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Characteristics Found in Data from Each City
Tokyo
The number of hours spent studying during weekdays by elementary school students in Tokyo was more than 100 minutes on average, following Seoul and Beijing, but there were two extremes, with half the children answering “about 30 minutes” or “1 hour” and the other half answering “3.5 hours” or “more” (more than 3.5 hours). The high percentage of attendance at study school (50 percent) was a trend shared with the other two cities in East Asia.
In the section on the perceived usefulness of studies, fewer students in Tokyo answered that the studies are useful than those in the other five cities for almost all questions. It appeared that elementary school students in Tokyo were less likely to feel that their studies would have practical application in their future lives and professions. The opinion that “I can be happy in the future if I graduate from a good university” was also relatively scarce, with a total of only 30 percent answering that their desired education achievement level was a four year university or postgraduate school. The lack of desire for a higher education among students in Tokyo was in stark contrast to students in Seoul and Beijing, despite the geographical proximity.
Seoul
Out of the six cities, students in Seoul spent the most time studying on weekdays, responding that they spend on average as much as 145.8 minutes per day. The answer with the most responses, at nearly one in four students, was “more” (more than 3.5 hours). Behind that number is the fact that more than 70 percent of elementary school students in Seoul attend study school. Of those students attending study school, 70 percent answered that they go five or more days a week. Half the students taking outside-of-school lessons or clubs answered that they were studying a foreign language, providing a glimpse of the prominence of non-school learning institutions in South Korea.
Reflective of their dedication, students in Seoul tend to have various worries concerning their studies along with much motivation to learn. Many of the students felt strong pressure from their parents and responded that they felt their family expect too much of them. They also have a strong desire to improve their grades and to be better than their friends when it comes to study. Moreover, they tend to hold desire to work for a big company and have an important job in the future. More than 60 percent of the students agreed that they want to complete a four year university or finish postgraduate school.
Beijing
Next to Seoul, in Beijing, students spent the most time studying on weekdays at an average of 131.6 minutes. The amount of that time spent on homework was an average of 60.0 minutes, indicating much time spent working on school assignments. A large number of students responded that they research more into things taught in class and review their lessons on the same day as the class, showing their diligence in studying at home as well. The percentage of attendance at study school among students in Beijing was highest, at 76.6%. Students in Beijing spend long periods of time studying on non-school days at study school.
With respect to favorite subjects, every subject had many positive responses. Compared to the other cities, students in Beijing were less likely to have study-related worries such as having certain subjects they will never like or feeling that there are many things that they have to memorize. Generally speaking, students in Beijing were positive about studying. A little less than 90 percent of all the students wanted to receive the top score “1 (towards the top)” for their evaluation (on a scale of 1 to 7). Furthermore, 65.2% responded that they wanted to complete postgraduate school. There is a strong tendency for students in Beijing to aim to perform their very best.
Helsinki
The average amount of time spent studying on weekdays by elementary school students in Helsinki was relatively short at an average of 68.2 minutes, with 43.8 minutes of that time spent on homework, indicating that their studies are focused on school assignments. There were also fewer students involved in learning-related clubs and circles, with most after-school activities involving sports. This is a characteristic shared with students in London and Washington, D.C.
The percentage of students responding that when it comes to study, they want their grades to be better than their friends was 15.4%, which is a markedly lower figure compared to ones in the other cities. It would appear that students in Helsinki do not consider studies to be something for which they would compete with their friends. As a reflection of that, the percentage of students responding that they would like to achieve the top score “1 (towards the top)” for their grade (on a scale of 1 to 7) was lowest. Many of the students feel that they can receive good grades if they try their best, but they do not necessarily think that they study hard in order to receive good grades.
Another interesting point was that most of students in Helsinki responded that they had their own cell phone.
London
The average amount of time spent studying on weekdays by elementary school students in London was 74.1 minutes, slightly longer than that of students in Helsinki and Washington, D.C. On the other hand, as with students in Helsinki and Washington, D.C., a large percentage of that time is spent on homework assignments. The percentage of students responding that they thought they did enough work at school and they did not need to more outside of school was the second highest, after Washington, D.C., at 64.6%, indicating their weak aspect of studying outside of school hours besides homework. Nevertheless, they do feel that their studies will be useful in a variety of situations, including their everyday and professional lives. Higher than ones in any other cities was the percentage for the usefulness for such things as working for a big important company, becoming rich, living a happy and fulfilled life and living a fun life enjoying hobbies and sports.
Many of the students were involved in sports lessons, but the percentage of students not involved in any type of outside-of-school lessons or clubs (19.8%) was highest among the six cities. The percentage of students in London responding that they used the Internet at school for research on a certain topic was higher than students in any of the other cities; this is consistent with the London’s condition being ahead in the introduction of information and communication technology in schools.
Washington, D.C.
Out of all the elementary school students in all the cities, those in Washington, D.C. spent the least amount of time studying on weekdays at an average of 62.6 minutes per day. Three out of four students responded that they spend less than 1 hour studying after school. Time spent on homework assignments accounted for an average of 44.9 minutes. This characteristic of homework taking up 60 to 70 percent of all study time a little more than one hour was shared with London and Helsinki. At 70 percent, however, time spent on homework in Washington, D.C. was the highest. The high proportion of sports among outside-of-school lessons or clubs was also observed in London and Helsinki. The percentage of students in Washington, D.C. responding that they thought they did enough work at school and they did not need to more outside of school was the highest at 70.1 %.
An item of interest was the relatively high assessment among the students of their own academic performance. The percentage of students evaluating their current grades at either 1 (towards the top) or 2 was 54.9%. This was the highest among all six cities. As with students in London, there is a strong tendency for students in Washington D.C. to feel that their studies will be useful in their future lives and career.
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