#12 Numeracy

    When you hear the word "numeracy" the average person would automatically think of numbers or any type of math. When thinking of what numeracy means in journalism I think of how journalist need math skills to make sense of numbers the way they need language skills to make sense of words. It is important that journalist know how to translate numbers into terms that readers and viewers can understand. The type of numeracy that I will be discussing is numeracy in education. Numeracy education can involve connecting mathematics that students learn at school with the out-of-school situations that require the skills of problem solving, critical judgement, and sense making related to applied context. According to https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/02/which-countries-have-the-best-literacy-and-numeracy-rates/ , " Teenagers in the Republic of Korea have the highest levels of literacy and numeracy of all OECD countries. Korea has a huge educational gap between the younger and older generations. In 2012, more Korean adults had attained tertiary education than had attained only an upper secondary education. Since 2000, the share of Koreans aged 25-64 who have attained a tertiary education has increased by 18 percentage points to 42%,the fifth highest share among OECD countries (OECD average: 32%). Among those aged 25-34 years old,66% held a tertiary qualification, the highest share among OECD countries, compared with an average of 39%. In this age group, Korea ranks first for both men (62%) and women (69%). However, Korea has the highest gap in education attainment between young adults and the older generation.

     The gap in tertiary attainment rates between 25-34 year-olds and 55-64 year-olds was 52 percentage points in 2012, compared with an OECD average of 15 percentage points. For example, only 8% of Korean women aged 55-64 hold a tertiary qualification, the second lowest rate among all OECD countries, higher only than Turkey. This gap reflects a high degree of upward intergenerational mobility in education in 2012, the second-highest among OECD countries. More than 58% of Korean adults attained higher levels of education than their parents (absolute upward mobility), compared with the OECD average of 39%. Only Finland and the Russian Federation also have upward mobility rates above 50%. Korean men were considerably more upwardly mobile than women, with 62% attaining higher levels of education than their parents, compared with 53% of women.