In Korea, 3 out of 10 elementary school students were found to talk with their parents about studying or grades almost every day.
According to the Ministry of Education's report on the "2025 status of career education in elementary and secondary schools" on the 18th, elementary, middle, and high school students were found to talk with their parents far more often about academics and grades than about interests, aptitudes, and careers. The survey was conducted by Research Fellow Lee Jeong-min of the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training (KRIVET) over about four weeks starting May 16 last year, targeting 22,911 elementary, middle, and high school students at 400 schools nationwide.
The survey found that 30.5% of elementary school students said, "I talk with my parents about grades every day." The share who said they talk about grades "2–3 times a week" followed at 25.9%. Next were ▲ once a week (20.0%) ▲ once or twice a month (14.7%) ▲ once every two months (8.9%).
The share of elementary school students who said they talk with their parents about studying or grades almost every day has risen sharply over the past five years. The share who answered "every day" climbed from 25.7% five years ago to 30.5% last year, and "2–3 times a week" also increased from 23.7% to 25.9%.
Conversely, career-related conversations about interests and aptitudes were relatively fewer. Only 15.0% of elementary school students said they talk with their parents almost every day about "my interests and aptitudes, desired job, and dream." The shares were 17.5% for "2–3 times a week" and 19.8% for "once a week." Compared with 2020, these figures fell by 1.3 percentage points and 2.7 percentage points, respectively.
A similar trend appeared among middle and high school students. The shares who said they talk with their parents almost every day about studying and grades were 25% for middle school students and 20.3% for high school students. By contrast, the shares who said they talk almost every day about interests, aptitudes, desired job, and dreams were 20.6% for middle school students and 18.3% for high school students.
The research team noted, "Overall, conversations between parents and children about careers are lacking," adding, "Parents tend to focus more on conversations centered on academics and grades rather than on careers."