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Teacher and peer relationships and life satisfaction: Mediating the role of student resilience in south korean elementary schools

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 November 2020

Minyoung Lee
Affiliation:
1Brain and Motivation Research Institute (bMRI), Korea University, Seoul, South Korea
Sang Min Lee*
Affiliation:
2Department of Education, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea
*
*Address for correspondence: Sang Min Lee, Department of Education, Korea University, Anam-Dong, Sungbuk-Gu, Seoul, South Korea. Email leesang@korea.ac.kr
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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between life satisfaction and positive student-teacher and peer relationships. Further, we aimed to test the mediating effects of student resilience in a multilevel model. The data were collected from elementary students in South Korea. To examine the mediating effects of student resilience, multilevel structural equation modelling was conducted. The results indicated that schools with positive student-teacher relationships correlated with higher life satisfaction for children. This relationship was fully mediated by student resilience. However, the mediating effects of student resilience in the relationship between peer relationships and life satisfaction was found to be at the individual level rather than by school climate. Practical implications on ways to improve students’ life satisfaction within the school and classroom settings are discussed.

Type
Original Article
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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