Journal of East China Normal University(Educational Sciences) ›› 2024, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (5): 72-82.doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2024.05.004

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How School Education Contributes to the Social and Emotional Development of Students: A Study Based on Cluster Analysis

Jing Zhang1, Jie Zheng2, Haili Cui3, Lijun Zhang1   

  1. 1. Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
    2. Institute of Vocational & Adult Education, Faculty of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
    3. School of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
  • Online:2024-05-01 Published:2024-04-12

Abstract:

This study focuses on five key school influencing factors perceived by students: student-classmate relationship, student-teacher relationship, teacher feedback, extra-curricular activities, and sense of belonging at school, and investigates how they collectively impact the social and emotional skills development of students. Utilizing data from the OECD's SSES2023 China survey, which includes a total of 7,648 students aged 10 and 15, we conducted a cluster analysis with the aforementioned five influencing factors as variables. By employing variance analysis and post-hoc tests, we uncovered differences in social and emotional competencies among student groups categorized by these factors. The study identifies five student clusters based on the perceived five school variables: School Satisfaction Group (students scoring high on all five school influencing factors), Social Advantage Group (students scoring high on student-classmate relationship, student-teacher relationship, and student-classmate relationship, student-teacher relationship), Diverse Interest Group (students scoring highest on extra-curricular activities), Feedback Proficient Group (students scoring high on teacher feedback), and School Support Group (students scoring lowest on all five school influencing factors). Among these, students in the School Satisfaction Group demonstrate the most outstanding performance in social and emotional skills, while the School Support Group exhibits the weakest performance. Furthermore, the Social Advantage Group, Diverse Interest Group, and Feedback Proficient Group show variations across different age groups and skill levels. This study not only provides robust data support for schools to conduct social and emotional skills but also offers empirical evidence for understanding the comprehensive influence of school factors on students' social and emotional skills development. It is of significant importance for guiding schools to formulate targeted teaching strategies and intervention measures, thus promoting students’ comprehensive and healthy development.

Key words: social and emotional skills, school influencing factors, cluster analysis