Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education Education in Reformers Successful and Performers Strong Lessons from PISA for Korea The story of Korean education over the past 50 years is one of remarkable growth and achievement. Korea is one of the top performing countries in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey Strong Performers and Successful Reformers and among those with the highest proportion of young people who have completed upper secondary and tertiary education. Korea is continuously exploring ways to improve its education system and has dramatically in Education increased government investment in education over the last decade. Nevertheless, further reforms are needed to spur and sustain improvements. Rapid globalisation and modernisation are also posing new and demanding challenges to equip young people of today and tomorrow with skills relevant to the 21st century. Lessons from PISA for Korea The report Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education: Lessons from PISA for Korea aims at helping Korea to identify and address education policy challenges in an international perspective. To this end, it examines the Korean education system through the prism of PISA 2009, considers recent policy developments and suggests specific policy options to foster improvements. The report also provides an in-depth analysis of the experience of other high-performing countries. Contents Chapter 1. Strong performers and successful reformers: Korea Chapter 2. Viewing education in Korea through the prism of PISA Chapter 3. Supplementary education in East Asia Chapter 4. Shanghai and Hong Kong-China: Learning to learn Chapter 5. Singapore: Thinking ahead Chapter 6. Ontario: Harnessing the skills of tomorrow Chapter 7. Finland: A non-competitive education for a competitive economy Chapter 8. Policy lessons for Korea Lessons from PISA for Korea for PISA from Lessons Consult this publication on line at http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264190672-en. This work is published on the OECD iLibrary, which gathers all OECD books, periodicals and statistical databases. Visit www.oecd-ilibrary.org for more information. isBN 978-92-64-19066-5 98 2013 02 1 P 9HSTCQE*bjaggf+ Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education Lessons from PISA for Korea This work is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the OECD or of the governments of its member countries. This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area. Please cite this publication as: OECD (2014), Lessons from PISA for Korea, Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264190672-en ISBN 978-92-64-19066-5 (print) ISBN 978-92-64-19067-2 (PDF) Series: Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education ISSN 2220-3621 (print) ISSN 2220-363X (online) The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law. Photo credits: Cover © Fotolia.com/Ainoa, © Getty Images/John Foxx. Corrigenda to OECD publications may be found on line at: www.oecd.org/about/publishing/corrigenda.htm. © OECD 2014 You can copy, download or print OECD content for your own use, and you can include excerpts from OECD publications, databases and multimedia products in your own documents, presentations, blogs, websites and teaching materials, provided that suitable acknowledgment of the source and copyright owner is given. All requests for public or commercial use and translation rights should be submitted to [email protected]. Requests for permission to photocopy portions of this material for public or commercial use shall be addressed directly to the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) at [email protected] or the Centre français d’exploitation du droit de copie (CFC) at [email protected]. Foreword Education plays a central role in the development of society and fuels a virtuous circle of improvement and growth. Korea has built a well-educated workforce that has propelled the country to the forefront of the global knowledge economy. The importance of education for economic growth and well-being creates high demands on the system. School leaders, teachers and parents expect every student to succeed and students push themselves to exceed those expectations. Correspondingly, teacher recruitment, training and support are focused on building a profession where quality has traditionally been a priority. Korea strives to continuously improve its education system. Recent reforms have adjusted the curricula, teaching methods and materials to foster more well-rounded and creative talents in order to be more competitive in a fast-changing world. However, some areas of policy require further attention. Developing skills in response to today’s economy and ensuring a smooth school- to-work transition will be key to continued success. Developing skills in response to today’s economy and ensuring a smooth school-to-work transition will be key to continued success and Korea needs more effective policy responses to provide equitable education for social cohesion. The report Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education: Lessons from PISA for Korea has a twofold purpose. Firstly, the report should help Korea to identify and address education policy challenges from an international perspective. To this end, it assesses the Korean education system through the prism of PISA, considers recent policy developments and suggests specific policy options to foster improvements. It also provides an in-depth analysis of the experience of other high-performing countries and economies, including Finland, Hong Kong (China) , Ontario (Canada), Shanghai (China), and Singapore. Secondly, the report should be a useful reference for countries seeking to improve their education systems. I am grateful to the Korean authorities for their cooperation in the preparation of this report and hope that they will find it of value in better understanding the key ingredients for success, and will gain insights on how to achieve effective reform. Barbara Ischinger Director for Education and Skills, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development STRONG PERFORMERS AND SUCCESSFUL REFORMERS IN EDUCATION: LESSONS FROM PISA FOR KOREA © OECD 2014 3 Acknowledgements This report is the result of a collaborative effort between Korea, the OECD Secretariat and international experts. The report was prepared under the leadership of Andreas Schleicher, Deputy Director and co-ordinated by Francisco Benavides, Analyst, from the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills. Seong Taeje, President, and Jimin Cho, Head of the Global Co-operation of the Korean Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation provided advice and feedback. The Korean Ministry of Education provided useful resources for the drafting of the report and participated in its review. The principal authors of this report are: Introduction (Chapter 1): Yuri Belfali and Hyo Jeong Yee, OECD, based on material in an earlier report in this series; Korea (Chapter 2): Francesca Borgonovi, OECD; Supplementary education in East Asia (Chapter 3): Julian Dierkes, University of British Columbia, and Anna Pons, OECD; Shanghai and Hong Kong-China, (Chapter 4): Kai-ming Cheng, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong-China, Singapore (Chapter 5): Vivien Stewart, Asia Society; Ontario, Canada (Chapter 6): Robert Schwartz and Jal Mehta, Harvard University; Finland (Chapter 7): Pasi Sahlberg, Centre for International Mobility and Co-operation in Finland (CIMO); Policy lessons for Korea (Chapter 8): Andreas Schleicher, Richard Yelland, Yuri Belfali, Francisco Benavides and Hyo Jeong Yee, OECD. Marilyn Achiron, Elisabeth Villoutreix, Rachel Linden and Florence Wojtasinski, OECD, provided invaluable assistance in its production. STRONG PERFORMERS AND SUCCESSFUL REFORMERS IN EDUCATION: LESSONS FROM PISA FOR KOREA © OECD 2014 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������15 CHAPTER 1 STRONG PERFORMERS, SUCCESSFUL REFORMERS: KOREA �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������17 A changing yardstick for educational success .....................................................................................................................................18 Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education series ....................................................................................................18 About this report ....................................................................................................................................................................................19 Methodology ..........................................................................................................................................................................................19 Framework for analysis ..........................................................................................................................................................................19