This study set out to investigate the relations between the types of family system perceived by underachievers and their self-determination ability by analyzing the latter according to the former, to identify the factors affecting their self-determina...
This study set out to investigate the relations between the types of family system perceived by underachievers and their self-determination ability by analyzing the latter according to the former, to identify the factors affecting their self-determination ability, and to provide some basic data for developing a program to help them improve the family functions and self-determination ability.
The subjects were 182 underachieving students attending several elementary schools located in Daegu and surveyed from June to September 2004. The research tools included the FACESIII to measure the family functions and the self-determination ability inventory. The raw data from the inventories were treated with the SPSS10.0 program for mean(M) and standard deviation(SD) and F-tested for each variable. The results went through statistical treatment processes.
The major findings of this study were as follows:
1. Self-determination ability of underachiever is high as the family formes ideal family system. That is, the underachievers belonging to a balanced family showed a higher level of self-determination ability, while those from an extreme family scored the lowest points in the self-determination ability. Better family functions seem to lead to a higher level of self-determination ability.
2. Self-determination ability of underachiever is high as the family cohesion is high. Those underachievers from a very connected family had a high level of self-determination ability, while those from a disengaged family were placed at the lowest point in the self-determination ability, which implied that more family cohesion resulted in a higher level of self-determination ability.
3. Self-determination ability of underachiever is high as the family adaptability is high. Those children from a very flexible family revealed the highest level of self-determination ability, while those from a rigid family the lowest. The more family adaptability they had, the higher level of self-determination ability they showed.
However, the study had some limits. The following aspects should be considered in future research:
1. Clear and simple evaluation tools should be developed on a ongoing basis so that a better overall understanding of effective family functions and self-determination ability can be attained beyond the old partial applications.
2. The study only covered the relations between the types of family system and underachieving kids' self-determination ability. More research efforts should be made on more diverse variables such as family environment variables.
3. Future study needs to be planned in a more consistent and comprehensive manner to overcome the limitations of the study that focused on only the children in a certain region. An integrated, long-term program is necessary for underachieving kids to enhance the family functions and self-determination ability. Those more consistent and diversified researches will serve as the base upon which to establish a systematic curriculum regarding family functions and self-determination ability in the near future.