Components of School Engagement Among African American Adolescents

This study examined how various components of school engagement contribute to the academic performance of African American adolescents. The sample consisted of 499 African American adolescents in Grades 9 to 11. We investigated how adolescents' gender, grade, cognitive functioning, and parental...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied developmental science 2005-01, Vol.9 (1), p.5-13
Main Authors: Sirin, Selcuk R., Rogers-Sirin, Lauren
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic Achievement
Adolescents
African American Students
African Americans
Cognition & reasoning
Cognitive Ability
Correlation
Educational Attainment
Factor Analysis
Gender
Gender Differences
High School Students
Identification
Learner Engagement
Mothers
Parent Background
Prediction
Predictor Variables
School environment
Student Characteristics
Student Participation
Student School Relationship
Teenagers
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Summary:This study examined how various components of school engagement contribute to the academic performance of African American adolescents. The sample consisted of 499 African American adolescents in Grades 9 to 11. We investigated how adolescents' gender, grade, cognitive functioning, and parental education affect their school engagement and whether school engagement contributes to academic performance above and beyond students' background factors. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the conceptual school engagement model with 3 factors: school identification, school participation, and school expectations. Results revealed that students' gender, cognitive functioning, and mothers' education are related to school engagement. It also showed that components of school engagement predicted a significant portion of academic performance even after controlling for these background variables as well as their grade level. In examining the components of school engagement, school participation and school expectations emerged as significant predictors of academic performance, although school identification was not significantly associated with academic performance after controlling for students' background factors. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
ISSN:1088-8691
1532-480X
DOI:10.1207/s1532480xads0901_2