1. Reforming the System Towards Employment-centered Specialized High Schools
In Korea, the total number of high schools increased from 1,353 in 1980 to 2,322 in 2013, up about 1.7 times (see [Table 4-4]). However, the number of specialized
high schools (formerly referred to as “technical high schools”) rose from 605 in 1980 to 764 in 2010, and then gradually declined. In particular, after the “Policy for Advancement of High School Vocational Education” was announced in 2010, technical high schools were reorganized. As a result, comprehensive high schools, which had been included in the existing technical high schools, were classified as general high schools. So, about 215 schools were excluded from the statistics for 2011. As of 2013, there were 470 specialized high schools. Accordingly, the proportion of specialized high schools among total high schools declined from 44.7% in 1980, while going up slightly to 39.9% in 2000. Ever since, they have been on a downward trend, representing 20.2% as of 2013.
Table 4-4 ❙ The number of specialized high schools (1980-2013)
(Unit: school, %)
Classification 1980 1990 2000 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013
Specialized high schools
605 (44.7)
587 (34.9)
764 (39.9)
759 (38.5)
734 (36.1)
690 (32.9)
702 (32.5)
691 (31.1)
476 (20.9)
470 (20.2)
Total 1,353 (100.0)
1,683 (100.0)
1,913 (100.0)
1,969 (100.0)
2,031 (100.0)
2,095 (100.0)
2,159 (100.0)
2,225 (100.0)
2,282 (100.0)
2,322 (100.0) Note: The baseline for 2005 was the number of vocational high schools, the baseline for 2007~2009 was the
number of technical high schools (including comprehensive high schools), and the baseline for post-2011 was the number of specialized high schools (excluding comprehensive high schools).
Source: Ministry of Education and Korea Educational Development Institute (1980-2013)
After 1980, as the employment rate of specialized high schools dropped and their students advanced to higher education at the same time, there was continuing controversy over the identity of specialized high schools. This resulted in the transformation toward employment-focused specialized high schools following the “Policy for Advancement of High School Vocational Education” in 2010. In other words, specialized high schools, which were intended to set the goal for employment and higher educational attainment, now focused only on employment, therefore pursuing a single goal.
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Along with the reduction in the number of schools, the number of students also fell significantly (see [Table 4-5]). In 2001, the number of specialized high school students was 651,198, accounting for 34.1% of the total high school students. However, it continued to go down to 320,374 (16.9%) as of 2013, a drop by half over the past decade.
Table 4-5 ❙ The number of specialized high school students (2001-2013)
(Unit: school, %)
Classification 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013
Specialized high schools
651,198 (34.1)
542,077 (30.7)
503,104 (28.5)
494,011 (26.8)
480,826 (24.5)
411,785 (21.2)
320,374 (16.9)
Total 1,911,173 (100.0)
1,766,529 (100.0)
1,762,896 (100.0)
1,841,374 (100.0)
1,965,792 (100.0)
1,943,798 (100.0)
1,893,303 (100.0)
Note: The baseline for 2005 was the number of vocational high school students, the baseline for 2007~2009 was the number of technical high school students (including comprehensive high schools), and the baseline for post-2011 was the number of specialized high school students (excluding comprehensive high schools).
Source: Ministry of Education and Korea Educational Development Institute (2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013)
2. The Improvement of Educational Conditions for Establishing Vocational Education
Although specialized high schools were quantitatively reduced, as shown in [Table 4-5], it seemed that educational conditions were improved in specialized high schools.
As shown in [Table 4-6], the number of classes per school was still 24 on average over the past decade, representing eight classes per grade. In addition, as the number of students per class declined from 37.1 in 2001 to 27.6 in 2013, this made it possible for schools to operate practical learning-centered vocational education. Similarly, the number of students per teacher fell sharply from 16.4 in 2001 to 12.2 in 2013.
Table 4-6 ❙ The status of the number of specialized high school students
(Unit: school, person)
Classification 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013
Number of classes
per school 23.1 23.6 24.3 23.4 23.3 30.5 24.7
Number of students
per class 37.1 31.3 30.0 30.1 29.8 28.4 27.6
Number of students
per teacher 16.4 13.8 13.5 13.5 13.3 15.3 12.2
Note: The baseline for 2005 was the number of vocational high school students, the baseline for 2007~2009 was the number of technical high school students (including comprehensive high schools), and the baseline for post-2011 was the number of specialized high school students (excluding comprehensive high schools).
Source: Ministry of Education and Korea Educational Development Institute (2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013)
3. The Establishment of the Employment Culture of High School Graduates
In the early 1990s, specialized high schools placed an emphasis on employment, with the employment rate reaching about 80%. Since then, as the requirements for establishing colleges/universities were relaxed and specialized high schools were also influenced by the social atmosphere, they came to operate a school curriculum that enabled students to both advance to college/university and enter the workforce (see [Table 4-7]). As a result, the employment rate dropped to 48.4% in 2001, and it was no more than 16.7% in 2009. Considering that Korea had a dual-education system for general and vocational education, the figure had a devastating impact on the identity of vocational education. In other words, it damaged the existence of specialized high schools, promoted the conversion of some of the specialized high schools to employment- intensive training schools, and prompted the rest of them to transform into general high schools, etc.
Furthermore, the government promoted a strong policy that encouraged high school graduates to enter the workforce. In the past, the Ministry of Education led a policy for specialized high schools, but since 2008, the relevant government ministries including the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, and the Small and Medium Business
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Administration, teamed up with one another. Accordingly, the employment rate rose from 16.7% in 2009 to 25.7% in 2011 and to 40.6% in 2013, up 2.4 times.3)
Table 4-7 ❙ Career trends of specialized high school graduates
(Unit: person, %)
Division 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013
Graduation 270,393 189,510 170,259 158,708 151,410 137,102 122,882 Advancement to
college/university
121,411 (44.9)
109,234 (57.6)
115,164 (67.6)
113,487 (71.5)
111,348 (73.5)
84,288 (61.5)
51,083 (41.6) Employment 130,968
(48.4)
72,212 (38.1)
47,227 (27.7)
32,075 (20.2)
25,297 (16.7)
35,228 (25.7)
46,937 (40.6)
Note: The baseline for 2005 was the number of vocational high school graduates, the baseline for 2007~2009 was the number of technical high school graduates (including comprehensive high schools), and the baseline for post-2011 was the number of specialized high school graduates (excluding comprehensive high schools).
Source: Ministry of Education and Korea Educational Development Institute (2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013)
Along with a government-led incentive policy for the employment of high school graduates, the employment of specialized high schools made progress both quantitatively and qualitatively. Accordingly, the popularity of specialized high schools is growing.
There are two typical examples of this. For one thing, from 2011, there was a subsidy system. If comprehensive high schools were converted to general ones, they could receive a subsidy of 1 billion to 3 billion KRW depending on the scale of the school.
At the time, some schools, which received subsidies when they applied for the conversion, willingly shifted towards specialized high schools or returned their subsidies, saying that they were still organized in the form of comprehensive high schools. For another, as more and more students applied for specialized high schools in Seoul and several cities/provinces, there were cases in which students who failed entrance
3) Vocational high schools were changed into technical high schools in 2007, and again changed into specialized high schools in 2010. And this remains so up to now. However, the current specialized high schools do not contain the “comprehensive high schools” that had been included in vocational high schools or technical high schools in the past, and comprehensive high schools were classified as “general high schools with technical departments” under Article 7 (2) of the Addenda of the Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (June 29, 2010).
examination entered general high schools again. This clearly showed a break from the practices of students who failed to enter general high schools going to specialized high schools over the past decade.
4. The Assessment of Specialized High School Graduates by Industries
As the government led the policy for the development of specialized high schools, as well as the policy for promoting the employment of high school graduates, businesses also had a higher tendency to employ specialized high school graduates. More companies, including major firms and the financial sector with decent jobs, as well as public organizations and public enterprises, began to select high school graduates compared with the past. In addition, an increasing number of companies are trying to improve personnel policies to prevent discrimination against high school graduates compared to college/university graduates by putting in a separate personnel track system for high school graduates, rather than a college/university graduate-centered personnel management system (promotions and wages, etc.).
Moreover, the level of satisfaction for the competencies of workers with a high school diploma is relative high (see [Table 4-8]). A study conducted in 2012 (Park, Oh and Huh, 2013) suggested that companies had a certain level of satisfaction with workers with a high school diploma, recording a score of 2.92 out of a perfect score of 4. As for the satisfaction with competencies, private companies were somewhat more satisfied with such workers than public companies, but there was no big difference. In addition, major enterprises had more satisfaction with the workers, because it seems that large companies had a relatively well-organized system for job development for high school graduates. In the manufacturing industry, the level of satisfaction was higher to a degree, but it showed a small difference.
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Table 4-8 ❙ Level of satisfaction with the competencies of workers with a high school diploma
Classification Number
of cases
Average (standard deviation)
Minimum value
Maximum
value t
Total 378 2.92
(0.53) 1.00 4.00
Public company 57 2.82
(0.56) 2.00 4.00
Private company 321 2.94
(0.52) 1.00 4.00
Size of company
Small and medium-sized businesses
(less than 300 employees) 232 2.87
(0.53) 1.00 4.00
-2.28*
Middle-level companies/Major
companies (more than 300) 146 3.01
(0.50) 2.00 4.00
Area of business
Manufacturing industry 165 2.97
(0.54) 1.00 4.00
Non-manufacturing industry 195 2.91
(0.50) 2.00 4.00
* p < .05
Source: Park, Oh and Huh (2013). P. 88.
Similarly, businesses have a relatively higher level of satisfaction with the competencies of high school graduates, planning to expand the number of workers with high school diplomas. With the changes in the perception of such manpower, as well as employment practices, school parents and students have a positive perception of the employment of high school graduates, and at specialized high schools, more and more students intend to enter the workforce.