Classification of Latent Class Transition Types of Elementary Student Competencies and Exploration of Influencing Factors

Objectives The study, in order to understand how elementary school student competencies appear and strengthen competency-based education, we confirmed the classification of latent classes in the 4th and 5th grades of elementary school, identified the patterns of student competency transition, and examined the impact of individual, family, and school-related factors on each latent class. Methods For this purpose, Latent Profile Analysis and Latent Transition Analysis were conducted, utilizing data from the first year (2021) and the second year (2022) of panel data for 4th graders (total sample size of 3,671) from the Gyeongnam Education Longitudinal Study Information collected by the Gyeongsangnam-do Office of Education. Results In the 4th grade of elementary school, the latent class of student competency was classified into three groups: ‘low competency,’ ‘medium competency,’ and ‘high competency.’ In the 5th grade of elementary school, the latent class of student competency was classified into two groups: ‘low competency’ and ‘high competency.’ It was confirmed that some of the low competency group and the medium competency group in the 4th grade of elementary school were integrated into the low-competency group in the 5th grade, and that some of the medium competency group and the high-competency group in the 4th grade of elementary school were integrated into the high competency group in the 5th grade. Conclusions Factors significantly influencing the transition from the 4th-grade student competency latent class to that of the 5th grade were found to be self-directed learning, communication with parents, parental academic support, attitude towards assessment, and satisfaction with remote learning. Based on the key research results influencing student competency, educational policy implications for enhancing student competency were derived and discussed.