Effects of Student Belonging and Engagement in an At-Risk Population Over Time

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine changes in students’ school belonging and behavioral engagement across the transitions to middle school and high school in an academically at-risk population. Growth curve modeling (GCM) was used to examine general trends in the target variables over time, repeated measures ANOVAs were used to examine differences in means for the target variables across the six waves, and an autoregressive cross-lagged model was used to determine directionality and causality in the relationships between the target variables. GCM results indicated that both school belonging and behavioral engagement decreased for students across the six waves. Females reported higher levels of belonging and engagement compared to males; however, this finding was not significant. Students who had been retained reported higher school belonging but lower behavioral engagement than students who had never been retained. With the ANOVA analyses, the greatest decreases in belonging for all students occurred from 7th to 9th grades and decreases in engagement were greatest from 6th to 7th grade and at the transition to high school. Both school belonging and behavioral engagement increased for all students at the transition to middle school, regardless of sex. Females reported higher levels of belonging at the transition to middle school than males, and males reported higher belonging at the transition to high school. Females reported higher levels of engagement at the transitions to both middle school and high school. The cross-lagged model revealed that school belonging was significantly and positively associated with behavioral engagement 1 year later across almost all waves of measurement; however, behavioral engagement was not significantly associated with school belonging one year later across all waves of measurement. All synchronous paths between belonging and engagement were significant. There were no significant differences between sex or retention status. Study limitations, implications for interventions, and future research directions are discussed.