COMPARATIVE STUDY OF

EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS:
Philippines South Korea Japan Hong Kong Finland
Camarines Norte Group
Lawrence G. Ragiles Rosel R. Ponayo Jethro T. Ramirez
Jovelyn N. De Ramon Liezel I. Albonia Liezel Serrano
INTRODUCTION

 Every country has different education policies that shape the school system. These
policies reflect the visions and aspirations of the country to its citizens and set directions
towards national development. All countries have set policies that helped develop their
human resources. These educational policies prepared and provided labor force that
fueled national economic demands. For this reason, conducting comparative analysis of
education gives promising opportunities for learning on the part of the teacher-
researchers to analyze the educational system of different countries and examine possible
adaption of their best practices which are applicable in the Philippines.
 This paper intends to compare the various aspects of education including the history, the
grade levels, education frameworks, socioeconomic issues, educational system and
policies, criticisms and other aspects of five countries namely the Philippines, South
Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Finland. This paper intends to give insights of best practices
of the four countries which the Philippines can learn from.
METHODOLOGY

 The aim of this paper is to compare the educational system of five countries namely the
Philippines, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Finland particularly the factors affecting
education, the grade levels, education frameworks, socio-economic issues, educational
system and policies, criticisms and other aspects of the education system.
 This paper discussed firstly, the factors that determine of the five countries. Secondly, the
educational aspects including the grade levels, education frameworks, socioeconomic
issues, educational system and policies, criticisms and other aspects. Finally, the
conclusion and recommendation.
 Qualitative and quantitative data were used in this study. This paper described the
curriculum frameworks of each country including educational policies. Numerical data
were graphed to compare results and draw conclusions among the five countries subject
of the study.
 The researchers collected secondary data from the reliable sites on the internet and did
not conduct the actual survey and interview.
FOCUS

 To begin this part of the discussion, a brief history of the education of the
Philippines, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Finland are presented, followed
by the discussion of curriculum descriptions, educational frameworks, socio
economic issues and criticisms. In each discussion, analysis and comparison were
made.
 AIMS OF EDUCATION
LENGTH OF TEACHING DAYS
LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION
Rosel R. Ponayo
AIMS OF EDUCATION
AIMS OF EDUCATION
LENGTH OF TEACHING DAYS
NUMBER OF SCHOOL DAYSDays
Number of School
300

250

200

150

100

50

0
Philippines South Korea Japan Hong Kong Finland
Number of School Days 200 220 243 190 190
Number of School Days
LANGUAGES USED IN INSTRUCTION
CURRICULUM FRAMEWORKS
Jovelyn R. De Ramon
JAPAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM HONGKONG EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
 HONGKONG JAPAN FINLAND SOUTH KOREA PHILIPPINES
EARLY CHILDHOOD 3-6 yrs. Old (not 3-6 yrs. Old(optional) 1-5 yrs.old (Day care 3-6 yrs. Old (not 4 yrs. Old (Daycare)
EDUCATION compulsory) for babies and toddlers) compulsory

6 yrs. Old (kindergarten) 5-yrs. Old

Compulsory (Kindergarten)
Compulsory
PRIMARY 6-11 yrs. old (6 yrs.- 6-12 yrs. Old (6 yrs Comprehensive 6-12 yrs. Old(6 years) 6-12 yrs. Old (6 yrs. )
compulsory) compulsory) Schools- 6-16 yrs. old
(10 yrs. Compulsory
basic education)
SECONDARY (Lower Secondary (Lower Secondary Lower Secondary Junior High School-12
Schools) Schools) Schools- 12-15 yrs. to 16 yrs. Old( 4 yrs.)
Old(3 yrs)
12-15 yrs. Old( 3 yrs.- 12-15 yrs. Old(3 yrs.-
compulsory) compulsory)
UPPER SECONDARY (Academic) 15-18 yrs. (Senior Secondary Academic (LUKIO) -16- Academic Senior Senior High School(2
Old-3 yrs. School) 15-18 yrs. Old-3 19 years old- 3 yrs. Secondary Schools-15- years)
yrs.(not compulsory) 18 yrs. Old(3 yrs.) (Academic and
Technical)
(Youth College) 15-18 (College of Vocational Schools and Vocation Senior
yrs. Old Technology-6 yrs) Apprenticeship Secondary Schools- 15-
(Other VET Program) Associate’s Degrees Training-3 yrs. 18 yrs. Old
2mos.-2 yrs. (AMMATTIKOULU)-
VOCATIONAL Associate ‘s degree (Community College TESDA-Technical
(2 yrs.) Voc. School-2 yrs.) Education and Skills
Development Authority
 HONGKONG JAPAN FINLAND SOUTH KOREA PHILIPPINES

TERTIARY (University)-Bachelors (University)-Associate (University) –Bachelors (University-) Bachelors (Public And Private
Degree 4 yrs. Degrees 2 yrs. Degrees(3 yrs) Degrees 4-6 years Schools)- Bachelors
masters degree 2 yrs. Degrees 4-5 yrs.
Doctoral 3-4 yrs.
(VTC Institutions) – Bachelors degrees 4yrs.
Higher Diploma-2yrs.
Bachelors Degree-4yrs Masters Degrees 2 yrs. Masterals Degrees-

Masters Degree-2yrs Doctorals Degree 3-4 yrs

(Polytechnic)-Bachelors Junior College-Associate Doctorals Degrees

(Post Secondary Degree Degree(3-4 yrs) Degrees (2 yrs.)
Program) Associate
degrees -2 yrs.
Polytechnic Masters Bachelors Degree (1 yr)
Degrees(1-2 yrs.)
Masters Degree(2 yrs)

Doctorals Degree( 3 yrs)

TEACHING METHODOLOGIES
ADMINISTRATION
Lorenzo G. ragiles
 PHILIPPINES SOUTH KOREA HONG KONG JAPAN FINLAND
The four learning South Korea’s A research university in Hong DESCRIPTION OF Finland use this
Kong sought to promote student- THE PROGRAM
activities are: education methods centered learning across the entire
methods of teaching
1. lecture; rests on four pillars: university by employing the
Japanese Language
2. individual work; following methods: 1. co-operative
• Analysis of good practice by Teaching Methodology
3. group work; and 1.Putting education learning
award-winning teachers, in
4. practical display. at the centre of a all faculties, to show how 2. project learning
This program is aimed to
The study aims to long-term they made use of active
introduce, organize and
3. competence-
determine the effect development forms of student learning. based learning
expand knowledge on
• Subsequent use of the
of the use of whole strategy, analysis to promote wider use
Japanese methodology by 4. problem based-
brain teaching on 2.Getting the right reading Japanese learning
of good practice.
language materials or
students' learning people to become • A compulsory teacher training 5. Blended learning
discussing in Japanese
gains and teachers, course for new junior 6. Flipped learning
language with the aim of
teachers, which encouraged
motivation. 3. Developing these improving expertise as a 7. Personalized
student-centered learning.
teacher. In addition,
people into effective • Projects funded through
participants will review
learning
instructors, and teaching development grants, 8. phenomenon-
each participant’s
of which 16 were concerned
4. Prioritizing with the introduction of active
educational site and based learning.
information and consider how to solve the
learning experiences.
problem utilizing the
communications content of this training
technology in program.
education.

TEACHING METHODOLOGY
DISCIPLINE PHILIPPINES SOUTH KOREA HONG KONG JAPAN FINLAND

• A program-level quality Japanese 1960’s -

enhancement initiative Culture/Japanese Society Traditional
which utilized a student
survey to identify
Teaching
Participants will take
strengths and potential lectures and workshops
areas for improvement. to consider the contents 1970’s – new
• Development of a model teacher
and methods of culture
of a broadly based generation, new
introduction as part of
teaching and learning
environment influencing Japanese language education for
the development of education or cross- teachers towards
generic capabilities to cultural understanding better economy
provide evidence of the education. There are with better
need for an interactive programs which
education.
learning environment. participants will visit
• The introduction of educational institutions or
program reviews as a companies for listening to
quality assurance stories from people
measure. concerned so that
. 2015 participants can provide
information to their
learners who wish to
study or get a job in
Japan in the future.
DISCIPLINE PHILIPPINES SOUTH KOREA HONG KONG JAPAN FINLAND

At present, the Ministry of Education ECONOMIC Ministry of National Board of

Department DEVELOPMENT Education, General Education,
operates with four The Ministry of BUREU. Culture and was primarily
undersecretaries Education is the sports, Science responsible for
ADMINISTRATION AND

in the areas of: government body The EDB is and Technology general education
responsible for the responsible for
• Programs and
SUPERVISION

formulation and the development, (MEXT) is The administration of

projects implementation of review, and responsible for vocational education
• Regional policies related to implementation of comprehensive and training remained
operations academic activities education Education dispersed under the
• Finance and and public policies, Administration auspices of different
Administration; education. Under programs, and of Japan. ministries.
• Legal Affairs the education legislation for pre-
ideology of "Hongik primary through
In our system: Ingan," which tertiary education
The division envisions all Korean
superintendent citizens
and district
supervisor-
administrative
function.
DISCIPLINE PHILIPPINES SOUTH KOREA HONG KONG JAPAN FINLAND

Division and 1991- these central

subject boards were combined
supervisor- to form the Finnish
supervisory National Board of
function Education, which still
functions and is
ADMINISTRATION AND

Principal-both responsible for both

supervisory and general education and
SUPERVISION

administrative vocational education

function. and training, with the
exception of higher
education.

The Ministry of
Education is the
responsible body for
the higher education
institutions.
DISCPLINE PHILIPPINES SOUTH KOREA HONG KONG JAPAN FINLAND
With the enactment To facilitate implementa FINLAND is
of The Local decentralized school- tion of different from
Autonomy Law in based management, policies are other countries
1991, educational aided schools, which highly because it has its
autonomy at the make up the majority of centralized. own policies and
local level was schools in Hong Kong, educational
promoted. have been required to structure.
ADMINISTRATION AND

With the enactment establish school-based

SUPERVISION

of The Local Incorporated

Autonomy Law in Management
1991, educational Committees (IMCs)
autonomy at the since 2004.
local level was The IMC is responsible
promoted with the for creating policies
implementation of consistent with the goals
new modes of of the school sponsoring
operation. body; managing financial
Accordingly, and human resources;
educational promoting student
administration learning; and
became participating in school
decentralized. improvement.
 $90,000,000,000.00

$80,000,000,000.00 $78,081,000,000.00

$70,000,000,000.00

$60,000,000,000.00

$50,000,000,000.00

$40,000,000,000.00 $36,513,007,600.00

$30,000,000,000.00

$20,000,000,000.00
$13,645,639,000.00 $14,082,542,875.00 $12,878,826,746.35
$10,000,000,000.00

$0.00

Finland South Korea Hong Kong Japan Philippines

Budget allocation influence the aims and objectives of the education and ensure the
perpetuation of the educational programs and project. Based on the graph above, South
Korea placed the highest budget priority to education as compared to other subjects of study.
On the other hand, the Philippines came lowest.
CONTRIBUTION TO THE
PHILIPPINE EDUCATION
Liezel I. Albonia
 South
Education
Dimensio
Japan Finland Hong Philippine
n
Korea Kong s
- No examination until Students are assess Formative and School Based Classroom Based
grade 4 at all levels using summative Assessment Assessment,
school based test, assessment given administered by Portfolio
not national by the teacher teachers. Assessment,
assessments(essay No national Performance
not multiple choice) Assessment until
-National Assessment National Assessment Finnish students do end of upper National
Assessme of Academic Ability (for of Educational not take national, secondary Assessment
nt of Grade 6 and Grade 9) Achievement for standardized high- (Licensure
Learning Assessment for Math, grade 9 and 11 (Test stakes test until Examination for
Japanese and Science in Korean, Math and senior year and it is Professionals)
-Examination hell or English). only if they intend
Center Test to enter higher
education
*teachers at all levels
of schooling assess
their students through
teacher develop test or
 Japan South Finland Hong
Education
Dimension
Korea Kong
- Introduce -Introduced the - Introduced the need
vocational - Introduced the idea on-the-job training for students to always
Education of conducting local as part of studies wear their uniform in
and national attending classes
- Basis for school assessment test for -Introduced the - Introduced the idea
and academic student concept of offering of dividing classes in
calendar achievement( Master’s and two shifts- morning
Contribution to Importance of Doctorate degree and afternoon
Philippine College Diploma)
Educational -Introduced the Similar in the way of -Basis of Feeding
System idea of letting providing free Program
students clean admission to school
their classroom beginning primary
after class level education
-Humanistic policy
(child center
policy)
TRENDS IN EDUCATION
Jethro T. Ramirez
 Completion Rate
120%

100% 99.70%
94.30%

80%

68.00%
60% 59%
54%
49%
40% 38%
33.10%

20% 19.10%
12.80%

0%
Finland South Korea Hong Kong Japan Philippines
Secondary Diploma 54% 99.70% 49% 94.30% 19.10%
Post Secondary Diploma 38% 68.00% 33.10% 59% 12.80%
Secondary Diploma Post Secondary Diploma
 Literacy Rate of the Five Countries
100.50%
100.00%
99.50%
99.00%
98.50%
98.00%
97.50%
97.00%
96.50%
96.00%
South Hong
Finland Japan Philippines
Korea Kong
Male 100.00% 99.90% 99.00% 99.90% 97.60%
Female 100.00% 99.90% 99.00% 99.90% 97.40%
Total 100.00% 99.90% 99.00% 99.90% 97.50%
Male Female Total
 Curriculum Design
Philippines
Learner – Centered Model Design

South Korea Subject – Centered Model Design

Japan Subject – Centered Model Design

Hong Kong Subject – Centered Model Design

Finland Learner – Centered Model Design

CONCLUSION

 All five countries give high importance to education. They all give
highest budget to education as evidenced with high level of literacy
rates. What sets them apart are the different educational policies
implemented in their respective country.
 Educational system of Japan and South Korea are rigorous,
structured and centralized. Their curriculums promote
competitiveness and center educational strategies on excelling. They
require their students to work hard to meet international standards
and catch up in necessary. In Japan, there is much emphasis on
examinations. However, the health particularly the physical,
emotional and mental health of students are sacrificed. High rate of
suicide cases had been noted.
CONCLUSION

 Finland education is child-friendly. Instructions are pupil-lead.

Schools are given much autonomy and teachers are highly
celebrated. On the other hand, those policies might be dangerous to
cognitive development of pupils. It is important to note that Finland
ranking for years in the PISA are slowly sloping down.
 In the Philippines, the recently implemented educational program
known as Kto12 received a lot of mixed reactions. Kto12 is viewed to
solve issues on congested curriculum, job mismatch, half-baked
learners, etc. but observers and parents clamor that DepEd is not
ready. There is insufficiency in number of teachers, school buildings,
books and other equipment and facilities. Academic performances
seemed to get worsened as observed by the results of entrance
examinations among state colleges and universities.
CONCLUSION

 Hong Kong education is viewed by observers to be spoon fed, despite

of high rank in TIMSS 2007. Hong Kong youths study abroad for
higher or tertiary education due to policy limiting the number of
enrollees in higher education.
 To put in a nutshell, there is no perfect educational system.
Curriculum effectiveness may be time relevant. It just depends on the
vision of the state to the direction of the country translated through
education policies. All policies have their positive and negative
consequences.
RECOMMENDATION

 All educational systems, based on the research, have strengths

and weaknesses. A rigid curriculum focusing on competitiveness
and excellence would hamper the health and well-being of the
students. A child-centered, decentralized curriculum could
likewise hamper cognitive development of the learners.
Curriculum planners must design a balanced curriculum where
schools envision excellence and without neglecting the well-
being of the students. Moreover, they should periodically
evaluate the curriculum applicability and effectiveness of
implementation, including the trends in the economy to lay
down a good and acceptable road map.
RECOMMENDATION

 Modeling of curriculum from the best practices of other highly

developed countries have proven effective. However,
contextualization and localization is essential to relate the
adapted curriculum model to a certain country.
 It is also important to include the front liners and the curriculum
implementers through representation in crafting a national
curriculum in order to share both positive and negative
experiences from the grassroots.
 THANK YOU!
TO GOD BE THE GLORY!