What should preschool families and compulsory education families place importance on in terms of the living environment conditions related to child-rearing?

Abstract

In modern Japan, parents are most likely to pay attention to their children’s educational environment and changes during the first semester of their child’s first year of school (nursery school, kindergarten) and second semester (elementary and junior high school). However, it has not been adequately discussed. Therefore, the aim was to clarify the difference in perception of the compatibility between the residential environment and the educational environment before and after school. The analysis methods applied the Subject Limit method, and a total of 634 people in both groups, both families with one child, were surveyed on the web targeting mothers nationwide.

Categorical factor analysis (cFA), Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) by SPSS_28, Multiple Group Structural Equation Modeling (MGSEM) was used to create an SEM model of residence selection. The cFA has extracted three characteristics: convenience, educational support environment, learning environment, entertainment environment, and proximity to acquaintances and relatives. The admissible fit was shown in a model using these as latent variables. In addition, MGSEM was performed to compare the differences before and after schooling. The results showed that the degree of influence on both groups differed from the impact of convenience, the educational support environment, and the learning environment on the importance of public transportation convenience. The path of urban attractiveness and convenience and enthusiasm in education and childcare settings has significantly increased the standardization coefficient at the compulsory education stage, which changes the opportunities and objectives for parents to engage in their children’s activities as the child grows. It is thought that this is because the heavy point changes.