Which country has the best education in the world? - The Global Story podcast, BBC World Service

A good education can help change lives, but some children face huge barriers.

Every few years, countries around the world compete in global rankings to see which nation is deemed to have the best school system in the world. Schools in Asia often get the best results, and other countries like Estonia and Canada are also highly praised. But in many parts of the world there are often huge barriers to getting children into the classroom at all, such as poverty, climate change, and war.

On this episode of The Global Story, Lucy Hockings speaks to the BBC's Sean Coughlan and Professor John Jerrim, from University College London, about which countries have the most successful education systems in the world and what others can learn from them.

00:00 Introduction
01:50 Pisa education tests
05:10 How do you measure good education?
08:25 Successful education systems
12:08 Teacher quality
11:27 Education in the United States
13:45 Impact of war and conflict
17:01 Are girls outperforming boys?
17:59 How to change an education system
19:24 Money and resourcing



Thumbnail image: Getty Images

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[DanielHYNg]

The fall and rise of a nation depends a lot on the education system of the country.

[XShollaj]

I live and work in Singapore, coming from Europe! Here you can see kids at 18 doing advanced machine learning comparable to that of Senior in Europe. Just pure excellence!

[GKP]

I grew up in Singapore. And now, I live in San Francisco. I am not impressed with the behavior of many teenagers I have witnessed where I now live.

[globalschooldevelopment]

I am involved in education in South East Asia and let me add the most valued point here which is not mentioned in this important conversation. Now I am coming from the Western culture and let me tell you the most important part in these children's learning is THE RESPECT and FOCUS, students here show their teachers and classmates a great deal of respect which no Western country is thinking about. How crazy our lifestyle has been expanded in Western culture schools! Here in SouthEast Asia, teachers walk into classrooms and they start teaching right away. 90% time goes towards teaching in the classroom vs US, where most teachers invest their 80% time in working on a discipline, dealing with arguments. There is a big difference in teenage life in SouthEast Asia and Western countries and for me this is the most important point which is completely ignored. Next time please invite teacher who has been teaching in different countries who can explain you the true classroom teaching difference.

[sidPalma]

Answer at 3:25 ... East Asian countries e.g., South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong

[ATT-rv]

I used to work as a private tutor in South Korea and my session was from 12 am to 2 am. The boy, 14, woke up at 6 and studied at desk more than 16 hours per day, which was NOT considered abnormal. Sure. They learn a lot. But do you want it? The boys and girls are married now but do not want to have kids or do not get married at all because they don’t want to go back to the hell (The children’s hell is maintained by their parents’ sacrifices, including spending their money for post retirement). South Korea’s current birth rate is around 0.7, which represents the nation’s gloomy future, and its suicide rates among young people and among elderly people are one of the highest in the world, which represents the nation’s gloomy present.

[seasonmists]

You want the UK to thrive, you not only focus on equality, but also on quality. We don't want everyone to be equally bad, we want everyone to be equally likely to achieve the best they can.

[magzmanz]

12:24, the journalist is asking about the schooling systems in the US and UK. Yet he talks in detail about the US, but in the end, avoiding talking about the UK. Why?
Even professionals don't want to admit how broken the schooling system in the UK is.

[bluebunny]

What is the definition of “the best education”? Is it receiving good “assessment” scores? Or is it creating individuals who function best for society as products? Perhaps, instead, it’s about fostering happy, emotionally balanced, and productive citizens. True education should nurture not only intellectual growth but also emotional well-being and the ability to thrive in life, both personally and within a community. It’s difficult to assign numbers to that and rank it.

Accessibility and equality should be the next focus after refining what “the best education” means. Of course, what education aims to achieve varies across societies—whether in Japan, England, or Burundi. The best education for any society depends on its unique context—its people, its time, it’s resources and its needs.

[Who-lgmy]

education should be two stages. stage 1, basic skills in language, maths and conduct in manners, respect. 2nd stage, personal development to allow potential to be explored and realised, and conduct in motivation, integrity, responsibility and hard work.

[allysonyoung]

Why do Asian students do so well in America, Australia, UK? In this discussion, you did not look at cultural differences and attitudes.

[muhammadsadiqsafi]

Education can change the mindset of every individual

[denjua]

Quality of life is a more crucial factor than education. A child that studies 12 hours a day might perform better than one that studies 7 hours a day, but they might also be extremely unhappy. Kids should have time to be kids. I guess the question is, is high performance more important than happiness?

[ChristensenLow]

I’ve lived and taught in South Korea for nearly two decades. I’m a college professor with an education background. South Korea has a HORRIBLE education system that focuses on one test - the KSAT (Sunneung). When I get them in college, my students are robots who can memorize droves of information (and then forget it after the tests) but can’t function creatively or think critically. They memorize from early in the morning to late at night in cram schools (hagwon), which culturally forces parents to pay a lot to help their kids stay up to speed as the public schools expect them to have this. There is a saying in Korea that goes like this “Sleep four hours; pass the test. Sleep five hours; fail the test.” What is a test score if kids are suffering emotionally and psychologically?

[bethboyle]

Attitudes about learning and teachers are very important. There must be respect for it in order to work. It’s not about methodology. It’s about valuing the institution. Parents and teachers need to share that value for it.

[sushmitaarunachalam]

Namaste! I am from India and for me the true meaning of education is what you are able to give to your nation and society from your learning and deeds. As envisaged by great saint Swami Vivekananda: education is the manifestation of perfection already in men which means education is the manifestation of your own Self, your own ideas and your contributions. We must focus on character building, moral education and ethical practices because these are the necessary traits which a child must learn from his/her childhood. Above all focus on creating a friendly environment where the child can learn and grow without any hesitation.
Thank you for this podcast.

[rw_]

Top 10 Countries in PISA Ranking
2022 2018
Singapore 1, 679 1, 669
China (BSJZ)1, 605 1, 736
Japan 1, 599 1, 560
Taiwan 1, 599 1, 550
South Korea 1, 570 1, 559
Hong Kong 1, 560 1, 592
Estonia 1, 547 1, 579
Canada 1, 519 1, 550
Ireland 1, 512 1, 514
Switzerland 1, 494 1, 494

[MDroid-bneb]

I studied in Australia and currently working in Singapore. High schoolers here have better command of English than graduates in Perth, not to mention their superior skills in maths and sci. It’s simply mind-blowing. But having said that, Singaporeans are good obedient workers. They don’t take risk or lead.

[renataferreira]

Singapore is wonderful. I studied there for 2 years when I was a teenager and today I live in Canada. I feel so sorry fpr my kids, the education here is so poor. I teach them at home and use the Singapore Maths curriculum

[MohammadHussain-sb]

Manners is more important than subject numbers Japan is no 1 in education because they taught manner in early classes but majority countries focus on subject numbers which is useless