Correlates and consequences of status and change in intellectual engagement

Abstract

Self-reports of Intellectual Engagement (IE) focus on pleasure and enjoyment of intellectual activities. IE might be causal for knowledge loaded ability constructs. Available evidence on IE is usually correlational but longitudinal studies are better suited to pursue these research questions. 112 9th grade students participated in a two year intensive longitudinal study. Students worked on educational tests for Maths and German (local language), and Working Memory Capacity tests during the longitudinal phase. Additionally we administered measures of IE and recorded school grades repeatedly. Fluid and crystallized intelligence were measured at pre- and posttest. We will report about individual differences in status and change in IE and how both are related to proximal and distal ability and achievement criteria. Overall the results show only weak relations of status and change in IE and learning outcomes. We attribute this lack of relations to missing degrees of freedom in students learning behaviour.