Effect of Perception of Academic Achievement on School Adaptation of Elementary School Children: Multiple Regression Analysis

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine effects of perception of academic achievement on school adaptation. Participants were children (200 boys, 195 girls) from the 3rd to 6th grades at 2 elementary schools, including 33 children with special educational needs (30 boys, 3 girls) who were in mainstream classrooms. The instruments were an academic achievement questionnaire, a human relations questionnaire, and a school adaptation questionnaire; the latter was developed by the first author. Factor analysis indicated that the academic achievement questionnaire included 2 factors: perception of academic difficulty and perception of academic efficacy. Multiple regression analysis indicated that perception of academic efficacy and a factor of special educational needs had a significant effect on school adaptation, whereas perception of academic difficulty did not. The present results suggest that perception of academic efficacy is a very important factor in school adaptation. Children with special educational needs may not adapt well to school life. That problem should be investigated in detail in future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)