Article

An Investigation into the School Adjustment of Children in the First Grade of Elementary School (I)

Author

김수정,곽금주

Information

pp. 89~109 / 2010 Vol.17 No.4

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate the variables that are related to early school adjustment andto examine the direct and indirect relationships between them. The participants consisted of 118 pairs ofmothers and school teachers of 7-year old children. Family cohesion, parental efficacy, and children's socialcompetence were measured through mothers' reports and school adjustment was measured via reports fromthe school teachers of each child. Correlation, stepwise regression, and path analyses were all conducted,based on the data from both the mothers' and school teachers' reports. According to our results, mothers'parental efficacy was a significant predictor for levels of both children's social competence and schooladjustment. Moreover, a subcategory of parental efficacy, that is, their communication efficacy, was asignificant predictor of children's social competence. Additionally, discipline efficacy significantly predictedlevels of school adjustment, including its subcategories, which were defined as school life adjustment,academic performance adjustment, and peer adjustment. The results of path analysis indicated a directeffect of family cohesion on parental efficacy and also indicated that parental efficacy had a direct impacton school adjustment. Additionally, the indirect effects of family cohesion on school adjustment and socialcompetence were mediated by parental efficacy. The results from the current study demonstrated a directrelationship between mothers' parental efficacy and early school adjustment. Furthermore, mothers' parentalefficacy was found to play a mediating role by enabling family cohesion to have an indirect effect onschool adjustment.

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