Adopt and adapt – when learning is globalized
Ardra Balachandran
International benchmarking, when it comes to effectiveness of education systems, is of huge significance as education is one of the key determinants of the economic and cultural course of individuals and societies. Moreover, in a globalized world where the labour forces of all countries compete for opportunities, the possibilities of learning about learning, from each other, are immense.
The triennial global exam conducted by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), formed in 1997 by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) with the purpose of comparing education attainment across the world, continues to be the most regarded international testing method. The National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE), an American collective comprising the world’s leading education experts as advisories to solve the country’s education problems, draws up a list of top-performing countries at regular intervals. They base this on PISA scores as well as independent research and the 10 toppers in their latest list, following the 2018 PISA scores, are Canada, Finland, Japan, Shanghai-China, South Korea, Estonia, Hong Kong, Poland, Singapore and Taiwan.
In this special issue on revolutionary ideas in education, we delve into the unique stories of some of these best performers with particular focus on how the ecosystem works for teachers in these countries.
South Korea
When Japan left South Korea in 1945 after a devastating occupation, there was no one in the country who could teach. Koreans had not been allowed to attend even secondary school for close to three decades; 80 per cent of them were illiterate. But thanks to the strong Confucian influence in their culture, they quickly set out to build a new education system post World War II. Alas, the war between South and North Korea ensued and the efforts were impeded again.
It is from the ashes of these mishaps, in a few short decades, that South Korea has emerged a global winner in education today with a highly educated and super-skilled workforce. Nearly 100 per cent of the South Korean population – 99.2 per cent male and 96.6 per cent female – is literate now, as per an article by The Borgen Project*.
South Korea has nine years of compulsory and free education and spend 5.3 per cent of their GDP on education, according to the CIA World Factbook. While the central Ministry of Education oversees the education system and is in control of the national curriculum, there is a large amount of autonomy for the provincial or metropolitan education offices which take care of budget allocation and quality inspection at school level.
A notable aspect of teacher training in South Korea is that primary school teachers are trained exclusively in 13 institutions earmarked for this. Admission to these institutions is extremely competitive and the placement rate after training is high. Secondary teachers, however, have broader training options and the supply of these teachers exceeds demand. But across the board, the government’s compulsory accreditation system ensures that teacher quality is not compromised.
Another fascinating aspect of their system is that teacher promotions are in three distinct directions: Master Teacher, Principal and Education Specialist. The Master Teacher designation was instituted in 2012 and there is a rigorous process to undergo before one gets the title (and the associated research grants in addition to salary). They continue to teach with additional responsibilities of mentoring and curriculum design. Getting to be a Principal is a competitive affair and the role involves the same responsibilities as in India. The specialist position requires a minimum of eight years of teaching experience and is not school-based; they usually work with the ministry or provincial education offices. All these promotions, and even their regular increments, are based on performance and not on the years spent teaching.
Canada
With a decentralized education system, Canada is a shining example of how local ownership can lead to a story of collective success. With no education ministry at the federal level, their 10 provinces and three territories have complete autonomy in running their schools, even with regard to curriculum. However, each region maintains high benchmarks of quality by learning from one another and collaborating while doing that. The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), comprises the heads of the 13 provincial ministries of education and they work to collate the efforts of their respective ministries towards one common goal – make exceptional education accessible to one of the most culturally diverse populations of the world. Canada is one of the rare countries where the achievement rates of immigrant children are at par with their native counterparts; PISA scores give evidence for that. It is no surprise why Canada is hailed globally as one of the most immigrant-friendly nations.
The country has a thriving public-school system and the percentage of students who go to private or charter schools (public schools that operate autonomously from provincial school boards) is less than 10 per cent. Michael Mindzak, a Canadian education researcher wrote in a paper on charter schools in 2015: “In opposition to neoconservative and neoliberal efforts, Canadians have largely continued to support their public systems of schooling. The rejection of charter schools should represent a continued commitment to public education and the principles of equity and social justice.”
The provincial autonomy in education reflects in teacher training too, with policies for entry into teacher education varying across provinces. But teaching, in general, is a high status and well-paid job in Canada and is able to attract the smartest aspirants into teaching roles. Teacher evaluation too varies across provinces. For instance, Ontario, which educates 40 per cent of Canada’s five million students, has the Teacher Performance Appraisal (TPA) program where teachers are graded on 16 competencies across three standards of practice: 1) professional knowledge 2) professional practice and leadership in learning communities 3) on-going professional learning. But they eliminated performance pay for teachers a few years ago elucidating how their incentive system is focused on improvement rather than aggressive accountability. That is, in under-performing schools, the focus is on improving the performance of the current staff than replacing them. Teachers are expected to be accountable to their peers and motivated by a shared purpose than be performing in the fear of termination or for the promise of bonuses.
Singapore
In 2016, on Children’s Day, 20,000 red boxes were given out to kids at 300 preschools in Singapore – inspired by the burgundy-toned boxy briefcase that belonged to their founding father Lee Kuan Yew – to motivate them to dream big. In the famed red box, which he used every day and which held his documents and journals, and most importantly, his ambitions for the country, originated Singapore’s journey of transformation from an impoverished island to that of a “First World oasis in a Third World region” (in Lee’s own words). His vision was that his country, with no natural resources to boast of, had to invest in its only resource – the people; a heterogenous mix at that.
The 2017 book Lee Kuan Yew’s Educational Legacy: The Challenges of Success speaks in great detail how his insistence on a bilingual education policy, from the initial post-independence years itself, has paid off for the country. The evidence lies not just in its growth as one of the most prosperous financial and trade hubs of the world, but also in the country’s stupendous performance in most internationally benchmarked tests of student achievement like Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) and PISA.
One look at the ‘Desired Outcomes of Education’ that the Ministry of Education (MoE) has laid out will tell you a lot about the philosophy that governs Singapore’s education system. It outlines eight holistic developmental outcomes for each of their three key education stages. To note that a Singapore-educated child should “appreciate the beauty of the world around him, possess a healthy mind and body, and have a zest for life” as a declared objective in an official document is significant.
With a highly centralized education system wherein kindergarten through higher education is governed by the MoE; allocating budget, setting syllabus, conducting examinations – everything is directed from the centre. Public schools are neighbourhood-based – just like in Canada and USA – and they are almost free with a nominal fee of around 15 Singapore Dollars per month. The private schooling system is rampant with British, American, Australian and Indian schools functioning to cater to the diverse ethnic population and immigrant workforce of the country. Until 6th standard, all Singaporean children are required to attend local schools though – they cannot opt for a private school.
The National Institute of Education, located in the Nanyang Technological University, is the only teacher training institution in the country and every enrolled teacher-candidate gets a monthly stipend (close to 60 per cent of a beginner teacher’s salary). Singapore has a central assessment programme called Educational Performance Management System (EPMS) for teachers, and this sophisticated appraisal system is used extensively to determine incentives and career ladder advancement based on 16 core areas including community contribution. Over the years, there has been a clear shift from instruction-oriented teacher lectures to student engagement and creativity and teachers have had extensive professional development opportunities during the change.
Finland
The country, which came first when PISA scoring kickstarted in 2000, may not be adorning the top spot any more. But it is unlikely that anyone is in doubt about the quality of Finnish education, which only seems to be improving every year. What is the magic? The Finnish education success tells the story of believing in children as their national treasure, and putting in continuous social effort to evolve the system to help them grow into their full potential. This is why scores and grades and rote learning don’t matter to the Finns at all.
It is just about 600 hours a year that Finnish kids receive instruction at school (versus some of the OECD countries that give 1000+ hours). Their school day starts no earlier than 9 am; yes, including the commute from home. They have the same teacher for six years, sometimes, giving both parties an opportunity to build a relationship of trust and bonding that is akin to family. There is only one formal national examination that the Finns make their children write throughout their school life – the university matriculation exam, at the end of secondary education, based on problem-solving skills rather than subject mastery (even this one is not mandatory for university admissions). All this to say, children in Finland grow and learn in an environment that is stress-free; their performance is not a result of competitiveness.
Finland moved to a system of comprehensive schools in early 1970s. Their public-school system is robust and even the very few private schools, which are managed by religious bodies, are funded by the government to ensure that the quality of education across the board says consistent. After a year in pre-primary education, followed by nine years of comprehensive school, students have three options: 1) choose the academic track to go into universities later 2) opt for the vocational track to get prepared for the workforce 3) discontinue learning. Less than 5 per cent of Finns go for the third option.
In a 2018 Big Think article, Mike Colagrossi quotes Pasi Sahlberg, director of the Finnish Ministry of Education, in the context of teachers’ accountability: “There’s no word for accountability in Finnish… Accountability is something that is left when responsibility has been subtracted.” Finns do not believe in degrading their teachers by making them accountable with standardized testing measures.
Their teachers are their heroes. It is the trust and social regard vested in the profession that attracts the smartest set of students from the college-bound cohort every year to take up teaching. While salaries are at par with other professions in Finland, they are just about average when compared to the European standards and it is clear that the attraction is not monetary. With the matriculation exam score, performance in the VAKAVA** entrance examination, and even extracurricular activities considered for the first level screening, further stages involve assessment of a clear teaching aptitude through teaching environment simulation and interviews. Once admitted, teacher training is done exclusively at eight universities and is heavily research-based. In short, it is tough to become a teacher in Finland and the quality of their teachers, is without a doubt, the hallmark of the famed education system.
Estonia
Estonia is a young performer and is remarkable for what it has achieved in less than three decades of reforms since its independence from Soviet rule in 1991. They have shown consistent improvement in PISA scores through 2012, 2015 and 2018, and the highlight of their success story is that their result cuts across social classes. Estonia has one of the highest percentages of resilient children in the OECD and even the lowest decile of Estonian students does better in PISA than the average student in more advanced countries.
With regard to the steady rebuilding of the Estonian education system, NCEE’s Center on International Education Benchmarking speaks about the thrust on three main areas:
- They effected a massive overhaul of their national curriculum to foster a high-tech, high-skill, high-wage economy.
- They revamped teacher training to focus on innovative practices and necessitating five years of training and a master’s degree for all teachers.
- They enhanced the status of vocational education via developing national standards for it by creating a national skill qualification system.
There is a centralized online portal maintained by the Ministry of Education – called Estonia Educational Information System (EEIS) – and it has all information regarding the entire country’s students, teachers and schools. With password protected data access, every individual in the education system can login and track their progress. Data about schools and their functioning, indicators of student performance, course offerings, etc., are made available to the public as well, through this portal.
Traditionally, teaching has not been associated with high social status in Estonia, and with salaries not commensurate with other high status-professions, finding smart young people to join the teaching workforce has been the country’s toughest challenge. As per their latest national strategic plan – the ‘Estonian Lifelong Learning Strategy 2020’ – aligning teacher pay at par with professions that require similar education is their declared goal.
There is an emphasis on self-evaluation in their system. Electronic tools enable teachers to assess themselves against common standards. Another example is the voluntary program called ‘Datateams’, for which willing schools can sign up. A team from the school collects their own performance data of three years, identifies a problem, forms a hypothesis for an intervention that would solve the problem, and then, continue data collection for a few more years to test the hypothesis over time.
Indian parent perspectives
While the education systems discussed above rank high in the NCEE list, some lived experiences, particularly for Indian parents residing in these countries, may be different. Chaithanya Lakshmi is an Indian scientist based in Seoul. She moved to South Korea in 2010 to start her PhD programme in molecular biology at Postech, a private university in Pohang, and absolutely loves the country except for one thing: its school education. She has a three-year-old child now and is categorical in saying that if there is one reason why she considers a move from the country, it is the competitiveness in the air. “Personally, I don’t think this is how children should be taught. Kids here run from school to tuition centres and get back home at midnight. They don’t even meet their siblings on most days,” says Chaithanya from her experience of having taught English to a Korean colleague’s daughter.
What she is referring to here is hagwon – the “infamous” Korean cram-schools. They are rampant to cater to a population which wants children to perform well in Suneung, the Korean college scholastic ability test. In a 2018 BBC report, Hossein Sharif called Suneung as “the day silence falls over South Korea”. The results of this competitive examination, which goes on marathon-style for almost eight hours, is the gateway for their university admission, and every exam-taker is competing for a position in one of the three prestigious ‘SKY institutions’ – an acronym for the universities of Seoul, Korea and Yonsei. They prepare for as long as 12 years for this one defining day as it has a determinate impact on their job prospects, income, relationships and societal status in general.
Ask her to rate the effectiveness of the system and Chaithanya sums it up: “If the criterion is just exam performance, this system works; otherwise it does not. They score well but none of them can speak English properly – I have seen this in effect in my university. The population here is so homogenous; there is no scope for language practice and the education system does not address it.”
Nagalakshmi Viswanathan is another Indian parent who has critical observations about the education system in her country of residence – Singapore. Her daughter Sameera goes to a private British school because she and her husband want their child to be in an “environment of respect”. Having worked in the country for 12 years, she has observed a streak of subservience among the natives, which she believes, reflects in the way learning happens in public schools. She knows a colleague’s child who was perceived to be an “introvert” until class 3, at home and school; but after the shift to a private school, the girl bloomed with a lot more confidence and articulateness. Also, there is a clear hierarchy among public schools. She says: “It is incredibly hard for “normal people” to get admissions for their wards in the good schools. You need to procure recommendations and make donations to get your foot in the door.” Nagalakshmi is also in strong disagreement with the system of streaming in Singapore. For a 12-year-old, the national Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) becomes stressful because their stream allocation in secondary school – into Express, Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) – is based on the PSLE grade. These streams pigeonhole children and those in the “slower” streams are made to feel demoralized.
But the Canadian experience that Raju Sunny shares is different. His daughter Meera Anne Joseph was a private school student in Atlanta, USA, before they moved to Canada in 2018. There was a counsellor from the regional YMCA, along with the Headmistress, ready to welcome them when Meera joined a public school in Ontario. The counsellor gave her and the parents separate sessions and followed up with her the first weekend. The follow up continued for six months, with monthly sessions and ensured that Meera was fully integrated. Raju says: “There is a lot our country can learn from the Canadian system which is more progressive and gives scope for emotional growth. Meera once intervened in a fight and sorted it. The teacher made an example and published this in a newsletter. Their progress cards are not just score cards, but a collection of the teacher’s observations. Parents also have an active role to play and our voices are heard and action taken upon during school board meetings.”
Getting better every day
A hallmark of all the best education systems in the world is that they are relentless in their quest to improve, and in a globalized world, there is so much to learn, for everyone. For example, workers without a university education have been looked down upon in the Korean society traditionally and there is a social status issue in pursuing the vocational line of education. To address this, the government established a network of ‘Meister Schools’ in 2010, inspired by the dual education system in Germany, wherein students enjoy free tuition and are referred to as young ‘Meisters’ – the German term for master craftsmen.
Singapore, for all its glory as one of the best performers in PISA, implemented a stage-wise phase out of its 40-year-old streaming system in 2019. By 2024, the country will have switched completely to a subject-based-banding thus ending a cut-throat system which segregates students based on their grades.
Japan, another country renowned for its successful model of education, is working on reducing the emphasis placed on juku – the Japanese cram-schools – to alleviate the social inequalities they propagate (not all parents can afford it and children who don’t take it, fall behind). They are also rolling out a new test this year, replacing the ‘National Center Test’ for university admissions, with emphasis on critical thinking and expression rather than rote learning.
While such constant innovations go on, the challenge is not in finding the best educators or developing the most advanced infrastructure. The challenge lies in sharing the learnings and in replicating those at scale. In a 2014 interview with the BBC, John Fallon, the chief executive of the renowned learning company Pearson PLC, said that globalization will have limits and that education systems will always have a strong national and local identity – shaped by “community, culture and language”. While it isn’t mindless adoption but thoughtful adaptation that will work, there is no going back on the fact that the world is tied together in the thread of its future, our children, and we need to keep learning with and from each other to mould that future discerningly.
*A national advocacy group that works to make poverty a focus of the US foreign policy.
**A national selection cooperation network encompassing many top universities in Finland and organises the written VAKAVA examination.
Note: The information shared about the best education systems marshalled here is courtesy NCEE and their top-ten list. Please visit this link for comprehensive data on each of the ten best-performers: https://ncee.org/what-we-do/center-on-international-education-benchmarking/top-performing-countries/
The author is a post-graduate in Mass Communication from the University of Hyderabad and an M.Phil. in Gender Studies. A Kochi-based media professional, she is mostly on stage as an emcee, and during other times, she writes on her favourite topics – gender, education, food and entertainment. She can be reached at ardramaanasam@gmail.com.
