Higher School Engagement Research Articles

Unveiling the longitudinal reciprocal relationship between burnout and engagement among adolescent athletes in sport schools.

Burnout and engagement are pivotal for adolescents' well-being and have received extensive attention in the educational literature. However, less is known about how these factors develop and interact within and between school and sport when adolescent athletes follow dual (school and sport) careers. The aim of this study was to examine the reciprocal relationship between engagement and burnout in school and sport through a cross-lagged analysis of longitudinal associations. A sample of 165 Finnish adolescent athletes (aged 14.5 years, 48.9% girls) enrolled in lower secondary sport schools (i.e., junior high schools) participated in a survey in spring 2019 (i.e., in Grade 8) and 1 year later, in spring 2020 (i.e., in Grade 9). Engagement and burnout had significant autoregressive relationships within school and sport. Furthermore, low levels of sport engagement in Grade 8 predicted sport burnout in Grade 9, and low levels of school burnout in Grade 8 predicted school engagement in Grade 9. Regarding cross-domain effects, high levels of school engagement in Grade 8 predicted low levels of sport engagement in Grade 9. The study shows that school and sport are distinct domains with unique associations between engagement and burnout in each domain. It also shows that adolescent athletes may maintain high school engagement by reducing their sport engagement. These findings highlight the need for sport school practitioners to develop intervention programs to address adolescents' school and sport needs and to support their holistic well-being.

Longitudinal associations between adolescents' social-emotional skills, school engagement, and school burnout

This longitudinal study investigated to what extent five key social-emotional skills persistence, academic buoyancy, curiosity, social engagement, and lack of loneliness were associated with adolescents' school engagement and burnout at two timepoints. Furthermore, the role of gender and socioeconomic status were examined. The data were collected from 1021 adolescents (ages 12–14) in the fall of 2021 and 2022. The results were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) and revealed that, in general, social-emotional skills were associated with higher school engagement and lower burnout among adolescents. Curiosity showed a strong relationship with school engagement. Moreover, persistence was associated with an increase in school engagement among adolescents with low-average socioeconomic status. High academic buoyancy and lack of loneliness were associated with decrease in burnout over the school years. The study implies that recognizing the variety of adolescent's social-emotional skills may help to better support adolescents' school engagement and protect them from burnout. Educational relevance and implications statementAccording to the study findings, social-emotional skills, such as persistence and curiosity, were associated with higher school motivation and lower burnout of adolescents. These results suggest that interventions aiming to develop adolescents' social-emotional skills may promote adolescents' motivation. Supporting adolescents' social relationships in school may also protect adolescents from burning out. To better support adolescent students' motivation and well-being at school it is important to recognize the diversity of individual adolescents' needs and strengths in social-emotional skills. Therefore, sufficient education and training would be needed for teachers concerning the variety of social-emotional skills.

Unveiling the protective role of school engagement: Mitigating cyberbullying perpetration through mastery and student-student relationship

Numerous studies have established that school engagement plays a pivotal role in mitigating adolescent violence. However, its relationship with cyberbullying is not well-defined, and the underlying mechanisms have not been thoroughly explored. To fill the gap, this study adopted the moderated mediation approach and sought to examine: a) the association between school engagement and cyberbullying; b) the potential mediating effects of mastery on that association; and c) the potential moderating effects of student–student relationship in the above mechanisms, based on a sample of 1103 adolescents (52.5 % female, aged from 12 to 18 years) in middle and high schools of urban China. Results indicated that adolescents with high school engagement tend to have a decreased possibility of cyberbullying involvement. Mastery, as a proxy of effective coping experience, mediated the association between school engagement and cyberbullying perpetration. Considering that peer relationships may significantly alter the impact of school engagement and mastery on cyberbullying perpetration, this study also identified student–student relationship as a central moderator in moderating the association between school engagement and cyberbullying as well as the association between mastery and cyberbullying. These findings can help understand the complex dynamics between school engagement and cyberbullying, suggesting directions for future interventions.

The Childhood Resilience Study: Resilience and emotional and behavioural wellbeing experienced by Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boys and girls aged 5-9 years.

Resilience is a process of drawing on internal or external strengths to regain, sustain or improve adaptive outcomes despite adversity. Using a child resilience measure co-designed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, we investigate: 1) children's personal, family, school and community strengths; 2) gender differences; and 3) associations between resilience and wellbeing. 1132 parent/caregivers of children aged 5-12 years were recruited to the Childhood Resilience Study, including through the Aboriginal Families Study. The Aboriginal Families Study is a population-based cohort of 344 mothers of an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander child. This paper focuses on the wave 2 survey data on child resilience at age 5-9 years (n = 231). Resilience was assessed with the Child Resilience Questionnaire-parent/caregiver report (CRQ-P/C), categorised into tertiles of low, moderate and high scores. Child emotional/behavioural wellbeing and mental health competence was assessed with the parent-report Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. All Tobit regression models adjusted for child age. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls had higher resilience scores compared to boys (Adj.β = 0·9, 95%CI 0·9-1·4), with higher School Engagement, Friends and Connectedness to language scale scores. Resilience scores were strongly associated with wellbeing and high mental health competence. A higher proportion of girls with low resilience scores had positive wellbeing than did boys (73.3% versus 49.0%). High resilience scores were associated with lower SDQ total difficulties score after adjusting for child age, gender, maternal age and education and family location (major city, regional, remote) (Adj.β = -3.4, 95%CI -5.1, -1.7). Compared to the Childhood Resilience Study sample, Aboriginal Families Study children had higher mean CRQ-P/C scores in the personal and family domains. High family strengths can support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children at both an individual and cultural level. Boys may benefit from added scaffolding by schools, family and communities to support their social and academic connectedness.

Problematic Use of the Internet and Well-Being among Youth from a Global Perspective: A Mediated-Moderated Model of Socio-Emotional Factors

Problematic Use of the Internet (PUI) is characterized as the inability to control one’s internet use or as an excessive use of the internet that may result in social, psychological, and emotional difficulties (Fernandes et al., 2019). It is regarded nowadays as an increasingly worrisome public heath issue, especially among youth. This study explored the contexts in which youth PUI occurs and its associations with socio-emotional functioning that may lead to a decrease in one’s sense of well-being. We conducted this exploration among 783 middle school students from the US (425 students; 54.27%) and Israel (358 students; 45.73%). The overall age of both samples ranged between 12 and 16 (M = 13.94, SD = 1.59). In the Israeli sample, 49.1% of the students were girls and 50.9% were boys, whereas in the US sample, 48.8% were girls and 51.2% were boys. The study examined the role of depressive mood, loneliness, resilience, self-control, and school engagement in mediating the relationship between PUI and well-being, and how country of origin might moderate these relationships. Results indicate PUI was related to lower well-being only for the US sample. Yet, for both samples, higher loneliness was related to lower well-being, and higher school engagement was related to higher well-being. A moderated mediation analysis revealed the socio-emotional variables were all mediators in these associations, but differently for each country sample. The study results are discussed according to key factors required for developing intervention programs for coping with youth PUI behaviors.

Impactof formative assessment based on feedback loop model on high school students conceptual understanding and engagement with physics

Impactof formative assessment based on feedback loop model on high school students conceptual understanding and engagement with physics

Association of parent, coach, and peer motivational climate with high school athlete burnout and engagement: Comparing mediation and moderation models

The purpose of this study was to (1) examine the direct association of parent-, coach-, and peer-initiated motivational climate with high school athlete burnout and engagement and (2) evaluate whether peer-initiated motivational climate mediates or moderates the association of coach-initiated motivational climate with burnout and engagement. Athletes (n = 150) completed a survey on their perceptions of parent-, coach-, and peer-initiated motivational climate, burnout, and engagement. Findings supported the mediation model, but not the moderation model. In addition to mastery and performance climate direct effects, significant medium-to-large indirect pathways from coach mastery climate → peer mastery climate → burnout, β = -.15, 95% CI [-.333, −.009], and coach mastery climate → peer mastery climate → engagement, β = .19, 95% CI [.020, .293] were observed. Findings support that a parent, coach, and peer-initiated mastery motivational climate was associated with burnout and engagement while a performance climate was mostly unrelated to these indices of athlete well-being. In addition to direct associations with burnout and engagement, coaches also had an indirect association through peer mastery-initiated motivational climate. Findings advance understanding of how parents, coaches, and peers conjointly shape athlete burnout and engagement.

Grit, academic engagement in math and science, and well-being outcomes in children during the COVID-19 pandemic: A study in Hong Kong and Macau.

There is evidence showing that the triarchic model of grit and its dimensions (i.e., perseverance of effort, consistency of interests, and adaptability to situations) predict engagement and well-being outcomes in high school and undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. However, there has been limited research on how this model of grit relates to engagement and optimal psychological outcomes in primary school students. This research investigates the association of grit's dimensions with academic engagement in math and science as well as well-being outcomes (i.e., positive emotions, negative emotions, and flourishing) in primary school students. Participants were primary school students (Mage = 10.42; SDage = 1.26) from Hong Kong (n = 279) and Macau (n = 124). Results showed that perseverance of effort positively predicted cognitive and behavioral engagement in math as well as positive emotions even after controlling for demographic covariates (i.e., age, gender, setting, and year level), conscientiousness, and achievement goal orientations. Adaptability to situations positively predicted cognitive and social engagement in math and flourishing. Consistency of interests negatively predicted both cognitive engagement in science and negative emotions. Indeed, this study indicates that perseverance and adaptability may facilitate children's positive academic and psychological functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

Student resilience to COVID-19-related school disruptions: The value of historic school engagement.

Does historic school engagement buffer the threats of disrupted schooling - such as those associated with the widespread COVID-19-related school closures - to school engagement equally for female and male high school students? This article responds to that pressing question. To do so, it reports a study that was conducted in 2018 and 2020 with the same sample of South African students (n = 172; 66.30% female; average age in 2020: 18.13). A moderated moderation model of the 2018 and 2020 data showed that historic levels of school engagement buffered the negative effects of disrupted schooling on subsequent school engagement (R² = .43, β = -5.09, p < .05). This protective effect was significant for girl students at moderate and high levels of historic school engagement, but not at lower levels of historic school engagement. Disrupted schooling did not significantly affect school engagement for male students at any level of historic school engagement. In addition, student perceptions of teacher kindness were associated with higher school engagement and having experienced an adverse event at school with lower school engagement. The results point to the importance of facilitating school engagement and enabling school environments - also when schooling is disrupted.

Psychological Experiences During Previous High School Sport Participation Predict College Students’ Current Psychological Health

Adolescent sport participation has been positively associated with psychological health outcomes. Yet, further research is needed to explore how psychosocial health benefits from sport may be maximized or minimized based on one’s psychological experiences during previous sport participation. The present study examined associations among retrospective psychological experiences of high school sport participation and markers of current college students’ psychosocial health. American college students (N = 300) self-reported retrospective high school sport experiences (i.e., burnout, engagement, and stress) and current psychosocial health outcomes (i.e., social support, depressive symptoms, life satisfaction) via an online interface. Moderated multiple regression analyses showed high school sport burnout, stress, and engagement to predict significant variance in college social support (p &lt; .05), anxiety (p &lt; .01), depressive symptoms (p &lt; .01), and life satisfaction (p &lt; .01). Results provide evidence that retrospective accounts of high school sport participation experiences (i.e., low burnout, low stress, and positive engagement) were associated with more adaptive post-high school psychosocial outcomes in college. This information may guide future prospective studies and aid practitioners by proving a broader understanding of psychosocial outcomes of sport participation.

Black adolescents’ support to the family and educational outcomes: Differences by household income

AbstractUsing a strengths‐based approach, this study investigated whether Black adolescents’ provision of different types of support to family (chores, childcare, emotional, financial support) was associated with their educational outcomes (school engagement, grades, suspensions), and whether these associations differed by household income levels. The study used the nationally representative National Survey of American Life Adolescent Supplement data (N = 1170, 52% Female, ages of 13–17). Supporting the family was associated with both educational success and risk, depending on the type of support and household socioeconomic resource levels. Across income groups, providing emotional support was associated with greater school engagement. Among low‐income youth only, completei chores was associated with higher school engagement and grades, whereas providing childcare was associated with lower grades.

Understanding Influences on Engineering Students’ Civic Engagement in High School and the First Year of College

<italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Contribution:</i> This qualitative study explores changes in engineering students’ civic engagement as they transition from high school to college and uses Social Cognitive Theory to understand factors that influence civic engagement. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Background:</i> Engineering programs aim to graduate civically engaged engineers who serve their communities and advance public welfare. Thus, it is important to understand how engineering programs influence students’ civic engagement. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research Question:</i> How and why do engineering students’ civic engagement change when they transition from high school into their first year of college? <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Methodology:</i> Guided by Social Cognitive Theory, this study uses semi-structured interviews and an inductive thematic analysis approach to compare eleven first-year engineering students’ experiences with civic engagement before and during college. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Findings:</i> Engineering students tended to be less engaged in their communities during their first year of college compared to in high school. This decrease was largely due to having fewer supportive structures and numerous barriers to civic engagement as they acclimated to a new environment. Engineering programs can support and scaffold opportunities for engineering students to become more civically engaged.

Contextualizing School Engagement During Transition for Students Receiving Special Education and English Learner Services

School engagement is an important factor in academic success and social belonging for postsecondary education. Dually identified students receiving special education and English learner services may face obstacles to engagement. We conducted secondary analyses of the National Longitudinal Transition Study from 2012 to provide a description of high school engagement. We then examined engagement through interviews with 26 dually identified students from a large district in the northeastern United States. A contribution of this mixed-methods study is that while national data revealed somewhat limited engagement in extracurricular activities and inconsistent attendance, student interviews reflected self-perceptions of positive engagement. Implications for research and practice include further examining inner-group variation and increasing school–community partnerships for expanded engagement.

STEM-Gender Stereotypes: Associations With School Empowerment and School Engagement Among Italian and Nigerian Adolescents.

While many sociocultural, contextual, biological, behavioral, and psychological variables may contribute to the widespread under-representation of girls and women in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field, this study focused on STEM-gender stereotypes, school experiences, and adolescence as critical factors in driving students' interest and motivation in STEM. Based on this, the study (a) investigated differences by gender and national context (Italy vs. Nigeria) in adolescents' STEM-gender stereotypes, school empowerment, and school engagement in a preliminary step, and (b) simultaneously examined how adolescents' STEM-gender stereotypes were related to school empowerment and school engagement as well as to socioeconomic status (SES). These latter relations were considered within the context of the potential moderating role of gender and national context. Participants included 213 Italian adolescents (Mage = 13.91; 52.1% girls) and 214 Nigerian adolescents (Mage = 13.92; 60.3% girls), who completed measures of school empowerment and engagement, STEM-gender stereotypes, and SES. A multivariate analysis of covariance showed that Nigerian girls and boys reported significantly higher levels of school empowerment, school engagement, and STEM-gender stereotypes than their Italian peers. Moreover, regardless of the national context, boys scored significantly higher on school empowerment and STEM-gender stereotypes than girls. Furthermore, a multiple-group path analysis revealed how higher school empowerment was related to lower STEM-gender stereotypes in both Italian and Nigerian girls' groups, while higher school engagement was associated with lower STEM-gender stereotypes only in the Nigerian groups. Regardless of gender and nationality, higher SES was linked to lower STEM-gender stereotypes. These findings particularly suggest that school empowerment and school engagement can be relevant dimensions to be studied and to develop strategies to counteract STEM-gender stereotypes in adolescence. Nonetheless, gender and national context are key factors to be considered. Limitations, strengths, future research, and educational implications are discussed.

The role of high school student engagement in postsecondary enrollment

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to examine whether secondary student engagement was predictive of college attendance. Data were drawn from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 9th grade (n = 21,444) and 11th grade (n = 20,549) cohorts. Multilevel modeling was used to analyze whether demographic, academic, financial, and engagement variables predicted postsecondary enrollment. Demographic (higher SES, attending a Catholic or private school) and academic (English and Math GPA) variables were predictive of college enrollment across both cohorts, as were participants' thoughts on the affordability of college. For ninth grade students, the engagement scales of family support for learning and future goals and aspirations remained significant predictors of enrollment after accounting for other variables. Among 11th grade students, peer support for learning, future goals and aspirations, and behavioral engagement remained significant predictors of enrollment. Student engagement is thought to underlie high school and college completion efforts but little research connects these levels of schooling. This study suggests providing support for students' engagement in high school could positively affect college enrollment. Financial education about the costs and options for paying for college may also be beneficial.

Pathways of resilience: Predicting school engagement trajectories for South African adolescents living in a stressed environment

School engagement is associated with the resilience of adolescents living in stressed environments in sub-Saharan Africa. Even so, there is scant understanding of the antecedents of African students’ school engagement. In response, this article reports the results of an exploratory study conducted in 2018 and 2020 with a sample of 172 adolescents (average age: 16.02 years; SD = 1.67) from a risk-exposed municipality in South Africa. Clustered school engagement trajectories were identified using a longitudinal variant of k-means based on affective, behavioural, and cognitive school engagement. Evolutionary classification trees were used to identify meaningful predictors of the identified trajectories. The results point to specific combinations of factors – i.e., student age, parental/caregiver warmth, school resource levels, teacher competence – that sustained low and high school engagement trajectories. These combinations direct the attention of school psychologists and other service providers to the multiple systems that matter in varying ways for the school engagement of African students. They also call for continued investigation of the resource combinations that are salient to student engagement across stressed environments in sub-Saharan Africa.

Does a school snack make a difference? An evaluation of the World Food Programme emergency school feeding programme in Lebanon among Lebanese and Syrian refugee children.

To investigate the effects of providing a daily healthy school snack on children's nutritional, social and educational outcomes and explore stakeholders' perceptions of an emergency school feeding programme (SFP). Convergence triangulation mixed-methods study design. Associations were examined between receiving the school feeding intervention and children's outcomes using multivariable regression models. Quantitative data were complemented with interviews and focus group discussions with parents and staff. In vulnerable communities in Lebanon, the World Food Programme has implemented an emergency SFP targeting Lebanese (attending morning sessions) and Syrian refugee children (attending afternoon sessions) in public schools. Children from ten intervention schools (morning n 403; afternoon n 379) and ten matched control schools (morning n 399; afternoon n 401), as well as twenty-nine parents and twenty-two school staff members. Diet diversity was higher in intervention schools as compared with control with a significantly higher consumption of dairy products, nuts and fruit in both sessions. Child-reported food insecurity experience was lower in children attending the afternoon session of intervention v. control schools. The SFP intervention was associated with higher school engagement and sense of school community in the morning session only. While the SFP was significantly associated with higher attendance for children in afternoon sessions only, it was significantly associated with school retention of children in both sessions. A daily healthy snack potentially acts as an incentive to improve children's nutritional outcomes, school engagement, sense of belonging, equality between students and improvement in children's attendance and retention in public schools.

РОЛЬ ОСОЗНАННОЙ САМОРЕГУЛЯЦИИ В ДИНАМИКЕ ПОЗНАВАТЕЛЬНОЙ АКТИВНОСТИ И КОГНИТИВНОЙ ВОВЛЕЧЕННОСТИ УЧАЩИХСЯ В ПЕРИОД ПЕРЕХОДА ИЗ ОСНОВНОЙ В СТАРШУЮ ШКОЛУ: ЛОНГИТЮДНОЕ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЕ

Background. A decrease in cognitive activity and the occurrence of various defi cits with a general decrease in a positive attitude to learning creates diffi culties in learning during the transition to high school. It becomes important to identify regulatory resources for development of cognitive activity and engagement during the period before the 9th grade, as well as at the beginning of high school. Objective — to identify the dynamics of cognitive activity and engagement during the transition from middle to high school and to assess the contribution of conscious self–regulation of eighth graders to this dynamic in the 9th and 10th grades. Sample. 156 eighth graders aged M=13.88; SD=0.445. In the 9th and 10th grades, repeated examinations were carried out using the same methods. As a result, longitudinal data was collected at three points. Methods. “Attitude to learning in middle and high school” (I.N. Bondarenko, I.Yu. Tsyganov, V.I. Morosanova). “Multidimensional scale of school engagement” (T.G. Fomina, V.I. Morosanova). Questionnaire of V.I. Morosanova “Style of self-regulation of learning activity, SRLAQ-M” (V.I. Morosanova, I.N. Bondarenko). Results. We revealed between individual diff erences in the trajectories of cognitive engagement, but they were not revealed for cognitive activity. It is shown that in order to successfully maintain cognitive activity and engagement in high school, it is important to achieve the maximum level of their development in the 8th grade, a year before the state exams. Longitudinal analysis has shown that school engagement is more associated with conscious self-regulation in comparison with cognitive activity, which signifi cantly depends on external factors. Conscious self–regulation, fulfi lling its resource role, on the one hand, makes a direct contribution to the level of development of these characteristics, on the other hand, prevents their sharp decline in case of diffi culties or temporary failures. Conclusion. Th e development of conscious self-regulation in secondary school is able to compensate for the negative trends of falling cognitive activity and engagement that occur in high school students.

Gender by racial/ethnic intersectionality in the patterns of Adolescents’ math motivation and their math achievement and engagement

Individuals' math motivational beliefs are theorized to shape their STEM achievement and engagement in high school and beyond. Combining situated expectancy-value theory and intersectionality framework, the goals of this study were to (a) identify the unique patterns of U.S. high school students' math motivational beliefs, (b) examine differences in the patterns based on the intersection of gender and race/ethnicity, and (c) test the extent to which these patterns predicted differences in students' math achievement and classroom behavioral engagement for each of the gender by racial/ethnic groups. The current study included 16,120 high schoolers (50% female; 63% White, 17% Latina/o, 11% Black, and 9% Asian Americans; Mage = 14.46 at Grade 9) from the High School Longitudinal Study. There were six unique patterns of students' math motivational beliefs: Overall High, Above Average but not Identified, Identified but Average Value, Average, Low Identity, and Overall Low. Pattern membership at the intersection of gender and race/ethnicity showed nuances that could not be represented by gender or race/ethnicity alone; for example, male and female Asian American adolescents had similar patterns, but many male and female adolescents of other racial/ethnic groups had different patterns. Adolescents' math motivational belief patterns were associated with their Grade 11 math achievement and behavioral engagement even after controlling for prior math achievement and family socioeconomic status, and the associated varied by the gender and racial/ethnic groups.

Civic Behavior and Sense of Belonging at School: The Moderating Role of School Climate

The present study focuses on the moderating role of school climate to promote students’ civic behaviors in their school. Following the Authoritative School Climate Theory, it is proposed that two key dimension of school social climate (student support and disciplinary structure) are relevant to explain students’ civic engagement within their schools. Using survey data from a representative sample of the Chilean student population (N = 38,286 7th to 12th graders, 51.2% females, and 12.188 adults, 75% teachers and 25% school staff members from 754 schools) the present study tested the relative contribution of student support and disciplinary structure on students civic behaviors, directly and interacting with their sense of belonging. A series of two-level hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed that, after controlling for sex, school phase, school size, and school administrative dependency, student sense of belonging was positively related to civic engagement within their schools. In addition, both student support and disciplinary structure (as reported by adults) showed a positive and direct effect on student civic engagement. However, a closer analysis of moderating effects revealed that only student support had an impact on the relationship between sense of belonging and civic behaviors of students within schools. These findings extend prior research on the association between sense of belonging and civic engagement by including the role of school climate, and in turn, inform the potential use of school-based efforts aimed at promoting adolescents’ civic engagement in middle and high school.