Introduction
The education system is the branch of the state that determines the very future of the country. For several decades now, the Korean and Finnish education programs have provided their countries with highly skilled students, while the United States school education is experiencing stagnation. This work aims to analyze and compare the Korean and Finnish education systems and propose some of their practices for US school education.
Korean and Finnish School Systems Comparison
Both Korean and Finnish students have long been ranked high in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) ratings. However, Korean and Finnish education systems have entirely different approaches to teaching students. The Korean educational program forces students to compete with each other for the opportunity to enter the top universities (Koo, 2014). Finnish schools’ fundamental principle is to create an environment of equity and equality for students (Partanen, 2011). It is worth noting that the Korean education program has a universal “single college entrance exam – the suneung” (Hu, 2015, para. 8). The Finnish educational system gives teachers the opportunity to design their own tests and grading. It can be said that the National Matriculation Exam is the closest equivalent to the suneung (Partanen, 2011). Another critical difference is that all Finnish schools are public, while the Korean educational system’s core is hagwons, namely commercial cram schools.
There are also differences in the number of teaching hours and the authority of teachers. According to Koo (2014), “the average South Korean student works up to 13 hours a day” (para. 9). A school day in a Finnish educational institution is much shorter than in Korea and the United States (Partanen, 2011). It seems that Korean teachers’ authority is indisputable, and many of them do not accept criticism (Koo, 2014). Finnish teachers have a lot of responsibility and treat students as equals (Partanen, 2011). It can be assumed that the American education system is in between the Korean and Finnish approaches, offering people both private and public schools with different educational programs. However, American student performance ratings are below both Korean and Finnish ones.
Pressure on Students
It is evident that such radically different approaches have a different impact on students. Tough and, it is safe to say, even Spartan, the Korean education system puts a lot of pressure on Korean students. They suffer from stress-related disorders such as chest pain and hair loss (Koo, 2014). Meanwhile, the Finnish students seem to be open mind-minded and quite happy (Gross-Loh, 2014). Korean schools want to make their pupils top performers, while Finnish schools consider their students as the country’s most precious resources. There are also historical reasons for such outcomes.
The Past as a Defining Aspect of Education Program
Korean and Finnish approaches to education, which were described above, were formed under the influence of their countries’ past. According to Koo (2014), “during the Choson Dynasty (1392-1910), having children pass the civil service examination administered by the royal court was seen as a sure conduit to social and material success for the entire family” (para. 15). It is also important to mention such a peculiarity of Korean family relationships as parents often view their child as a financial asset. It is why Korean parents and teachers are putting so much pressure on their students to ensure their successful future and prosperity for the country. According to Partanen (2011), “decades ago, when the Finnish school system was badly in need of reform” (para. 23). It was not only due to social inequalities but also because the Finnish authorities understood that they should invest in human resources to be competitive on the world stage. Therefore, they created a school environment where every student has equal opportunities to self-actualize, regardless of economic, social, and gender status.
What the American Education System May Learn
Both of the analyzed educational programs provide their countries with highly skilled students. However, the cost of implementing the Korean educational principles in the US environment is too high. Meanwhile, the Finnish educational system seems to be appropriate. The author of this paper believes that implementing the Finnish educational approach in the public school sector would be beneficial for students. Nowadays, the USA has similar issues, such as significant social inequalities, as Finland had in the 70s of the last century. It is also important to note that test standardization negatively affects American students’ academic performance (Bond et al., 2012). If the implementation shows a positive result, such as increased academic performance, then the private educational sector’s nationalization may be proposed to private school owners.
Conclusion
The author of this work conducts a comparative analysis of two educational programs, namely Korean and Finnish. It has been found out that these school systems take entirely different approaches in terms of the education process. The author of this work believes that the Finnish system is more beneficial and student-friendly. It is also worth mentioning that the Finnish school education model is more suitable for the US environment due to similar social prerequisites.
References
Bond, H., Barr, B., Fotiyeva, I., & Wu, F. (2012). Through children’s eyes: President Obama and the future generation. The Key Publishing House Inc.
Gross-Loh, C. (2014). Finnish education chief: ‘We created a school system based on equality.’ The Atlantic. Web.
Hu, E. (2015). The all-work, no-play culture of South Korean education. National Public Radio. Web.
Koo, Se-W. (2014). An assault upon our children. The New York Times. Web.
Partanen, A. (2011). What Americans keep ignoring about Finland’s school success. The Atlantic. Web.