Eh?

Photo courtesy of Flickr user ankakay

Considering our close proximity to Canada, it is truly unwise to have them go unnoticed.  This week, we'll be delving into the Canadian education system.  Like the United States, the education systems of different areas of Canada offer differing curricula and set differing goals for their students.  While the United States is split into states, Canada is split into its ten individual provinces and three territories that are, for lack of a better comparison, Canada's states.

Depending on the province or territory, Canadian mandatory schooling starts at grade one from around age six, and runs until grade eleven or twelve depending on the province.  After grade school, Canada offers educational institutions across the country in the forms of colleges, universities, technical institutes, career colleges, and the most unique, language schools.

Due to the dual official languages of Canada—French and English—special schools exist in order to help both domestic and foreign students master their selected language using ESL (English as a Second Language) or FSL (French as a Second Language) programs.

Additionally, technical institutions in Canada are a much more popular choice than in the United States.  With programs that aim at giving students professional tools to be applied in the job market, technical institutes typically offer one-to-three year vocational programs that focus on career-oriented classes.  Some higher level educational institutions such as these can be privately or publicly funded, much like those in the United States, but universities in particular are exclusively publicly funded in Canada.

All similarities considered, there's no doubt that they are differences in terms of results—while the top-performing group of students do similarly well, there is a greater portion of low performing students here in the United States.

With similar educational structure to that of America and a diverse population, (nearly half of Toronto's population, for instance, was born outside of Canadian borders,) what constitutes the differences between the relative success of the Canadian system?

Differences in funding levels across the myriad provinces and territories is one reason why Canada manages to provide a more equal playing field across its borders.  To put things into context, the difference between the highest and lowest expenditure per pupil across the states in America was over $2,000 higher compared to that in Canada.  Furthermore, becoming a teacher is harder and takes longer in Canada and therefore, like the many countries examined previously, a higher level of respect is conjured from the students on a day to day basis.

On the same note, the general mindset of the typical Canadian—one that emphasizes equity for all students across provinces—allows the local districts and elected boards to convey this mindset to offer high quality education across the country.

A general theme has been apparent throughout the course of this blog, which has compared and contrasted various education systems to that of the United States.  A lack of respect for teachers and professors, variable curricula, and large disparities between those that succeed and those that do not, all contribute to areas that the U.S. could improve upon.

College students here in the U.S. have already caught on, apparently.  Over the past decade, the number of Americans that have enrolled in Canadian universities has increased by 50%.  Why?  In short—money.  Tuition rates in Canada are substantially lower, at about $5,000 per undergraduate year, compared to thousands and thousands more here in the U.S.  Moreover, the quality drop off that is expected due to such a differential in tuition simply does not exist.  Attending McGill University in Canada is much cheaper than many American Universities, but boasts a World University Ranking of 24 as of 2015.

McGill University courtesy of Flickr user TMAB2003

So, there are alternatives that lie close to home for students who may think higher education will cost too much, or won't be worth their time.  Us Americans, though, are a proud people that love a household name.  Living close to family and representing your country, being taught by professors that grew up in the same country (or even county!) as you did holds a place in our hearts.

There are so many benefits of pursuing higher education somewhere abroad, such as Canada or Singapore—places where English is already a prominent language.  Balancing the benefits with tradeoffs, however, is a tough battle.  It's a battle that puts logic and emotion in a head-to-head clash against one another.  It's one that requires long plane rides and passport stamping, one without the comfort of family dinners or Fourth of July fireworks.

Education here in America isn't without its flaws, but we are definitely doing some things right.  Always looking to improve should be a top priority though, especially when it concerns the education of future generations that will lead our country in a matter of years.  To me, there's nothing better than looking at what's succeeded in other places around the world and adapting our systems for the better.

This will take time, money, and the passage of a ton of laws no one wants to read, but look on the bright side.  It could lead to a greater appreciation for teachers and professors, a deeper understanding of concepts that will ultimately lead to a more educated society, and a higher standard of living across the 50 states.  Would all the work be worth it?

I think so.

Nordic Powerhouse

Photo Courtesy of Miska Michael Knapek

Finland, the nordic giant when it comes to academia, continues to lead that pack in Europe.  Finnish education relies on a particular set of principles that largely oppose the underlying principals of success in countries like Singapore, that heavily rely on test-based learning.  Although Singapore has stepped away from solely relying on preparing for exams, (as mentioned in a previous post,) Finland can be seen as the poster-child of the promotion of teaching how to learn.

The PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) evaluates the ability of high-school level scholars in areas such as mathematics, problem solving, and financial literacy.  It is crucial to note the success of Finnish students concerning this particular test considering teaching methodologies focus on, as stated earlier, conveying to students how to learn rather than to memorize and drill for a particular test.

If you could summarize the education system in Finland, one specific word would come to mind—equality.  Equality to the point that the disparity between the most academically advanced students and those who are less academically incline is small.  So much so, that 93% of students graduate from high school, and 66% of those students move on to pursue higher education.  Furthermore, the government of Finland pays 30% less for each child within their school system in comparison to the United States' public education.

The success starts from the top.  The select group that is in charge of forming and altering educational policy are educators, and not politicians or businessmen.  Moreover, the government does all it can to minimize the number of students that show up to school hungry or with concerns about whether or not they'll have a bed to sleep in for the night.  Up until the age of seventeen, the government actually gives parents around 100 euros per month for each child.  Additionally, long maternity leaves and comprehensive day care programs are offered for each parent in Finland to support the family as a whole.

Finnish Students in a Classroom Setting
(Photo courtesy of Kevin Oliver)

With a government so accommodating, it is easy to see how the reduction of outside complications can contribute to the success of a system and the reduction of academic disparities.  College tuition, for the kids that choose to continue learning, is free.  However, there exist some expenses for living arrangements while at university, but low-rate loans are abundant and the lack of tuition allows for greater flexibility within the system.

Teachers are held in high esteem and create a welcoming environment for all children.  Only the top ten percent of Finland's graduates can achieve a masters degree in education, which is mandatory in order to become a teaching professional in the country.  Teachers promote play for younger students, while offering myriad accommodations for struggling students.  In addition, they seem to have a steadfast mindset in helping each and every student succeed.

Does this system seem too good to be true?  Well, as always, there would be significant amounts of backlash if we were to cut-and-paste this style of an education system to here in the United States.  First of all, the amount of household income in significantly lower in Finland, so although welfare policy allows many to stay afloat and provide for their families, extravagant spending is something rare to be seen in Finland.  Furthermore, taxes on the wealthy are much greater in Finland, so it is reasonable to assume some conservatives here in the U.S. would have something to say about that before seeing the potential benefits toward the education system.  Lastly, the seemingly-perfect health care system set in place in Finland lies within the much lower pay of doctors.   Here in the U.S., where paying for an education to become a doctor costs so much, it is unthinkable to pay a professional of such high esteem a much lower pay than we, as Americans, are used to.

So, while the Finnish education system is working for them, it relies so much on the rest of the government, which has grown with a public welfare system.  With a foundation so different from that of the foundation of the United States, the transfer of many of the policies with regards to education would be difficult.  Then again, it is safe to say many of us are reluctant to change.  What might help us change our minds?  I'll leave that for another blog...

The Legacy

Students outside a school in Johannesburg, South Africa (Photo courtesy of thomas_sly)

This week's country of interest is South Africa.  Unlike Japan and Singapore, countries that boast some of the greatest test scores across the board, South Africa struggles in this category.  More than 25% of kids who took their end-of-year examination failed.  Of course, myriad factors influence the success of an education system as a whole, and it's particularly difficult to pinpoint specific causes for this statistic.

I can try, though.

First and foremost, let us start with something simple and concrete.  Compulsory education in South Africa starts at age seven, and concludes at age fifteen; this equates to attending school from grades one through seven.  Compared to more developed education systems, South Africans are stripped of nearly five years of education due to these regulations.  Along with these reduced standards comes an astonishingly high drop out rate after compulsory education ends.  An astonishing number of students drop out from school.  Less than half of the students who enrolled in school in the year 2001 passed the graduation exam over a decade later.

It must be a money problem, right?  Turns out not.  South Africa is one of the top investors in public education in the world at about 7% of their GDP and 20% of their total state expenditure.  So what could it be that is leading to these results?

South Africa invests more money into public education than any other African nation
(Photo courtesy of Georgia Popplewell)

The answer lies in the past.  The harsh effects of Apartheid, yes, that thing that "ended over two decades ago", continue to ravage the educational system of South Africa.  The actions of the Apartheid government decades ago invested so little in education for blacks, that In Africa, the disparity between whites and blacks still defines much of the social landscape.  Just to give some context, black children in South Africa are 100 times more likely to grow up in poverty compared to whites, while whites are 6 times more likely to attended a higher education institution.  Even the students that have access to better quality education have to cram into small buses to travel long distances, daily.  Has much really changed?

Well, the days where the government spent four times more on a white child's education compared to that of a black child are gone, but it is hard to assume that guarantees anything.  To emphasize this, language barriers still get in the way of educational progress and achievement.  According to an article by the BBC , when 400 students in a rural province of South Africa were asked to calculate 7 times 17, 130 got the problem correct.  However, when the problem was reconstructed into a word problem in english, none of them got the problem correct.

Teachers in rural areas have little experience with teaching in English due to the variety of language and lack of teaching tools in English.  Some teachers simply do not show up to school some days of the week, which lessens the amount of time students are learning even during the years for compulsory education.  It is outrageous and unthinkable in our society for teachers to simply not show up for days or weeks without reason.

While South Africa's government has obviously done little to regulate the staff at public institutions in rural areas, some schools have done extremely well even in the face of adversity.  For example, Mbwili Secondary School, in an area that can only barely fulfill basic equipment needs, recently saw all of their students pass their graduation exam.

So, there's hope.  However, the long-lasting effects of Apartheid will be felt for decades to come, according to the education minister of South Africa, Ms. Motshekga.  Much like the situation of blacks after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, black students in South Africa will pay the price for the events of an unjust past.

Will time be the only medicine for this educational crisis?  It's incredibly hard to say.  The money that the government in funneling into public education, more than any other African nation, is obviously not being spent in the most optimal fashion.  Furthermore, the longer this unbalanced system stays intact, the worse it may become.  Since students need to pass their graduation exams to receive a higher education, it is incredibly tough to move up the socioeconomic ladder in rural South Africa.  While I believe change is coming, the speed at which it arrives may just be too slow.  Only time will tell.

What do you think about the system implemented in South Africa?

Idealism

Singapore's education system consistently ranks highly among the world's best. (Roman Emin)

Students and teachers alike value lists and rankings, graphics and charts, more than any long, arduous, in-depth analysis of a paper.  Look at sources like U.S. News & World Report rankings and lists and you will see how the simple attributing of a number to a school can change the perspective on the school entirely.  Sayings like, "this school is so much better than this school—it's rated number one!" or, "I'm applying here because it's ranked so high on the list, so it must be a good school," are frequently used to justify one's decisions.  Nowadays, we put lots of faith in the simple and succinct, the quick-and-easy to comprehend.  Numbers are nice, but they don't tell the whole story.

Today, I will be focusing on the education system of Singapore, the leader of the world in terms of cognitive skills and recently ranked among the top three education systems in the world.  Something, obviously, is working, and working well.

As a basis for comparison, I asked a few students to summarize the U.S. school system in a few words and this is what some of them responded with:

• States and legislations have lots of freedom
• There is not enough government funding
• Government intervention is frowned upon (by at least some groups)
• Teachers and their teaching styles are inconsistent and sometimes inept
• Standardized testing
• Individuality is important
• Discussion is encouraged

The input focused on both the frequently perceived negatives of our school system and some aspects that may be more positive, like the importance of individuality and discussion.

In Singapore, many of these detriments are addressed.  The national government of Singapore has a huge say in how educational institutions run their curriculum.  Largely homogenized, the curriculum of Singaporean schools focus on tackling standardized tests with efficiency and accuracy.  With this, comes lots of drilling and practice, and of course, discipline.

Government funding is abundant in Singapore, with a commitments of £109m between 2003-2017 issued for the country.   On top of that, significant effort is put in educating, training, and selecting the best of the best candidates to become teachers in the Singaporean education system.  The uniform curriculum, however, calls for similar teaching styles among the teachers, which seems efficient, but lacks the variety that may be beneficial for different types of students.  The students themselves also have a collectively disciplined mindset, which makes and keeps the classroom a organized and efficient area for learning.  

Photo Courtesy of Osamu Kaneko

The prescribed learning process differs in Singapore, with lots of emphasis on drilling and practice.  Learning new concepts is generally taught in a concise manner—a manner in which the answer is emphasized more than the specific procedures involved.  This test-biased structure obviously has its advantages, but discussion in classrooms is often limited, if allowed at all.  Where in America, opinions and debate would stir a class into discussion, potentially using time that could be used to practice a newly-learned concept.  While this discussion can be an integral part in the learning process, structure and efficiency comes before all in Singapore.  

So, what would happen if we tried to incorporate some of Singapore's core educational pillars into our own systems?  I believe it would be a long, arduous process that would lead to little progress.  Why?  Singapore's education system arose and works because of their complex history and specific cultural mindsets.  Implementing an "exam learning" system across the U.S. would likely enrage many and please few; the lack of individual attention and discussion would deter from our current system to the point that the changes would do more harm than good.  Deeply-rooted values play a large role in how we change educational policy, something that is especially difficult when we have 50 separate states.  (We can't even homogenize "standardized" testing between statewide exams!)

This being said, Singapore has been slowly changing its approach toward education in recent years.  Implementing more "Western" teaching methods within their schools to move away from a test-focused curriculum to one that stresses the quality of learning, rather than quantity.

No school system may ever be perfect, but will Singapore's get close?  Only time will tell.  Meanwhile, I believe we could take a page out of Singapore's book to improve our schools for the better.

What do you think?

The Education Equation

Kids at school in Japan (courtesy of Aka Hige)

Education is a touchy subject.  So much talk about slipping behind other first world nations' average test scores or losing ground in improving education in impoverished areas fills the news.  What little progress that does occur in our nation is subtle and simply allows youth who are better off to further excel.  Many schools here depend on "gifted" or "advanced" programs to exploit bright students, leaving many students unable to catch up academically.

Cross the Pacific Ocean to the little island nation of Japan and things are a bit different.  Although most of my educational career has taken place here in the United States, what time I have spent in Japan's schools as a child and staying in contact with Japan through relatives and even television has lent me a perspective I would like to share.  In particular, I would like to highlight the general differences in how Japanese and Americans approach education systems.

Some of the most obvious differences lie within the structure of the system itself.  Only grades one through nine are required as part of national standards, but as many as ninety-eight percent of the kids go on to high school, which in Japan is comprised of grades ten through twelve (Web-Japan).  This high majority of kids need to complete and score highly in a nation-wide entrance exam to be able to attend the high school of their choosing.  Much like college in America, the test-taking process and pressure that comes with it starts much earlier in Japan.  Of course, Japanese students do not only need to complete assessments to attend a high school, but also for college as is commonplace here.

A typical classroom environment (courtesy of Angie Harm)

Summer breaks are much, much shorter for Japanese students as well.  Set at a standard length every year, they last from July 20th to August 31st.  This predetermined time for something as fun and free-flowing as summer break simply emphasizes the recurring essence of discipline within Japanese culture.  Students in Japan take turns serving food to one another during lunchtime, even in elementary school.

Moreover, janitors are few and far between in Japanese schools, where divisions of classes called "kumi" are scheduled to clean the school's facilities every day, from the halls to the desks to the playground.  Everyone is expected to play a part in this cleanup and all the students get to participate in a way that is healthy and even somewhat fun.  Races down the hallway for which group of kids can clean the hallway in the most effective and time-efficient manner

The typical hallway cleanup in Japan (courtesy of Lora Crowley)

Largely, discipline is given a negative connotation in education systems across America, with words like "detention" frequently found paired with the idea in the same sentence.  However, in Japan it spurs a sense of community and facilitates responsibility.  However, with this idea of discipline comes the idea of equal share, equal opportunity, and equal treatment.  Students in Japan, especially in elementary school, are treated nearly the same across the board—with the same level of attention and care as the rest of the children, no matter their academic promise and for the most part, their social and economic standing.  There are a few exceptions of course, but it is much more difficult to find schools in Japan that offer and stress gifted programs and divisions of young students by level of academic promise.

Put simply, Japanese schools offer a certain sustainable level of homogeneity within the entire class, with little difference between the amount or quality of time spent on any particular child.  Whereas in America, the disparity between the "gifted" children and "non-gifted" students is highlighted at such a young age and is only accentuated throughout senior year of high school.  Frequently these groups of children begin to segregate and form clusters that rarely mix.  Moving forward, the students begin to take classes with the same group of students, limiting the ability of those who wish to move up, and making it difficult for those already in advanced programs to leave.

The Japanese model keeps the students at relatively the same educational level and pace, allowing those who are "gifted" to possibly lead the class, while giving other students the opportunity to grasp the same material or possibly benefit from working with these leading students.  Once ninth grade ends however, and students begin to take exams to be accepted to certain high schools, the lines are drawn in ways that are much more decisive and more like the transition from high school to college in America.

While I'm not a 100% proponent of either side of the education equation, I think there's a lot to learn from the Japanese approach to their educational system as a whole.  Putting a positive spin on discipline is something we could incorporate across many different institutions.  Motivating kids to take responsibility for their learning and being offered the same education across the board could help struggling students achieve more.  On the other hand, however, there are those that argue this Japanese approach could limit the potential of some kids—something that American school systems capitalize upon.  All in all, it is at least something that is worth pondering considering the current state of public education here in the States.

For more information on Japanese schools, click this link.