KidZania White Paper
2023

CONTENTS
About this Publication

About this Publication …………………………………………………………… 1

It has been 18 years since KidZania first
opened its doors in Japan. Recently, we often

About KidZania ………………………………………………………………………… 3

hear from people saying "I used to go to KidZania
when I was a child," with a big smile on theirface. Some even say: "I was fascinated by thework experience I had at KidZania, and I madeResearch Theme

that dream come true!" In response to comments“KidZania alumni” covering the relationship between work-related

Study 1experiences in elementary and junior high school years and career
perspectives through adulthood.
The study was developed as joint research from the perspective ofcareer education, with assistance from Dr. Shinji Tateishi of the
University of Tsukuba who has helped from the concept stage. Study 1
involved interviews and Study 2 used a web-based questionnaire as partof an exploratory analysis of elementary and middle school students'………… 5

Supervisor Introduction ………………………………………………………… 6

like these, the KidZania White Paper 2023
conducted a qualitative and quantitative research study geared toward

Eﬀects of Career-related experiencesin Elementary and Junior High School Years………… 7
Vocational Interests in Elementary and
5Junior High School Years, Careers in Adulthood―Based on Interviews with KidZania Alumni―

Study 2

時間を経ても見いだせるキッザニア体験の職業自立性への影響

Discernible Eﬀects of Previous KidZania Experiences on ……… 9
Career Autonomy even after a long time
―Based on Surveys of KidZania Alumni―

Discussion ………………………………………………………………………………… 15

vocational interests and current career autonomy. In addition to verifying
the effects of the KidZania experience, this survey attempted to take thefirst steps toward research that will contribute to society by expanding

In Closing ………………………………………………………………………………… 16

the scope of the research covering the perception of career education inelementary and junior high school.
As we enter the era of life expectancy spanning a century, the true
meaning of a career is starting to be questioned once again. This white
paper, the fifth in the series, introduces the power of experience throughfeedback from "KidZania alumni" who have grown up and are now
adults. KidZania will also continue evolving to bring empoweringexperiences for future generations, who we believe will develop evenmore complex and adventurous careers.
KCJ GROUP INC.
Michinari Tsumuraya, Representative Director & President

12About KidZania
The KidZania Concept
KidZania is an indoor facility where children aged 3-15 years old are able togain experience with occupational and social activities.

KidZania fosters children's zest for life throughrealistic occupational and social experiences.

Currently operating in 27 locations in 18 countries*, we are developing
together with children around the world, building on the diverse cultures ofeach country as our foundation.
In Japan, there are KidZania Tokyo, KidZania Koshien, and KidZania Fukuoka,
where visitors can experience a wide variety of jobs and services.
Establishments are sponsored by companies and organizations that provide
uniforms, equipment and foodstuff to create an authentic experience in acityscape about two-thirds the size of real life. In addition, KidZos is a special
currency that is available around KidZania—visitors can earn KidZos as wages
by working, make deposits at the bank, and use KidZos to shop for or receive

Education
エデュケーション

Edutainment

Entertainment
エンターテインメント

エデュテインメント

services.
At establishments, staff members called Zupervisors greet the children.
Zupervisors build on the KidZania experience by adopting the perspective of "asenior at the workplace," communicating not only the procedures of jobs, butalso its underlying significance and essence, and work with children toaccomplish tasks together.
At KidZania, the utmost priority is placed on children "enjoying theirexperience enthusiastically" through these work and social experiences,
thereby "gaining their own learning and awareness."
KidZania is consistently seeking to serve as a place for "Edutainment" thatcombines both learning (Education) and having fun (Entertainment).
*As of November 2023

“KidZania 10Values” fosters children's zest for life
10Values are what make the "zest for life" that KidZania wants children of the
future to develop. With the work and social experiences available through thebroad range of activities on offer at KidZania, children are able to develop theskills to think for themselves and take the initiative, and we believe that
continuing to building on these experiences will foster their "zest for life.”

Extensive range of hands-on programs available at KidZania
KidZania Online College

Out of KidZania

KidZania Online College" is an educational
app that gives children the opportunity tolearn about various jobs and society in a fun
way online, based on KidZania's know-how.

This program was developed with the aim ofgiving children a more realistic experience.
Visitors can go beyond KidZania and actuallyexperience work at our partner companies
and a variety of local jobs.

［10Values］
Agency ― 主体性
Grit ― やり抜く力
Creativity ― 創造力
Curiosity ― 好奇心
Responsibility ― 責任感
Self-Efficacy ― 自己効力感
Self-Affirmation ― 自己肯定感
Communication ― コミュニケーション力
Collaboration ― 協働力
Critical Thinking ― 論理的思考力

3

4

Supervisor
Introduction

Impact of KidZania Experiences
into Adulthood and the Future
Shinji Tateishi, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Office of Management for Teaching and Learning at the University of Tsukuba
between career education at schools and what
happens at KidZania. Essentially, both are exploring
what can be done now to help children be more
successful when they grow up.
This was also the key theme underlying the twostudies being presented in the KidZania White Paper
2023. In both of these studies, we asked adults about
the impact of their experiences at KidZania on themand their lives now. In a word, the two studies inthis white paper try to answer whether their time at
KidZania remained meaningful after the respondents
had grown up.
In Study 1, we used interviews to explore whether thechildhood experiences had benefitted interviewees
as adults by asking about their experiences at
KidZania, about their interest in jobs when they were・Research
ResearchTheme
Theme“Effects of Career-related experiences in Elementary and Junior High School Years”

Study
１

Vocational Interests in Elementary and Junior High School Years,
Careers in Adulthood―Based on Interviews with KidZania Alumni―

Interviewee criteria: Alumni of KidZania Tokyo/Koshien who are in their 20s and currently employedSampling method: Snowball sampling
Interview period: May 2021 - February 2022
Interview method: Semi-structured interviews conducted using an online teleconferencing system

Study
2

Discernible Effects of Previous KidZania Experiences on
Career Autonomy even after a long time
―Based on Surveys of KidZania Alumni―

Respondent criteria: 1,000 adults who are in their 20s and currently employed(500 with KidZania experience, 500 without)
Survey period: October 2022
Survey method:Web-based questionnaire
Research&
AnalysisKCJ GROUP INC. Academy Lab
Shinji Tateishi, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Office of Management for Teaching and
Learning at the University of Tsukuba
5

in elementary or junior high school, and about their・current work.
In Study 2, we used a survey to explore whether theCompleted studies at Hiroshima University Graduate School of
Education. Earned Ph.D. in Education.
Formerly Assistant Professor at the Center for the Advancement ofHigher Education, Tohoku University; Researcher at Guidance andCounseling Research Center and Senior Researcher at Department
for Higher Education Research, National Institute for Educational
Policy Research. In current position since April 2020. Specializes incareer education studies and higher education studies.

childhood experiences had benefitted respondents asadults by asking about their experiences at KidZania,
about their interest in society and working when they
were in elementary or junior high school, and about
their current career autonomy.

I’m sure most parents and educators want children to

I hope you’ll take the time to read through the fullgrow up to be capable and resilient. At some point,

results, but to give you an idea of what you’ll learn, thechildren will graduate from school and leave home tointerviews and surveys show that the KidZanians who

go out into the world on their own.

participated in the studies felt that their experiences

As a part of modern school education, children

at KidZania were meaningful and continue to have an

receive “career education,” which is a term that some

impact on their lives today, into adulthood.

may be unfamiliar with. Despite the name, career

The accumulation of everything in our past leads

education is about more than just choosing where

us here to the present, but that leaves us wondering

to study or work and preparing for those things.

about the future. In the interviews, we asked

Here, “career” is used in the broader sense of theparticipants about their future selves and society, ten

progression of one’s life and the ongoing process ofyears from now. KidZania alumni have a hopeful eye

discovering the value of the various roles one plays inon the future while playing their part as members

life and exploring how to relate to those roles. Careerof society and striving toward their own goals. It is

education is about supporting young people in

my sincere hope that those children who are visiting

empowering themselves to live their own best lives.

KidZania facilities today will be just as full of hopeWith that in mind, we begin to see clear overlap

ten or twenty years down the road.
6

Subgraph

Vocational Interests in Elementary and Junior High School Years,

Study
Careers in Adulthood
１

interesting―Based on Interviews with KidZania Alumni―

1．KidZanian Alumni: Past, Present, andFuturelikelysaid that entering KidZania felt like entering a newworld, completely unlike that of their day-to-day life,
as if it were a parallel world or an alternate universe.
Next, comments about the “experience” stood out.
For example, respondent F mentioned a generalimage of “being able to experience jobs” andrespondent I commented that “being able toexperience different jobs was really fun.” Respondent
A told about receiving an award while participating inan event at KidZania, describing it as a “place where
you can pursue your dreams.” Other KidZania alumni
also mentioned this central theme of pursuing“dreams.”
These were the three central themes that appearedin their impressions of KidZania: a sense of immersion,
the experience, and dreams. Of course, this data isdrawn from answers reflecting on the past, so it may
not align exactly with respondents’ actual impressions
at the time when they visited. However, it’s very
interesting to note that, even ten years later, therespondents were able to speak in detail about thesense of immersion, the details of the activities theyexperienced, and the challenges they tackled.
More specific keywords appeared in some cases.
Some alumni spoke about their memories of KidZania
in terms of connection with their parents, rather thanfocusing solely on their own experience, like
respondent G, who told us that his father still keeps
a picture of him at KidZania on display at home.

It has been 18 years since KidZania first opened its
doors in Japan. Many KidZanians［1］ have graduatedfrom KidZania and are now full-fledged members ofsociety. How do these KidZania alumni remember
their KidZania and career-related experiences? Did
those experiences have any effect on their current
circumstances? In 2021, with the opening of KidZania
Fukuoka approaching, a research initiative was launched
to explore these questions by asking KidZanians who
have become full-fledged members of society about
their past experiences and current careers. The
central question explored by this initiative was: “Didyour experiences in childhood benefit you as anadult? ”
Regarding this question, previous research has
shown that “experiential career education” is ofbenefit［2］ when choosing an occupation. Based onthese findings, it would be reasonable to assume thatwork experiences during childhood would produce a
positive effect. But does such an assumption provetrue in real life? And how do the individuals concernedview the relationship between past experiences andtheir current careers?
To find out, we asked KidZania alumni to reflect on
their career education and experiences with occupationaland social activities at KidZania as elementary andjunior high school students and then tell us about
their current careers.
We attempted to contact candidates through theiralma maters and other relevant institutions, and we
found ten alumni living across a wide area of Japan—
spanning from Tohoku to Chugoku/Shikoku—who
agreed to online interviews. The respondents had all
been working adults for a period between one andfour years, and their careers were considered to be ina stage of growth. A list of the KidZania alumni isshown in Table 1. We will take a look at some of
their responses in the following sections.

Respondent

Years asWorking Adult

GenderArea ofResidence

Age atfirst visitA

2

FemaleChugoku/
Shikoku

13

B

1

Female

Kanto

8

C

2

Female

Kanto

10

D

2

Male

Tohoku

10

E

1

Male

Chugoku/
Shikoku

7

F

3

Female

Kinki

11
13
11

G

4

Male

Chugoku/
Shikoku

2．Memories of KidZania

H

4

Female

Kanto

I

2

Male

Kanto

9

First, we asked alumni to reflect on their impressionsof KidZania when visiting. Categorizing their impressions
revealed three central themes. The most prevalent
was “sense of immersion.” For example, respondent D

J

1

FemaleKinki

12Table 1. Interview Survey Respondents［3］[1] KidZanians refers to children aged 3-15 who participate in activities at KidZania.
[2] “Survey Research Report on the Development of Skills Related to Career Development”, Guidance and Counseling ResearchCenter, National Institute for Educational Policy Research (2011)

peoplejunior high school
student

0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0

elementary school
student

think
quite

FrequencyTVreality10

createsay

graduate

04
05
06

Coeﬃcientmemoryannouncer

at the time

me

know

01
02
03

work

now

see

20

parentslikerelated

PC

stage

30

Fig. 1. Vocational interests

3．Vocational Interests as Elementary
and Junior High School Students

complex, working in the media industry, and more.
We asked what was important to them in their work.
Their top concern was “helping people.” This is clear
from their comments, which mentioned cooperatingwith others via “dialogue” (respondent A), “asking
what I can do for others” (respondent F), and“connecting with others politely, no matter who they
may be” (respondent D). At the same time, there wasa tendency to value “sense of achievement,”
maintaining a “sense of individuality” (respondent I)
while aiming to “feel a sense of personal achievement”(respondent C).

Next, we asked KidZania alumni about their vocational
interests when they were elementary and junior highschool students. Figure 1 is a co-occurrence networkof words used in their responses［4］. In this network,
you can see that the word “like” is connected to“work.” The word “interesting” is connected to “me.”This suggests that they imagined their future jobs
would be something that they liked or foundinteresting. On the other hand, the words “reality”
and “know” are also connected, which might suggestthat the students were at an age where they were nolonger thinking only of dreams and ideals, but werealso beginning to explore realistic possibilities forthemselves.
Of the ten KidZania alumni interviewed in thisstudy, eight had a career that they wanted to pursue
when they were in elementary or junior high school.
However, some of them had been unsure of how to
go about pursuing that career. Of those, some spoke
about adults nudging them toward making their ideala reality, in the form of teacher advising them to write
a letter to a company they were interested in or aparent telling them that “dreaming about something
isn’t enough to make it happen, so just get out there
and start doing whatever you can.”5．Summary of Interviews
In this study, we’ve been presented with a pictureof KidZania alumni who developed an interest in
work thanks to diverse experiences and the supportof people around them during their time as elementaryand junior high school students, and who are
currently focused on achieving goals and fulfilling
their roles as members of society.
Society includes far more than these ten KidZania
alumni. How do those other alumni view their current
careers? What is the connection between their pastexperiences and their current careers? Please take alook at Study 2, in which we conducted a Web-basedquestionnaire to gain insight into these questions.
(Text by KCJ GROUP INC. Academy Lab)

4．Current Occupation
Current occupations of the KidZania alumni
spanned a wide variety of fields, including systems
engineering, sales, working at an eco-friendly[3] Because gender is thought to have a significant impact on career development, gender has been included in the list of respondents.

[4] K oichi Higuchi, “Quantitative Text Analysis for Social Researchers: A Contribution to Content Analysis”, Nakanishiya Shuppan,(2014)

7

8

Discernible Effects of Previous KidZania Experiences on

Fig. 4. Impression of KidZania

Study
Career Autonomy even after a long time2
―Based on Surveys of KidZania Alumni―

1. KidZanians Reflect: Then and Now

and those were presented to and answered by 500
such respondents. These questions were answeredby a total of 1,000 respondents, including those who
had visited KidZania and those who had not, and ouranalysis presents the possibility of any career-relateddifferences between these two groups.

We asked people who visited KidZania in the past,
known as KidZanians, to complete a questionnaire
about their experiences when they visited and theirsituations now. A total of 500 KidZanians participatedin this survey.
Among the participating KidZanians, some had
visited KidZania many times from a young age, whileothers had only visited once. The majority, comprising
188 of 500 respondents, first visited KidZania between
the ages of 7 and 9 (Fig. 1). Among those who first
visited KidZania at the ages of 7-9, the majority
visited multiple (2-3 or more) times (Fig. 2). Of those
who participated in this survey, the youngest
respondent was 20 years old, the oldest was 29 years
old, and the average age was 26 (Fig. 3; same forthose who had visited KidZania as well as those who
had not). Now, some years after “graduating” from
KidZania, how do these 500 KidZania alumni
remember their experiences at the facility and what
are their lives like today?
Certain sections of the survey also include questions
relevant to people who have never been to KidZania,

KidZania's Key Points 1
・Conducted an online survey of 1,000 people intheir 20s
・Included 500 respondents who had been to
KidZania and 500 who had not

2. About KidZanians
2.1 Value of the KidZania ExperienceFig. 1. Age at first visit to KidZania
3-6yo

101 people

188 people

10-12yo

13yo+

KidZania's Key Points 2 (Section 2.1)
・Impressions of KidZania: realistic, get to try out
lots of jobs
・Generates interest in businesses, how society
works

132 people

79 people

10％

20％

13yo+
0

46.3%

43.2%

51.9%

16.5%

Discovered future dream job

40.9%

26.6%

50

people2.3%

25people8.9% 12.7%

0

25%
50%
75%
100%
■1time ■2-3 times ■4-5times ■6+ times*Due to rounding, percentages in graphs
may not equal 100% when totaled.

20yo

25yo
Age
■Been to KidZania

929yo■Never10%20%

2.2 Effect of KidZania Experience on Other Areas

30%

The effects of the KidZania experience—with its
lasting impressions of realistic experiences, trying out
lots of jobs, and the joys of working—appear toextend beyond the walls of the KidZania facility.
Correlation was also seen in the children’s studies attheir regular schools.
Compared to those who had never been, those
who had been to KidZania had a better memory ofwhether they had a “class focused on thinking about
one’s own career” in elementary or junior high school(Fig. 5, 6). What is significant here is that thepercentage of people who answered “don’t remember”
was smaller for those who had been to KidZania.

Furthermore, the younger the person was when theyfirst visited KidZania, the more likely they were to
remember whether they had a “class focused on
thinking about one’s own career.” One might conclude
that having job-related experiences at KidZania increasesa child’s awareness of opportunities to think aboutcareers (i.e., career education) during elementaryand junior high school. Even if the word “career” isnever actually used, there are many activities within
the usual curriculum at schools that provide students
with opportunities to think about their own careers.
For example, all across Japan, elementary students
participate in “town exploration” activities and juniorhigh school students participate in “workplace

Fig. 5. Did you have “classes focused on thinking about
one’s own career” at elementary school?

Fig. 7. Did you find “classes focused on thinking about
one’s own career” at elementary school enjoyable?

3-6yo

52.5%

33.7%

13.9%

3-6yo

7-9yo

55.9%

29.8%

14.4%

7-9yo

28.6%

57.1%

10-12yo

33.3%

51.7%

10-12yo

45.5%

13yo+

34.1%

31.6%

20.5%

46.8%

Never visited 9.4%
KidZania

people

13.6%

17.0%

0

75

10.6%

24.0%

21.5%

56.2%

25%

50%
No

75%

13yo+

100%

19.8%

7.9%

3-6yo

7-9yo

72.3%

18.1%

9.6%

7-9yo

13yo+

16.7%

49.4%

Never visited
KidZania

29.1%

33.6%

0

25%
Yes

50%
No

15.9%

21.5%

31.6%

14.3%
3.3%
11.7%
32.0%

51.1%

25%

50%

Very much so

Yes

30.1%

8.0%
6.4%

21.3%

75%
No

100%

Not at all

10-12yo

100%

10

1.5%
13.2%
5.6%

47.2%

38.5%

18.5%

0

Canʼt remember

8.2%

61.0%

30.3%

13yo+

1.4%

60.3%

24.3%

Never visited
KidZania

34.8%

75%

21.3%

9.4%

Fig. 8. Did you find “classes focused on thinking about
one’s own career” at junior high school enjoyable?

72.3%

67.4%

3.8%

52.8%

60.0%

0

Canʼt remember

3-6yo

10-12yo

34.0%

Never visited
KidZania

34.4%

Fig. 6. Did you have “classes focused on thinking about
one’s own career” at junior high school?

100

17.8%

25.0%

Was able to choose jobs on own

Yespeople8.9%

25.0%

Age at ﬁrst visit

10-12yo

42.6%

26.6%

26.0%
25.6%

Learned diﬃculty of earning money

Age at ﬁrst visit

7-9yo

Lots of people were there
Became interested in businesses

0Fig. 2. Age at first visit and no. visits
30.7%

28.2%
27.8%

30％

Fig. 3. Age distribution of respondents

3-6yo

Experienced the joys of working
Became interested in job details

Age at ﬁrst visit

7-9yo

31.4%
31.0%

Became interested in how society works

Age at ﬁrst visit

What is the KidZania experience, according to
KidZanians? Reflecting on their past KidZania
experiences, respondents most clearly recall having“realistic job experiences” (31.4%), that they “got totry out lots of jobs” (31.0%), or having “experienced
the joys of working” (28.2%) (Fig. 4). As a facility
meant to provide opportunities for children toexperience a wide variety of jobs and services, similar
to the way adults do, these answers align well withthe aims of KidZania. This survey demonstrated that
KidZania serves its purpose so successfully that these
impressions stay with visitors for years—sometimes
even more than ten years—afterward.

Realistic job experiences
Got to try out lots of jobs

16.9%
7.7%

43.6%

53.0%

25%

50%

Very much so

Yes

10.3%
22.6%

75%
No

Not at all

6.0%

100%

experience” activities. More than a simple“exploration” or “workplace experience,” what is
important about these activities is having someawareness that they are opportunities to learn aboutsomething relevant to one’s own future. Perhaps
children’s experiences at KidZania increased theirawareness of opportunities to “think about their own
careers” during their studies at school.
Furthermore, those who had been to KidZania also
enjoyed having a “class focused on thinking about
one’s own career” (Fig. 7, 8). It seems likely thathaving “realistic experiences”, “trying out lots of jobs,”
and experiencing “the joys of working” at KidZania
allowed the children to enjoy a “class focused on
thinking about one’s own career” as a meaningfullearning opportunity in elementary or junior highschool［1］. According to one study, when thinking
about their future academic path, the third mostfrequent point of concern or unease for junior highschool students was “lack of motivation to learn”［2］.
It would seem particularly helpful for junior highschool students to be able to enjoy a “class focusedon thinking about one’s own career.”(Fig. 9, 10). Of particular note, almost half of the
respondents who first visited KidZania at a young ageof 3-6 responded to whether they were interested in
how society works when they were in elementary or
junior high school with “very much so.” This could be
because they had always been curious about
everything since a very young age, or they might havebeen taken to KidZania because they seemed curious
about society and working, or perhaps they became
curious as a result of visiting KidZania. Unfortunately,
it’s unclear whether the interest came before or after,
but we can see that people who had never been to
KidZania demonstrated lower interest in society andworking. At the very least, this suggests that KidZania
serves to cultivate interest in questions about what itmeans to work and how society works.

2.4 F rom the Eyes of KidZanians: Work-relatedExperiences in Elementary and Junior High School Age

2.3 KidZanians Interested in Working, How Society Works
These KidZanians who enjoyed having a “classfocused on thinking about one’s own career” inelementary or junior high school were also interested
in working and how society works even at that time

Fig. 10. As an elementary/junior high school student,
were you interested in working?

Fig. 9. As an elementary/junior high school student,
were you interested in how society works?
47.5%

33.0%

10-12yo

22.7%

13yo+

43.6%

35.6%

39.2%

Never visited 5.4% 21.0%
KidZania

41.8%

0

25%

Very much so

50%
Somewhat

16.0% 7.4%

14.4%

27.3%

19.0%

13.9%

75%

100%

7-9yo

16.0%

10-12yo

18.9%

33.3%

33.3%

14.4%

13yo+

15.2%

38.0%

30.4%

16.5%

0

Not at all

14.9% 10.9%

49.5%

52.1%

Never visited 6.8% 19.4%
KidZania

31.8%

Not really

24.8%

25%

Very much so

50%
Somewhat

33.4%

75%
Not really100%
Not at all[1] Caution may be required when interpreting the results of Fig. 7. Notice the disproportionately large percentage of people
who first visited KidZania at the age of 13+ and answered “very much so.” It’s possible that enjoying a “class focused on
thinking about one’s own career” in elementary school was the reason they came to KidZania.
[2] “First Report on Comprehensive Research on Career Education”, Guidance and Counseling Research Center, National Institute for Educational Policy Research (2020), p. 151

11

27.7%

10-12yo

25.8%

13yo+

55.3%

45.5%

34.2%

12.2%

5.9%

11.2%

5.9%

3.8%

20.3%

40.6%

8.9%

26.6%

25%

9.9%

25.0%

36.7%

20.6%

50%

75%
No

Yes

Very much so

100%

Not at all

Fig. 12. Do you think it helps with picking a future career?
3-6yo

28.7%

7-9yo

49.5%

26.6%

10-12yo

9.6%

48.5%

31.6%

Never visited
KidZania

17.8%

57.4%

23.5%

13yo+

22.7%

43.0%

11.4%

24.8%

25%

50%
Very much so

Yes

4.0%

6.4%

5.3%

16.5%

44.6%

0

8.0%

23.9%

40.4%

7-9yo

53.5%

0

8.9%

19.2%

75%
No

100%

Not at all o you think it’s important to be able to experience a job of your own choosing at a facility where
Fig. 13. D
you learn about and experience jobs?

Age at ﬁrst visit

27.8%

3-6yo

9.9%

Age at ﬁrst visit

Age at ﬁrst visit

7-9yo

3.0%

39.6%

30.7%

Never visited
KidZania

Age at ﬁrst visit

So far, we’ve seen that KidZanians enjoyed having
a “class focused on thinking about one’s own career”
and were interested in working and how society
works when they were in elementary or junior highschool. When those KidZanians reflect back on thattime, how do they presently feel about “having workrelated experiences in elementary and junior highschool age”?
KidZanians clearly feel that having work-related
experiences in elementary and junior high school age

3-6yo

Age at ﬁrst visit

KidZania's Key Points 3 (Section 2.2)
・KidZanian alumni more clearly remember whether they underwent career education in elementary and junior high school.
・KidZanians exhibited a greater tendency to enjoy career-related classes!

3-6yo

Fig. 11. Do you think experiencing a job could make someone interested in that job?

KidZania's Key Points 4 (Section 2.3)
・KidZanian alumni were interested in how society
works when they were elementary and juniorhigh school students!

KidZanians responded that they think that workrelated experiences in elementary and junior highschool age generate interest in those jobs and are
helpful in selecting a future career is significant since
it suggests they feel this way because of theirexperiences.
KidZanians also think it’s important to be able toexperience a job of your own choosing in classes andat facilities where you learn about and experiencejobs (Fig. 13). Career refers to “the progression of
one’s life and the ongoing process of discovering theis meaningful (Fig. 11, 12). They think that work-related
experiences in elementary and junior high school
generate interest in those jobs and are helpful inselecting a future career. It’s important to notice that
KidZanians regard these questions more positively
than people who have never been to KidZania. Since
it’s not necessarily common to end up doing that job
you wanted to do when you were a young child,some people probably think that work-related
experiences as a child are not important. However, as
we saw in the interviews (p. 11), in order to carve out
one’s own career path, it’s also important to “know”
the “reality” of the situation.
As a survey of people in their 20s who have justbegun to develop their careers, the fact that more

3-6yo

32.7%

51.5%

11.9%

4.0%

7-9yo

32.4%

51.6%

11.2%

4.8%

10-12yo

29.5%

13yo+

43.9%

21.2%

40.5%

Never visited
KidZania

38.0%

13.6%

0

49.8%

11.4%

17.6%

25%

50%
Very much so

12

Yes

75%
No

Not at all

5.3%

10.1%

19.0%

100%

value of the various roles one plays in life andexploring how to relate to those roles.”［1］ In otherwords, a career is something that we ourselves
choose and give meaning to. Perhaps it is because
KidZanians choose an establishment on their own
and perform that job that the alumni feel it isimportant to accumulate such experience beginningwhen one is in elementary or junior high school.

Then, we added up the points for all nine questions.
Looking at the results (Fig. 14), we see that people
who visited KidZania (purple) had a slightly higherscore (mean) than people who had not visited(orange) (visited: 28.9 points, never visited: 27.8
points)［3］. That’s a difference of around one point,
which means out of nine questions, one answer might
have changed from “agree” to “strongly agree,” forexample.
Let’s dig a little bit deeper. Does the number ofvisits to KidZania make any difference? Is there adifference between those who visited once and those
who visited multiple times? The results of our analysis(Fig. 15) suggest that it is important to have visited
KidZania multiple times. The more a group had
visited KidZania, the more their career autonomy
score (mean) increased: 27.8 for those who had
never visited, 28.1 for those who had visited once,
29.1 for those who had visited 2-5 times, and 30.6 forthose who had visited 6 or more times［4］.

KidZania's Key Points 5 (Section 2.4)
・KidZanian alumni think work-related
experiences in elementary and junior highschool are important.
・Choosing one’s own experience is important.

3. Effect of KidZania Experience which
stands even after a long time
As we’ve seen, when KidZanians reflect back on
the past, they recall having realistic job experiences,
enjoying learning and thinking about their own
careers not only at KidZania but also at school, andbeing interested in working and society. Even whenreflecting from their present perspective, KidZanians
recognize the value of having work-related experiencesin elementary and junior high school age.
Now we begin to wonder if an experience of visiting
KidZania in the past continues to have an effect, evenafter one stops going. Of course, as mentioned
above, a career is an ongoing process, so experiences
had after leaving KidZania likely have a stronger
effect on one’s current situation. However, if a careeris truly an ongoing process, then perhaps experiencesfrom one’s time in elementary and junior high school
continue to have influence as the foundation of one’s
career.
To explore this topic, we included nine questions［2］about present career autonomy in the questionnaire.
Career autonomy refers to taking responsibility anddetermining the path of one’s career of one’s own
volition. The status of a person’s career autonomy
becomes clear, depending on trends in the how thequestions are answered. In this section of the survey,
we provided five possible answers, ranging from“strongly agree” to “strongly disagree,” with eachanswer being worth progressively more points,
starting at one point and progressing to five points.

90
people60
people060people60
people90people20 points

30 points

Visited KidZania

40 points

27.8 points

60
people090people60
people020 points
30 points
40 points
Never visited KidZania
90
people

The group of people who had visited
KidZania included people with low career
autonomy, and the group of people who had
never visited KidZania included people withhigh career autonomy. However, career
autonomy is expected to be higher, on
average, for those who had visited KidZania,
at a point some time after leaving.

[3] “Future of Career Education and Vocational Education in Schools (Report)”, Central Council for Education (Jan. 2011)[4] Tsuneo Sakayanagi, “Examination of Reliability and Validity of Adult Career Maturity Scales(ACMS)”, The Bulletin of Aichi
University of Education (Educational Science) No. 48 (1999), pp. 115-122[5] Confirmed to be statistically significant using Welch’s t-test (t = 4.4146, df = 984.58, p-value < 0.0001).
[6] Multiple comparison testing (using the Bonferroni method) showed a statistically significant difference between the scoresof those who visited KidZania once and those who visited 2-5 times, but the difference between those who hadn’t visitedand those who had visited once, and between those who had visited 2-5 times and those who had visited 6 times or more
was not statistically significant. It would seem that visiting not just once, but multiple times is key. We also performed
multiple regression analysis. If you are interested in those results, see page 15.

13times exhibit higher career autonomy
・While the difference in scores for both was small, it’ssignificant that the effects of KidZania experiences
can be confirmed years afterward

30.6 points

20 points
30 points
40 points
Visited KidZania (6+ times)

29.1 points

20 points
30 points
40 points
Visited KidZania (2-5 times)

28.1 points

30
people30
people0than those who have never visited
・Among KidZanian alumni, those who visited multiple

30
people30
people0・KidZanian alumni exhibit slightly higher career autonomy

30
people90people28.9 points

KidZania's Key Points 6 (Section 3)

Fig. 15. C areer autonomy scale total scores(by number of visits)

Fig. 14. Career autonomy scale total scores(experience visiting KidZania)
90
peopletackling jobs repeatedly at a young age is manifestingas autonomy, supporting KidZanians years later into
adulthood.

Considering the likelihood of the events of a single
day producing an effect lasting several years or even
decades into the future, it doesn’t seem so odd thatthe effect of a single visit to KidZania would be minor.
On the contrary, we should probably be surprisedthat multiple visits to KidZania—and only a handful,at that—can have a measurable, though moderate,
impact on career autonomy years later, and that
effect increases further when the number of visitsrises to six or more. Respondent A called KidZania a“place where you can pursue your dreams.” Perhaps

60
people20 points
30 points
40 points
Visited KidZania (1 time)

27.8 points

30
people020 points
30 points
40 points
Never visited KidZania

Career autonomy was confirmed to behigher, on average, for people who had
visited KidZania, at some point in time after
leaving, and the more they had visited
KidZania, the higher we can expect it to be.
In other words, the more times someone
visited KidZania, the more likely that person
is to be taking responsibility and determining
the path of their career of their own volition.

14

Discussion
4. Survey Summary

We have now confirmed the relationship between
number of KidZania visits and career autonomy.
However, there are likely other factors, aside from
KidZania experiences, also affecting career autonomy.
Is it possible to account for and remove the influenceof these other factors to determine the influence of
KidZania experiences only? Using multiple regression
analysis, we identified other influencing factors basedon survey data and then attempted to determine thedifference in career autonomy scores resulting from
KidZania experiences alone, to the extent possible(Table 1). This resulted in a score difference evensmaller than that seen in figure 15, but the difference
was still statistically significant for 2-5 visits and 6 ormore visits. We have to be careful about how weinterpret these results since the reason respondents
visited multiple times may have been because they
enjoyed their KidZania experiences, but the datasuggests a high likelihood that multiple KidZania
visits increases career autonomy in adulthood.
(Text by Shinji Tateishi, University of Tsukuba)This survey has painted a picture of former
KidZanians who, when in elementary and junior highschool, had realistic job experiences, got to try out
lots of jobs, and experienced the joys of working.
They also enjoyed learning and thinking about theirown careers, not only at KidZania but also at school,
and were interested in working and how society
works. Looking back now, these KidZania alumni
recognize the value of having had work-related
experiences during that time. We have also discoveredthat visiting KidZania multiple times results in higher
career autonomy even years later, after “graduating”
from KidZania.
○Career Autonomy Scale and Statistical Analysis Results
Career autonomy scale was determined using thefollowing nine questions (Sakayanagi, 1999):
1. I have autonomy in my working life.
2. I decide what kind of working life I will lead, of
my own volition.
3. I don’t mind adjusting my working life according
to the surrounding conditions.
4. I take responsibility for how I conduct my workinglife.
5. L ack of fulfillment in working life is mostly due tothe surrounding environment.
6. W
 hether my working life is fulfilling is my
responsibility and depends on my own volition.
7. I often feel bored while working.
8. If I face difficult problems in my working life, I
take the initiative to solve them in my own way.
9. I want to continue growing and evolving as aresult of my working life.

Times visited0
1 time2-5 times
6+ times
GenderMale
FemaleOther
Prefer not to answer
Age
Experience changing jobs
Changed jobs multiple times
Changed jobs once
Never changed jobs but considering it
Never changed jobs and not considering it

95% CI'

—
0.29
0.80
1.67

—
-0.39, 0.97
0.15, 1.44
0.45, 2.90

0.41
0.015
0.007

—
-0.79
1.46
-1.47
-0.07

—
-1.30, -0.29-1.71, 4.63
-3.68, 0.73
-0.18, 0.04

0.002
0.36
0.19
0.20

—
-0.31
-1.10
-0.45

—
-1.02, 0.39
-1.89, -0.32-1.20, 0.30

0.38
0.006
0.24

outlining the changes that vocational andsocial experiences bring to children in theform of surveys and research. In the meantime,
the world has become increasingly globalized
and the environments surrounding children
have undergone significant changes.
What is needed to survive during such times of drastic change is
For this reason, this year's white paper includes a survey report on

The questionnaire used in the survey(in Japanese) can be accessed"career autonomy.” The survey was conducted for members of theusing the QR code below.

KidZania alumni. We hope that these alumni will go on to serve asrole models and bring inspiration to current and even future
KidZanians for facing the world with a sense of curiosity.
As a facility operating with the concept of "Edutainment," we have

The results of this survey were presented on October 29,
2023 at the 45th Conference of Japanese Society for theprovided intensive experiences that can be viewed as a form of

Study of Career Educationinternship for children. We believe that publishing these experiencesin the form of a report titled“Long-Term Effects of Timein the form of a research white paper that contributes to theat an Occupational

development of future generations is part of our mission, and a way

Experience Facility on

to reward our guests, educators, and partner companies for their

Table 1. Results of multiple regression analysis
BetaThis is the fifth edition of our white paper

to have one’s own core and take ownership of one’s own career.

○About the questionnaire:

Career Self-Awareness.”

Variable

In Closing

P-value

Variable

Education
High school graduate
Vocational school graduate
Junior/technical college graduate
Four-year university graduate
Graduate school graduate
Other
Designation of elementary school
PublicNational
Private
Other
Junior high school experiences: Workplace experiences, internships
Junior high school experiences: Classes exploring jobs and careers
Junior high school experiences: Classes featuring locals and professionals talking about work
Junior high school experiences: Vocational interest and aptitude testing
Junior high school experiences: Testing to help understand one’s own personality traits
Junior high school experiences: Experiential learning at occupationaland social experience facilities (KidZania, etc.)

support of KidZania.

Beta

95% CI'

P-value

—
-0.19
1.21
0.83
2.19
-0.27

—
-1.03, 0.64
0.31, 2.11
0.20, 1.47
0.75, 3.63
-2.31, 1.77

0.65
0.008
0.010
0.003
0.80

Dr. Shinji Tateishi of the Office of Management for Teaching and

—
-0.29
-0.15
0.04
0.99

—
-1.24, 0.65
-0.95, 0.66
-1.32, 1.39
0.48, 1.51

0.55
0.72
0.96
<0.001

Einosuke Sumitani, CEO

Learning at the University of Tsukuba for his cooperation in thissurvey and research.
KCJ GROUP INC.

0.014
0.98
0.32

0.71
0.01
0.38

0.14, 1.27
-0.60, 0.62
-0.36, 1.12
-0.77, 0.77

>0.99

0.61

-0.24, 1.46

0.16

0.00

In closing, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to'CI = Confidence Interval
R2 = 0.097; Adjusted R2 = 0.074; Sigma = 3.89; Stat = 4.34; P-value = <0.001; df = 24; Log-likelihood = -2,764; AIC = 5,580; BIC = 5,708; Deviance = 14,739; Residual df = 975; No. Obs. = 1,000

15

16Published by KCJ GROUP INC. 3F Pier West Square, 1-11-8, Tsukuda, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Inquiries: KCJ GROUP INC. Marketing Division E-mail: research@kidzania.jp
Published Dec. 2023©&®KidZania 2023／© KCJ GROUP