한국사회의 갈등지수는 상당히 높은 편이다. 이해관계가 맞서는 갈등상황에서 반대 입장에 대한 관용이 부족하여 문제를 평화적으로 해결하지 못하는 미성숙한 민주주의의 모습을 보여주고 있다. 극단적인 갈등으로 인한 사회적 비용을 줄이고 민주적으로 상대방과 소통하고 문제에 접근하는 교양 있는 시민을 육성하기 위해 협의적 가치를 내재한 의사소통교육이 중요하다.
본고는 대학 교양교육 차원에서 이루어지고 있는 <대화와 협상> 수업사례를 통해 의사소통교육의 필요성과 사회정치적 차원의 함의를 고찰해 보았다. 현재 대학사회에서 늘어나고 있는 말하기와 관련한 교양수업은 대체로 논리적이고 비판적인 사고방식을 키워주는데 초점이 맞춰져 있다. <대화와 협상> 교육은 이러한 사고능력을 기반으로 상대의 입장을 고려하는 정서적 측면과 갈등 사안을 협력적 관점에서 해결하려는 마인드를 키워준다는 점에서 그 의의가 있음을 살펴보았다.
이러한 의사소통 교육과정은 교수자가 아니라 학생이 중심이 되어 주체적으로 참여하며 문제를 해결하는 의사소통기술과 방법을 익힌다는 점에서 반복적인 실습과 구체적인 피드백을 통한 다양한 훈련 프로그램을 전제로 한다. 궁극적으로 대화와 협상 교육을 통해 학생들은 타자의 입장을 존중하며 갈등을 합리적으로 해결해 가는 성숙한 시민의식과 공동체의 구성원으로서 협의과정을 통해 문제를 해결하려는 자세와 책임의식을 명확히 할 수 있을 것이다.
The Social Conflict Index in Korea is considerably high. In the situation where both parties’ interests conflict each other, Korean society has shown immature democracy, which couldn’t peacefully resolve the conflict because of the lack of tolerance against the counterparty’s position. In terms of upbringing educated citizens, who could democratically communicate with others and approach problems, communication skill training is very important, reducing social costs by extreme conflict. Thus, this paper studied the necessity of communication skills training and its sociopolitical implication through case studies about “Communication and Negotiation” class, which is proceeded under university liberal education. Under current university curriculums, increased liberal education programs, related with speaking, focus on cultivating logical and critical thinking in the main. Based on these thinking skills, “Communication and Negotiation” has important implication in terms of cultivating mindset which resolves conflicts and considers other’s position by collaborative and emotional perspectives. In terms of cultivating practical communication skills, this “Communication and Negotiation” class requires the change of teaching skills with various training programs, under students’ active participation and feedback in the class exercise for resolving problems. Ultimately, through “Communication and Negotiation” class, and as members of society, students could learn matured citizenship and sense of responsibility by respecting others’ position and reasonably resolving conflicts.
The Social Conflict Index in Korea is considerably high. In the situation where both parties’ interests conflict each other, Korean society has shown immature democracy, which couldn’t peacefully resolve the conflict because of the lack of tolerance against the counterparty’s position. In terms of upbringing educated citizens, who could democratically communicate with others and approach problems, communication skill training is very important, reducing social costs by extreme conflict. Thus, this paper studied the necessity of communication skills training and its sociopolitical implication through case studies about “Communication and Negotiation” class, which is proceeded under university liberal education. Under current university curriculums, increased liberal education programs, related with speaking, focus on cultivating logical and critical thinking in the main. Based on these thinking skills, “Communication and Negotiation” has important implication in terms of cultivating mindset which resolves conflicts and considers other’s position by collaborative and emotional perspectives. In terms of cultivating practical communication skills, this “Communication and Negotiation” class requires the change of teaching skills with various training programs, under students’ active participation and feedback in the class exercise for resolving problems. Ultimately, through “Communication and Negotiation” class, and as members of society, students could learn matured citizenship and sense of responsibility by respecting others’ position and reasonably resolving conflicts.