Transcript Education

From Education to Lifelong Learning:
the Case of South Korea
Gwang-Jo Kim
World Bank
5/20/2003
WEM 2003, Lisbon, Portugal
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Outline
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Education system
Education and economy
Achievements and problems
Education reform for lifelong learning
Conclusions
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Country at a Glance (1)
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Country at a Glance (2)
 Area: 99.3 K Sq. Km
 Population: 47.8 Million
 GNI: US$ 477.0 Billion (per capita GNI US$10,013) (FY02)
 GDP growth: 9.3% in 2000; 3% in 2001; 5.8% in 2002
 Structure of the Economy (as % of GDP)
- Agricultural: 4.4%
- Industry/manufacturing: 41.4%
- Services: 54.1%
 Unemployment: 3%
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Education System
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Socio-cultural context
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Homogeneity of Korea Society: Prevalence of Egalitarian Ideal
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Tradition of Confucianism: High Regard for Learning & Zeal for Education
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High Premium for Prestigious Colleges
Formal Education
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Primary (6)-Middle (3)-High Schools(3)-Universities & Colleges(4)
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Primary & Secondary: 10,165 schools, 8M students, 341K teachers
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Universities & Colleges: 358 institutions, 3.3M students, 60K FT teachers
Non-formal Education & Training
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Public/private job training institutions; Private tutoring institutions, adult
education centers; In-plant training institutions, etc.
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Education Financing:Public Resources
25
9
8
Gov't Budget Share
20
7
6
15
5
4
10
3
2
5
0
'60
'70
'80
GNP Share
1
'90
0
s
,
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Privatization of Education
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
1965
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1970
1975
1980
1985
p r im a r y
m id d le sc h o o l
ju n io r c o lle g e
c o ll. & u n iv .
1990
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1995
2000
h ig h sc h o o l
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Initial industrialization: 60’s~mid-70s
Economy
Education
• Take-off (‘60s)
• Heavy and chemical
industries (’70s)
• Expansion and
• Top 5 Exports:
 ‘60: Iron, Tungsten, Silk,
Anthracite, Cuttlefish(US$ 79)
 ‘70: Textiles, Plywood, Wigs,
Iron Ore, Electronics (US$ 249)
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upgrading of
primary & lower
secondary ed.
• Emphasis on TVET
(late 1960s)
* manpower planning
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Accelerated industrialization:
mid-70s~80s
Economy
Education
• Adjustment from
imitation to
innovation:
electronic industry
• Top 5 Exports:
• Expansion/upgrading
of upper secondary
& tertiary education
• Strengthening of
TVET: Vocational HS
& Junior Colleges
 1980: Textiles, Electronics, Iron &
Steel Products, Footwear, Ships
(US $ 1,598)
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Entering Knowledge Economy: ‘90s~
Economy
Education
• Competitiveness,
Knowledge-based
Economy
• Top 5 Exports:
• Quality enhancement
for K-12
• Public investment in
higher ed. (Brain
Korea 21*)
• Lifelong Learning
 1990: Electronics, Textiles,
Footwear, Iron & Steel Products,
Ships (US$ 5,886)
 2000: Semiconductor, Motor Cars,
Computers, Ships, Petroleum
Products (US $ 9,770)
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Achievements
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AVG School Years
14
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Age(20-29)
GER as of 2001
10
4
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Tertiary (84%)
 ’89, ’89, ’96 TIMSS
Population
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Prim. (98%), Sec. (96%)
International assessment
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8
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'80
'75
'70
'66
'85
'90
Age>50
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No skill mismatch until ‘90s
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Contributed to
industrialization &
democratization
2
0
 2001 PISA
'95
2000
4000
6000 8000
10,000
GDP(Per Capita)
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Problems
 School education obsessed with “college-entrance”
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Rote memorization, lack of creativity, foreign language
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Inordinate private cost of education (3% of GDP)
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“Education exodus”: 4th largest among int’l students in US
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Soaring training costs for business firm (as of 2002): Hyundai
Motor Co. (US$ 6 M), Samsung Electronics (US$ 6.4M)
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Deficiency of the system for LLL& KE
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Low participation of adult population in LLL
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Skills gap – creativeness, foreign language, computer skills, etc.
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Lack of incentives for both learners and providers
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1997 Financial Crisis & Reform
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Foreign liquidity risk and a massive IMF bailout package
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Macro-economic stability programs and restructuring:
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Reprivatization of banking sector and SOEs
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Political and administrative reform
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Improvement of social safety net
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GDP growth: from 5.0 in 1997 to –6.7% in 1998
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Massive lay-off, labor flexibility: increase in part-timers
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unemployment rate: 8.4 % in 1999
Cutting teachers’ retirement age from 65 to 62
(30K teachers retired in 3 years)
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Strategies for Lifelong Learning
 Curriculum reform and VTET
 Investment in e-learning
 Governance reform
 Redirecting resources
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Curriculum Reform
 Learner-oriented curriculum
 Reduce subjects, common course up to 10th grade
 Diversify curriculum choice at 11th and 12th grades
 Require ICT literacy as a basic competence
 Transformation of out-dated VTET schools
 Link to tertiary and labor market
 “Specialized” high schools: design, graphic, ICT, cartoon, etc.
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Investment in e-Learning
 World’s most comprehensive Internet network
(NY Times, May 5)
 Initial investment by government (Info. Super Highway)
 Lifting monopoly and competition
 Incorporation of ICT in schools
 All 10K schools linked to Internet by 2000 (EDUNET)
 Curriculum mandate: 10% of classroom time
 ICT skill competence as requirement for HS graduation
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Governance Reform
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Legal Foundation for LLL
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Delivery of Curriculum Contents through Technology (’97)
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Legislation of Lifelong Learning Act: Basis for Cyber Education
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New recognition system: private qualification, Credit-Bank System
Deregulation and Evaluation
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School Autonomy: from PTA to School Council
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Stakeholder Participation: Teachers’ Union, Parents’ Association
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Devolution: Curriculum, Learning Materials, etc.
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Performance Evaluation of Local Education Authorities
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Coordination between Ministries: Ministry of Education and HRD
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Redirecting resources
 Cost-sharing bet. Central & Local Government
 Local Ed. Grant: Block (Formula) Grant to LEAs since 1991
 Center vs Local Contributions: 25 to 75
 Reorienting investment priorities
 Improving ECD, prim. & sec. quality – class size reduction
 Strategic investment in tertiary ed.: BK21 Project (IT, BT, etc.)
 Participation from private sector
 50% upper secondary, 80% tertiary
 10 % of Total Investment in ICT in Education since 1996
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LLL Strategies
Now
Then
- regulation oriented
- youth (high school
graduates)
- rote-learning
- egalitarian financing
- standards/process
- no competition
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- incentives oriented
- all, including unemployed
-
creativeness, self-directed
competitive funding
qualifications/outcomes
some competition
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Some Results
 Credit Bank System
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6,773 obtained BA & Associate BA degrees in 2002
(34 in 1999)
 15 cyber univ. (35K students) since 1997
 3 Years accomplishment of BK21
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SCI papers: 3,842 (’99) - 5,698(’02)
International Patent: 145(’99) - 174 (‘02)
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Backlash
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Top-down reform: “Reform fatigue”, sabotaging
(teachers unions), interest grid-lock
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“School failure”, persistent private tutoring, highstake college entrance exam
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Lack of policy coordination
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Partnership between public and private sectors
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Conclusions
 End of state-led reform
 Coherent LLL policy framework
 Coordination, concerted approach
 Incentive-driven system and
participation
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