In the past decade, the gap in academic ability among elementary, middle and high school students due to social background such as parents' financial ability has become serious, and some have pointed out that school education should be strengthened. Research should find the connection between parents' backgrounds and students' educational backgrounds and weaken them.
He also argued that the balanced college entrance examination, which eliminates the shortage of low-income people and other social considerations, should be changed to evaluate the level of growth through overcoming difficulties.
Kim Sung-sik, a professor of education at Seoul National University of Education, made the announcement at a discussion on the impact of parents' backgrounds on academic achievement gaps held at the Seoul National Assembly Hall on the afternoon of the 17th.
According to the "Basic Study on Polarization in the Education Sector" released by the Korea Institute of Education and Development (KEDI) in 2020, polarization in the education sector, such as educational background due to income gap, became more serious than in 2010.
At that time, the researchers quantified the fluctuations between the first and fifth places with the lowest income as the reference point (100) in 2010, and found that the gap between high school seniors' academic achievement was higher than 100 regardless of how they were calculated.
It brings out a good sleep.
However, Professor Kim pointed out, "The gap in academic ability among income groups does not necessarily correspond to income inequality. High economic power does not naturally increase academic background.
"The reason for the disparity in academic ability cannot be explained by one or two factors," he said. "The amount and quality of learning that have the most decisive impact on academic achievement can vary depending on various factors such as motivation for achievement, effort, and quality of school education."
The education community has raised controversy by pointing out high school systems such as high school fees, autonomous private high schools (self-private high schools), and the burden of private education as the reasons for the widening gap in academic ability.
Professor Kim focused on school education that had not been noticed until now. It is important to point out the possibility that students with high socioeconomic standards of their parents were formed in favor of them.
For example, teachers' enthusiasm for education is more effective for poor students, such as low-income students, who are experiencing academic difficulties than those who know the contents of textbooks and study in advance.
The results may vary depending on the family background if homework is given, such as performance evaluation, but the gap between the social background can be alleviated by solving the problem in schools to reduce parents' intervention.
Professor Kim stressed, "The fundamental solution of the gap in academic ability based on parents' background may be to resolve some economic differences, but it is difficult in reality.
"We need to create equal schools with low achievement and parents' influence and high fairness," he said. "We have focused on systematic aspects such as school ranking and university selection system, but we need to pay attention to school factors."
In addition, the core elements were evaluated on the interaction between classes and teachers, and the accompanying tests. In other words, the education system should be changed from progress-free education to small-scale cooperative learning.
In the case of the balanced college entrance examination, Professor Kim also argued, "We should not just give preferential treatment to students just because of the difficult socioeconomic environment, but instead switch to the one that can evaluate their growth through overcoming difficulties."
However, Professor Kim said, "If there is not enough data and research that can be verified empirically, school reform could be carried out to deepen the academic gap." Additional policy research and investigation are needed.
Writer: Yeyoung Jeon
(Picture from Unsplash)
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