Latent Profile Analysis of Middle School Students’ Career Maturity and Academic Achievement, and the Effect of Relevant Factors

Objectives The purposes of this study were to classify the latent profiles of Korean middle school students’ career maturity and academic achievement and also to explore the influence of relevant factors on the identified latent profiles. Methods For this purpose, 6,618 responses of the fifth band of the elementary 5 panel (9th grade) of Korea Education Longitudinal Study (KELS) were analyzed. The study analyzed the influence of variables such as personal characteristics, family environment, and school experience in predicting the latent profiles of middle school students' career maturity and academic achievement levels. Results The latent profiles of South Korean middle school students' career maturity and academic achievement were classified into five categories: lower career-lower academic group, upper group, middle group, lower group, and upper career-lower academic group. The forms of these profiles were found to be distinct. The verification of influencing factors revealed that gender, creativity, self-management, parental support, interaction with parents, attitude towards lessons, teachers' pressure for achievement, teacher relationships, and peer relationships all had significant impacts. Conclusions Based on these results, contemplation on the direction of middle school education in South Korea was discussed, along with academic understanding of the relationship between middle school students' career maturity and academic achievement. Additionally, implications for various support measures were also deliberated.