2015, Vol.12, No.3

The Korean Journal of School Psychology 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 1.68

pISSN : 1738-463X / eISSN : 2734-0112
https://journal.kci.go.kr/schooljr

This study examined whether middle school boys and girls display different achievement goal orientation profiles and whether the levels of academic and psychological adjustment differ by the profile type. Six-hundred eighty students in Gr. 7 to Gr. 9 completed self-report questionnaires assessing achievement goal orientations (i.e., mastery approach, mastery avoidance, performance approach, performance avoidance), academic adjustment (i.e., academic efficacy, engagement during learning activities, academic stress), and psychological adjustment (i.e., self-esteem, depressive-anxious symptoms). First, cluster analyses yielded five achievement goal orientation clusters in each gender: among boys, mastery avoidance oriented (29.5%), success oriented (20.6%), performance avoidance oriented (20.6%), mastery approach oriented (16.6%), and disengaged (12.6%); among girls, avoidance oriented (35.7%), success oriented (23.6%), indifferent (21.2%), mastery approach oriented (14.5%), and disengaged (5.1%). Second, analyses of variance indicated differences in the levels of academic and psychological adjustment among achievement goal orientation profile types in each gender. These findings signify that some of middle school students’ achievement goal orientation profiles are common to both genders but others are gender-specific and that the levels of academic and psychological adjustment vary by the profile type. Practical implications for developing instructional and psychological interventions, limitations of this study, and suggestions for future research were discussed.

The authors examined the extent to which Berry’s four types of acculturation(integration, assimilation, separation, and marginalization) would emerge from a cluster analysis within a sample of Chinese international students living in South Korea. In addition, the authors tested if there would be any significant differences among clusters in terms of acculturative stress and adjustment to college, and if subtypes of acculturative stress would influence adjustment to college. Chinese students (N=252) from Seoul participated in the survey. Cluster analysis revealed three clusters(identified as marginalization, integration, separation), but assimilation did not emerge. Compared to the marginalized or separated group, the integrated group lived in Korea for a shorter period of time and were less likely to be fluent in Korean. The integrated group reported a lowest level, the separated group a medium level, and the marginalized group a highest level of acculturative stress. In contrast, a highest level of adjustment to college was observed among the integrated group, followed by the separated and marginalized groups. Lastly, it was found that for the marginalized group, discrimination, homesickness, and hostility negatively influenced adjustment to college, while fear for the integrated group and discrimination for the separated group negatively influenced adjustment to college. The authors discussed the implications of these results for acculturation theory and program development.

The purpose of this study was to investigate defenders’ experiences targeting defenders among school violence participants using consensual qualitative analysis method (CQR: Consensual Qualitative Research. Hill, 2011; Hill, Knox, Thompson, Williams, Hess & Ladany, 2005). The subjects of study were 10 middle school boys nominated by school teachers and peers. As a result, defenders’ experiences were finally derived 5 domains and 11 categories about defenders’ experiences at the time of action, and the impact of defenders’ helping behavior. The results of the study are summarized as follow. First, before helping behavior defenders judged that bullying behaviors of perpetrators were too much and then immediately decided to help victims. Bystanders mainly played roles of outsiders, and several of them were reinforcers and rare defenders. Before helping behavior, defenders were afraid and scared of revenge, concerning future problems of friends and thinking that violence was unjust and feeling sorry for the victims. Second, defenders’ helping behaviors brought about major changes to defenders. Helping behaviors played a critical role in the growing of defenders through feeling proud and strong beliefs that helping behaviors are the right thing. The relationship between defenders and perpetrators got worse, and the relationship between defenders and victims was unchanged. After intervention of defenders, perpetrators tried not to hurt victims anymore, and victims got along with classmates. After intervention of defenders, perpetrators stopped bullying and more peers defended victims. This study extended the overall understanding of changing process of all participants’ behaviors, by investigating defenders’ psychological experiences in the process of helping behaviors focusing cognitive and emotional process of defenders, by addressing how defenders’ helping behaviors impact with all participants doing. Also, it is important that this study provided information focused on defenders’ roles for intervention of school violence, and proposed guidance related to altruistic helping behaviors about a desirable direction for prevention of school violence.