Components of school engagement among African American adolescents

Citation

Sirin, Selcuk R. & Rogers-Sirin, Lauren (2005). Components of school engagement among African American adolescents. Applied Developmental Science. vol. 9 (1) pp. 5-13

Abstract

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.

URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s1532480xads0901_2

Keyword(s)

School

Reference Type

Journal Article

Journal Title

Applied Developmental Science

Author(s)

Sirin, Selcuk R.
Rogers-Sirin, Lauren

Year Published

2005

Volume Number

9

Issue Number

1

Pages

5-13

ISSN/ISBN

1088-8691

DOI

10.1207/s1532480xads0901_2

Reference ID

472