Structural Relationships among Student Autonomy, Teacher-Student Relationships, Peer Relationships, and Democratic Citizenship: Implications for Educational Policy with a Focus on Students in the Busan Area

This study empirically analyzes the structural relationships among student autonomy, teacher-student relationships, peer relationships, and democratic citizenship, drawing on data from 494 elementary, middle, and high school students in the Busan area collected in 2025. The results of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) confirmed that student autonomy serves as a crucial antecedent factor that promotes the formation of teacher-student and peer relationships and fosters democratic citizenship across all school levels. Notably, the pathways contributing to the formation of democratic citizenship exhibited distinct developmental differences separated by school level. For elementary school students, the direct experience of participating in student autonomy exerted the most significant influence. In contrast, the mediating effect of teacher-student relationships was identified as the decisive pathway for middle school students, whereas the mediating effect of peer relationships was paramount for high school students. These findings reflect the “Ecological Transition” of adolescence and suggest that the influence of student autonomy matures from direct experience toward an internalization process mediated by social relationships as students advance in grade level. Consequently, this study argues against the uniform application of democratic citizenship education policies. Instead, it recommends a tailored approach aligned with specific school levels: expanding opportunities for autonomous activities in elementary schools, strengthening teachers' capacity for autonomy support in middle schools, and fostering a collaborative peer culture in high schools.