Levels Of Academic Engagement Research Articles

Ethnic/racial discrimination moderates the effect of sleep quality on school engagement across high school.

Previous research has indicated that school engagement tends to decline across high school. At the same time, sleep problems and exposure to social stressors such as ethnic/racial discrimination increase. The current study uses a biopsychosocial perspective to examine the interactive and prospective effects of sleep and discrimination on trajectories of academic performance. Growth curve models were used to explore changes in 6 waves of academic outcomes in a sample of 310 ethnically and racially diverse adolescents (mean age = 14.47 years, SD = .78, and 64.1% female). Ethnic/racial discrimination was assessed at Time 1 in a single survey. Sleep quality and duration were also assessed at Time 1 with daily diary surveys. School engagement and grades were reported every 6 months for 3 years. Higher self-reported sleep quality in the ninth grade was associated with higher levels of academic engagement at the start of high school. Ethnic/racial discrimination moderated the relationship between sleep quality and engagement such that adolescents reporting low levels of discrimination reported a steeper increase in engagement over time, whereas their peers reporting poor sleep quality and high levels of discrimination reported the worse engagement in the ninth grade and throughout high school. The combination of poor sleep quality and high levels of discrimination in ninth grade has downstream consequences for adolescent academic outcomes. This study applies the biopsychosocial model to understand the development and daily experiences of diverse adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record

Spatial Design Makes a Difference in Student Academic Engagement Levels: A Pilot Study for Grades 9-12

Our research question was, ‘Can we demonstrate that the design of the built environment for grades 9-12 impacts student academic engagement levels?’ A pilot study was conducted using a convenience sample, a high school (grades 9-12) in the USA’s mid-west with a four-year old design solution. To answer the question we designed two online survey instruments, one for students and one for educators, enabling us to construct engagement indexes for each. We then correlated the level of self-reported engagement, as measured by our indexes, with the perceptions of the built environment. A mixed-methodology research technique was used for this research project. Focused interviews used K-12 architects (n=6), administrators (n=3), teachers (n=35), students (n=25). A fifteen (15) question ‘Alpha’/pilot survey was then designed, developed, pre-tested and then submitted to the full membership of the school. Findings revealed that both students and educators agreed that the design of the built environment makes a difference relative to their engagement at both the macro (i.e., Overall) and micro (i.e., Classrooms) at a high level of significance (p<.0001); spatial design makes a difference. The survey proved to be both reliable and valid. Finally, we pay particular attention to questions relating to “movement” and learning.

Effectiveness and Social Validity of the Soles of the Feet Mindfulness-Based Intervention with Special Education Students

Soles of the Feet for Students (SOF) has demonstrated effectiveness at increasing academic engagement among general education students. This work intended to replicate and extend previous work by exploring the effectiveness and social validity of SOF among students receiving special education services, who had low levels of academic engagement and high levels of disruptive classroom behavior, in a public school setting. This study utilized a multiple baseline single-subject design. Four students (grades 4–7) were taught SOF over the course of five 20–30-min sessions. Direct observation data of student academically engaged behavior were collected during baseline and post intervention study phases. Students and teachers also completed social validity questionnaires. Following SOF training, all four students demonstrated improved mean levels of academically engaged behavior. Students and teachers also reported that SOF was an acceptable, feasible, and effective intervention. SOF offers a brief and effective manualized intervention to increase student academic engagement, and conversely reduce classroom disruptive behavior, for students receiving special education services.

Parent–Adolescent Attachment and Academic Adjustment: The Mediating Role of Self-Worth

Within the theoretical framework of attachment theory, this study examined associations between adolescents’ attachment relationships with both mother and father and their academic adjustment, and explored the potential mediation role of self-worth in the associations. Participants were 384 Chinese adolescents (49.6% male, average age = 15.13 years) from public schools in Shanghai, China. They completed self-report measures of mother–adolescent attachment, father–adolescent attachment, general self-worth, academic engagement and school grades. The results indicated that adolescents’ attachments to both parents were associated with higher levels of academic engagement. There was partial support of the mediating role of self-worth, as adolescents who had high levels of parent–adolescent attachment were more likely to have high levels of self-worth, which in turn enhanced their academic engagement and then improved high school grades. The findings highlighted the importance of parental attachment-based intervention strategies to promote and maintain academic adjustment among adolescents.

Emociones positivas, apoyo a la autonomía y rendimiento de estudiantes universitarios: el papel mediador del compromiso académico y la autoeficacia

The overall objective of this study is to prove whether some variables, such as autonomy support and positive affect experienced in the classroom, are predictors of academic performance through self-efficacy and engagement in university students. The tested model confirms the expected results but notes that self-efficacy does not show a significant direct effect on performance. Therefore, a second model is tested. We include self-efficacy as a predictor of academic engagement, eliminating the direct effect of this variable on performance. The results show a greater adjustment in the second model. It is concluded that: (a) positive emotions and autonomy support predict academic performance, self-efficacy and academic engagement; (b) self-efficacy predicts higher levels of academic engagement and the latter improves academic performance, and (c) indirect effects also show the existence of a mediation of these variables on the predictive relationship of autonomy support and positive emotions on performance.

Positive Emotions, Autonomy Support and Academic Performance of University Students: The Mediating Role of Academic Engagement and Self-efficacy

The overall objective of this study is to prove whether some variables, such as autonomy support and positive affect experienced in the classroom, are predictors of academic performance through self-efficacy and engagement in university students. The tested model confirms the expected results but notes that selfefficacy does not show a significant direct effect on performance. Therefore, a second model is tested. We include self-efficacy as a predictor of academic engagement, eliminating the direct effect of this variable on performance. The results show a greater adjustment in the second model. It is concluded that: (a) positive emotions and autonomy support predict academic performance, self-efficacy and academic engagement; (b) self-efficacy predicts higher levels of academic engagement and the latter improves academic performance, and (c) indirect effects also show the existence of a mediation of these variables on the predictive relationship of autonomy support and positive emotions on performance.

Using Self-Monitoring With Guided Goal Setting to Increase Academic Engagement for a Student With Autism in an Inclusive Classroom in China

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether using self-monitoring with guided goal setting was effective in increasing academic engagement for a student with autism who frequently displayed disruptive behaviors in an inclusive classroom in China. A 9-year-old male student with autism participated in this study. A changing criterion single-subject design was used. Training on self-monitoring took place outside of the classroom prior to the implementation of self-monitoring and guided goal setting in the language art class in an inclusive classroom. The goal was gradually increased and determined by the student’s best performance on the previous phase. Results showed an increase in the student’s academic engagement during intervention. The student also maintained a high level of academic engagement during 1-week follow-up sessions without self-monitoring.

Programming a randomized dependent group contingency and common stimuli to promote durable behavior change.

Low levels of academic engagement may impede students' acquisition of skills. Intervening on student behavior using group contingencies may be a feasible way to increase academic engagement during group instruction. The current study examined the effect of a randomized dependent group contingency on levels of academic engagement for second-grade participants receiving small-group reading and writing instruction. The results showed that a randomized dependent group contingency increased the academic engagement of primary participants and several of the other participants during small-group instruction. The findings also showed that high levels of academic engagement were maintained when common stimuli were present and the dependent group contingency was withdrawn.

Effect of a Mindfulness Training Program on the Impulsivity and Aggression Levels of Adolescents with Behavioral Problems in the Classroom.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to analyze the effects of a mindfulness training psycho-educative program on impulsivity and aggression levels in a sample of high school students.Methods: A randomized controlled trial with pre-test–post-test measurements was applied to an experimental group and a control group (waiting list). The Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS-11) Patton et al. (1995) and the Aggression Questionnaire (Buss and Perry, 1992) were used.Results: Statistical analyses showed a significant decrease in the levels of impulsivity and aggressiveness in the experimental group compared with the control group. These results have important implications for improving the level of academic engagement and self-efficacy of students and for reducing school failure.Conclusion: This is one of the first studies showing the effectiveness of mindfulness training at reducing impulsive and aggressive behaviors in the classroom. The efficacy of mindfulness-based programs is emphasized.

Types of Homeschool Environments and Need Support for Children’s Achievement Motivation

ABSTRACTWorking within a self-determination theory (SDT) framework, this study used cluster analysis to examine the naturally occurring types of homeschool-learning environments parents (N = 457) have created. Measures of support for student autonomy, mastery goal structure, and use of conditional regard were adapted for a homeschool context and used as constituting variables. Follow-up measures of parental need satisfaction, efficacy, student academic engagement, teaching practices, and demographics were used to identify significant differences among homeschooling motivational profiles. A five-cluster solution best fit the data: a high need support profile, low need support profile and three profiles of mixed need support. In general, the high need and mixed need support profiles were associated with higher student engagement, need satisfaction, efficacy for homeschooling, and frequent use of teaching strategies that promote autonomous motivation and support for student competence. The low need support profile was significantly associated with lower need satisfaction and teaching strategies associated with control. Higher levels of academic engagement were reported for those students homeschooled longer and at higher grade levels. Male teaching parents (N = 29) reported significantly less need satisfaction and were significantly more represented in the low need support profile. These findings point to the utility of self-determination theory for characterizing the motivational environments of homeschools.

Evaluation of functional communication training as a satiation procedure to reduce challenging behavior in instructional environments for children with autism

Objectives: For individuals with challenging behavior, antecedent interventions such as modifying the motivation for the behavior have shown to be effective. In this study, we examined the effects of giving the participants the opportunity to continuously request tangible items (e.g. toys and activities) prior to instruction to determine if allowing them to satiate on the item would serve as an effective intervention to reduce challenging behavior maintained by access to the items.Method: Functional analyses identified that access to tangible items maintained the challenging behavior of four children with autism spectrum disorder. The children were then trained using Functional Communication Training (FCT) to request the items. Prior to 15 mins academic and/or functional skill instructional sessions, participants were exposed to either an FCT session and allowed to request the tangible items or did not receive an FCT session. The no FCT condition consisted of the child’s typically scheduled activities, without access to the preferred items maintaining challenging behavior for at least one hour prior to instruction. Following the FCT or no FCT conditions, we measured challenging behavior and academic engagement during 15-mins sessions of one-on-one instruction.Results: When instruction was preceded with FCT as a satiation intervention, we observed lower levels of challenging behavior and higher levels of academic engagement compared to no FCT conditions for two of four participants.Conclusion: Overall, the results of this study appear to support the use of FCT as a viable satiation procedure to reduce challenging behavior in instructional settings.

Academic achievement, engagement and burnout among first year medical students

Stress may affect the sense of wellbeing and academic achievement of university students. To assess the relationship of academic engagement and burnout with academic achievement among first year medical students. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Student and Maslach Burnout Inventory Student Survey (MBI-SS) were applied to 277 first year medical students of four universities. Their results were correlated with the grades obtained in the different courses. Moderately high engagement and low burnout levels were detected. There was a high level of satisfaction with studies and a moderate exhaustion level. Academic achievement was associated with the degree of engagement with studies but not with burnout. Conglomerate analysis detected a group of students with high levels of wellbeing, characterized by high levels of academic engagement and low burnout. Other group had moderate levels of engagement and lack of personal fulfilment. Other group, identified as extenuated, had high levels of personal exhaustion and depersonalization. Finally the disassociated group had a low academic engagement, low emotional exhaustion, high levels of depersonalization and lack of personal fulfillment. Academic achievement is associated with the level of engagement with studies but not with burnout.

Perceived Social Support and Academic Engagement

When students switch to higher education, they experience substantial stress and declines in performance in academic works. Perceived social support is supposed to improve academic performance by reducing stress. This study examined the influence from perceived social support of the management undergraduates in Sri Lanka on their academic engagement level. Participants include first year management undergraduates in five selected state universities in Sri Lanka. Adapted scales based on student engagement scale of NSSE and multidimensional scale of perceived social support was used as the measuring instruments. According to the findings, in Sri Lanka also social support plays a significant role in the level of academic engagement of a first year undergraduate. Furthermore, out of three aspects identified on social support social support from family and friends were significantly affecting to the undergraduates’ academic engagement level but not the social support from a significant other. Hence, as per the prior scholars’ findings, undergraduates perceive that their social support level as a supportive factor for their academic works. It may cause to reduce their stress raised due to the significant change from school to university at the very first time period.The Kelaniya Journal of Management, Vol. 3(2); 2014: 85-92

Efficacy of Teachers Training Paraprofessionals to Implement Peer Support Arrangements

Although peer support arrangements are a promising strategy to promote inclusion in general education classrooms, previous studies have not addressed how paraprofessionals might implement this strategy under typical circumstances without extensive researcher involvement. In this single-case design study, four special education teachers trained and supported four paraprofessionals to implement peer support arrangements through delivery of a professional development package consisting of an initial orientation, video modeling, and brief coaching with performance feedback. Teachers implemented the professional development accurately, paraprofessionals implemented peer support arrangements with fidelity, and three of the four middle school students with severe disabilities increased their social interactions with peers while maintaining previous levels of academic engagement. These findings suggest a possible avenue for equipping paraprofessionals to implement peer support arrangements. Recommendations for preparing teachers to train and support paraprofessionals to implement intervention strategies are offered along with directions for future research.

Engaged African Refugee Youth Negotiating Schooling in America: An Inquiry into the Influence of Culture and Social Structure

This article explores how six ethnically diverse African refugee youth transcended constraining social structural forces and maintained high levels of academic engagement at a high school in a small Northeastern city. Using ethnographically contextualized case study methodology, this article examines the refugee youths’ processes of acculturation and adaptation to American schooling. The article particularly examines the role of pre-resettlement social circumstances in refugee camps, home cultural influences, and parental scholastic expectations in shaping the participants’ scholastic engagement. The findings suggest that the participants’ resilience and optimism about the promise of American schooling in tandem with local community-wide support produced agency with which they transcended countervailing forces in schooling. This phenomenon is conceptualized in this article as agentic scholastic engagement.

Cognitive-motivational variables of beginner university students in the first year of adaptation to the European Higher Education Area / Variables cognitivo-motivacionales del alumnado de nuevo ingreso en el primer año de adaptación al Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior

Within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) the student is the main protagonist of the learning process. This means that teachers must be aware of the cognitive-motivational aspects that influence their learning. This study analyses the academic goals, learning strategies and levels of academic engagement shown by university students in their first year of adaptation to the European Higher Education Area, as well as the relationship between these variables. The results indicate that most students are averagely oriented towards learning goals and highly oriented towards achievement goals, regularly use a wide variety of learning strategies, and show average levels of academic engagement. The correlations between some of these variables are positive and significant. Further research needs to be carried out to understand the role played by different variables in constructing quality autonomous learning processes, not only in relation to students, as in the case of this study, but also in relation to teachers, tasks, contexts, and academic institutions, as well as the different interactions between them.

The influence of student characteristics on the dependability of behavioral observation data.

Although generalizability theory has been used increasingly in recent years to investigate the dependability of behavioral estimates, many of these studies have relied on use of general education populations as opposed to those students who are most likely to be referred for assessment due to problematic classroom behavior (e.g., inattention, disruption). The current study investigated the degree to which differences exist in terms of the magnitude of both variance component estimates and dependability coefficients between students nominated by their teachers for Tier 2 interventions due to classroom behavior problems and a general classroom sample (i.e., including both nominated and non-nominated students). The academic engagement levels of 16 (8 nominated, 8 non-nominated) middle school students were measured by 4 trained observers using momentary time-sampling procedures. A series of G and D studies were then conducted to determine whether the 2 groups were similar in terms of the (a) distribution of rating variance and (b) number of observations needed to achieve an adequate level of dependability. Results suggested that the behavior of students in the teacher-nominated group fluctuated more across time and that roughly twice as many observations would therefore be required to yield similar levels of dependability compared with the combined group. These findings highlight the importance of constructing samples of students that are comparable to those students with whom the measurement method is likely to be applied when conducting psychometric investigations of behavioral assessment tools.

Bridges and barriers: understanding the educational pathways of underrepresented minority students in STEM (104.2)

This presentation draws from data and analyses of a national study regarding postsecondary pathways of students who started college with an interest in pursuing a bachelor’s degree in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The study utilizes both quantitative (e.g,. multilevel modeling) and qualitative analytic methods to understand the college experiences of STEM aspirants that contribute to their successful completion of a STEM bachelor’s degree and future enrollment in STEM graduate and professional programs. Findings indicate that the structure of introductory science courses are critical in facilitating or hindering undergraduate STEM students’ successful matriculation through their programs. More frequent incorporation of evidence‐based teaching practices significantly and positively contribute to students’ level of academic engagement in these courses. Over the longer term, students who participate in undergraduate research, identify faculty mentors, and participate in department‐related academic clubs have significantly better odds of completing a STEM degree and enrolling in STEM graduate and professional programs.

Academic Engagement and Achievement Among Latina/o and Non-Latina/o Adolescents

This article presents an exploratory study of the relation between academic engagement and academic achievement for Latina/o and non-Latina/o adolescents attending a predominantly low-income, Latina/o urban middle school in Southern California. A sample of 61 students (37 Latinas/os and 24 non-Latinas/os) participated in the study. The Latina/o students’ mean grade point average was lower than the non-Latina/o students’ mean grade point average. The study results revealed a significant interaction between academic engagement and grade point average for Latina/o students but not for non-Latina/o students. Findings are discussed in regard to the promotion of Latina/o adolescent achievement through increased levels of academic engagement.

Academic Achievement and School-Wide Positive Behavior Supports

School-wide positive behavior supports (SWPBS) is designed to improve learning environments by increasing the (a) amount of time students are in school (e.g., decreased out-of-school suspensions), (b) proportion of minutes students are engaged in instruction, and (c) level of academic engagement of students during instruction. The underlying assumption is that by improving social behavior, schools have more time to deliver effective instruction. However, to date, this assumption has not been fully investigated. The goal of this study was to explicitly examine the impact of SWPBS on school-wide academic achievement. First, a comprehensive review of the SWPBS literature was conducted to determine the impact of SWPBS on academic achievement. Then, a longitudinal state-level analysis of schools implementing SWPBS and propensity score-matched control schools was conducted to identify differential effects. Results indicated little to no relationship between SWPBS alone and school-level academic achievement. Implications, considerations, and future directions are discussed.