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Understanding Student Engagement with a Contextual Model

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Handbook of Research on Student Engagement

Abstract

In the present study, student engagement was conceptualized as a metaconstruct with affective, behavioral, and cognitive dimensions. As the indicators in each of the three dimensions were unpacked from facilitators and outcomes, we were able to investigate how student engagement was associated with its antecedents and outcomes in a sample of Chinese junior secondary school students (N = 822). The results supported a contextual model for understanding student engagement. They revealed that students were engaged in school when they felt that their teachers adopted motivating instructional practices and they had social-emotional support from their teachers, parents, and peers. Their engagement was high when they had high self-efficacy, endorsed learning goals, and effort attribution. Most importantly, when students were engaged in schools, they experienced positive emotions frequently and their teachers rated them high on academic performance and conduct. The findings have implications for interventions for the enhancement of student engagement in school.

The study reported in this chapter is part of an international research project initiated by the International School Psychology Association (Lam et al., 2009).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong

    Shui-fong Lam Ph.D. & Bernard P. H. Wong Ph.D.

  2. Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, University of Zhejiang, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

    Hongfei Yang Ph.D.

  3. Urban Community and Mental Health Education Office, Yunnan Health Education Institute, Kunming, Yunnan, China

    Yi Liu M.A.

Authors
  1. Shui-fong Lam Ph.D.
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  2. Bernard P. H. Wong Ph.D.
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  3. Hongfei Yang Ph.D.
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  4. Yi Liu M.A.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shui-fong Lam Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, E. River Road 56, Minneapolis, 55455, Minnesota, USA

    Sandra L. Christenson

  2. Dept. Educational Psychology &, Instructional Technology, University of Georgia, Aderhold Hall 325N, Athens, 30602, Georgia, USA

    Amy L. Reschly

  3. Educational Research, New Zealand Council for, Wellington, New Zealand

    Cathy Wylie

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Lam, Sf., Wong, B.P.H., Yang, H., Liu, Y. (2012). Understanding Student Engagement with a Contextual Model. In: Christenson, S., Reschly, A., Wylie, C. (eds) Handbook of Research on Student Engagement. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2018-7_19

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