Student engagement in the Caribbean region: Exploring its role in the motivation and achievement of Jamaican middle school students

Abstract

Using an expectancy-value framework, the present investigation is the first to explore the generality of this theorizing and research in the emerging regional context of the Caribbean. Given high underachievement in the Caribbean region, we addressed the need to better understand the role of engagement in students’ academic motivation and achievement. A total of 585 year 6 to 9 students from five Jamaican schools responded to a survey assessing their motivation milieu (academic expectations and values held by their parents, teachers, and peers), their self-motivation (expectancies and values), behavioral engagement (class participation, homework completion, school absenteeism), and their academic achievement (in mathematics, language arts, and science). Structural equation modeling showed that (a) students’ own motivation was influenced by their motivation milieu, and (b) students’ behavioral engagement significantly mediated the relationship between their motivation and their academic achievement. Findings confirm the generality of behavioral engagement effects among students in the developing Caribbean region and represent a novel contribution to the study of developing and emerging educational contexts more broadly.

Keywords

achievement Caribbean engagement Jamaica motivation

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bailey

(2004) Gender and education in Jamaica: Who is achieving and by whose standard. Prospects 34: 53–70. doi:10.1023/B:PROS.0000026679.99139.91.

Bempechat

Shernoff

D. J.

(2012) Parental influences on achievement motivation and student engagement. In: Christenson

S. L.

Reschly

A. L.

Wylie

(eds) Handbook of research on student engagement, New York, NY: Springer., pp. 315–342. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-2018-7_15.

Bowlby

(1982) Attachment and loss: Retrospect and prospect. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 52: 664–678. doi:10.1111/j.1939-0025.1982.tb01456.x.

Chang

McBride-Chang

Stewart

(2003) Life satisfaction, self-concept, and family relations in Chinese adolescents and children. International Journal of Behavioral Development 27: 182–189. doi:10.1080/01650250244000182.

Eccles

Wang

M. T.

(2012) So what is student engagement anyway? In: Christenson

S. L.

Reschly

A. L.

Wylie

(eds) Handbook of research on student engagement, New York, NY: Springer., pp. 133–145. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-2018-7_6.

Eccles

J. S.

Wigfield

(2002) Motivational beliefs, values and goals. Annual Review of Psychology 53: 109–132. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135153.

Epstein

J. L.

Sheldon

S. B.

(2002) Present and accounted for: Improving student attendance through family and community involvement. The Journal of Educational Research 95: 308–318. doi:10.1080/00220670209596604.

Fredricks

J. A.

Blumenfeld

P. C.

Paris

A. H.

(2004) Student engagement: Potential of the concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research 74: 59–109. doi:10.3102/00346543074001059.

Green

Liem

G. A. D.

Martin

A. J.

Colmar

Marsh

H. W.

McInerney

D. M.

(2012) Academic motivation, self-concept, engagement, and performance in high school: A longitudinal perspective. Journal of Adolescence 35: 1111–1122. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.02.016.

10.

Grolnick

W. S.

Raftery-Helmer

J. N.

Flamm

E. S.

(2013) Parent involvement in learning. In: Hattie

Anderman

(eds) International guide to student achievement, New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 101–103.

11.

Hanushek

E. A.

(2012) The cost of ignorance. In: Bottani

Checchi

(eds) La Sfida Della Valutazione Bolgna, Bologna: Società Editrice il Mulino, pp. 39–46.

12.

Hanushek

E. A.

(2013) Economic growth in developing countries: The role of human capital. Economics of Education Review 37: 204–212. doi:10.1016/j.econedurev.2013.04.005.

13.

Juvonen

Knifsend

(2016) School-based peer relations and achievement. In: Wentzel

K. R.

Miele

D. B.

(eds) Handbook of motivation at school, New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 231–250.

14.

Keith

T. Z.

(2006) Multiple regression and beyond, Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

15.

Kindermann

(2016) Peer group influences on students’ academic motivation. In: Wentzel

K. R.

Ramani

G. B.

(eds) Handbook of social influences in school contexts: Social-emotional, motivation and cognitive outcomes, New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 31–47.

16.

Kindermann

T. A.

Skinner

E. A.

(2009) How do naturally existing peer groups shape children’s academic development during sixth grade? European Journal of Developmental Science 3: 31–43.

17.

Lee

Bong

Kim

S. I.

(2014) Interaction between task values and self-efficacy on maladaptive achievement strategy use. Educational Psychology 34: 538–560. doi:10.1080/01443410.2014.895296.

18.

Liem

G. A. D.

Martin

A. J.

(2012) The motivation and engagement scale: Theoretical framework, psychometric properties, and applied yields. Australian Psychologist 47: 3–13. doi:10.1111/j.1742-9544.2011.00049.x.

19.

Martin

A. J.

(2007) Examining a multidimensional model of student motivation and engagement using a construct validation approach. British Journal of Educational Psychology 77: 413–440. doi: 10.1348/000709906X118036.

20.

Martin

A. J.

(2009) Motivation and engagement across the academic lifespan: A developmental construct validity study of elementary school, high school, and university/college students. Educational and Psychological Measurement 69: 794–824. doi: 10.1177/0013164409332214.

21.

Martin

A. J.

(2012) Commentary: Motivation and engagement: Conceptual, operational and empirical clarity. In: Christenson

S. L.

Reschly

A. L.

Wylie

(eds) Handbook of research on student engagement, New York, NY: Springer., pp. 303–311. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-2018-7_14.

22.

Martin

A. J.

(2013) Family–school partnerships in academic achievement. In: Hattie

Anderman

(eds) International guide to student achievement, New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 98–100.

23.

Martin

A. J.

Martin

T. G.

Evans

(2016) Motivation and engagement in Jamaica: Testing a multidimensional framework among students in an emerging regional context. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment.

24.

McInerney

(2000) Helping kids achieve their best, Sydney: Allen and Unwin.

25.

Mitchell

Bryan

(2007) School–family–community partnerships: Strategies for school counselors working with Caribbean immigrant families. Professional School Counselling 10: 399–409. doi:10.5330/prsc.10.4.m30u883238642703.

26.

Muthén

L. K.

Muthén

B. O.

(2012) Mplus user’s guide, Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.

27.

Nagengast

Marsh

H. W. L.

Scalas

M. K.

Hau

K.-T.

Trautwein

(2011) Who took the ‘×’ out of Expectancy-Value Theory? A psychological mystery, a substantive methodological synergy, and a cross-national generalization. Psychological Science 22: 1058–1066. doi:10.1177/0956797611415540.

28.

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Program for International Student Assessment. (2012). Mathematics literacy: Student economic, cultural, and social status (ESCS). Retrieved from: https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pisa/pisa2012/pisa2012highlights_3d.asp.

29.

Reeve

(2012) A self-determination theory perspective on student engagement. In: Christenson

S. L.

Reschly

A. L.

Wylie

(eds) Handbook of research on student engagement, New York, NY: Springer., pp. 149–172. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-2018-7_7.

30.

Reschly

A. L.

Christenson

S. L.

(2012) Jingle, jangle, and conceptual haziness: Evolution and future directions of the engagement construct. In: Christenson

S. L.

Reschly

A. L.

Wylie

(eds) Handbook of research on student engagement, New York, NY: Springer., pp. 3–19. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-2018-7_1.

31.

Ryan

R. M.

Deci

E. L.

(2000) Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist 55: 68–78. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68.

32.

Skinner

E. A.

Belmont

M. J.

(1993) Motivation in the classroom: Reciprocal effects of teacher behavior and student engagement across the school year. Journal of Educational Psychology 85: 571–581. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.85.4.571.

33.

Skinner

E. A.

Pitzer

J. R.

(2012) Developmental dynamics of student engagement, coping, and everyday resilience. In: Christenson

S. L.

Reschly

A. L.

Wylie

(eds) Handbook of research on student engagement, New York, NY: Springer., pp. 21–44. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-2018-7_2.

34.

Teasley

M. L.

(2004) Absenteeism and truancy: Risk, protection, and best practice implications for school social workers. Children & Schools 26: 117–128. doi:10.1093/cs/26.2.117.

35.

Trautwein

Koller

(2003) The relationship between homework and achievement—still much of a mystery. Educational Psychology Review 15: 115–145. doi:10.1023/A:1023460414243.

36.

Trautwein

Lüdtke

Schnyder

Niggli

(2006) Predicting homework effort: Support for a domain-specific, multilevel homework model. Journal of Educational Psychology 98: 438. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.98.2.438.

37.

Valverde

Näslund-Hadley

(2010) The state of numeracy education in Latin America and the Caribbean, Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank.

38.

Valiente

Swanson

Lemery-Chalfant

Berger

R. H.

(2014) Children’s effortful control and academic achievement: do relational peer victimization and classroom participation operate as mediators? Journal of School Psychology 52: 433–445. doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2014.05.005.

39.

Weinstein

R. S.

(2002) Reaching higher: The power of expectations in schooling, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

40.

Wentzel

K. R.

(2009) Teacher-student relationships. In: Wentzel

K. R.

Miele

D. B.

(eds) Handbook of motivation at school, 2nd ed. New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 211–230.

41.

Wentzel

K. R.

Asher

S. R.

(1995) The academic lives of neglected, rejected, popular, and controversial children. Child Development 66: 754–763. doi:10.2307/1131948.

42.

Wentzel

K. R.

Battle

Russell

S. L.

Looney

L. B.

(2010) Social supports from teachers and peers as predictors of academic and social motivation. Contemporary Educational Psychology 35: 193–202. doi:10.1016/j.cedpsych.2010.03.002.

43.

Wentzel

K. R.

Muenks

(2016) Peer influence on students’ motivation, academic achievement and social behavior. In: Wentzel

K. R.

Ramani

G. B.

(eds) Handbook of social influences in school contexts: Social-emotional, motivation and cognitive outcomes, New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 13–30.

44.

Wigfield

Eccles

J. S.

(2000) Expectancy–value theory of achievement motivation. Contemporary Educational Psychology 25: 68–81. doi:10.1006/ceps.1999.1015.

45.

Wigfield

Tonks

Klauda

(2009) Expectancy–value theory. In: Wentzel

K. R.

Wigfield

(eds) Handbook of motivation at school, New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 55–76.

46.

Willms, J. D. (2003). Student engagement at school: A sense of belonging and participation (Results from PISA 2000). Retrieved from OECD website: https://www.oecd.org/edu/pisa/.