Korean middle schoolers rank high in academic achievement, low in peer relationships

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Korean middle schoolers rank high in academic achievement, low in peer relationships

Published: 05 May. 2025, 14:05 Updated: 05 May. 2025, 16:29

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

A middle school student uses her phone while leaving school in Seoul on Nov. 4, 2024. [YONHAP]

Korean middle school students rank among the top in academic achievement across the OECD but remain near the bottom in peer relationships and autonomy, according to a new report.

The Korea Educational Development Institute (KEDI) released a report in April analyzing the results of the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which assessed 15-year-old students across 37 OECD countries.

The report, an international comparison of humanities education in secondary schools, evaluated students' academic performance as well as broader competencies such as creativity, emotional regulation and interpersonal skills.

Korean students placed second in both mathematics and science, behind only Singapore, and also ranked third in reading, demonstrating high academic proficiency. They also performed well in humanities education at 5th place, creative thinking at 9th and expression of thought at 11th.

However, they scored much lower in areas related to relationships and personal development. Student relationships with peers ranked 36th, nearly the lowest among OECD countries, while relationships with parents came in 12th. In contrast, relationships with teachers ranked highest at 1st.

In the collaborative problem-solving category, students ranked 2nd in trust, 12th in empathy and 26th in cooperation, showing wide variation across subcategories.

In the emotional regulation category, they ranked 12th in emotional expression and 19th in resilience, indicating relatively low performance. While they ranked 2nd in independence — a subcategory of identity — they fell to 20th in agency and 33rd in autonomy.

Regarding quality of life, they placed 27th in daily life satisfaction, 36th in leisure activities and 29th in career exploration.

“The results show that Korean students, as expected, excel academically but lag significantly in forming relationships and developing a sense of personal agency,” the report noted. It proposed enhancing humanities education as a solution to this imbalance.

“The adolescent years, including middle school, are a crucial period for developing social, emotional and cognitive foundations,” the report said.

“During this stage, students need broader opportunities — integrated naturally into the school curriculum — to reflect critically on themselves, society and the world, while cultivating autonomy and a sense of dignity.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY KIM JI-HYE [[email protected]]