Exploring Longitudinal Change and Influences on School Adjustment in Multicultural Elementary School Students

Objectives The purpose of this study was to identify longitudinal changes in school adjustment (classroom attitudes, school climate, teacher relationships, peer relationships, and grade satisfaction) of multicultural elementary school students and to explore variables that influence these changes. Methods Multilevel growth modeling was applied to data from 2019(4th), 2020(5th), and 2021(6th) waves of the Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study (MAPS). Results First, the values of school adjustment of multicultural elementary school students decreased over time. Second, there were significant individual differences in the baseline values of school adjustment and the rate of change. Third, self-esteem, national identity, life satisfaction, bicultural acceptance attitude, acculturative stress, Korean language proficiency, parental, friend, and teacher support, and father's education were the variables that influenced the initial value of school adjustment, and teacher support was the variable that influenced the rate of change. Conclusions This study is unique in that it explored the longitudinal characteristics of school adjustment over time from fourth to sixth grade using a multilevel growth model to comprehensively discuss educational implications for multicultural elementary school students' school adjustment. In addition, based on the findings, this study provides policy implications for multicultural adolescents and makes suggestions for further research.