Which country has the best education in the world?
This post was inspired by a segment on the BBC World Service, titled above. As I was scrolling through my YouTube menu for the morning the algorithm suggested I watch this. Great I thought, the BBC has the answer I am looking for, surely they have the connections, journalists and thought leaders at their disposal to tell us which country and what system works best.
The interview was conducted by Lucy Hockings who spoke to Seann Couglan from the BBC and Professor John Jerrim from the University College London.
Here are my thoughts and two cents and together we will see if we can find the ingredient or ingredients for success.
My thoughts and two cents
They frame the conversation around the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). These tests are given to 15 year olds in approximately 80 countries, which allow countries to compare their results in maths, reading and science. The assessments are created by the Organisation for Economic and Development that look at the economics of a country and how education has an impact.
Selection of results for 2024?
Top 3 for 2024:
1.Singapore
2.China
3.Japan
9. Ireland
10. Switzerland
11. Australia
13. New Zealand
14. United Kingdom
15. Sweden
79. Dominican Republic
80. Cambodia
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/pisa-scores-by-country
As you can see from the results, Asian and richer countries score much better than poorer countries. Why is that and What is a good education?
What is a good education?
I really like how the BBC asked this question! They commented that as parents they don’t just want their children to come out with good grades in reading and maths, they want a nurturing, holistic education. To which recently PISA has introduced creative thinking which at this moment in time is a debatable measurement and has not proven its worth yet.
It is a shame conversation does not turn to alternative education models such as Waldorf or Montessori. How do these methods ‘test’ their students? I realise that this 20 min segment revolves around PISA but if we are really trying to explore this question other alternatives need to be taken into account.
What is a successful PISA country?
How can you compare the Estonia (7th) model for education to that of Hong Kong (6th), is there a template that you can follow? The short answer is no. There could be cultural difference, attitude towards family, respect or as mentioned on the podcast the ambitions of smaller countries that find themselves next to larger ones, for example Estonia is next to Russia, Taiwan next to China, Canada next to USA.
However there is no model that one can follow.
Does the age that you start school affect the results?
A really interesting point raised is that there is a blurred line between when school or education actually starts. Even in nursery children are learning the alphabet, numbers, instructions. The northern european countries are well known for their later starts, but does that mean they do nothing before the age of 7 years old.
No, as far as the results show, this is not the answer.
Quality of teachers?
How do you actually measure this? This was not actually answered in the podcast even though the question was posed. What is a quality teacher?
On a personal note:
There are some years where I know I have a strong cohort of children that just get me, as a teacher. We have a strong connection and we have fun and the learning is strong. Whilst other years I might not have a strong connection with personalities in the class. The point I am making here is that this bond can’t be measured in a standardised test.
Is it the class size?
According to the podcast episode and the rankings, class size doesn't matter. How is that some Asian schools have 35 plus students in the class and are in the top 10. In the comments section I read that there is a massive tutoring industry that sits alongside the schools in some Aisian countries. Parents pay for private classes so that they have the best chance of getting the top grades, something that has not been factored in the PISA scores.
How to change the education system?
The guests were optimistic, suggesting that education systems can change, if a country that can target children from deprived backgrounds reach a certain academic level why can’t other countries achieve this as well.
However, the key point in this episode for me was when John was asked, is there a key ingredient that other countries can follow? His response:
No. Teasing out key factors is incredibly difficult. People will often point to a teaching method or policy and export it from one country to another and it does not work like that.
Final thoughts
I feel that this conversation is limited. It revolves around the PISA scores. It is unable to go into details about creativity, community, personal development because the tests are limiting.
Yes, countries need to be productive but even the banker wants to have a nice piece of artwork in his lounge. There is something we can’t measure through our current systems.
From all my posts there is a theme. A theme of change. I am looking for this change because I know that a PISA score can only go so far in developing a soul from a child to an adult.
There are so many different schools in the UK that parents can choose to send their children to. I believe the UK needs to provide more access to these schools. The mainstream classroom needs to evolve and if only the government would give grants, or something to the local Steiner school down the road so that parents choose to send their child to a mainstream setting or an alternative education model.
Click on the link to see the full video.
