Education Systems in East Asia

In education discourse, east Asian education systems are often portrayed as sleek, modern, and competitive. Organizations such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) often tout the test scores that countries such as Korea, Japan, and China produce. The scores of these countries are often the highest in the world. However, those scores provide minimal information as to the true impacts of education policy in their respective countries. Using a comparative lens, this study examines the education systems in Japan, Korea, and China to determine the effects of education policy on economic inequality. It examines how the urban-rural divide, education fever, and high-stakes examinations affect the generation of wealth among families in these respective countries. ReSOURCE 2022 award winner