Poster #44 - Kindergarteners' Academic Engagement: A Dual Pathway Model including Social Information Processing, Social Behavior, and Teacher-Child Relationships

• In Event: Poster Session 17

Abstract

For decades, researchers and practitioners have attempted to uncover factors contributing to students’ academic engagement in order to understand how to foster a greater sense of engagement in schools (Christenson et al., 2012; Finn & Voelkl, 1993; Perkmann et al., 2019; Skinner & Belmont, 1993). The focus on academic engagement is substantiated by the myriad of positive student outcomes linked with their academic engagement, such as greater academic achievement (e.g., Chase et al., 2014) and less risky behaviors (e. g., Griffiths et al., 2012; Henry et al., 2012).
In this respect, there is extensive research on the influence of students’ social-emotional skills and subsequent social behavior and relationships in the classroom on academic engagement (Furrer et al., 2012; Kwon et al., 2014; Wang & Eccles, 2012; Wang & Fredricks, 2014). Yet, less is known about identifying other important antecedents, such as students’ social cognition, that may be linked to students’ academic engagement through their associations with the students’ social-relational conduct in the classroom.
Accordingly, our study focuses on the potential indirect effects of kindergartners’ social information processing patterns (SIP) on their academic engagement through the student’s social behaviors in class (prosocial behavior/ problem behavior) and the teacher-child relationship quality (relational closeness/conflict). As far as we know, this study is the first to examine one comprehensive dual pathway model, which includes different student social aspects (cognitive, behavioral, and relational) as potential precursors of kindergarteners’ academic engagement.
Study participants included 300 preschoolers (151 girls; Mage = 68.76 months, SDage = 6.34 months). Children’s competent and aggressive SIP patterns were examined using the social information processing interview – preschool version (SIPI-P; Ziv & Sorongon, 2011). Classroom social behavior was measured using the teacher-reported Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ, Goodman, 1997). Teacher-child relational closeness and conflict were examined using the teacher-reported Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS; Pianta & Steinberg, 1992). Lastly, academic engagement included two aspects: (1) children’s academic self-perceptions which were examined using the relevant subscale in the Feeling About School scale (FAS; Valeski & Stipek, 2001), and (2) children’s attitudes toward learning which were examined using the teacher-reported relevant subscale in the Preschool Learning Behavior Scale (PLBS; McDermott et al., 2002).
As hypothesized, this study’s overall model fitted the data (NFI = .97, CFI = .98, RMSEA = .07, SRMR = .04; Kline, 2016; see Figure 1). Specifically, competent SIP is positively linked to the kindergarteners’ academic self-perceptions and attitudes toward learning via the children’s prosocial behaviors in class and teacher-child relational closeness. In addition, aggressive SIP is negatively linked to the kindergarteners’ attitudes toward learning via the children’s problem behaviors in class and teacher-child relational conflict. The indirect links between children’s SIP and their academic self-perceptions via their behavior in class and relationships with their teachers were not significant.
This study is the first to apply a broad model that demonstrates how children’s differences in social cognition can potentially increase or decrease their academic engagement via their association with the children’s actual social conduct in class.

Authors

• Einat Elizarov, University of Haifa
  Presenting Author

• Amanda Czik

• Yair Ziv, University of Haifa