The Causal Factors Affecting Life Skills of Mathayomsuksa 3 Students in Secondary Education Service Area Office 2

Abstract

The objectives of this study were 1) to find the life skills levels of Authoritative Parenting Style , Self - concept, Attitude toward Learning and Achievement Motive of Mathayomsuksa 3 students in Secondary Education Service Area Office 2. 2) to develop and examine the consistency of a causal factors affecting life skills of Mathayomsuksa 3 students, developed by empirical data and 3) to study the influence of Authoritative Parenting Style , Self - concept, Attitude toward Learning and Achievement Motive to the life skills of Mathayomsuksa 3 students in Secondary Education Service Area Office 2. The sample was consisted of 910 students from 23,920 Mathayomsuksa 3 students, first semester of academic year 2014 in Secondary Education Service Area Office 2 using multi- stage random sampling .The study was consisted of 4 endogenous latent variables and 1 exogenous latent variables and of 24 observed variables. The research instrument was an appropriate measurement of the casual factors affecting life skills. The reliability level is between .917 - .977. Structural equation modeling was used for data analysis. The results of the study were as follows :

1) Causal factors affecting life skills of Mathayomsuksa 3 students, Secondary  Education Service Area Office 2   were as follows : Life skills at a high level ( = 2.899, S.D.= .680), Authoritative Parenting Style at a high level ( = 3.643, S.D.= .691), Self – concept at a high level (= 3.669, S.D.= .566), Attitude toward Learning at a high level  ( = 3.542, S.D.= .838) and  Achievement Motive at a high level ( = 3.669, S.D.= .621).

2) The causal model fit with the empirical data affecting life skills of Mathayomsuksa 3 students Secondary  Education Service Area Office 2, the results indicated that the adjusted model was consistent with empirical data. Goodness of fit indicators included a Chi-square test of goodness of fit =(c² = 211.968, X²/df=1.743, df =122, p =.192, RMSEA= .024, RMR= .003, GFI= .987, AGFI = .968, CFI = .998,TLI =.996)  in that way all variables showed by the empirical data and model accounted for 84 percent of variance on life skills.

3) The four latent variables having a statistically significant directly effecting on life skills were 1) Authoritative Parenting Style (β = .249)   2) Self – concept (β = .179) 3) Attitude toward Learning (β = .288) and 4) Achievement Motive  (β = .272). The three  latent variables that had an indirect impact on  life skills were 1) Authoritative Parenting Style  (β= .552) affecting through  Self – concept, Attitude toward Learning and Achievement Motive 2) Self – concept  (β= .104) affecting through  Achievement Motive and 3) Attitude toward Learning (β = .143) affecting through Achievement Motive . The variable with statistically significant effecting was Authoritative Parenting Style (β = .801).