Education and Development in South Korea

Education is very high priority in Korea. It is a serious matter, and the parents see possibilities for the future in the school success of their children. There is a strong family focus on the children doing well in school. Korean children attend school from 8:00 in the morning until 4:00 in the afternoon six days a week from March until March (Ellinger & Beckham, 624). The mothers usually oversee the children's education, supervise homework, furnish snacks for late night studying and administer punishment if the child is not studying hard enough. Education in South Korea is compulsory only through the sixth grade. However, most students continue through high school. Parents of high school students must pay tuition of approximately $1,200 a year, a figure that could triple when one adds the additional costs of textbooks and private tutoring. Students in middle and high schools attend school Monday through Saturday

viewed as play are not included in educational formats (347). Games, such as crossword puzzles and Scrabble are included in school activities aimed at helping children acquire a complex set of attitudes, expectations, feelings, and behaviors that will help them function as skilled adults. Parents have such high expectations for their children that many bring tutors into the home for children as young as three, and there is the persistent belief that experts outside the home are more equipped to teach reading, writing, and math (Lee et al, 347). The parents are willing to pay for these tutors who work with the children, using worksheets for letter names, letter sounds, picture-word correspondence, and writing. There is also practice in copying and tracing letters and words. Parents believe that this systematic process is beneficial for their children, but some child development experts who follow the American model of early childhood education believe that three years old is too young for these cognitive activities. It is firmly entrenched in the Korean psyche that drill and practice is a good way of learning, regardless of the age of the child. The schools and tutors that cater to very young Korean children are outside of