School adaptation and its correlates in Lao adolescents

With the new focus of education reform in Laos on the universalization of secondary education, demands for secondary education have increased. As the number of new students increases, it is necessary to understand current levels of students’ school adaptation and the factors affecting school adaptation. This study explored school adaptation and its associations with ego-resilience, self-efficacy, perceived health status, and relationships with parents in Lao adolescents. This descriptive correlational and cross-sectional survey design included 916 adolescent students from four secondary schools randomly selected in Vientiane, Laos. Data were analyzed using t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson's correlations, and hierarchical multiple regression. 32%, 13.3%, 16.5%, and 24.3% of the variance in four subdomains of school adaptation including adaptation to classes, relationships with teachers, relationships with friends, and adaptation to school life, respectively were explained by ego-resilience, self-efficacy, and relationships with parents. Self-efficacy and ego-resilience were shown as the important factors associated with adaptation in adolescent students. Accordingly, strategies to reinforce self-efficacy and ego-resilience should be developed and implemented at governmental and school levels in Laos. This study is of great significance in that it examines factors affecting student school adaptation and provides a basis for substantial education reforms.