Although the first semester of my junior year has been one of the most intense and busy semesters, I’ve learned that I don’t perform well in introductory courses. These courses are often full of assignments and quizzes that I find both overwhelming and unnecessary. This approach to education is just not conducive to my learning style. I enjoy big picture, thematic, and project focused classes which is why I do significantly better in 400-level courses. As a junior, I am so grateful to be taking classes in subjects and fields that interest me. I am constantly fascinated by what I am learning as well as challenged. There are always questions of morality and ethics that come into play surrounding politics. However, there are also topics that are “in the gray” and require difficult decisions. An example that I’ve recently come to learn of is shadow education.

As part of my global education course, I study the implications of education as well as what it looks like around the globe. We’ve talked about human capital and its effects on gender equality and labor productivity, educational policy, and the liberalization/globalization of education. More recently, we are looking at educational policy from the perspective of NGOs which is where shadow education comes to play.

Shadow education refers to private educational practices that are offered to students to achieve academic advancement and attainment. In the context of the U.S., examples to consider include SAT prep, Kumon, Khan Academy, and even Chegg. Shadow education can be a remedial or enrichment strategy, but it is often more focused with learning and studying for comprehensive exams. In my class, we have largely focused on the case of South Korea because it is a country in which educational attainment is extremely high and shadow education is widely practiced. In Korea, 70-80% of students advance to higher education which is impressive. The pressures for educational attainment and success are so intense that it is difficult to imagine the system without shadow education.

Based on the U.S. examples I provided, it can be difficult to imagine the issues that come with shadow education. However, it takes a different form in Korea where high school students go to a “hagwon” which is a building or center where they learn and study material in addition to their schooling. A majority of students go to hagwons whether it be due to personal or family pressure to do so. A Korean high school student averages 4-6 hours of sleep due to the time spent studying, especially in hagwons. However, a law was passed that outlawed the operation of hagwons past 10pm. Korean students dedicate so much time and effort in hagwons/school so that they can perform well on the College Scholastic Ability Test that is offered once a year and determines their educational opportunities. While hagwons are great for helping students learn, they induce great academic stress, place an economic burden on families, and create inequality amongst students. I recognize the value of shadow education, but I question whether its positive outcomes outweigh the negative consequences. Online and technological forms of shadow education are a much more acceptable to me which makes me wonder if that is a result of how I’ve been socialized as part of an education system that is highly technologically based. I will likely continue to ponder shadow education because of how interesting and challenging it is.