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An analysis found that the possibility that the bottom 20% of the income group will be in the top 20% of key indicators in the field of education such as private education expenses and academic achievement has worsened over the past decade. This is the result of examining based on the education polarization index first developed by the Korea Education Development Institute, a national research institute. In a report on the’Analysis Study on the Trend of Polarization in Education’ published by the Korea Educational Development Institute on the 27th, the volatility index representing the change in 2020 compared to 2010 in’Reduction in mobility’ (unequal distribution), one of the indexes of polarization in the education sector, was 117.3. This index indicates the likelihood that the bottom 20% of the income group will be in the top 20% of the key indicators of the education sector. A higher volatility index of 100 means that the degree of polarization intensified over the past 10 years. In particular, in detailed indicators, the level of polarization in private education expenses and competency (academic achievement) was severe. The Korea Educational Development Institute started a study to analyze the trend of polarization in education from last year. This report contains the results of the first year among the five-year studies. The main content is to suggest indicators and indices for diagnosing polarization in education. The report stipulated the polarization of education as “a phenomenon in which the middle class decreases and the heterogeneity between groups increases as the education opportunities, processes, and results are shifted to the upper and lower groups depending on the individual’s background.” The researchers classified education polarization indices into four categories, followed by “decrease in mobility” (117.3), followed by “decrease in the middle class” (104.6), “increase intergroup differences” (101.8) and “reduce intra-group differences” (98.8). The index (the level in 2020 compared to 2010) was large. This is the order in which polarization has intensified over the past decade. Median decline means that the middle income group gets closer to the lower group, and the difference within the group refers to the difference between the top 20% and bottom 20% groups of income. The ten key indicators in the education field that make up the index are cognitive development for young children, private education expenses, parental learning support, parental cultural support, learning time, teacher enthusiasm, academic achievement, adult competency, college entrance, and college graduates’ first income. As of 2020, among the four polarization indices, the’increased gap between groups’ index was 157.1, the most severe. The’mobility decrease’ index followed with 155.5. On the other hand, the indices of’reduction of inter-group difference’ and’reduction of middle class’ were 104.9 and 100.5, respectively, showing less polarization. “The gap between the upper and lower layers is growing,” the researchers explained.
Investing in private education expenditures, which is more closely related to household income levels than public education, was also characterized by a serious polarization. As of 2020, the polarization of private education expenditures was as severe as the’increased gap between groups’ index of 354.2, and the’reduction of mobility’ index reached 288.9. The polarization was also remarkable in the indicators that were related to or as a result of the family background, such as parents’ cultural support, competency (academic achievement), study time, and college entrance. In the case of middle and high schools, the index of’reduction of middle class’ in private education expenses was 100 or less. This shows that there is a kind of’catching up’ phenomenon in which the middle income group spends money on private education as much as the upper group. It is an unexpected result that the volatility index did not exceed 100 in the university admissions index, which looked at the rate of attendance at a four-year university in Seoul. “It is estimated that over the past 10 years, policy approaches, such as expanding the opportunity balance screening, which separately selects the underprivileged in college admissions, have alleviated the degree of polarization.” The key task will be what public education will do systematically to compensate for the situation.” Earlier, the Moon Jae-in administration put forward a national task to restore the hierarchy of education at the beginning of its inauguration, but there were many concerns that the education gap was widening, with private education expenses soaring to an all-time high. Accordingly, it has been argued that the government should proactively take the initiative in creating educational inequality indicators and indexes and preparing policy alternatives. By Choi Won-hyung, staff reporter [email protected]