Course experiences and academic engagement among students in Chinese gifted and talented education programmes

Scholars of academic success in higher education in South Africa struggle to find an integrated framework that can explain the interplay between heterogeneous elements that combine in dynamic ways to influence the academic success of students. Language of teaching and learning is indicated as an important element in academic success in higher education. In South Africa, students are multilingual and this is often ignored or perceived as a hindrance to academic success. Conversely, there are studies that have found a positive relationship between bi- and multilingualism and cognitive development during the past 40 years. The aim of this article is to view multilingualism and academic success in higher education in South Africa from a complex systems approach. It is argued that a complex systems approach provides an integrated framework for studies of multilingualism and academic success in higher education in South Africa.

This review paper examines the relationships among teacher autonomy support, self-efficacy, and the five factors of student engagement (affective engagement: liking for learning and liking for school; behavioral engagement: effort and persistence, and extracurricular activities; and cognitive engagement), with a focus on first-year undergraduate students. Findings suggest that autonomy-supportive teaching practices enhance student engagement across these dimensions. Despite strong evidence linking these constructs, limited research has examined the mechanisms underlying this relationship, particularly in the Philippine setting and especially among first-year undergraduate students transitioning from high school to higher education. Studies consistently show that self-efficacy beliefs also promote student engagement. This review highlights the necessity of integrative research to examine the mediating role of self-efficacy in the relationship between teacher autonomy support and the five factors of student engagement. Such insights may inform institutional policies and instructional practices aimed at promoting student engagement and academic success in higher education.

Student Engagement and Language Learning: What, Why, and How?

Learning engagement is a multifactorial paradigm that forecasts content achievement. Yet, learning engagement is rarely assessed in conjunction with mathematics. Therefore, this study explored a survey of learning engagement as a predictor of students’ performance in mathematics. A stratified random sampling technique was deployed to choose a sample of 1200 senior secondary school students from 40 senior secondary schools across the six education districts of Lagos state in Nigeria. A valid and reliable Mathematics Engagement Questionnaire (MEQ, Cronbach alpha=0.81) was deployed in collecting primary data related to learning engagement while secondary data related to end-of-year examination grades were collected from school records and were used to measure performance in mathematics. The results showed that there were weighty associations among behavioural, affective, cognitive engagement, and performance in mathematics. In addition, affective engagement was the greatest contributor to variance in performance in mathematics (β=0.935, p<0.001), and this was trailed by behavioural engagement (β=0.722, p<0.001), and the least contributor to performance in mathematics was cognitive engagement (β=-0.521, p<0.01). It is the suggestion of this study that stakeholders in mathematics education should articulate policies and curricula that allow the development of cognitive, behavioral and affective engagement in order to increase and sustain students’ performance in mathematics.

Background Learning engagement serves as a pivotal factor in predicting academic achievement and learning quality, proving particularly crucial in language classrooms emphasising interactive participation. Nevertheless, passive learning and low engagement remain prevalent challenges within traditional secondary Chinese language classrooms. Few studies, however, have systematically examined how structured emotionally supportive teaching interventions grounded in self-determination theory influence multidimensional learning engagement within specific subject contexts. This study aims to investigate the promotional effects of a targeted Emotionally Supportive Teaching (EST) programme on students' behavioural, affective, and cognitive engagement within secondary Chinese language classrooms. Methods Participants in the experiment were drawn from two comparable state secondary schools, comprising 240 Year 8 pupils and six Chinese language teachers. The experimental group (120 pupils and three teachers) received 12 weeks of emotion-supportive teaching training and classroom implementation. Key training components included recognising and responding to pupils' emotional cues, employing teaching language that fosters autonomy, and cultivating collaborative and emotionally safe classroom discussion environments. The control group (120 students, 3 teachers) maintained conventional teaching practices. Student learning engagement was measured using the Classroom Engagement Scale, comprising three sub-dimensions: behavioural engagement, affective engagement, and cognitive engagement. Data were collected pre- and post-intervention. A 2 × 2 mixed-design analysis of variance examined group × time interaction effects across engagement dimensions. Results Experimental findings indicate that emotional support observation scores in the experimental group's classroom significantly increased in the post-test (p<.001). The experimental group demonstrated significant improvements across all participation dimensions from pre-test to post-test (all p<.001), whereas the control group showed no significant changes. The largest effect size was observed for affective participation (ΔM = 1.06), followed by cognitive participation (ΔM = 0.88) and behavioural participation (ΔM = 0.87). Discussion Research indicates that structured, emotionally supportive teaching interventions significantly enhance behavioural, affective, and cognitive engagement among secondary school Chinese language learners. The most pronounced effect was observed in affective engagement, suggesting that students' emotional connection to the learning environment may be particularly responsive to teachers' emotional support. Future research may explore potential moderating factors such as class size or students' initial motivation levels, whilst analysing which specific components of the intervention prove most critical for different engagement outcomes across diverse cultural and educational contexts.

Secondary school students' engagement profiles and their relationship with academic adjustment and achievement in university

The aim of this study was to examine the associations between learning support, student engagement and academic achievement among adolescents. We also examined the extent to which affective, behavioural and cognitive engagement play a mediating role in students’ perceived learning support from parents, teachers and peers, and contribute to their academic achievement. Malaysian adolescents (aged 12–17 years, N = 2359) completed a self-administered questionnaire based on an adapted version of the Student Engagement And Learning Support Scale. Item and factor analyses were performed to ensure appropriate psychometric properties of the scales. Pearson correlation analysis identified the relationship between variables and structural equation modelling was conducted to identify the role of student engagement as a mediator between learning support and academic achievement. The study provides empirical support for the hypothesis that perceptions of learning support influence adolescents’ affective, behavioural and cognitive engagement in school in different ways, which in turn influences their academic achievement. Cognitive engagement seemed to be the best predictor of academic achievement and the strongest mediator for all three types of learning support. Behavioural engagement was negatively associated with academic achievement, and affective engagement did not have a direct relationship with academic achievement, although it contributed indirectly through cognitive and behavioural engagement. The results of this study provide a basis for policy makers to initiate prevention and intervention programs for increasing the quality of parent–child, teacher–student and peer–peer relationships which ultimately could lead to improved academic competence and outcomes.

This study dealt with the influence of Teaching Strategies and Teacher’s Self-Concept to Students’ Engagement in learning among High School Teachers in Mawab, Davao de Oro. The primary goal of this study was to determine the level of teaching strategies and teachers’ self-concept to students’ engagement in learning in terms of their respected indicators, the significant difference between teaching strategies and teachers’ self-concept to students’ engagement in learning, and what domains of teaching strategies and teachers’ self-concept substantially influence students’ engagement in learning. Also this study utilized a quantitative-correlational design with 113 respondents among teachers in three chosen High schools’ in Mawab, Davao de Oro. The average weighted mean, Pearson-R, and multiple regression analysis were the statistical tool used in this study. Along with this, the result of the study revealed that the first independent variable which is the teaching strategies got an overall level of moderate, within its indicator; critical thinking, creativity, social skills and ICT skills, got a very high level. On the other hand, the second independent variable which is teachers’ self-concept got an overall level of very high, within its indicators; values, beliefs, student-centered approach and teacher-centered approach all got a high level. On the other hand, the dependent variable, affective engagement, behavioral engagement and cognitive engagement also got a very high level. Additionally, teaching strategies had moderate correlation towards students’ engagement in learning, while teacher’s self-concept got a high correlation towards students’ engagement in learning. Hence, this led to the rejection of null hypothesis in terms of teaching strategies and teachers’ self-concept. Also, in terms of Regression of teaching strategies, critical thinking, social skills, and ICT skills were domains that significantly influencing students’ engagement in learning, whilst, the regression of teacher’s self-concept revealed that, values, beliefs, and student-centered approach were domains that significantly influencing students’ engagement in learning. Thus, the teacher may continue to use the teaching strategies by providing students engagement in their learning and students may also engage by the teachers’ self-concept to make better progress and improve their learning for students and teaching for teachers.

Student engagement with teacher written corrective feedback in EFL writing: A case study of Chinese lower-proficiency students

BackgroundThis research explores the relationships between the educational environment, student engagement, and academic achievement in Health Professions Education (HPE) , specifically examining the mediating role of engagement.MethodsThe study used cross-sectional design, and data were collected from 554 HPE students via self-report questionnaires. The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) assessed the educational environment while the University Student Engagement Inventory measured learning engagement across the behavioral, emotional, and cognitive dimensions. Academic achievement was measured using cumulative GPA. Relationships between study variables were analyzed using path analysis.ResultsPath analysis demonstrated that four educational environment subscales directly affected emotional engagement (48% variance explained). Students’ perception of learning and academic self-perceptions influenced behavioral engagement (28% variance explained), while cognitive engagement was influenced by academic self-perceptions (39% variance explained). GPA was positively influenced by behavioral and cognitive engagement but negatively by emotional engagement. Cognitive and behavioral engagement mediated the relationship between students’ academic self-perceptions and academic achievement.ConclusionsStudents’ perceptions of the educational environment significantly influenced emotional engagement, followed by cognitive and behavioral engagement. Cognitive and behavioral engagement directly affected academic achievement and mediated the relationship between the educational environment and academic achievement.

This article reports on original research investigating the pivotal role that teachers play in student engagement, using a tri-dimensional framework. This framework identifies how teachers’ pedagogical choices impact student engagement in ways that influence students’ external behaviours, internal emotions and internal cognitions. A questionnaire was developed to explore secondary teachers’ (n = 223) perceptions of pedagogies that support students’ behavioural, emotional and cognitive engagement in the classroom. Findings revealed that female participants placed higher importance on pedagogies that support students’ cognitive and behavioural engagement, and participants with leadership roles placed higher importance on pedagogies that support students’ cognitive and emotional engagement. Also emerging from the research was a negative correlation between the importance teachers placed on pedagogies that support cognitive and behavioural engagement and their school’s ICSEA value (the measure of socio-educational advantage in Australian schools). Overall, results support the tri-dimensional framework of student engagement utilised in this study and provide a robust framework for future research to further explore teachers’ pedagogical choices and how these choices impact student engagement.

Researchers have posited different types of engagement, distinguishing between behavioral, cognitive, and affective engagement and theoretical frameworks have helped explain the psychological aspects of engagement. However, game researchers should examine all types of engagement using multiple methodologies as a means to understand what students are learning from educational games during game play. Conclusive results require psychological aspects and learning characteristics to be considered, but also require a deeper understanding of the intricate links between learning and game mechanics for engagement. This article presents the findings from a qualitative study with thirty participants that focuses on the importance of affective and cognitive engagement during game play with educational games. To do this, the researchers used Ferran Alsina, a game that would help to develop learning competences of primary education skills. Researchers obtained the experiences of students through a game play session, basic game metrics, think-aloud protocol, observation and focus groups. Results shows that the game provided participants an active participation associated with both affective and cognitive engagement. Without attention to cognition the atuhors risk losing valuable data that relate to a student's learning. Researchers should consider multiple qualitative methodologies and game play experience analysis as student experiences are qualitative.

Researchers have posited different types of engagement, distinguishing between behavioral, cognitive, and affective engagement and theoretical frameworks have helped explain the psychological aspects of engagement. However, game researchers should examine all types of engagement using multiple methodologies as a means to understand what students are learning from educational games during game play. Conclusive results require psychological aspects and learning characteristics to be considered, but also require a deeper understanding of the intricate links between learning and game mechanics for engagement. This article presents the findings from a qualitative study with thirty participants that focuses on the importance of affective and cognitive engagement during game play with educational games. To do this, the researchers used Ferran Alsina, a game that would help to develop learning competences of primary education skills. Researchers obtained the experiences of students through a game play session, basic game metrics, think-aloud protocol, observation and focus groups. Results shows that the game provided participants an active participation associated with both affective and cognitive engagement. Without attention to cognition the atuhors risk losing valuable data that relate to a student's learning. Researchers should consider multiple qualitative methodologies and game play experience analysis as student experiences are qualitative.

Student engagement has great impact on learning performance. It’s necessary to investigate student engagement objectively from learning behavior. In this paper, we propose a student engagement study approach in an intelligent learning environment, which automatically detects and analyses multiple learning behavioral cues based on five modules, i.e., attendance management, teacher-student (T&S) communication, visual focus of attention (VFOA) recognition, smile detection and engagement analysis. Attendance management matches the student’s identity and locates his/her profile using face recognition. T&S communication provides an additional channel of Question and Answer (Q&A) between a teacher and students for students’ behavioral engagement analysis via their cell phones. VFOA recognition is used to recognize students’ cognitive engagement through capturing students’ attention based on the estimated head poses, visual environment cues and prior states in class. Smile detection achieves students’ affective engagement through spontaneous smile expression classification. Finally, a tree-structural engagement model is proposed to decide student engagement based on multi-cues of one’s behavioral, cognitive and affective engagement. We thoroughly evaluated each module for engagement study on some public available datasets and practical video sequences in class applications. The experimental results suggest that the proposed approach can automatically detect and analyze student class engagement objectively and effectively.

적극적인 수업참여는 학생들의 학업성취와 수업 및 학습의 질을 예측하는 중요한 변인이다. 수업참여는 단순히 수업에 출석한다는 의미를 넘어서 행동, 정서, 인지적 차원을 포함하는 복합적인 개념이다. 본 연구에서는 수업참여를 행동, 정서, 인지적 참여 등 다차원으로 정의하고 수업참여 하위요인과 학업성취와의 종단적 상호관계와 변화 양상을 탐색하고자 하였다. 이를 위해 국가수준 학업성취도 평가의 2012-2014년(중3-고2) 두 시점 종단 자료를 활용하였으며 자기회귀교차지연모형을 활용하였다. 그 결과 첫째, 수업참여 하위요인인 행동, 정서, 인지적 참여는 학업성취에 모두 유의한 정적 영향을 미쳤다. 뿐만 아니라 학업성취 또한 수업참여에 유의한 정적 영향을 미치고 있어, 수업참여와 학업성취는 상호 간 촉진시키는 변인임을 확인할 수 있었다. 둘째, 수업참여 하위요인 간 종단적 상호관계는 서로 유의하여 세 하위요인 간의 상보적 인과관계가 파악되었다. 특히, 인지와 행동적 참여 간 상호효과 크기가 가장 크게 나타났고, 정서적 참여는 상대적 효과크기가 작았으며 교과별로 차이를 나타냈다. 셋째, 수업참여 각 하위요인의 상대적 안정성은 중간 수준이었고, 잠재평균분석 결과 중학생에 비해 고등학생은 행동적 참여가 낮고 인지적 참여는 높은 것으로 나타났다. 이러한 연구결과를 바탕으로 교육적 시사점 및 제언을 추가하였다.Student engagement is one of the important factors predicting student achievement and quality of teaching and learning. In the present study, student engagement is defined as behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement. The purpose of this study is to investigate the longitudinal interplay between student engagement and achievement, and their stability across two years from 9 th to 11 th grades using an autoregressive cross-lagged (ARCL) model. The main results are as follows. First earlier behavioral, emotional and cognitive engagement had the significant effects on later achievement. Also, achievement was a significant predictor for three kinds of student engagement. It was confirmed that student engagement and achievement are factors that would promote reciprocal development. Second, we found the reciprocal causal relationships among the three kinds of student engagement. Especially, our findings showed that the longitudinal reciprocal effects between cognitive and behavioral engagement were the largest. The effect size of emotional engagement was relatively small and inconsistent across subjects. Third, the relative stability of student engagement was found to be moderate. According to the latent mean analyses where 9 th grade was used as a reference group, 11 th graders showed lower mean values in behavioral engagement but higher ones in cognitive engagement. Finally, implications of the study and recommendations for future research were discussed.