Effects of South Korea’s educational welfare priority project on elementary- and middle-school students’ changes in self-esteem and adaptation to school life

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate which factors have influenced changes in the self-esteem and adaptation to school life of students participating in South Korea’s Educational Welfare Priority project. To that end, we analyzed 3-year panel data of 426 students from 47 elementary schools and 377 students from 41 middle schools using three-level modeling. Results indicated that changes in student-level variables (e.g., friendships, school perception, and compliance with the rules of school life) positively influenced changes in the self-esteem of both students, whereas changes in teacher-student relations positively influenced changes in elementary-school students’ self-esteem only. By contrast, changes in school-level variables did not influence changes in students’ self-esteem. Additionally, changes in the student-level variables of friendships and school perception positively affected changes in adaptation to school life of both students. However, among school-level variables, whereas an increase in teachers’ participation in the program positively influenced changes in the adaptation to school life of middle-school students only, increased cooperation between teachers and educational welfare workers negatively influenced those changes. These results pose considerable implications for educational welfare programs and research that promote the affective development of socioeconomically disadvantaged students.