Forget recess; it’s time to get down to business–once you’re old enough to start reading. In April 2005, The Washington Post published a column by Marc Fisher called “Asian Students Contend with Expectations” that revealed some insight into the academic pressures that Asian-American children encounter with their parents and consequently the raised expectations they face from teachers. As a member of generation 1.5 myself, I can certainly relate. At the same time, my experience with the Canadian public education system has been a blessing compared to the Over-Education epidemic in my country of origin, South Korea.
The problem of over-education referred to in this blog focuses on the shocking number of hours that K – 12 students in Korea spend in classrooms and private lessons, as well as the lengths that college students go to in obtaining qualifications/certifications outside of normal post-secondary education to increase their chances of getting good jobs. Here, over-education does not refer to becoming over-qualified for some jobs due to post-graduate degrees.
Perhaps this social problem can be re-defined as an immense pressure to learn and subsequently perform. However, as per Tepperman & Curtis’s definition (2004), is over-education truly a condition that threatens the well-being of the Korean society? Is it perceived and identified by experts and other members of society as a social problem? The short answer to both of these questions is a big YES. That answer can be broken down into the effects of over-education on adolescents (especially psychological), on the K – 12 education system including class structures and teacher performance, and on society at large. Complementing these effects is a movement among concerned parents and teachers toward alternatives to the current educational system and norm in Korea. Find out more about these considerations in the upcoming blog posts and related links…
May 31, 2009 at 11:18 pm
Wow I have never really thought of this as a social issue, what an eye opener! Very interesting blog. I wonder how big of an issue this is in other countries around the world.
June 1, 2009 at 5:08 am
Hi Ryan, thanks for your comment.
An article called “Stress Driving Pupils to Suicide” in the Guardian suggests that testing and exams are the main cause of stress among children in the UK. However, I cannot claim that parents there are using tutoring and the likes of “cram schools” to a similar extent to drive higher grades. Perhaps the issue of over-education is prominent in countries like South Korea that have had to rely on knowledge capital rather than natural resources to achieve economic growth.
I certainly hope that this sort of over-education is NOT a trend that is catching on with other countries.
Cheers,
Hannah
June 15, 2009 at 11:39 am
Thanks for your comment on my blog.
The social problem you selected is very interesting and unique. I have heard that suicide rates in Asian countries are a lot higher than Western countries. I’ve also heard from friends that study in Taiwan/hk/Japan that the education system is so much more intense compared to here. Have you looked into suicide rates in other Asian countries? I think Japan has really high suicide rates as well.
Keep up the great work!
Helen
June 15, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Hi Helen!
According to a statistics source link for the 2009 OECD Factbook (http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/538607287057), Japan actually outranked South Korea in suicide rates in 2004. Japan had a rate of 20.3 per 100,000 persons, while South Korea had 18.7 per 100,000. In more recent years, Japan comes closely behind Korea. Unfortunately, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan are listed.
I actually found the following quote from an article entitled “Korea Must Do More to Stem Suicide Epidemic” in The Chosun Ilbo (June 13, 2009):
“[The South Korean government's] passive attitudes contrast starkly with measures by the Japanese government. Along with Hungary and Korea, Japan also has the highest suicide rate in the OECD. But in 2008, Japan spent 22.5 billion yen (around CDN$265 million) on various prevention programs.”
The above article also suggests that South Korea can take a hint from countries like Finland and Denmark that have successfully lowered their suicide rates drastically by committing to prevention programs that run for at least 10 years.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Thanks,
Hannah