In recent years, the Undeclared Major System has expanded across South Korean higher education to cultivate interdisciplinary talent and increase students’ autonomy in selecting their majors. However, high school seniors who have not yet experienced...
In recent years, the Undeclared Major System has expanded across South Korean higher education to cultivate interdisciplinary talent and increase students’ autonomy in selecting their majors. However, high school seniors who have not yet experienced the system and first-year university students who have entered university through it are situated in different experiential contexts. Consequently, discrepancies may arise between expectations of the system and perceptions grounded in actual experience. Such discrepancies warrant attention because they may be associated with anxiety during major exploration, difficulties in university adjustment, and demands for institutional support. Accordingly, this study combined Q methodology with the co-orientation model to identify the subjective perception types of high school seniors and first-year university students regarding the Undeclared Major System and to examine the structure of mutual perceptions between the two groups.
The P-set comprised 60 participants: 30 high school seniors from Seoul and Gyeonggi Province and 30 first-year university students admitted through the Undeclared Major System. Of the 419 statements in the Q population generated through a literature review and interviews, 33 were selected as the final Q sample after validity and reliability testing. Each participant completed two Q sorts—one representing their own perception and the other their anticipated perception of the other group—using a nine-point forced distribution. Q-factor analysis was conducted using Ken-Q Analysis (KADE v1.3.1). Pearson correlation coefficients were then calculated in jamovi 2.7.6 based on the mean statement scores for each group to assess agreement, congruence, and accuracy within the co-orientation model.
The findings were as follows. First, the commonalities and differences among the 16 perception types derived from the two groups’ self-perceptions and anticipated perceptions of the other group were synthesized. Two interpretive axes, “motivational orientation” and “response approach,” were identified, and the perception types were categorized into four domains: “proactive utilization of opportunities,” “practical constraints and support needs,” “strategic instrumental use,” and “adaptation to competitive realities.” These findings indicate that students transitioning from high school to university viewed the system positively in terms of its potential to expand opportunities for major exploration and choice, while simultaneously taking practical constraints and competitive structures into account.
Second, the perceptions of high school seniors were characterized by expectations of opportunities for major exploration and future major choice, the potential strategic use of the system in college admissions, and anxiety arising from limited information and uncertainty regarding its operation. By contrast, first-year university students, while recognizing the value of major exploration, more specifically emphasized operational constraints and support needs experienced in university life, including restrictions on course registration, difficulty keeping pace with coursework, challenges in developing a sense of belonging, and pressure to decide on a major early. These findings demonstrate that expectations and possibilities were relatively more salient in the perceptions of high school seniors, whereas limitations and support needs based on actual experience were more pronounced in the perceptions of first-year university students.
Third, in their anticipated perceptions of the other group, both groups shared an understanding of the institutional aims of the Undeclared Major System, particularly its function in facilitating major exploration and expanding students’ major choices. However, high school seniors expected first-year university students to experience more acutely the practical conditions of university life, including restrictions in the course-taking environment, competition for popular majors, and pressure related to grades. In contrast, first-year university students expected high school seniors to perceive the system more pragmatically by relating it to college admissions strategies and employment prospects.
Fourth, the co-orientation analysis showed high agreement (r = .832) and congruence (r = .812, r = .798), while accuracy was also generally high (r = .759, r = .724). Nevertheless, accuracy was relatively lower than agreement and congruence, indicating partial discrepancies in the prediction of specific perceptions. This suggests that although the two groups substantially shared a general understanding of the issues surrounding the Undeclared Major System, they did not fully understand the other group’s specific experiences and psychological needs. These differences reflect the distinct experiential positions and information environments of the two groups.
This study is significant in that it empirically identified the gap between expectations and experiences surrounding the Undeclared Major System among students transitioning from high school to university, as well as the structure of mutual perceptions between the two groups. In addition, by clarifying learners’ anxiety regarding major exploration, the burden of major selection, the need to develop a sense of belonging, and difficulties in career decision-making, this study provides foundational evidence for offering information on major exploration, supporting university adjustment, developing high school–university linkage programs, and establishing a staged career-coaching system.