TY - JOUR
T1 - Teacher and Peer Support for Young Adolescents’ Motivation, Engagement, and School Belonging
AU - Kiefer, Sarah M.
AU - Alley, Kathleen M.
AU - Ellerbrock, Cheryl
PY - 2015/1/1
Y1 - 2015/1/1
N2 - The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed methods study was to investigate teacher and peer support for young adolescents’ academic motivation, classroom engagement, and school belonging within one large, urban, ethnically diverse middle school. In the initial quantitative phase, associations among aspects of teacher support (autonomy, structure, and involvement), peer support (academic and emotional), and adjustment (motivation, engagement, and belonging) were examined using student surveys ( N = 209, 61% females). In the follow-up qualitative phase, participants elaborated on the ways teachers and peers support young adolescents’ adjustment during individual interviews ( N = 18 students, 5 teachers, and 1 administrator). Results indicate teacher and peer support are academic and social in nature and have unique implications for supporting motivation, engagement, and belonging in middle school. By utilizing a mixed methods design and adopting a multidimensional perspective of classroom-based support, our findings provide a comprehensive understanding of the role of teacher and peer support on student adjustment. An implication for educators is for them to understand the ways teacher and peer support may help meet young adolescents’ needs and promote their academic motivation, classroom engagement, and school belonging. Findings may inform middle level educational research and practice, especially in urban, ethnically diverse middle level schools.
AB - The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed methods study was to investigate teacher and peer support for young adolescents’ academic motivation, classroom engagement, and school belonging within one large, urban, ethnically diverse middle school. In the initial quantitative phase, associations among aspects of teacher support (autonomy, structure, and involvement), peer support (academic and emotional), and adjustment (motivation, engagement, and belonging) were examined using student surveys ( N = 209, 61% females). In the follow-up qualitative phase, participants elaborated on the ways teachers and peers support young adolescents’ adjustment during individual interviews ( N = 18 students, 5 teachers, and 1 administrator). Results indicate teacher and peer support are academic and social in nature and have unique implications for supporting motivation, engagement, and belonging in middle school. By utilizing a mixed methods design and adopting a multidimensional perspective of classroom-based support, our findings provide a comprehensive understanding of the role of teacher and peer support on student adjustment. An implication for educators is for them to understand the ways teacher and peer support may help meet young adolescents’ needs and promote their academic motivation, classroom engagement, and school belonging. Findings may inform middle level educational research and practice, especially in urban, ethnically diverse middle level schools.
KW - academic motivation
KW - engagement
KW - school belonging
KW - teacher support
KW - peer support
UR - https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/tal_facpub/188
UR - https://doi.org/10.1080/19404476.2015.11641184
U2 - 10.1080/19404476.2015.11641184
DO - 10.1080/19404476.2015.11641184
M3 - Article
VL - 38
JO - RMLE Online: Research in Middle Level Education
JF - RMLE Online: Research in Middle Level Education
ER -