The Classroom Social Environment and Changes in Adolescents’ Motivation and Engagement During Middle School

TLDR

The study discusses implications for recent educational reform initiatives. The study examined how eighth‑grade students’ perceptions of classroom social environment predict changes in motivation and engagement from seventh to eighth grade. The authors surveyed 233 eighth‑grade students about classroom social environment and measured motivation and engagement before and after the transition. Prior motivation and engagement strongly predicted subsequent levels, while gender, race, and prior achievement did not; a higher‑order classroom social environment factor explained significant changes across all outcomes, with teacher support and mutual respect linked to positive changes and teacher promotion of performance goals linked to negative changes.

Abstract

The authors investigated how students’ (N = 233) perceptions of the social environment of their eighth-grade classroom related to changes in motivation and engagement when they moved from seventh to eighth grade. In general, prior motivation and engagement were strong predictors of subsequent motivation and engagement, whereas gender, race, and prior achievement were not related to changes in motivation or engagement. A higher-order classroom social environment factor accounted for significant changes in all motivation and engagement outcomes. Four distinct dimensions of the social environment were differentially important in explaining changes in various indices of motivation and engagement. In general, however, students’ perceptions of teacher support, and the teacher as promoting interaction and mutual respect were related to positive changes in their motivation and engagement. Students’ perceptions of the teacher as promoting performance goals were related to negative changes in student motivation and engagement. Implications for recent educational reform initiatives were also discussed.