Challenges Defining a Life Purpose in an Exam-driven Culture: A Case of Vietnam

Abstract

As British writer and philosopher Thomas Carlyle once said, "The person without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder," many celebrated names in history have long emphasized the importance of having a life purpose. However, results from recent studies have revealed that many young people face the challenge of exploring their life's purpose, which can be consistent with their exam-driven culture. Intrigued by these findings, I carried out this current research to investigate Vietnam's situation, where the lack of a purpose compass and an exam culture have been criticized by the mainstream media but not widely discussed in academia. Using a mixed-method approach with an online survey and semi-structured interviews, the study was carried out with 135 Vietnamese students, who are either senior high schoolers or first-year students in Northern Vietnam. Findings confirmed that these students are left with little time to explore their purpose, and there is a negative correlation between the exam culture and this lack of purpose.