High school students' key factors in choosing liberal arts or sciences are "strengths/weaknesses" and "future career goals"; #1 expectation from parents regarding "liberal arts and sciences integration education" is "broadened perspectives and increased career options"
A survey conducted by Recruit's 'Study Sapuri Shinro' reveals that high school students primarily choose between liberal arts and sciences based on personal aptitude and future career aspirations. Meanwhile, parents view 'liberal arts and sciences integration education' positively, expecting it to broaden their children's horizons and provide more diverse career pathways.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: March 28, 2026 at 16:08
- 🔍 Collected: March 28, 2026 at 21:59 (5h 50m after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 15, 2026 at 06:30 (416h 30m after Collected)
*On March 27, we corrected a description in one part of the release. This does not affect the survey results.
[Correction Details]
(Before correction) Valid responses: 1) 592 people (242 boys, 344 girls, 6 did not answer), 2) 310 people (155 men, 155 women)
(After correction) Valid responses: 1) 592 people (242 boys, 344 girls, 6 did not answer), 2) 310 people (184 men, 126 women)
'Study Sapuri Shinro,' a career information media service provided by Recruit Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and Representative Director: Keiichi Ushida), conducted a survey on "career liberal arts and sciences selection" targeting high school student editors of the Study Sapuri editorial department, registered official LINE users, and their parents. The results showed that the top reasons high school students base their liberal arts or science selection on were "It was a subject I liked/was good at" and "It was a discipline clearly necessary for the job/profession I want to work in in the future." Among parents' questions regarding liberal arts and sciences integration education, the top anxieties and concerns cited were the burden of learning on their children and a decline in expertise. Furthermore, in the section on expectations, "Broadening perspectives and increasing career options" was the top result. Details of this survey are available on "#HighSchoolNow" within "Study Sapuri Shinro."
https://shingakunet.com/journal/fromsapuri/20260317000013/?vos=scrmot00148
■ Over half of current third-year high school students prefer liberal arts
When third-year high school students were asked whether they prefer a liberal arts or science track for their future path, 54.7% chose liberal arts, 41.0% chose science, and 4.2% were undecided. Furthermore, when asked for the reasons behind their choice, the top 5 results were: 1st, "It was a subject I liked/was good at"; 2nd, "It was a discipline clearly necessary for the job/profession I want to work in in the future"; 3rd, "To avoid subjects I am weak at"; 4th, "The majority of future jobs/professions I am interested in were related to it"; and 5th, "I thought I liked the content of the studies in some way." It was clear that the two major axes are "strengths/weaknesses" and "future career goals."
■ Parents have a positive image of "liberal arts and sciences integration education," seeing it as "likely to utilize the strengths of both liberal arts and sciences"
We asked parents about "liberal arts and sciences integration education," which involves possessing elements of both and learning across them. First, regarding their image, positive items topped the list: 1st, "It seems attractive because it can utilize the strengths of both liberal arts and sciences"; 2nd, "It seems likely to broaden perspectives and develop thinking skills"; and 3rd, "It seems likely to be useful in future work and society." When asked about their expectations, the results were: 1st, "Broadening perspectives and increasing career options"; 2nd, "It will enable them to think about social issues from multiple angles"; and 3rd, "It can utilize the strengths of both liberal arts and sciences." It seems that, generally, they expect a broadening of perspectives while incorporating the merits of both, rather than the acquisition of pinpoint skills.
■ Comment from Chizuko Kongo-ji, Editor-in-Chief of "Study Sapuri Shinro Book"
An era requiring "breadth" in addition to "depth of expertise" - Opportunities for intergenerational communication, detours, and cross-border experiences are needed.
In the process of choosing between liberal arts and sciences, 48.8% of students said they "decide on their own while listening to advice from parents," which exceeds the 46.1% who said they do so "of their own will without consulting parents." These survey results suggest that parents' involvement and influence on high school students' career planning as a whole are increasing.
To solve complex social issues in modern times, innovation from a broad perspective that cuts across diverse fields, not just a single expertise, is indispensable. Regarding liberal arts and sciences integration education, which is attracting attention against this background, high school students themselves, much like their parents, hold positive views, ranking items such as "likely to be useful in future work and society," "likely to broaden perspectives and develop thinking skills," and "attractive because it can utilize the strengths of both liberal arts and sciences" at the top. On the other hand, there were very few voices expressing concern such as "learning range will expand and burden will increase" or "expertise may become shallow," suggesting that learning that transcends the boundaries of liberal arts and sciences is accepted as something necessary.
In the future society, "breadth" to capture things from multiple angles using diverse perspectives and viewpoints is required in addition to "depth of expertise." The era is changing to one where multifaceted perspectives are sought, rather than just the "pursuit of a specialized discipline" that the parent generation sought through higher education, and learning in high schools and higher education is also evolving little by little.
It is important to have opportunities to engage in dialogues across generations within the family, and to encounter third-party perspectives and new values through unknown experiences such as so-called "detours" or "border crossing." Encounters with such opportunities might be the key to supporting convincing career choices in the rapidly changing modern era.
■ Survey Overview
・Survey period:
1) February 10 (Tue) – February 12 (Thu), 2026
2) February 13 (Fri) – February 14 (Sat), 2026
・Survey method: 1) 2) Internet research
・Survey targets: 1) Third-year high school students nationwide (High school student editors / official LINE registered users of "Study Sapuri Shinro"), 2) Parents of high school students
・Valid responses: 1) 592 people (242 boys, 344 girls, 6 did not answer), 2) 310 people (184 men, 126 women)
■ About "Study Sapuri Shinro"
"Study Sapuri Shinro" began with the "Recruit College Entrance Book" first published in 1970 and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2020. It is the longest-running business in the Recruit Group after job placement support. With the concept of "realizing a world where there is more 'I want to learn' and 'I'm glad I learned'," the service provides support for students to survive in a rapidly changing society by discovering their "ideal selves" and "schools where they can realize themselves," enabling "the realization of career choices that suit them." Throughout the three years of high school, it offers a line-up of various teaching materials corresponding to "self-understanding," "development of vocational views," "understanding of learning content," and "school research" for free.
Details: https://shingakunet.com/rnet/column/rikunabi/index.html?vos=conttwnowother00010
■ About "Study Sapuri Editorial Department"
An editorial department that creates content that fits high school life together with "Study Sapuri High School Student Editors," consisting of over 3,000 active high school students nationwide. In addition to know-how for career paths and entrance exam study, diverse content such as late-night snack recipes and famous quotes to support mental health is being distributed on the website "#HighSchoolNow," the information magazine "Study Sapuri Entrance Magazine" published 8 times a year, the app "Study Sapuri for SCHOOL," member newsletters, and various SNS.
Furthermore, an article analyzing the results of this survey in more detail is currently published at the URL below of "#HighSchoolNow."
URL: https://shingakunet.com/journal/fromsapuri/20260317000013/?vos=scrmot00148
In addition, the Study Sapuri editorial department distributes surveys via LINE every month and reflects the opinions received from reader high school students and parents in articles. We are currently actively looking for LINE friends for better article production in the future! If you are interested, please register.
LINE URL: https://lin.ee/LbRvueT
▼ About Recruit
https://www.recruit.co.jp/
▼ Contact for inquiries regarding this matter
https://www.recruit.co.jp/support/form/
[Correction Details]
(Before correction) Valid responses: 1) 592 people (242 boys, 344 girls, 6 did not answer), 2) 310 people (155 men, 155 women)
(After correction) Valid responses: 1) 592 people (242 boys, 344 girls, 6 did not answer), 2) 310 people (184 men, 126 women)
'Study Sapuri Shinro,' a career information media service provided by Recruit Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and Representative Director: Keiichi Ushida), conducted a survey on "career liberal arts and sciences selection" targeting high school student editors of the Study Sapuri editorial department, registered official LINE users, and their parents. The results showed that the top reasons high school students base their liberal arts or science selection on were "It was a subject I liked/was good at" and "It was a discipline clearly necessary for the job/profession I want to work in in the future." Among parents' questions regarding liberal arts and sciences integration education, the top anxieties and concerns cited were the burden of learning on their children and a decline in expertise. Furthermore, in the section on expectations, "Broadening perspectives and increasing career options" was the top result. Details of this survey are available on "#HighSchoolNow" within "Study Sapuri Shinro."
https://shingakunet.com/journal/fromsapuri/20260317000013/?vos=scrmot00148
■ Over half of current third-year high school students prefer liberal arts
When third-year high school students were asked whether they prefer a liberal arts or science track for their future path, 54.7% chose liberal arts, 41.0% chose science, and 4.2% were undecided. Furthermore, when asked for the reasons behind their choice, the top 5 results were: 1st, "It was a subject I liked/was good at"; 2nd, "It was a discipline clearly necessary for the job/profession I want to work in in the future"; 3rd, "To avoid subjects I am weak at"; 4th, "The majority of future jobs/professions I am interested in were related to it"; and 5th, "I thought I liked the content of the studies in some way." It was clear that the two major axes are "strengths/weaknesses" and "future career goals."
■ Parents have a positive image of "liberal arts and sciences integration education," seeing it as "likely to utilize the strengths of both liberal arts and sciences"
We asked parents about "liberal arts and sciences integration education," which involves possessing elements of both and learning across them. First, regarding their image, positive items topped the list: 1st, "It seems attractive because it can utilize the strengths of both liberal arts and sciences"; 2nd, "It seems likely to broaden perspectives and develop thinking skills"; and 3rd, "It seems likely to be useful in future work and society." When asked about their expectations, the results were: 1st, "Broadening perspectives and increasing career options"; 2nd, "It will enable them to think about social issues from multiple angles"; and 3rd, "It can utilize the strengths of both liberal arts and sciences." It seems that, generally, they expect a broadening of perspectives while incorporating the merits of both, rather than the acquisition of pinpoint skills.
■ Comment from Chizuko Kongo-ji, Editor-in-Chief of "Study Sapuri Shinro Book"
An era requiring "breadth" in addition to "depth of expertise" - Opportunities for intergenerational communication, detours, and cross-border experiences are needed.
In the process of choosing between liberal arts and sciences, 48.8% of students said they "decide on their own while listening to advice from parents," which exceeds the 46.1% who said they do so "of their own will without consulting parents." These survey results suggest that parents' involvement and influence on high school students' career planning as a whole are increasing.
To solve complex social issues in modern times, innovation from a broad perspective that cuts across diverse fields, not just a single expertise, is indispensable. Regarding liberal arts and sciences integration education, which is attracting attention against this background, high school students themselves, much like their parents, hold positive views, ranking items such as "likely to be useful in future work and society," "likely to broaden perspectives and develop thinking skills," and "attractive because it can utilize the strengths of both liberal arts and sciences" at the top. On the other hand, there were very few voices expressing concern such as "learning range will expand and burden will increase" or "expertise may become shallow," suggesting that learning that transcends the boundaries of liberal arts and sciences is accepted as something necessary.
In the future society, "breadth" to capture things from multiple angles using diverse perspectives and viewpoints is required in addition to "depth of expertise." The era is changing to one where multifaceted perspectives are sought, rather than just the "pursuit of a specialized discipline" that the parent generation sought through higher education, and learning in high schools and higher education is also evolving little by little.
It is important to have opportunities to engage in dialogues across generations within the family, and to encounter third-party perspectives and new values through unknown experiences such as so-called "detours" or "border crossing." Encounters with such opportunities might be the key to supporting convincing career choices in the rapidly changing modern era.
■ Survey Overview
・Survey period:
1) February 10 (Tue) – February 12 (Thu), 2026
2) February 13 (Fri) – February 14 (Sat), 2026
・Survey method: 1) 2) Internet research
・Survey targets: 1) Third-year high school students nationwide (High school student editors / official LINE registered users of "Study Sapuri Shinro"), 2) Parents of high school students
・Valid responses: 1) 592 people (242 boys, 344 girls, 6 did not answer), 2) 310 people (184 men, 126 women)
■ About "Study Sapuri Shinro"
"Study Sapuri Shinro" began with the "Recruit College Entrance Book" first published in 1970 and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2020. It is the longest-running business in the Recruit Group after job placement support. With the concept of "realizing a world where there is more 'I want to learn' and 'I'm glad I learned'," the service provides support for students to survive in a rapidly changing society by discovering their "ideal selves" and "schools where they can realize themselves," enabling "the realization of career choices that suit them." Throughout the three years of high school, it offers a line-up of various teaching materials corresponding to "self-understanding," "development of vocational views," "understanding of learning content," and "school research" for free.
Details: https://shingakunet.com/rnet/column/rikunabi/index.html?vos=conttwnowother00010
■ About "Study Sapuri Editorial Department"
An editorial department that creates content that fits high school life together with "Study Sapuri High School Student Editors," consisting of over 3,000 active high school students nationwide. In addition to know-how for career paths and entrance exam study, diverse content such as late-night snack recipes and famous quotes to support mental health is being distributed on the website "#HighSchoolNow," the information magazine "Study Sapuri Entrance Magazine" published 8 times a year, the app "Study Sapuri for SCHOOL," member newsletters, and various SNS.
Furthermore, an article analyzing the results of this survey in more detail is currently published at the URL below of "#HighSchoolNow."
URL: https://shingakunet.com/journal/fromsapuri/20260317000013/?vos=scrmot00148
In addition, the Study Sapuri editorial department distributes surveys via LINE every month and reflects the opinions received from reader high school students and parents in articles. We are currently actively looking for LINE friends for better article production in the future! If you are interested, please register.
LINE URL: https://lin.ee/LbRvueT
▼ About Recruit
https://www.recruit.co.jp/
▼ Contact for inquiries regarding this matter
https://www.recruit.co.jp/support/form/