Does Family Matter? A Study on the South Korean Student's Family Background and Academic Achievement

Abstract

This study investigates the family dynamics of the South Korean student and provides empirical evidence that family background and academic achievement are closely related. The research is based on an academic survey of 357 undergraduates from high achieving and low achieving tertiary institutions, conducting in 2007 and 2012. The first part of this thesis outlines the importance of education in South Korea and the research background. A literature review shows that much of the previous studies on family background and academic achievement have focused on single groups of achievers, and are based on American or European contexts. This study investigates the South Korean family during the notoriously tough 3rd year of high school. The family characteristics of higher and lower academic achievers are examined under four categories: financial capital, human capital, social capital, and personal effort. Following the conceptual framework and hypothesis section come the results of the survey. Various analytical procedures have been conducted for this study using statistical software. Results indicate a positive correlation between a students academic achievement and family wealth

parents education level

and parental involvement. Each of these categories is further investigated with sub-categories such as place of residence, mothers employment status, and birth order. Results show that the higher achiever is usually the firstborn child whose father is highly-educated and mother is highly-educated but stays at home during the final year of high school. Either one of the parents may have received higher education from overseas. The family may also live in a lucrative neighborhood and belong to the upper-middle income bracket, being able to pay for costly private education and allowing the mother to stay at home. A summary of the findings concludes this study along with implications and propositions for future research.