The Social Contagion of Academic Engagement

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 16
  In Roundtable Session: Fostering Engagement: Social and Collaborative Considerations

Abstract

School engagement is a strong predictor of academic achievement. However, much of the research on engagement has focused on personal psychological antecedents with fewer studies focusing on the influence of one’s classmates. Drawing on the idea of social contagion, this study aimed to examine whether classmates’ engagement influences one’s own engagement. Two data collection were administered seven months apart to 847 secondary school students nested within 30 classes. Multilevel modelling was used to analyze the data. Findings show that a student’s Time-2 engagement is predicted by his/her classmates’ engagement at Time-1, even after controlling for one's own Time-1 engagement and other covariates. Findings support the contagion of engagement among students. School engagement is socially-embedded and can be transmitted among classmates.

Authors

• Norman Biliwang Mendoza, The Education University of Hong Kong

• Ronnel B. King, The Education University of Hong Kong