Parental Behaviour and Shadow Education Participation: South Korea’s Competitive Educational Landscape

This thesis explores the relationship between parental behaviour and shadow education participation in middle- and high schools in South Korea and how it influences the competitiveness of the South Korean educational landscape, as perceived through shadow education expenditures. Using an Exploratory Factor Analysis followed by a Linear Regression Analysis on data from the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS) and Statistics Korea (KSTAT) from 2007 to 2022, supplemented by data from surveys from the Korean Education Development Institute (KEDI) from 2017-2023, this thesis found a positive association between economic and parental influence, and shadow education expenditures, indicating that increased parental involvement and resources increase educational competitiveness. Furthermore, despite financial downsides, this thesis found a significant trade-off in single-income households investing more time and resources into shadow education. While higher-income households spend...Show moreThis thesis explores the relationship between parental behaviour and shadow education participation in middle- and high schools in South Korea and how it influences the competitiveness of the South Korean educational landscape, as perceived through shadow education expenditures. Using an Exploratory Factor Analysis followed by a Linear Regression Analysis on data from the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS) and Statistics Korea (KSTAT) from 2007 to 2022, supplemented by data from surveys from the Korean Education Development Institute (KEDI) from 2017-2023, this thesis found a positive association between economic and parental influence, and shadow education expenditures, indicating that increased parental involvement and resources increase educational competitiveness. Furthermore, despite financial downsides, this thesis found a significant trade-off in single-income households investing more time and resources into shadow education. While higher-income households spend more on shadow education than lower-income households, lower-income households spend a more significant portion of their income due to certain cultural or social pressures, indicating a socioeconomic imbalance. In addition, this thesis found a negative association between shadow education participation and shadow education expenditures, which shows a type of saturation or overflow point indicating that increased participation rates do not necessarily equal higher shadow education expenditures per child. Furthermore, having fewer children and, therefore, having more disposable income available per child increases the educational competitiveness of a child, which increases the competitiveness of the South Korean educational landscape and may be a reason for not having more children.Show less

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Parental Behaviour and Shadow Education Participation: South Korea’s Competitive Educational Landscape