Japanese Children Split on Need for Summer Homework

In summer vacation, it is time to have fun going camping, to the pool, on holiday with family, or taking part in a matsuri (festival). Except there’s all that summer homework to do . . .

In a recent survey, children who visited Nifty Kids, a website aimed at elementary and junior high school students, were asked what they thought about school homework assigned for the summer vacation. The survey received 1,393 responses.

At 49%, roughly half in total said that summer homework was “necessary” or “somewhat necessary.” This result could be a combination of children wanting to forget about studying and have fun, while at the same time feeling it is not good to spend the long vacation not doing any study. The majority of junior high school students agreed with having summer homework, an indication that they might be looking ahead toward studying for the high school entrance exams.

When it came to the question of the homework students hated the most, the most common response with 33% was “book report/essay.” It seems many children dislike writing long compositions as it is not something they do on a regular basis.

The most popular response for how children decided the theme for their research project with 63% was by doing “research online,” followed by 38% who received “advice from family and friends,” and 24% who did “research using books.” The results show that the internet has now also become an essential part of study for elementary and junior high school students.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)