Student Engagement: Associations with Teachers and Peers as Motivators

Abstract

The construct on student engagement is increasingly prevalent in the field of education serving as the foundation of dropout prevention and high school reform initiatives. The purpose of the study is to examine the predictive relationships between relationships motivation and student engagement by The Student Engagement Instrument (SEI), Relationships Motivation Scale (REMO), and the Student’s Information Sheet were administered to a sample of 1,014 high school students from selected private and public schools in Metro Manila. Six subscales of student engagement were considered: control and relevance of schoolwork, future aspirations and goals, and extrinsic motivation are considered cognitive engagement. Affective engagement included teacher-student relationships, family support for learning, and peer support for learning. Teachers, peers as motivators, and individual learning behavior were included in the subscales for Relationships Motivation Scale. Results generally indicated that there are significant relationships between the different factors of student engagement and relationship motivation. Subscales of the REMO significantly predicted cognitive and affective engagement after controlling for demographic variables. Based on the results, a proposed student engagement program is developed to promote higher levels of engagement in school.