Abstract
Over the past few decades, South Korea, as a rapidly transforming society, has witnessed a massive drive for educational credentials. Some scholars suggest that South Korea has been gripped by an education fever that is leading to huge investments of economic and social capital to further young people’s educational interests. This article refers to a study of three high-achieving South Korean schools. Through the conducting of a survey among 206 school students, 71 teachers and 254 parents, the study aimed to identify the key factors deemed to be responsible for high educational achievement in the schools. Social capital and its physical, relational, structural, and cognitive dimensions presented the conceptual and analytical tools of the study. The findings suggest, after all dimensions are considered, that familial social capital and the nature of parental involvement are most definitive for students’ success. In this sense there is correspondence with James Coleman’s views on the importance of family background as significant in determining how students ultimately perform. However, there is also an indication that mothers and fathers involve themselves differently – and that boarding school students benefit from retaining some distance away from family. The article concludes by offering a set of general recommendations useful for policy-makers in any society seeking to enhance students’ educational achievements.
Highlights
This article focuses on the social factors and relationships shaping the educational achievement of South Korean students
The current study examines the educational achievement of South Korean 11thgraders by considering their performance alongside the social capital (SC) they have access to
While it is recognized that categorizing learners on the basis of one subject and one test has limitations, it should be pointed out that great emphasis is placed on mathematics as a key indicator of performance in the South Korean educational system, and the test was guided by teachers with key insights on both curricula and teaching pedagogies
Summary
This article focuses on the social factors and relationships shaping the educational achievement of South Korean students. Schools have long been viewed as places in which opportunities can be equalized and as offering a foundation upon which all students, irrespective of their backgrounds, can attain higher social status and social position in society. To this end, access to the best schools and universities has become an urgent priority of families representing all classes in South Korea (Kim & Lee, 2006; Shin, 2012). The current study examines the educational achievement of South Korean 11thgraders by considering their performance alongside the social capital (SC) they have access to. The intention of this article is to offer insight into the main factors (or aspects) of SC that are most influential in shaping student performance in what are viewed as generally ‘high achieving’ South Korean schools and to consider whether this understanding offers general lessons for influencing changes in schools that are not performing optimally
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