Meister High School Performance Management System: Operation, Evaluation and Outcomes
Researcher-in-charge: Jong-Woo Kim Summary
This research aims to support effective operation of Meister high schools by maintaining, improving and operating a portal site for operation of the performance management system. The outcomes of the performance management system are used to evaluate operational performance, which will in turn be taken into account to devise policy measures to support the government. The ultimate aim is to contribute to successful implementation of Meister high schools.
Ⅰ. Significance of the Project
▣ The Korean government has implemented various measures to improve the negative image and distrust of vocational education.
∙ For instance, with the establishment of specialized high schools in 1997, the government made noticeable progress in raising the satisfaction level of students and their parents, improving teaching, learning and
practice, recruiting outstanding students, and in utilizing adjunct teachers from industry.
∙ However, such efforts were sporadic and industry-academia cooperation proved to be no more than mere formality, resulting in insufficient on-site skills development and in little improvement in employment rate.
Firms preferred university (college) graduates who had completed the military service and vocational school students themselves could not overcome the poor working conditions and the negative perception, making it difficult for them to decide a career, and attempting to enter university. As a result, the university enrollment rate of vocational high school graduates reached 73.5% in 2009, which raised questions over the identity of the vocational high schools.
▣ In order to address various problems associated with vocational education at the secondary school level, the government put forward the plan to develop Korean-style Meister high schools as a renewed vocational role of vocational high schools as part of the ‘300 Policies to Diversify High Schools’.
∙ The plan to develop Meister high schools was adopted as part of efforts to remove negative images and mistrust about vocational education at the secondary education level, and to develop a new model of vocational high schools. The government plan included designation and operation of 50 Meister high schools with the aim of nurturing technical manpower through education customized to industry demand.
∙ As of May 2012, 28 schools are already designated as Meister High School, and according to the plan, it will be expanded to 50 schools in the coming years.
▣ For efficient operation of Meister high schools, a performance management system of continuous monitoring needs to be established.
∙ Performance management for Meister high schools should be process oriented rather than results oriented.
The success of Meister high schools depends very much on various supportive measures, including continuous analysis of the problems and needs arising in the operation of the schools, and provision of consultation for resolving such problems, improvement of the system, provision of policy alternatives, and training.
∙ To achieve process-oriented performance management of the schools, the organizations concerned with the operation of Meister high schools should establish an organic cooperative network with a clearly defined set of roles and operation strategies.
∙ Moreover, a Meister High School Portal should be created for efficient establishment of the network among related organizations, as it will provide the foundation for on-going monitoring and analysis of various problems that may emerge in the operating process.
Ⅱ. Progress in the Establishment of Meister High School Performance Management System
▣ The purpose of Meister high school performance management is to carry out regular diagnosis of the schools’
operational status and to propose effective policy measures.
▣ Main bodies related to Meister High School Performance Management include the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology(MEST), Center for Meister High Schools at KRIVET, provincial and regional education offices, Meister High Schools, local governments, and cooperative enterprises.
▣ The performance management system has been developed with focus on physical factors, human factors and systemic factors required to operate Meister High Schools.
∙ Physical factors have been designed to manage budget, facility and equipment procurement plan, and so on.
∙ Human factors have been designed to manage recruitment of competent principals and teachers, and implementation of appropriate promotion activities in local communities, and so on.
∙ As for systemic factors, they have been designed to manage aspects like curriculum, industry-academia cooperation, career development, certification of graduates, and evaluation.
▣ Factors concerned with on-site inspection of Meister high schools are important in looking at operation of the schools, and they have been designed to accommodate on-site inspection or to collect opinions from the concerned personnel in schools.
Ⅲ. Establishment and Operation of Meister High School Portal Site
▣ Analysis of the already existing portal site indicated that personal information protection and information security should be strengthened, and web standards and web accessibility improved.
▣ Needs analysis of the portal revealed the need for improvement with respect to the homepage, task management system and comprehensive management system, and some of the subsequent refurbishment included the following:
∙ Reinforcement of personal information protection, web standards and web accessibility
∙ Renewal of the menus, interface and design
∙ Publication of newsletters for sharing information and advertising
∙ Establishment of survey system for collecting users’ opinions
∙ Improvement of portfolio function and task management system
∙ Plans to maximize the efficiency of website administration
Ⅳ. Operation of Meister High School Performance Management System
▣ As a regular check on the operational status of the schools, a review meeting on Meister High School operation has been held every month since April 2009.
∙ It is attended by the government officials from MEST, provincial and regional education offices, teachers from the schools, and people from the Center for Meister High Schools.
∙ Besides checking the operation of the schools, discussions and decision-making regarding current issues take place.
▣ Monitoring of Provincial/Regional Education Offices
∙ 18 schools have completed open recruitment for the posts of principal while 3 schools have not, which plan to implement it in the near future.
∙ Number of teachers is the same as in the first quarter of 2011; some 49 teachers are yet to be recruited.
∙ Procurement and utilization of adjunct teachers from industry has been reinforced, but considerable variations exist among schools.
▣ Monitoring of Schools’ Status
∙ 20 schools have secured dormitories, 8 of which have finished the construction, and 12 of which are still constructing them.
∙ The capacity rate of dormitories is 80.9% as of 2011, and it is expected to drop to 74.1% by 2013.
∙ There are 5 schools in which students are provided with free dormitories and meals, 2 schools with free meals only and 15 schools with free dormitories only.
∙ There were 660 cases of teacher training by the second quarter of 2011.
∙ The number of dropouts was 167 in 2010 and 54 in 2011(as of the second quarter of 2011), and the main reasons for quitting include maladaptation and career change.
∙ There are 107 cases of regional promotion and 92 cases of nation-wide promotions of the schools.
∙ In 2011, 318 teaching materials are planned to be developed in 21 schools(15.1 materials per school)
∙ There are 481 afterschool programs with 33,277 participants and 752 club programs with 8,542 participants.
∙ The number of firms signed up for the cooperative contract increased by 259 compared with the first quarter, reaching 1591 (75.8 firms per school).
∙ The number recruitment contract increased by 832 compared with the first quarter, reaching 3,141. (149.6 persons per school).
▣ Interim meetings are held for reviews and consultation on issues such as revision of curriculum, field training period, graduate certification system, student selection and career guidance, and industry-academia cooperation system.
▣ Surveys and interviews were carried out on enrolled students about the level of satisfaction with school life, motivation for enrollment, afterschool classes, career guidance programs, club activities, plans after graduation, dormitories, and so on.
∙ A high proportion of first and second year students responded that they were satisfied with school life.
∙ ‘To get a decent job’ was found to be the most common motivation for enrollment.
∙ More than 40% of the students found after school classes helpful and were satisfied with them.
∙ More than half of the students found club activities helpful and were very satisfied with them.
∙ All the career guidance programs were found to be helpful by the students.
∙ Among the factors to consider when planning a career, future opportunities for development ranked first, salary ranked second.
∙ Expenses on meals were found to have no significant financial burden.
Ⅴ. Performance Evaluation of Meister High School and Policy Proposals
▣ Performance Evaluation on Curriculum
∙ Curriculum and operational strategies are in effect as planned.
∙ Entering the second year of their operation, Meister high schools are having to deal with issues regarding graduate certification system.
∙ Afterschool or extracurricular activities are in operation more actively than initially planned and student satisfaction appears to be high.
∙ In most schools, various teaching methods, including project-based classes, are being applied.
▣ Performance Evaluation on Students
∙ With respect to student selection, students were selected taking into account of their aptitude and interests on par with the same stance applied in 2010.
∙ Dropout rates are waning in the second year of their operation, however, the schools need to improve the selection/recruitment of freshmen and supervision of enrolled students.
∙ Low quality and quantity of career guidance programs are found to be a problem.
▣ Performance Evaluation on Teachers
∙ The open recruitment process helped recruit competent principals, but it proved less than satisfactory in some schools.
∙ Teachers’ workload seems to vary considerably among different provinces and regions depending on the degree of teacher recruitment achieved.
∙ Introduction of advanced courses are raising issues concerning teachers’ professionalism.
∙ 11.5% of Meister high school teachers are adjunct teachers from industry, and their low wages are found to be a problem.
▣ Performance Evaluation on Education Environment
∙ Provision of labs and facilities is satisfactory, but there are significant differences among schools and thus efforts are needed to stabilize the supply.
∙ Recruitment contract rate is high at 77.8%, but the contract rate of recruitment number for the second year students is only 41.3%.
∙ Analyzing the characteristics of the enterprises, the main employers are small and medium sized firms with less than 100 employees or those with annual sales lower than 10 billion Korean Won.
▣ For successful operation of Meister high schools, the direction of supporting policy should be as follows:
∙ Acquiring credibility of the graduates’ competencies through qualification system reform
∙ Provision of incentives to the best enterprises in industry-academia cooperation
∙ Budget expansion and guarantee of stable support
∙ Procurement of high quality teachers
∙ Establishment of support system for continued education
∙ Resolution to issues relating to graduates’ military service requirement
Ⅵ. Expected Effects and Practical Plans
▣ Expected Effects
∙ Establishment of Meister High School Performance Management System is expected to contribute to efficient operation of the schools through the analysis of their problems and needs, and continuous support and development of policy alternatives.
∙ Construction of portal site would enable schools to establish and operate regular performance management system and to operate harmonious network among related organizations.
▣ Applications
∙ Performance management system could serve as a window for channeling information between schools and central government.
∙ The portal could serve as a window for exchanging a range of information.
∙ A database of various information on Meister high schools could be constructed and used in future research and policy evaluation.
