Predicting Engagement with School: A Study on Romanian Adolescents

• Published in: Journal of innovation in psychology, education and didactics Vol. 27; no. 2; pp. 211 - 230
• Main Authors: Robu, Viorel, Caranfil, Narcisa Gianina, Tufeanu, Magda, Sandovici, Anişoara
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bacau “Vasile Alecsandri” University of Bacau Pedagogy of Primary and Preschool Education 01-01-2023
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Adolescents; Educational Environment; Extracurricular activities; Learning Activities; Learning Processes; Multiple Regression Analysis; Social support; Student Motivation; Students; Teenagers
• ISSN: 2247-4579; 2392-7127
• DOI: 10.2908l/JIPED.2023.27.2.06

Engagement with school is a variable that has generated growing interest from researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers in education in recent decades. A consistent body of studies conducted in different segments of the middle and high school age population in Australia, Canada, East Asia, Europe, the USA, and other countries support the protective role that engagement with school plays against the depreciation of school achievements and the risk of early school dropout. Engagement with school also mediates the effects that the educational and social climate in the school has on the students' performance as well as on their adaptive behaviors. Therefore, investigating the factors that account for individual differences in school engagement among adolescents is an important task of research in the field of educational sciences. This study aimed to investigate the psychosocial determinants of engagement with school among Romanian adolescents. Data were collected from 534 participants attending different high schools. Adolescents completed a set of standardized tools that included seven questionnaires, scales, and inventories. To obtain the predictive models, linear multiple regression analysis was used. Twelve independent variables were introduced in the regression models where the criteria were the facets of school engagement. The most consistent predictors of the facets of engagement with school were motivation/self-regulation, general attitude toward school, intrinsic academic motivation, and social support from peers. These data can be added to the empirical evidence on the variables that contribute to the facilitation of a positive attitude toward school as well as to efforts oriented toward solid work among adolescents.