Does Shadow Education Discourage or Encourage Creative Thinking? Evidence from South Korea (La educación en la sombra, ¿fomenta o desincentiva el pensamiento creativo? Evidencia de Corea del Sur).

Using longitudinal data for a nationally representative sample of fifth graders from the Korean Educational Longitudinal Study of 2013, this study examined the effect of shadow education-referred to as academically-oriented extracurricular activities mainly aimed to prepare for examinations-on students' creative thinking. To estimate the effect of shadow education, we used propensity score matching approaches. We found no significant shadow education effect on gains (or losses) in students' creative thinking between the fifth and sixth grades. This finding does not support the arguments that students' participation in shadow education discourages or encourages their creative thinking. Implications, limitations, and future research directions are discussed.

Utilizando los datos longitudinales de una muestra nacional representativa de estudiantes de Grado 5, recabados ´por el Estudio Longitudinal sobre la Educación en Corea en 2013, el objetivo de este estudio es analizar el efecto de las actividades académicas extracurriculares complementarias (educación en la sombra), dirigidas principalmente a la preparación de exámenes, en el pensamiento creativo. Para estimar el efecto de la educación en la sombra, adoptamos el método de emparejamiento de correspondencia de propensiones (Propensity Score Matching). No se hallaron efectos significativos (ni positivos ni negativos) de este tipo de educación en el pensamiento creativo de los estudiantes de Grado 5 y Grado 6. Este resultado no corrobora la argumentación que sugiere que la educación en la sombra ejerce un efecto de fomento (o detrimento) en el pensamiento creativo de los estudiantes. Al final del artículo se discuten las implicaciones y limitaciones del estudio y las posibles direcciones futuras para la investigación en este campo.

Gender, Nonformal Learning, and Earnings in South Korea.

Using data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, this study examined gender differences in participation in various forms of nonformal learning-on-the-job training, distance learning, workshops, and private lessons-and their relationships with earnings in South Korea. We found significant gender differences in participation in on-the-job training, distance learning, and workshops favouring male workers, but the reverse gender gap in participation in private lessons favouring female workers. When it came to earnings, we found the positive relationships between participation in distance learning and earnings and between workshops and earnings for both males and females, even after controlling for other variables. However, the positive relationship between participation in on-the-job training and earnings was observed only for females. We highlight some unique aspects of Korea's organizational culture that may help explain the relationships among gender, on-the-job training, and earnings. Broader implications of the findings beyond South Korea are also discussed.

Socioeconomic Status, Vocational Aspirations, School Tracks, and Occupational Attainment in South Korea.

Adults' career choice is not an abrupt event, but an outcome of continuous development throughout childhood and adolescence. In the developmental process of one's career, personal characteristics and contextual resources come into play. The goal of the present study is to examine how family socioeconomic status, adolescents' vocational aspirations, and high school contexts affect their occupational attainment in young adulthood, using two cohorts of data from the Korean Education and Employment Panel. Cohort 1 consisted of 1535 individuals (49.3% female), and cohort 2 consisted of 1473 individuals (53.5% female). Both cohorts were surveyed during their senior year of high school (Time 1; Mage = 17.8) and followed up until young adulthood (Time 2; Mage = 25.8). The results reveal that having high vocational aspirations and attending academic high school predict attaining higher-status occupations for both cohorts. Family background has positive direct and indirect effects on occupational attainment for cohort 2, while it only has an indirect effect on occupational attainment via types of high school for cohort 1. Implications in the context of constructing social systems to support adolescents' career development are discussed.

The Influences of Family and Place on Rural Adolescents' Educational Aspirations and Post-secondary Enrollment.

Despite the large contingent of students living in rural areas, existing research on the processes that precede the college enrollment of rural adolescents is limited. With a particular focus on gender, this study investigated rural adolescents' perceptions of family and place and how these perceptions related to their educational aspirations and subsequent college enrollment using a nationwide sample of rural adolescents (N = 3456; 52.5% female). Female adolescents reported higher academic achievement, educational aspirations, parental expectations, and family responsibility and enrolled in two-year and four-year institutions at greater rates compared to male adolescents, who reported significantly higher rural identity and perceptions of job opportunities in the rural community. Utilizing a multiple group moderated mediation approach, the results provided evidence that adolescents' increased perceptions of their parents' educational expectations were associated with increased educational aspirations and college enrollment and that adolescents' increased perceptions of job opportunities in their rural community were associated with decreased educational aspirations. In addition, the results showed that gender moderated the relation between perceptions of job opportunities in the rural community and postsecondary enrollment. These findings highlight how the developmental resources of family and place relate to adolescents' educational aspirations and subsequent postsecondary enrollment.

Searching for the Golden Model of Education: Cross-National Analysis of Math Achievement.

We utilized four waves of TIMSS data in addition to the information we have collected on countries' educational systems to examine whether different degrees of standardization, differentiation, proportion of students in private schools and governmental spending on education influence students' math achievement, its variation and socioeconomic status (SES) gaps in math achievement. Findings: A higher level of standardization of educational systems was associated with higher average math achievement. Greater expenditure on education (as % of total government expenditure) was associated with a lower level of dispersion of math achievement and smaller SES gaps in math achievement. Wealthier countries exhibited higher average math achievement and a narrower variation. Higher income inequality (measured by Gini index) was associated with a lower average math achievement and larger SES gaps. Further, we found that higher level of standardization alleviates the negative effects of differentiation in the systems with more rigid tracking.

Relation of Opportunity to Learn Advanced Math to the Educational Attainment of Rural Youth.

Our study examined the relation of advanced math course-taking to the educational attainment of rural youth. We used data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002. Regression analyses demonstrated that when previous math achievement was accounted for rural students take advanced math at a significantly lower rate than urban students. Compared to urban students, rural students have less change in their math achievement from 10th to 12th grade, are less likely to be enrolled in a 4-year college two years postsecondary, and these differences are explained by advanced math course-taking. Limitations, implications, and future research directions are discussed.

When Different Types of Education Matter: Effectively Maintained Inequality of Educational Opportunity in Korea.

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 (EMI) hypothesis. We find significant socioeconomic disparities in the likelihood of attending an academic high school and a four-year university. However, the predicted probabilities suggest that even disadvantaged students typically choose academic high school relative to vocational high school. Further, although disadvantaged students likely end up with a two-year junior college, those disadvantaged students graduating from an academic high school typically choose a four-year university, after controlling for academic achievement and other variables. We discuss the relevance of EMI for South Korea and broad implications for elsewhere where postsecondary education becomes close to be universal.

Advanced Math Course Taking: Effects on Math Achievement and College Enrollment.

Using data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002-2006 (ELS:02/06), this study investigated the effects of advanced math course taking on math achievement and college enrollment and how such effects varied by socioeconomic status (SES) and race/ethnicity. Results from propensity score matching and sensitivity analyses showed that advanced math course taking had positive effects on math achievement and college enrollment. Results also demonstrated that the effect of advanced math course taking on math achievement was greater for low SES students than for high SES students, but smaller for Black students than for White students. No interaction effects were found for college enrollment. Limitations, policy implications, and future research directions are discussed.

Rural/Nonrural Differences in College Attendance Patterns.

Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, this study documented college attendance patterns of rural youth in terms of the selectivity of first postsecondary institution of attendance, the timing of transition to postsecondary education, and the continuity of enrollment. The study also examined how these college attendance patterns among rural students differed from those among their non-rural counterparts and which factors explained these rural/nonrural differences. Results showed that rural youth were less likely than their nonrural counterparts to attend a selective institution. In addition, rural youth were more likely to delay entry to postsecondary education, compared to their urban counterparts. Finally, rural students were less likely than their urban counterparts to be continuously enrolled in college. Much of these rural/nonrural disparities in college attendance patterns were explained by rural/nonrural differences in socioeconomic status and high school preparation. Policy implications, limitations of the study, and future research directions are also discussed.

Why Some Countries Attract More High-Ability Young Students to Teaching: Cross-National Comparisons of Students' Expectation of Becoming a Teacher.

Using data from 37,570 students in 23 OECD countries in PISA 2006, we examine how national contexts shape the expectation of being a teacher at age 30 among high-achieving students in secondary schools. Our results show considerable between-country differences in the degree of students' expectation of a teaching job. To address sources of this cross-national variation, we use two-level logit models by linking student-level data with country-level data. Consistent with earlier findings, we find that teachers' economic status matters for students' expectation of becoming a teacher. Moreover, our results show that teachers' social status also matters. Countries' levels of professionalization of teaching, indicated by whether teachers have a bachelor's degree and are fully certified, are also related to students' expectation of the teaching profession. Specifically, in countries with higher levels of professionalization, we see a reduced gender gap in students' expectation of becoming a teacher.

Cross-National Variations in Student Employment and Academic Performance: The Roles of National Context and International Law.

Most existing research indicates that working students perform more poorly than do full-time students on standardized achievement tests. However, we know there are wide international variations in this gap. This article shows that national and international contexts help to explain the gap in the academic performance between working and non-working middle-school students. We combined data from the 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) eighth-grade assessment with the country specific information on socioeconomic and educational conditions, as well as the timing of each country's ratification of an international treaty regulating child labor. Our multilevel analyses show that, while student employment was generally negatively associated with academic performance, this negative association is smaller in countries that by 1995 had ratified the International Labour Organization's Convention No. 138 on child labor. These findings highlight the role of national and international policy in structuring the consequences of student employment for academic performance.

Familial and Economic Influences on the Gender-Related Educational and Occupational Aspirations of Rural Adolescents.

Economic, occupational, and social shifts in rural economies have influenced nuanced changes in the educational and occupational aspirations of rural adolescent women and men. However, there is limited contemporary research that examines the aspirations of rural adolescents at the beginning of the 21st century. Drawing on a sample of 8,756 rural adolescents in the United States, we examine how familial, geographic, and economic variables influence gender-related differences in educational and occupational aspirations. Findings revealed significant gender differences, favoring girls, in youth's educational aspirations, occupational aspirations, and aspirations for nontraditional careers. Results highlight the importance of contextual variables such as parental expectations, family income, and motivation variables in predicting gender-related aspirations of rural youth.

Rural-Nonrural Disparities in Postsecondary Educational Attainment Revisited.

Using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study, this study revisited rural-nonrural disparities in educational attainment by considering a comprehensive set of factors that constrain and support youth's college enrollment and degree completion. Results showed that rural students were more advantaged in community social resources compared to nonrural students, and these resources were associated with a significant increase in the likelihood of bachelor's degree attainment. Yet results confirmed that rural students lagged behind nonrural students in attaining a bachelor's degree largely due to their lower socioeconomic background. The findings present a more comprehensive picture of the complexity of geographic residence in shaping college enrollment and degree attainment.

Revisiting the Role of Cultural Capital in East Asian Educational Systems: The Case of South Korea.

The concept of cultural capital has proved invaluable in understanding educational systems in Western countries, and recent work seeks to extend those insights to the diverse educational systems of other geographic regions. We explored cultural capital in South Korea by investigating the relationships among family socioeconomic status (SES), cultural capital, and children's academic achievement using data from the 2000 Programme for International Student Assessment. South Korea was compared with Japan, France, and the United States to understand how institutional features of South Korean education shape the role of cultural capital in academic success. Results showed that family SES had a positive effect on both parental objectified cultural capital and children's embodied cultural capital in South Korea, consistent with evidence from the other countries. Moreover, parental objectified cultural capital had a positive effect on children's academic achievement in South Korea. In contrast to other countries, however, children's embodied cultural capital had a negative effect on academic achievement in South Korea controlling for the other variables. We highlighted several institutional features of South Korean education including a standardized curriculum, extreme focus on test preparation, and extensive shadow education, which may combine to suppress the effect of children's embodied cultural capital on academic achievement.

School Choice and Educational Inequality in South Korea.

This study examined the choice debate in South Korea, which centers on the residentially based school assignment policy called the High School Equalization Policy (HSEP). Using a nationally representative sample of South Korean 11th graders, the study further explored the role of the HSEP in educational equality by investigating how HSEP implementation was related to the separation of low and high socioeconomic status (SES) students between schools and how the socioeconomic composition of a school was related to student achievement. Results showed that the odds that low SES students were separated into low SES schools was smaller in the regions of HSEP implementation, where students were randomly assigned to a school based on place of residence, than in the regions of non-HSEP implementation, where students were allowed to choose a school. Results also showed that student achievement significantly depended on the socioeconomic composition of a school students attended in the regions of non-HSEP implementation, whereas this was not the case in the regions of HSEP implementation. We discussed the implications of these findings for the potential impact of school choice policies on educational inequality.

The Role of Social Capital in Educational Aspirations of Rural Youth.

Drawing on a recent national survey of rural high school students, this study investigated the relationship between social capital and educational aspirations of rural youth. Results showed that various process features of family and school social capital were important to predict rural youth's educational aspirations beyond sociodemographic background. In particular, parents' and teachers' educational expectations for their child and student respectively were positively related to educational aspirations of rural youth. In addition, discussion with parents about college was positively related to educational aspirations of rural youth. On the other hand, there was little evidence to suggest that number of siblings and school proportions of students on free lunch and minority students are related to educational aspirations of rural youth, after controlling for the other variables. The authors highlight unique features of rural families, schools, and communities that may combine to explain the complexity of the role of social capital in shaping educational aspirations of rural youth.

The Academic Success of East Asian American Youth: The Role of Shadow Education.

Using data from the Education Longitudinal Study, this study assessed the relevance of shadow education to the high academic performance of East Asian American students by examining how East Asian American students differed from other racial/ethnic students in the prevalence, purpose, and effects of using the two forms - commercial test preparation service and private one-to-one tutoring - of SAT coaching, defined as the American style of shadow education. East Asian American students were most likely to take a commercial SAT test preparation course for the enrichment purpose, and benefited most from taking this particular form of SAT coaching. However, this was not the case for private SAT one-to-one tutoring. While black students were most likely to utilize private tutoring for the remedial purpose, the impact of private tutoring was trivial for all racial/ethnic groups including East Asian American students. The authors discussed broader implications of the findings on racial/ethnic inequalities in educational achievement beyond the relevance of shadow education for the academic success of East Asian American students.

Predictors of Bachelor's Degree Completion among Rural Students at Four-Year Institutions.

Using the National Education Longitudinal Study, this study explored various factors that predicted bachelor's degree attainment among rural youth attending a four-year institution. Results showed that Hispanic origin, family income, parental educational expectations, the rigor of the high school curriculum, timing and intensity of college enrollment, and participation in Greek social clubs were significant predictors. Gender, parental education, family structure, number of siblings, institutional features of college first attended, and participation in intramural athletics and student government were insignificant predictors. We discussed similarities and differences between rural and metro students in factors predicting bachelor's degree completion.

Educational Barriers of Rural Youth: Relation of Individual and Contextual Difference Variables.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation of several individual and contextual difference factors to the perceived educational barriers of rural youth. Data were from a broader national investigation of students' postsecondary aspirations and preparation in rural high schools across the United States. The sample involved more than 7,000 rural youth in 73 high schools across 34 states. Results indicated that some individual (e.g., African American race/ethnicity) and contextual (e.g., parent education) difference factors were predictive while others were not. Extensions to, similarities, and variations with previous research are discussed. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

Interpersonal competence configurations, attachment to community, and residential aspirations of rural adolescents.

Adolescents who grow-up in rural areas often experience a tension between their attachment to the rural lifestyle afforded by their home community and a competing desire to gain educational, social, and occupational experiences that are only available in metropolitan areas. While these diverging pressures are well-documented, there is little information about linkages between rural high school students' views of their communities, their postsecondary aspirations, and their school adjustment. To address this issue, this study examined perceptions of community and residential aspirations in an ethnically diverse sample of 8,754 rural adolescents (51.5% female) in relationship to their competence and risk status in high school. Participants were from 73 rural high schools across 34 states. In addition, ratings on participants' school adjustment were provided by teachers (n = 667). High competence students (i.e., those in configurations of high positive and low negative teacher-rated characteristics) expressed positive perceptions of their rural lifestyle and many, particularly girls, indicated an interest in staying in or returning to their home community. Low competence youth (i.e., those in configurations of low positive and high negative teacher-rated characteristics) appeared to be less connected to their community and were more likely to express their intent to leave and not return. These results appear to qualify current concerns about "rural brain drain" and also suggest that the lack of attachment to the community may be a compounding risk factor for rural adolescents who have significant school adjustment problems.