A meta-analysis of the association between teacher support and school engagement

Abstract

School engagement is a multidimensional concept describing how students behave, feel, and think. Previous meta-analyses suggest that school engagement may be underpinned by specific aspects of teacher support. However, given that school engagement is also multifaceted, it is important to examine how each aspect of school engagement is related to different aspects of teacher support. Thus, a meta-analysis was conducted to ascertain the magnitude of the association between different domains of teacher support and various dimensions of school engagement. We also considered the moderating roles of study (e.g., study design) and sample characteristics (e.g., school level). Of the 1249 studies identified from three databases, 141 studies (i.e., 525,129 students) met the inclusion criteria. Results indicated that teacher support was positively associated with school engagement, but the magnitude of this association differed depending on which aspects of teacher support and school engagement were examined. Significant moderating effects were evident for sample language discrepancy (i.e., discrepancy between the language spoken by the student at home and in school), school level, sex, study design, and informants. Current findings emphasize a need to adopt a comprehensive approach when examining teacher support and school engagement. Findings also suggest the importance of fostering an emotionally supportive school context to promote school engagement among students. Implications for educational research and practice are discussed.