One of Teach Away’s biggest placement regions, South Korea, has this week been named as the world leader in education, closely followed by Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong.

The rankings were recently compiled by Pearson for the Economist Intelligence Unit and are considered to be the most comprehensive available, combining the respected OECD’s PISA tests, a series of US education studies on international schools, as well as worldwide literacy and numeracy trends.

The report accompanying the findings puts the outstanding performance of South Korean students down to a number of factors that affect their education both inside and outside the classroom. It suggests that Asian culture not only promotes an emphasis on high-achievement and the importance of future success, but also fosters strong understanding and respect between teachers and students.

Availability and use of digital technology is also playing a significant role in education attainment. Innovation in technology, educational methods and quality teacher recruitment are also considered to have been key in the success of the region’s schools, according to the researchers.

Find the report and the full rankings on The Learning Curve.

 

The world’s top 20 education systems:

 

  • 1. South Korea

  • 2. Japan

  • 3. Singapore

  • 4. Hong Kong

  • 5. Finland

  • 6. UK

  • 7. Canada

  • 8. Netherlands

  • 9. Ireland

  • 10. Poland

  • 11. Denmark

  • 12. Germany

  • 13. Russia

  • 14. United States

  • 15. Australia

  • 16. New Zealand

  • 17. Israel

  • 18. Belgium

  • 19. Czech Republic

  • 20. Switzerland