Chapter 12: Factors Influencing Academic Achievement In Relational Cultures: The Role of Self-, Relational, and Collective Efficacy

The twentieth century has often been called the Pacific Era to characterize the phenomenal achievements in economics, education, and nation building. At the turn of the century, East Asian societies were far behind in science and technology, lacking educational, economic, and political infrastructure and experiencing national turmoil. Despite limited natural resources, East Asian countries were able to design educational, political, and economic policies to kinetically transform latent human resources and become leading nation states. Currently, Japan has the second largest economy in the world, and China has the fastest growing.

In 1960, South Korea had all the problems of a resource-poor, lowincome, under-developed nation. Literacy rates and educational levels were low, and it was one of the poorest countries in the world, with a percapita gross national product (GNP) of $82. From 1965, the economy grew over 8% a year and per capita GNP increased to $1,640 in 1981 and $10,307 in 1997. Although South Korea suffered a severe economic crisis in 1998, the economy recovered, and the per capita GNP in 2004 was $14,100, the literacy rate 98%, and high school enrollment 99%. This economic miracle is closely tied to the educational aspiration and investment made by South Korean adolescents and their parents (Park & Kim, 2004).