When Different Types of Education Matter: Effectively Maintained Inequality of Educational Opportunity in Korea.
American Behavioral Scientist. Byun Soo-yong, and Park Hyunjoon (2017)
Using longitudinal data for a nationally representative sample of ninth graders in South Korea, we examine socioeconomic differences in the likelihood of making transitions into different types of high school and college with a goal of testing the validity of the effectively maintained inequality hypothesis. We find significant socioeconomic disparities in the likelihood of attending an academic high school and a 4-year university. However, the predicted probabilities suggest that even disadvantaged students typically choose an academic high school relative to a vocational high school. Furthermore, although disadvantaged students likely end up with a 2-year junior college, those disadvantaged students graduating from an academic high school typically choose a 4-year university, after controlling for academic achievement and other variables. We discuss the relevance of the effectively maintained inequality hypothesis for South Korea and broad implications for elsewhere where postsecondary education is increasingly available for the majority of population.
The Irony of the Unchecked Growth of Higher Education in South Korea: Crystallization of Class Cleavages and Intensifying Status Competition.
Development and Society. Kim Doo-Hwan, and Choi Yool (2015)
This study raises questions about the discrepancy between the praise for Korean education by international organizations and Koreans’ dissatisfaction with their education. First, the study identifies the main reason for the discrepancy as inequality at the level of higher education. To track down the formation of the current problem of educational inequality and excessive competition for status, the study evaluates the historical changes in South Korea’s education system in the past several decades, focusing on the unchecked expansion of higher education. In doing so, the study shows how the aggregate decisions made by individuals and families, and the political dynamics of the past five decades have affected broad policy regarding educational stratification in South Korea. In the last section, the study presents what has been an empirical pattern of educational stratification in Korea reflecting all these social changes during the past five decades in Korea.
