Elementary students’ perceptions of classroom resilience-promoting factors in China and the United States

ABSTRACT

This study used ClassMaps Survey to investigate third to fifth grade elementary students’ perceptions of five relational (e.g., teacher-student relationships and peer friendships) and three individual (e.g., academic self-efficacy and behavioral self-control) resilience-promoting factors in classrooms in China and the United States. Examination of measurement equivalence indicates that the seven-factor model excluding peer aggression has acceptable strong factorial measurement equivalence. Comparison of group means revealed common strengths in teacher–student relationships, peer friendships, challenges in behavioral self-control, and peer conflict across the two cultural groups. Interventions should be built upon positive relationships and target behavioral self-control and peer conflict.

KEYWORDS:

• resilience factors
• ClassMaps Survey
• Chinese elementary students

Acknowledgments

We want to thank Dr. Beth Doll for her long-time support to this study and the companion data used in the current study. We also thank Margret Benneville for her help with this manuscript.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hong Ni

Hong Ni is an associate professor in the Psychology Department at California State University, Fresno, CA. She researches international school psychology and resilience.

Chieh Li

Chieh Li is an associate professor in the Department of Counseling and Applied Educational Psychology at North Eastern University. She writes on bicultural issues in school psychology.

Beilei Li

Beilei Li is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Education at Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China. She researches classroom environments and school-based mental health services.

Honghua Xi

Honghua Xi is an assistant professor in the Business School at Hohai University, Nanjing, China. Her research includes social psychology and human resource management.