces the challenge of adapting to the demographic shifts caused by this trend. South Korea, which is experiencing rapid birth rate decline, has had to confront numerous challenges earlier than Japan due to the shrinking school-age population. This paper examines the characteristics of the logic governing enrollment quotas at Korean teachers’ colleges. These institutions must not only respond to reduced applicant numbers within a shrinking higher education system but also adapt to the downsizing of their core mission: teacher training and recruitment. To this end, a literature review examined the Ministry of Education's perception of the low fertility issue and its impact on teachers’ colleges. The results revealed that the logic governing enrollment quotas encompasses not only the logic of structural adjustment in the whole of higher education, the decline in the school-age population, and teacher demand driven by improved educational conditions, but also the logic of regional balance in teacher training programs and the enhancement of teacher training and professional development.