K-12 Education Research Paper

What should good K-12 education should look like?
Education is unarguably of utmost important. However, defining what good education in general should look like is no easy task. The reason for that is if we were to look up several education models that are considered the best, they will not be the same. Bearing that in mind that there is more than one possibility, what would a good education look like? Though there are numerous components that contribute to a good K-12 education, in this essay, only four components will be discussed.
Starting with philosophy, rather than just implementing one, a great education should combine at least two together. The first one should be Pragmatism. Confucius once said “I hear, I forget. I see, I remember.
(Jackson & Kiersz, 2016) However, not only did students in Finland scored well but their students ranked world 5th in happiness level. More than 1 in 2 of the students reported life-satisfaction levels 9 or 10 out of 10. Fewer than 20% of the students other high-achieving countries reported similar satisfaction level (Morrison,2017). Singaporean children may possess the highest PISA scores but they also have the highest stress level (Jelita,2017). So what makes two high ranked education systems to have such a stark difference in students’ happiness? The difference may lie in second component which is assessments. A report by Morgan Stanley (as cited in Singapore Business Review, 2015) said that there is high frequency of standardized tests and they put great emphasis on the results. Another source also confirms how high-stakes standardized testing is prevalent in Singapore education (Wyse, Andrews, & Hoffman, 2010, p. xx). Whereas Hancock (2011) states that in Finland there are only one mandated standardized tests from one exam at the end of students’ senior year in high school. There are no rankings which foster cooperation rather than competition between. She listed it as one of the reason why Finland’s education is so successful. This may just be the reason why Finnish students are much happier as they do not have to deal with the
If we were to compare Finland’s to Singapore’s or Korea’s, they are vastly different. But one aspect these top education models have in common is the respect for teachers (Choi, 2014). In Singapore, the teaching profession is highly respected. (NCEE, n.d.) 90% of teachers in Finland reported being satisfied with their job. (Finnish National Agency for Education, 2017, p. xx) Naturally, if teachers feel appreciated and respected, they will be further motivated. As for the recruitment, both are incredibly strict. NCEE also states that “On average, only one out of eight applicants for admission to their teacher education programs is accepted, and that only after a grueling application process.” As for Finland, it is even more selective, only 1 in 10 are selected. From this, it can be implied that those who will become teachers are not the underachieved people who could not find a better job but highly qualified people committed to the teaching