Analysis of the Mediating Effect of Social and Emotional Skills on Adult Competencies in Korean Higher Education

This study empirically examined the impact of higher education attainment on adult competencies using Korean data from Cycle 2 of the OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) and the mediating role of Social and Emotional Skills (SES) in this relationship.</br>Using Structural Equation Model(SEM) with 6,044 respondents on SES indicators, the initial analysis showed that higher education attainment (college graduates or higher = 1) had a strong and statistically significant positive direct effect on adult competencies (estimate = 34.310) and a negative indirect effect via SES (estimate = -0.463), supporting a partial mediation pattern.</br>Second, multiple-group analyses were conducted with the same structural model by splitting the sample into younger adults (under 34 years old) and older adults (over 50 years old). Among younger adults, the indirect effect of higher education on adult competencies through SES was not statistically significant, and the direct effect (estimate = 9.785) was approximately 3.4 times smaller than that observed for older adults. Conversely, among adults aged 50-65, the direct effect of higher education on adult competencies was both large and statistically significant (estimate = 33.320), and the indirect effect via SES was also significantly positive (estimate = 0.667), further confirming partial mediation in this age cohort.</br>Drawing on these results, the study highlights the importance of a liberal arts curriculum based on common competencies to enable learners to pursue learning throughout their life cycle, utilizing their SES as a foundational resource for continued competency development, even after the cessation of formal schooling.