Education in South Korea: Challenges and Reforms Taejong Kim (KDI School of Public Policy and...

Education in South Korea:Challenges and Reforms

Taejong Kim(KDI School of Public Policy and Management)

School System in South Korea

Per student expenditure: primary and secondary

Per student expenditure: Tertiary

The Structure of the Presentation

Intro. Q&A eBay’s

success Growth Labor Economics 2003 FallRoadmap

First, Performance in Korean Education

Second, Rapid expansion of education in S. Korea

Third, Secondary school equalization

Fourth, Private tutoring

Fifth, Policy recommendations

Section 1. Performance in Korean Education

<Table 1> Average Test Scores

Korea Japan U.S U.K FranceGerman

ySweden Canada Italy Mexico

ScientificLiteracy

1 2 14 4 12 20 10 5 23 30

MathLiteracy

2 1 19 8 10 20 15 6 26 30

Readingliteracy

6 8 15 7 14 21 9 2 20 30

(Unit: Ranking out of 31)

Source: OECD “Knowledge and Skill for Life”, PISA 2000


<Table 1-1> Distribution of Test Scores: Reading literacy



Below level 1 1 3 6 4 4 10 3 2 5 16

At level 1 5 7 12 9 11 13 9 7 14 28

At level 2 19 18 21 20 22 22 20 19 26 30

At level 3 39 33 27 27 31 27 30 28 31 19

At level 4 31 29 21 24 24 19 26 28 19 6

At level 5 6 10 12 16 8 9 11 17 5 1

(Unit:percentage)



<Table 2> Student Engagement



Student with Low sense of

belonging

41 38 25 17 30 23 18 21 23 22

Student with Low

Participation

8 4 20 15 15 13 24 26 22 21

(Unit: percentage)

Source: OECD “Student Engagement at School”, PISA 2000


<Table 3> Student participation in educational courses outside school

OECDAverag

eKorea Japan U.S U.K France

Germany

SwedenCanada Italy Mexico

Participation

[1]24.9 63.6 70.7 24.7 20.1 N.A. 10.4 7.8 14.4 5.6 51.4

Participation

[2]32.3 57.5 17.3 28.8 24.4 N.A. 36.2 7.8 31.6 48.0 47.1

(Unit:percentage)


1) Percent of students who have sometimes or regularly attended courses in the language of assessment, courses in other subjects, or extension or additional courses in the last three years

2) Percent of students who have sometimes or regularly attend courses in the language of assessment, remedial courses in other subjects, training to improve study skills or private tutoring in the last three years


<Table 4> Teacher Evaluation by Student

OECDAverag


Germany


Mean 0.00 -0.67 -0.17 0.34 0.50 -0.20 -0.34 0.21 0.31 -0.28 0.07

Ranking - 27 18 4 1 19 24 7 6 21 13

(Unit: WARM estimator, Ranking out of 27)



<Table 4> Teacher Evaluation by Principle

OECDAverag


Germany


Mean 0.00 -0.72 0.14 -0.04 0.02 N.A. -0.01 0.34 0.08 -0.69 0.39

Ranking - 26 10 18 13 N.A. 16 5 11 25 3

(Unit: WARM estimator, Ranking out of 27)



<Table 5> Test Scores and Other Skills at age 9 (1992)

Source: IAEP/ETS. Learning Math. 1992/ IAEP/ETS. Learning Science 1992

191323213011Percentage of Students Who Work with Math Tools at least Once at Week

584860424723Percentage of Students Who Do Math Exercises by Themselves Every Day

454855572925Percent of Students Who Read for Fun Almost Every Day

656362616766Average Percent Correct in Science Test

586062646875Average Percent Correct in Math Test

U.S.ACanadaSpainIsraelTaiwanKorea


<Table 6> Test Scores and Other Skills at age 13 (1992)

Source: IAEP/ETS. Learning Math. 1992/ IAEP/ETS. Learning Science 1992

908981857971Percentage of Students Who Have Positive Attitudes Towards Mathematics

577855595127Percentage of Students Who Have Positive Attitudes Towards Sciences

496331473828Percentage of Students Who Solve Problems in Groups at least Once a Week

283640511911Percent of Students Who Read for Fun Almost Every Day

676869747678Average Percent Correct in Science Test

555564717373Average Percent Correct in Math Test

U.S.ACanadaSpainIsraelTaiwanKorea


Trade-off : Test Scores vs. Creativeness

Good performance of students in international tests

Test scores become relatively lower as age increases

Problems of test-oriented education

Focus on test-skills and rote learning

Fail to nurture other valuable skills such as reading, creative thinking and social interaction


Two Types of Human Capital

cA

B

Inefficiency

Distortion

Test Skills

Creativeness


Equity Concerns

Increase in out-of-school private educational expenses

Student’s future career is strongly dependent on the ranking of the university one graduated

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

Mil

lio

ns

Year

Elementary School Kindergarten Middle School High School Higher Education

Section 2. Rapid Expansion of Education in Korea


Dire Status in 1945

Enrollment rate -Primary school – 65%

-Secondary school – less than 20%

-Higher education – about 2%

Severe teacher shortage

Japanese teachers were more than 40% in primary school

and 70% in secondary school

Population growth

Korean War made the situation worse


Rhee – Major commitment

Universal primary education by 19511. More building

2. More teachers

3. More students

4. Relative high tuition and fee


Big increase in primary

19651945

1.4 Million

20,000

60%

5 Million

More than 90%

100,000

Enrollment

E. Rate

Teachers


Higher teacher-student ratio

Crowded classroom

Increased demand for secondary schools

-Severe competition for secondary school

:Private tutoring and stay-over in 6th grade

-More new private secondary schools

Side - Effects

Student-Teacher Ratio


Elementary Sch.

Middle School High School

1945 69.3 - 25.9

1952 66.5 37.4 27.3

1556 61.2 44.8 38.1

1960 58.6 40.7 27.2

1965 62.4 39.3 30.2

1970 56.9 42.3 29.8

1975 51.8 43.2 31.4

1980 47.5 41.2 33.9

1985 38.3 40.0 31.6

1990 35.6 25.4 25.4

1995 28.2 24.8 22.1

1997 27.3 22.3 22.9

1999 28.6 20.3 22.2

Section 3. Secondary School Equalization Policies

Park’s Equalization Policies

Concerns over Excessive Competition

among Students Assignment of students by lottery Equal tuition and fees for all students Fiscal subsidy to private schools Eliminate elite schools Equal curriculum across schools


Middle school equalization policies (1969-1971)

• Stated policy objectivesTo promote normal development of childrenTo normalize primary school educationTo discourage private tutoringTo narrow gaps among middle schoolsTo reduce the burden of middle school

entrance exams


High school equalization policy (1974- 1980)

• Stated policy objectivesTo normalize school educationTo reduce quality difference among secondary schoolsTo promote vocational schoolTo promote balanced growth of schools across regionsTo reduce private tutoringTo reduce urban concentration


School System and School Autonomy in Korea

Decision on Tuition

Curriculum Textbook

Teacher Principal

Student Recruiting

PrivatePublicPrivatePublicPrivatePublic

Special schoolSchools outside

Equalization PolicySchools under

Equalization Policy


Consequences

Rapid expansion in secondary schools Failure to dampen the rise in private tutoring Strengthened bureaucratic control No local initiatives No competition among schools

Rising Private Tutoring Expense (per GDP)

Section 4. Private Tutoring

Total Publicly Paid

on SchoolingPrivately Paid on Schooling

Privately Paid on Tutoring

1977 4.6 (100) 2.3 (50.5) 1.6 (34.4) 0.7 (15.1)

1982 4.8 (100) 2.7 (56.5) 1.7 (34.7) 0.4 (8.8)

1985 4.9 (100) 2.6 (53.2) 1.4 (28.5) 0.9 (18.3)

1990 4.7 (100) 2.5 (52.9) 1.0 (20.9) 1.2 (26.2)

1994 5.2 (100) 2.7 (52.1) 0.7 (14.4) 1.8 (33.6)

1998 7.1 (100) 3.4 (47.3) 0.8 (11.8) 2.9 (40.9)

Reasons for rising private tutoring expense


1. Higher income

2. More high school graduates seeking tertiary education

3. Decreased effectiveness of schools because of excessive government control

4. Perceived high rent for better universities

Misguided government policy objectives


To reduce private tutoring rather than to increase effectiveness in schools

To use regulation (including college entrance exam rules) to achieve objectives

Conclusions

Section 5. Policy Recommendation

Absorb demand for private tutoring at primary and secondary levels into public education:

-school autonomy

-local initiatives

-accountability by teachers and schools

Beef up expenditures for other levels of education

- college, kindergarten, continuing education

Education in South Korea: Challenges and Reforms Taejong Kim (KDI School of Public Policy and...

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