Using longitudinal data for a nationally representative sample of fifth graders from the Korean Educational Longitudinal Study of 2013, this study examined the effect of shadow education-referred to as academically-oriented extracurricular activities mainly aimed to prepare for examinations-on students' creative thinking. To estimate the effect of shadow education, we used propensity score matching approaches. We found no significant shadow education effect on gains (or losses) in students' creative thinking between the fifth and sixth grades. This finding does not support the arguments that students' participation in shadow education discourages or encourages their creative thinking. Implications, limitations, and future research directions are discussed.
ABSTRACT
Thoughtful pedagogues have long taken approaches to school reform that foreground an emphasis on learning that will matter in the lives of the students while taking into account the varying special interests and capabilities of learners. Some of these approaches prioritize the social and emotional needs of children, rethinking school discipline and the whole child, while others focus on curriculum units that target global problems and a strengthening of twenty-first-century skills. Allan Collins, in his book What’s Worth Teaching: Rethinking Curriculum in the Age of Technology, speaks to many of the issues that need to be addressed to make education more engaging and focused on what will be important for our youth to thrive as adults. In this Prospectives piece, we take a step towards continuing that conversation. We summarize Collins’ suggestions and reframe them in the context of the inequalities present in our school systems and societies. We propose important aspects of school culture that, we believe, will be essential if we are to support youth in identifying and working with others to create societal change. After an overview of Collins’ organizing framework, we point out what we believe must be addressed to allow successful design of educational systems that will help all youth develop their potential and sense of place and purpose in wider society.