Author(s)

HaiYing Deng^*, Sheng Huang, WeiLi Qiao

Affiliation(s)

School of Computer Science, Guangdong Agriculture Industry Business Polytechnic, Guangzhou 510507, Guangdong, China.

Corresponding Author

HaiYing Deng

ABSTRACT

College students are in a critical period for the formation of life values, and their value orientations not only shape individual developmental trajectories but also profoundly influence the construction of the broader social value system. This study, based on a questionnaire survey conducted among college students at a university in Guangzhou, systematically examines the current state of their life values. The results reveal that in the new era, college students’ life values exhibit an overall positive and progressive orientation. Most students place social responsibility and collective interests at the core of their value considerations, demonstrating strong identification with the core socialist values, an enterprising life attitude, and a keen interest in social and public affairs. However, under the combined pressures of increasing social competition and practical challenges, a minority of students display individualistic tendencies and utilitarian value preferences, with tensions emerging between ideal aspirations and realistic constraints. Further analysis indicates significant differences across demographic variables such as gender, major type, political affiliation, and parental education level in aspects of life value goals, attitudes, and evaluations, reflecting the diversity and differentiation of life values among contemporary college students. In view of these findings, the cultivation of college students’ life values requires a collaborative educational framework integrating society, schools, families, and individuals. Society should build fair and inclusive platforms for development; schools should enhance ideological and political education with humanistic care; families should strengthen intergenerational communication and serve as role models; and individuals should engage in self-reflection and practical experience to achieve the organic unity of social and self-values.

KEYWORDS

College students; Life value goals; Life value attitudes; Life value evaluation; Empirical study

CITE THIS PAPER

HaiYing Deng, Sheng Huang, WeiLi Qiao. A survey study on the current status of college students' life values. World Journal of Sociology and Law. 2025, 3(2): 15-23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.61784/wjsl3027.

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