When students show some initiative: Two experiments on the benefits of greater agentic engagement

Correlational and longitudinal research suggests that agentically-engaged students experience multiple educational benefits. Recognizing this, two experiments tested the causal capacity of manipulated agentic engagement to create three categories of benefits: a supportive learning environment; motivational satisfactions; and effective functioning (e.g., engagement, performance). Study 1 used the teacher–student laboratory paradigm to place 121 same-sex pairs of preservice teachers into the roles of teacher and student during a videotaped 12-min instructional episode. Teachers were randomly assigned to be autonomy supportive or not, while students were randomly assigned to be agentically engaged or not. MANOVAs on 10 self-reported and rater-scored dependent measures showed that manipulated agentic engagement enhanced both a supportive learning environment and greater motivational satisfaction but not more effective functioning. Study 2 used the same teacher-student paradigm to randomly assign 74 same-sex pairs into one of three conditions: agentic engagement to change the environment (as in Study 1); agentic engagement to change one's functioning (a new Study 2 manipulation); and a neutral control. The first manipulation again enhanced the supportive learning environment and motivational satisfaction but not effective functioning, while the second manipulation produced no benefits. Collectively, these findings confirm some limited causal benefits from agentic engagement and therefore provide guidance for future research, including the design and implementation of student-focused agentic engagement interventions.     

Achievement and engagement: How student characteristics influence teacher judgments

Teachers' judgments of student characteristics are affected not only by the characteristic in question, but also by other factors. This article presents three studies examining whether students' achievement influences teachers' judgments of their engagement (as a proxy for motivation) and vice versa. First, a field study was conducted with N = 52 teachers and N = 1135 students. Structural equation modeling revealed an effect of student achievement on teacher judgments of student engagement and an effect of student engagement on teacher judgments of student achievement—above and beyond the association of each student characteristic with teacher judgments of that characteristic. These results were then replicated in two experimental studies involving a computer simulation of an instructional situation, the Simulated Classroom, with N = 40 and N = 181 teacher candidates, respectively. The psychological determinants of the effects observed are discussed, as are their practical implications.     

Relations between academic performance,student engagement and student burnout: A cross-lagged analysis of a two-wave study

Academic performance and student well-being are two desired outcomes of any learning and instruction process. The purpose of the present study was to test the temporal order of the relationships between academic performance and two forms of student well-being (i.e., student engagement and burnout) in a specific context. 142 psychology undergraduate students completed self-reported measures of student engagement and student burnout in two waves, during a semester. Also, we included their grades from two intermediate evaluations. Path analysis models suggested that academic grades could be considered antecedents of student engagement and student burnout, while the well-being measures cannot be considered antecedents of the academic performance. These findings provide additional knowledge regarding the relationships between academic well-being and academic performance.     

How teacher emotional support motivates students: The mediating roles of perceived peer relatedness,autonomy support,and competence

Multilevel mediation analyses test whether students' mid-year reports of classroom experiences of autonomy, relatedness with peers, and competence mediate associations between early in the school year emotionally-supportive teacher-student interactions (independently observed) and student-reported academic year changes in mastery motivation and behavioral engagement. When teachers were observed to be more emotionally-supportive in the beginning of the school year, adolescents reported academic year increases in their behavioral engagement and mastery motivation. Mid-year student reports indicated that in emotionally-supportive classrooms, adolescents experienced more developmentally-appropriate opportunities to exercise autonomy in their day-to-day activities and had more positive relationships with their peers. Analyses of the indirect effects of teacher emotional support on students' engagement and motivation indicated significant mediating effects of autonomy and peer relatedness experiences, but not competence beliefs, in this sample of 960 students (ages 11–17) in the classrooms of 68 middle and high school teachers in 12 U.S. schools.     

Teacher support and academic engagement among EFL learners: The role of positive academic emotions

Academic engagement and teacher support, as two important factors in education, have been largely neglected in the research literature of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and applied linguistics. Given the facilitative role of positive emotions in learning processes, this study aimed to examine their mediating role in the relationship between teacher support and academic engagement among Iranian EFL learners. The participants were 435 EFL freshmen randomly selected via multi-stage cluster sampling. The data were collected through previously validated measures. The results of structural equation modelling showed that perceived teacher support could directly and positively affect academic engagement. Additionally, positive emotions mediated the relationship between teacher support and academic engagement. Finally, some important implications and suggestions for further research are presented.     

Effects of perceived autonomy support from social agents on motivation and engagement of Chinese primary school students: Psychological need satisfaction as mediator

Little research has simultaneously examined the differential effects of autonomy support from parents, teachers, and peers (social agents) on students’ psychological need satisfaction, motivation, and school engagement. Drawing from Self-Determination Theory, this study examined the joint effects of perceived autonomy support from these three social agents on psychological needs, motivation, and engagement of 614 Chinese primary school students. Results revealed that perceived autonomy support from parents, teachers, and peers positively and uniquely predicted student psychological need satisfaction. The effect was strongest for parental autonomy support, although a model constraining the paths from all three social agents to be equal fit equally well. Need satisfaction predicted greater self-determined motivation and student engagement and mediated the effects of all three social agents on student motivation and engagement. The model showed strong gender invariance. The results highlight the importance of targeting all three social agents in multi-level interventions that aim to optimize student motivation and school engagement.     

Relatedness between jobs and academic majors: its relationship to academic involvement of college students

The study considered 10,072 third-year college students in Taiwan who had paid jobs while studying and found that students who worked in jobs related to their academic majors scored significantly higher on the academic involvement scale than students working in unrelated jobs. In addition, the effect of relatedness between jobs and majors did not interact significantly with either the effect of working on/off campus or the effect of working part-time/full-time.     

To be seen and heard: Enhancing student engagement to support university aspirations and expectations for students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds

An important goal for educators is to foster student engagement in order to support a sense of valuing and aspiring to higher levels of education. To value education, students need to perceive that they are welcome, express their ideas and engage meaningfully in each education space they enter. Therefore, ‘pupil voice’ has the potential to become an important influencing factor regarding the degree to which students become self-regulated learners, value educationand consequently support their aspirations and build their expectations to go on to university. This study examines the role pupil voice plays in building cognitive and emotional engagement, and whether this, in turn, builds desire for further study and expectations for university entry. Pupil voice is operationalised as the extent to which the student feels heard, involved and supported by the school community. Student survey data was collected (N = 542) from a low socioeconomic status region of the southwest corridor of metropolitan Perth, Western Australia. Structural equation modelling substantiated our serial mediation hypothesis. For students, a discernible pupil voice significantly and positively increased cognitive engagement (self-regulated learning), which increased emotional engagement (valuing education) that, in turn, increased university desires, which led to increased university expectations. The results of this study underscore the importance of policies and practical interventions designed to develop strong student–teacher relationships, where students feel they are both seen and heard.     

The role of teachers' instrumental and emotional support in students' academic buoyancy,engagement, and academic skills: A study of high school and elementary school students in different national contexts

In this investigation of high school students (N = 2510) in Singapore (Study 1) and elementary school students (N = 119) in Australia (Study 2), we examined the role of instrumental and emotional forms of teacher support in students' academic buoyancy and academic outcomes (engagement and academic skills). In both studies, perceived instrumental support (but not perceived emotional support) was positively associated with academic buoyancy (moderate effect size in Study 1, large effect in Study 2). In Study 1, academic buoyancy was positively associated with students' academic engagement (specifically, effort and persistence [large effect], perceived importance of school [moderate effect], and feelings of school belonging [moderate effect]). In Study 2 academic buoyancy was positively associated with gains in students' academic skills and engagement (specifically, class participation [large effect] and future aspirations [large effect]). In both studies, there was tentative support for a mediating role of academic buoyancy linking students' perceived teacher support to academic outcomes.     

Teacher support,growth language mindset,and academic engagement: The mediating role of L2 grit

Engagement as an essential factor for active and meaningful learning of English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) is affected by both learner external (e.g., teacher support) and internal (e.g., growth language mindset and L2 grit) factors. This study examined the relationship between perceived teacher support, growth language mindset, and academic engagement by considering the mediating role of L2 grit. The participants were 295 Iranian EFL learners selected via multi-stage cluster sampling. The SEM results indicated that perceived teacher support and growth language mindset directly and positively predicted academic engagement. Additionally, L2 grit mediated the relationships ‘between perceived teacher support and academic engagement’ and ‘between growth language mindset and academic engagement’. EFL learners receiving more teacher support and endorsing higher levels of growth language mindset can successfully overcome failures and difficulties in their learning process by showing more persistence in dealing with challenges and sustaining their interest, which could considerably enhance their engagement in learning.     

Measurement invariance of information,communication and technology (ICT) engagement and its relationship with student academic literacy: Evidence from PISA 2018

The present study aimed to examine the measurement invariance of the information, communication and technology (ICT) engagement questionnaire in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) across countries, and further to explore the effects of ICT engagement on student literacy. The sample included 98,758 15-year-old students from 16 countries in PISA 2018. The multi-group confirmatory factor analyses results indicated that the ICT engagement questionnaire was invariant at the residual level so that meaningful cross-country comparisons can be made at the observed level. Furthermore, the multi-level model results indicated that perceived ICT autonomy was a positive predictor, while use of social media was a negative predictor of student literacy across the countries. However, the relations of interest in ICT and perceived ICT competence to student literacy were inconsistent, with some countries showing positive and linear relationships, while others negative and linear relationships.     

Observed lesson structure during the first year of secondary education: Exploration of change and link with academic engagement

This study investigates whether lesson structure (LS) matters and which components are important for academic engagement during the first grade of secondary education. Data from videoed lessons of 10 Dutch and 12 Indonesian teachers analyzed using an observation protocol show that six LS components are found, that between class and over measurement variability in LS is evident, and that on average LS change is not a linear function of time. Class differences over time do exist and several personal and contextual characteristics affect LS. Links between LS (student work time, reviewing and introducing new content) and academic engagement are evident.     

The effects of classroom and school environments on student engagement: the case of high school students in Abu Dhabi public schools

Drawing on data from a merged data set from a student survey and a parent survey that were conducted in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in 2013, this article uses a multilevel framework to investigate the effects of individual characteristics and the classroom and school environments on high school students’ school engagement in a modernising education system that is different from Western ones. The results of the three-level model revealed that while students’ attributes remained strong predictors of their school engagement, the social and organisational environment of classrooms and school also greatly shaped the extent to which students emotionally and cognitively engaged with their school and learning. This study provided evidence to support the interactive nature of the impact of multilevel environments on student engagement. The policy and research implications were also discussed in the empirical context of Abu Dhabi.     

Predicting the academic achievement of students bridging to engineering: the role of academic background variables and diagnostic testing

Abstract

Although the number of engineering students is increasing, dropout rates remain high. This problem is also present in the Faculty of Engineering Technology (FET) at KU Leuven, Belgium, which resulted in the need for an in-depth analysis of the academic achievement of the bridging students there. This study examines the contribution of a range of predictors, both cognitive and non-cognitive. The examined predictors are: general characteristics, academic background variables and variables tested in a diagnostic test. A multiple linear regression model for the 2015–2016 chohort accounted for an explained variance of 36% of the students’ academic achievement. After combining three cohorts, we managed to explain 43% of the variance in students’ academic achievement. As expected, the academic background variables are the most important predictors. The diagnostic tests are less predictive but their role is important, since they encourage students to participate in associated interventions.     

Building bridges to student learning: Perceptions of the learning environment,engagement, and learning outcomes among Chinese undergraduates

The study examined the relationships among students’ perceptions of the learning environment, prior academic achievement, engagement, and learning outcomes (cumulative university GPA, generic skills development, and learning satisfaction) with a sample of 2,616 seniors from a full-time research-oriented university in Mainland China. The results supported a model which showed that students’ perceptions of the learning environment and prior academic achievement had direct effects on learning outcomes, and indirect effects via their engagement. The effects, however, varied depending on the type of the outcome in question: (1) Student engagement mediated the relationship between course experience and generic skills development, (2) cocurricular experience positively predicted learning satisfaction, (3) first semester GPA positively predicted cumulative university GPA, and (4) National College Entrance Examination scores did not correlate with any other factor. A major proportion of the variance in the three types of learning outcomes was accounted for by the model, showing its effectiveness in predicting university students’ learning. Implications for improving undergraduate education in China are provided.     

Enhancing outcomes and reducing inhibitors to the engagement of students and staff in learning and teaching partnerships: implications for academic development

A growing body of literature on students as partners in learning and teaching offers evidence on which academic developers can draw when supporting, advocating for, or engaging in partnerships. We extend a previous systematic review of the partnership literature by presenting an analysis and discussion of the positive and negative outcomes of partnership, and the inhibitors to partnership. Implications include the importance of academic developers supporting: the relational processes of partnership; institutional or structural change to address resistance; and the potential of partnership to make institutions more equitable and empowering spaces.     

Learning to argue: A study of four schools and their attempt to develop the use of argumentation as a common instructional practice and its impact on students

This article reports the outcomes of a project in which teachers' sought to develop their ability to use instructional practices associated with argumentation in the teaching of science—in particular, the use of more dialogic approach based on small group work and the consideration of ideas, evidence, and argument. The project worked with four secondary school science departments over 2 years with the aim of developing a more dialogic approach to the teaching of science as a common instructional practice within the school. To achieve this goal, two lead teachers in each school worked to improve the use of argumentation as an instructional practice by embedding activities in the school science curriculum and to develop their colleague's expertise across the curriculum for 11‐ to 16‐year‐old students. This research sought to identify: (a) whether such an approach using minimal support and professional development could lead to measurable difference in student outcomes, and (b) what changes in teachers' practice were achieved (reported elsewhere). To assess the effects on student learning and engagement, data were collected of students' conceptual understanding, reasoning, and attitudes toward science from both the experimental schools and a comparison sample using a set of standard instruments. Results show that few significant changes were found in students compared to the comparison sample. In this article, we report the findings and discuss what we argue are salient implications for teacher professional development and teacher learning. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 50:315–347, 2013