Content Analysis of Career-Related Education within the 2022 Revised Middle School Curriculum Documents

This study examines how Career-Related Education is reflected in the 2022 revised middle school curriculum documents and draws implications for its effective implementation. Content analysis yielded four key findings. First, although Career-Related Education was reflected across all middle school subjects, patterns varied by subject and tended to concentrate in sections addressing practical instructional guidance. Second, the Creative Experiential Activities curriculum reflected Career-Related Education more broadly than subject curricula and explicitly stated the linkage with the Free Semester. Third, ‘cross-level connections of subject learning contents and methods’ and ‘career exploration’ appeared across all curriculum areas, whereas ‘preparation for transition to higher school levels’ was found only in selected subjects and ‘school life adjustment’ exclusively in Creative Experiential Activities. Fourth, explicit linkage among Career-Related Education, subjects, Creative Experiential Activities, and the Free Semester was rarely stated, confirming that the curricular integration envisioned by the national curriculum framework remains largely declarative. Based on these findings, this study recommends conceptual clarification of Career-Related Education, expanded cross-curricular connections, strengthened support for school life adjustment and transition preparation, and collaborative school-level governance for its meaningful integration.