The Impact of Student, Family, and School-related Variables Perceived by Middle School Students on Sense of Community

Using data from the Busan Education Longitudinal Study (BELS) of the Busan Education Policy Research Institute, this study identified changes in sense of community of middle school students in the Busan area and analyzed the rate of change in sense of community and student, family, and school-related variables that influence the change To this end, this study used a total of 2,869 (1,545 male students, 53.9%, 1,324 female students, 46.1%), including the 1st data (1st year of middle school) to the 3rd data (3rd year of middle school) of the Busan Educational Longitudinal Study. The analysis methods are the latent growth model using Amos 23.0 and descriptive statistical analysis, frequency analysis, and correlation analysis using SPSS 23.0. The main research results are as follows. First, the change in sense of community of middle school students in Busan area was found to be appropriate for a nonlinear change model, and there were differences among individuals. Second, among the student-related variables, self-esteem and academic self-efficacy were found to have a positive and significant effect on the initial value of sense of community, and among the family-related variables, parent-child relationship was found to have a negative and significant effect. Among the school-related variables, school satisfaction, school adaptation, and school happiness were all found to have a positive and significant effect. Third, the variables that affect the rate of change in sense of community were self-esteem and academic self-efficacy among student-related variables, education expenses per student and parent-child relationship among family-related variables, and school adaptation and satisfaction with after-school programs among school-related variables. Based on these results, discussions were held, and the limitations of this study and suggestions for follow-up research were presented.