Engagement and disaffection in the classroom: Part of a larger motivational dynamic?

2008/11/01 by Ellen Skinner, Ellen A. Skinner, Carrie Furrer +4 · 2,019 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development #Cognitive psychology #Early Childhood Education and Development #Mathematics education #Parental Involvement in Education #Psychology #Social psychology

paper · doi:10.1037/a0012840

published in Journal of Educational Psychology 100(4), 765-781 (American Psychological Association)

openalex publication_date 2008/11/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04

Abstract

A study of 805 4th through 7th graders used a model of motivational development to guide the investigation of the internal dynamics of 4 indicators of behavioral and emotional engagement and disaffection and the facilitative effects of teacher support and 3 student self-perceptions (competence, autonomy, and relatedness) on changes in these indicators over the school year. In terms of internal dynamics, emotional components of engagement contributed significantly to changes in their behavioral counterparts; feedback from behavior to changes in emotion were not as consistent. Teacher support and students' self-perceptions (especially autonomy) contributed to changes in behavioral components: Each predicted increases in engagement and decreases in disaffection. Tests of process models revealed that the effects of teacher context were mediated by children's self-perceptions. Taken together, these findings suggest a clear distinction between indicators and facilitators of engagement and begin to articulate the dynamics between emotion and behavior that take place inside engagement and the motivational dynamics that take place outside of engagement, involving the social context, self-systems, and engagement itself.

Citations

• Autonomy and Relatedness as Fundamental to Motivation and Education
• A Motivational Perspective on Engagement and Disaffection
• Motivation in the classroom: Reciprocal effects of teacher behavior and student engagement across the school year.
• The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations.

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Related

• A Motivational Perspective on Engagement and Disaffection
• Motivation in the classroom: Reciprocal effects of teacher behavior and student engagement across the school year.
• Early adolescents' perceptions of the classroom social environment, motivational beliefs, and engagement.
• Teachers’ estimates of their students’ motivation and engagement: being in synch with students
• Engaging students in learning activities: It is not autonomy support or structure but autonomy support and structure.