ERIC Number: EJ1421604
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024-Jun
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0007-0998
EISSN: EISSN-2044-8279
Linking School- and Classroom-Level Characteristics to Child Adjustment: A Representative Study of Children from Hong Kong, China
Xiaomin Li; Chun Bun Lam; Kevin Kien Hoa Chung
British Journal of Educational Psychology, v94 n2 p661-679 2024
Background: The school is one of the most salient developmental contexts for children. However, little is known about the associations linking the school environment to child adjustment in a non-Western context, not to mention the potential processes that may mediate these associations. Aims: This study examined the associations of school- and classroom-level characteristics with child adjustment and tested whether these associations were mediated by teacher-child relationship qualities. Sample: Cross-sectional data were collected on a representative sample of 1777 children (mean age = 55.14 months; 50% of them were girls) from 100 kindergartens in Hong Kong, China. Methods: Using self-reported questionnaires, teachers rated their school-level environments, their classroom chaos, their closeness and conflict with children and children's socioemotional competence and academic ability. Meanwhile, parents rated children's behavioural problems. Results: Multilevel structural equation modelling revealed that the school-level environment and classroom chaos were uniquely associated with children's socioemotional, behavioural and academic adjustment. Moreover, the associations of the school-level environment and classroom chaos with child socioemotional and academic adjustment were mediated by teacher-child closeness and conflict, whereas the associations of the school-level environment and classroom chaos with child behavioural problems were mediated by teacher-child conflict only. Conclusions: Findings indicated how school- and classroom-level characteristics may be uniquely associated with child adjustment and how teacher-child relationships may be implicated in the underlying mechanism, highlighting the potential utility of targeting school- and classroom-level environments and teacher-child relationships in promoting child development.
Descriptors: Student Adjustment, Educational Environment, Teacher Student Relationship, Foreign Countries, Children, Kindergarten, Social Emotional Learning, Academic Achievement, Child Behavior
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2191/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Kindergarten; Primary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Hong Kong
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Data File: URL: https://osf.io/bcznm/