This study attempts to explore determinants of local choice of university in educational
aspiration, focusing on influences of family background and school factors. We used the
data from the Daegu Education Research and Information Institute in our study.
The results are as follows: First, family background and individual characteristics were
found to be statistically different between students who aspired to attend a university
located in the capital city of Seoul and students who opted to attend a local institution.
For example, the education level of parents, monthly family income, social capital, and
cultural capital were higher among students who wanted to attend university in Seoul
compared with students who chose to attend a local university, including a higher level of
self-efficacy as a representative variable of individual characteristics.
Second, as a result of multilevel logistic regression analysis, with the aspiration of
entering university in Seoul as the reference category, individual-level factors such as
parents’ educational level, parents’ influences on career decision, academic achievements
and self-efficacy; as well as school-level factors such as attending an autonomous private
school, teachers’ enthusiasm and teachers’ pressure on students to achieve academically
were shown to be statistically significant. That is, high school students who have a high
level of self-efficacy and whose parents have a high level of education are inclined to
desire entry to a university in Seoul, as are students who attended autonomous private high
schools.
Taken together, many researchers have examined the university entrance gap using data
from Seoul or national studies, however, this study explored differentiated perspective of
university aspiration of high school students living in local area, such as Daegu.