School Children’s Satisfaction with School Life: Key Factors and Implications for Policy

Abstract

The percentage of children satisfied with their school life, a key child development indicator outlined in the 2nd Master Plan for Child Policy, has declined below its 2019 level, falling far short of reaching the 80-percent target set for 2024. Drawing on data from the 2023 Comprehensive Survey on Children, I explore the current state of school satisfaction among Korean children and factors affecting it. The findings suggest that, in order to raise the overall school satisfaction, measures must focus particularly on children attending high school, who, compared to their middle- or elementary-school counterparts, report notably lower life satisfaction, and that as the factors affecting school satisfaction differ across the three divisions of pre-tertiary education—elementary, middle, and high school—policy interventions must be tailored to differentiated goals.