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Just Mumbling around Career Education

Episode 69: May 31, 2025

  • Episode 69: Alter All, Career Education is Crucial. (May 31, 2025)

    Teruyuki Fujita (University of Tsukuba)

    It has been a while again. I hope everyone is doing well.

    In this issue, I would like to share the results of an interesting survey released on May 29.

    Since 2015, the University of Tokyo's Institute of Social Science and the Benesse Educational Research & Development Institute have conducted ongoing longitudinal surveys of the same group of parents and children (approximately 20,000 parent-child pairs, from 1st to 12th grade), tracking changes in attitudes and behaviors related to children's daily lives and learning.
    [Summary] https://blog.benesse.ne.jp/bh/ja/news/education/2025/05/29_6151.html
    [Summary with Data Compilation] https://benesse.jp/berd/special/datachild/pdf/datashu08.pdf

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    For more details, refer to one of the above links. Here, I will summarize the most noteworthy results.

    First and foremost, the data shows that thinking seriously about future career paths can serve as a powerful motivator for students, encouraging positive learning behaviors.

    When asked, "In the past year or so, have you experienced the following?", 26.3% of 4th–6th graders, 44.2% of junior high school students, and 65.2% of high school students selected the option "Thinking seriously about my future career path."

    Compared to those who did not select this option, students who had considered their future careers seriously were more likely to say they enjoyed studying and were interested in researching topics beyond the school curriculum. They also spent more time studying. Additionally, they tended to express a strong desire to "always try new and difficult things."

    Students who answered affirmatively to statements such as "I have teachers I respect," "I talk to my teachers about my worries and concerns," and "I appreciate my teachers" were also more likely to have seriously thought about their future. Similarly, students who frequently discussed schoolwork, grades, career paths, and current events in society with their parents were more likely to have engaged in serious career consideration. These findings suggest that interactive involvement rooted in positive relationships with teachers and parents promotes thoughtful engagement with career planning.

    Based on these findings, I have come to recognize the importance of career education. Of course, the role of parental involvement also struck me as an area that warrants further exploration, particularly in light of how social and cultural capital within families, as well as other stratification factors, may influence these outcomes. What are your thoughts on this?

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    Next, I would like to highlight findings that support an important principle in career development theory: it is not essential for elementary school students to decide on a future occupation at an early stage. Encouraging such decisions too early may narrow their perspectives.

    The survey tracked a group of 5th-grade students who identified a "desired career" in annual surveys from 2015–2018 and followed them until 11th grade in the 2021–2024 surveys (n = 2,991). The analysis of individual changes in their responses showed that about one in three students (35.0%) maintained the same career aspiration from 5th to 11th grade.

    Moreover, students who kept the same career aspiration over time were less likely to report that they had "thought seriously about their future" or "explored their interests in depth."

    Of course, this does not mean elementary school students should never be asked about their desired occupation. However, we must not overlook the guidance provided in The Guidebook for Elementary School Career Education (Revised Edition), published by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in May 2011.

    In elementary schools in particular, it is important to foster interest in and trust of family, friends, and the immediate community through enriched career education practices. It is also important to develop basic skills for understanding others from multiple perspectives. Students also need to understand that people build groups and societies by supporting each other while fulfilling their responsibilities. It is crucial to help students realize that they are all important members of their school, family, and society. (p. 180).

    Many people misunderstand the purpose of career education in elementary school, thinking it is to have children make concrete plans for their future. Elementary school students are in the "period of developing a foundation for career exploration," so choosing a career path is an agenda for junior high and beyond. The purpose of career education in elementary school is not to force students to decide what they want to do in the future or prepare them for that decision. (Ibid.).

    Children who already have a clear vision for their future at this stage are fortunate, and their aspirations should not be dismissed. But expecting every child to have this clarity is unrealistic and sometimes inappropriate. Considering the career development tasks typical for elementary-aged students, and the rapidly evolving job landscape, where future jobs may not yet exist, it is essential to recognize the potential drawbacks of narrowing career options too early. "Thinking seriously about one’s future" should be an evolving process, and elementary school should be regarded as a time to lay the groundwork for future exploration, not to define a fixed path.

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    Finally, let's look at students' occupational aspirations. The survey asked those who answered "Yes" to the question, "Do you have a job you want to do in the future?" to describe the job they most hoped to pursue. The 2024 survey results compiled these responses into a ranking.

    Among boys in grades 4–6, "professional athlete" was by far the top choice (25.3%). For girls, the top choice was "sales clerk" (e.g., working at a flower shop or bakery) at 7.5%. Overall, "professional athlete" ranked first (13.5%), followed by "sales clerk" (5.8%) and "teacher" (3.8%).

    Among junior high school students, "professional athlete" and "teacher" were tied for the top spot (7.1%). Among senior high school students, "teacher" rose to the top (9.9%), followed by "nurse" (6.0%), "doctor" (4.0%), and "local government official" (3.9%). "Professional athlete" dropped to 18th place (1.1%).

    Interestingly, despite growing concerns over long working hours and heavy workloads leading to a nationwide decline in teacher recruitment, "teacher" remains a popular aspiration among students. This suggests that the care, attention, and attentive support teachers provide are deeply appreciated by students, inspiring admiration and a desire to follow in their footsteps.

    On the other hand, it is concerning that the most commonly chosen careers are largely limited to those that children can easily observe in their daily lives. According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, there are nearly 20,000 distinct occupations supporting society. Yet most children are only aware of a small fraction of them. Naturally, they cannot aspire to become professionals in fields they don’t know exist.

    It is therefore essential to broaden children’s horizons through career education that introduces them to a wide range of careers and helps them understand how society functions. Career education is, after all, crucial.

    (Translated and uploaded on June 1, 2025)

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