Junior high school students' school adjustment: From the viewpoint of a peer-relations aspect and a teaching/ guiding aspect

Abstract

The present study examined (a) whether various domains of school life could be categorized with respect to 2 aspects: a peer-relations aspect and a teaching/guiding aspect, and then, after these 2 aspects were identified, (b) differences in school adjustment among junior high school students categorized according to those aspects, and (c) relations between the 2 aspects and school adjustment. In Study 1, analysis of questionnaire data from 822 students suggested that school life domains could be divided into a peer-relations aspect ("students' relations with friends", "view of classmates and classroom atmosphere", and "relations with students in other grades") and a teaching/guiding aspect ("student-teacher relations", "academic motivation", "views of career", and "views of school rules"). Analysis of the data also suggested that when students did well on one of these aspects, that aspect supported psychological adjustment and, partially, social adjustment as well. Study 2 was a longitudinal analysis of data from 338 students who completed the same questionnaire in both the first and third trimesters of junior high. The analysis suggested that there may be a circular relation between the peer-relations aspect, the teaching/guiding aspect, and school adjustment. Specifically, not only were differences found in each aspect's influence on school adjustment, but an influence of school adjustment on the 2 aspects was also found.