This study is to find out the impacts of ecological variables on adjustment to early childhood educational institution of children from multi-cultural families. Independent variables were consisted of organism variables(language ability, temperament, ...
This study is to find out the impacts of ecological variables on adjustment to early childhood educational institution of children from multi-cultural families. Independent variables were consisted of organism variables(language ability, temperament, gender and age), microsystem variables(mother's proficiency in Korean, parenting style, mother-child relationship, peer relationship, teacher-child relationship, teacher's multi-cultural perspective), mesosystem variable(mother-teacher relationship), and exosystem variable(social supporting of multi-cultural mother).
The subjects were 126 children from the multi-cultural families attending the early childhood institutions located in Daegu and Gyeungbuk Province as well as their mothers and teachers were selected as subjects. Preschool Adjustment Questionnaire and ecological variables were measured with questionnaire based on several studies. The data were analyzed by frequency, percentage, mean, cronbach's α, correlation, multiple regression, and hierarchical regression.
The major findings were as follows :
First, multi-cultural children's emotional adjustment and peer adjustment to early childhood institutions were affected by language ability and temperament of organism variables.
Second, multi-cultural children's emotional adjustment to early childhood institutions was affected by parent style, peer relationships(leadership in peer relationship) and teacher-children relationships(dependency) of microsystem variables.
Third, multi-cultural children's peer adjustment to early childhood institutions was affected by peer relationships(sociability and prosocial behavior), teacher-child relationship(intimacy) of microsystem variables.
Fourth, multi-cultural children's daily adjustment to early childhood institutions was affected by peer relationship(prosocial behavior), teacher-child relationship(intimacy) of microsystem variables.
Fifth, multi-cultural children's adjustment to early childhood institutions was affected by mother-teacher relationships of microsystem variables.
Sixth, multi-cultural children's adjustment to early childhood institutions was affected by social supports of exosystem variables.
Results showed significant effects within each ecological level.
To sum up, social supports variables have great effect on emotional adjustment than the other variables. Prosocial behavior variables have great effect on peers adjustment and daily adjustment.
Finally, the results of this study imply that ecological system approach could be a desirable model for supporting the multi-cultural children's adjustment to early childhood institution.