The Centre for Evaluation and Assessment (CEA), Centre for the Study of Resilience (CSR), in collaboration with the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), cordially invites you to the seminar by Professor Jaekyung Lee (University at Buffalo), World Education Research Association (WERA) Visiting Researcher, entitled ‘Transforming Lives through Education: A Comparative Study of Korea and South Africa.’
Date: 1 November 2024
Time: 09:00 – 10:30 AM (Pretoria, South Africa)
Title: Transforming Lives through Education
Venue: Research Commons, Room 4 – 34, Library Building, Groenkloof campus, University of Pretoria
Presenter: Prof Jaekyung Lee
To join the meeting, click here.
For enquiries, contact Mr Gabriel Mokoena at gabriel.mokoena@up.ac.za or 012 420 5548
ABSTRACT
Transforming Lives through Education: A Comparative Study of Korea and South Africa
Under the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), it is imperative that holistic and equitable high-quality education opportunities be available for all students, but many disadvantaged students get left behind. While South Korea was a war-torn society with low literacy levels, today its young people achieve the highest level of education, and it has become a role model of education-driven nation-building and resilience. However, Korean school system struggles with educational inequalities and mental health problems due to its reliance on high-stakes testing and private tutoring. What lessons can developing nations learn from Korea? How can the Global South achieve SDG in effective and efficient yet holistic and equitable ways? What are the key enablers (protective factors) of at-risk students’ academic resilience in South Africa? Drawing upon his research using large-scale international data such as TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study), Prof. Jaekyung Lee shares cross-cultural policy insights for educational transformations in South Africa.
BIO
Prof Jaekyung Lee (Ph.D. University of Chicago) is a professor and former dean of education at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. Being a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Prof Lee is an international leader in educational policy research, assessment and evaluation, particularly on the issues of educational equity and accountability. He has authored several books on this topic, including The Anatomy of Achievement Gaps (Oxford University Press, 2016), and Centering Whole-Child Development in Global Education Reform (Routledge, 2022). Being a Fulbright Global inform Scholar and World Education Research Association (WERA) Visiting Researcher, Lee also leads international education research project to inform evidence-based policy interventions for disadvantaged and marginalized students in the world.