Predictors of Meaning in Life Using PISA 2018: A Comparison Between the United States and Korea

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session Three
  In Roundtable Session: Patterns in Policy Implementation and Student Achievement (Table 3)

Abstract

Meaning in life is important because it is related to students’ well-being. Using the Programme for International Student Assessment, we analyzed how different factors inform meaning in life among American and Korean students using multiple regression and path analyses. The findings indicated that student cooperation positively influences students’ meaning in life; however, competition did not influence students in either society. Thus, a sense of belonging in schools is important in predicting meaning in life in the United States, and female students are less likely to perceive school as contributing to their meaning in life in Korea. Thus, more support for social bonding is needed in the United States and female students in Korea to increase their self-perceived meaning in life.

Authors

• Jeongmin Ji, University of Iowa
  Presenting Author

• Seula Lee, Korean Educational Development Institute
  Non-Presenting Author