amotivationalperspectiveonengagementanddisaffectio.docVIP

A Motivational Perspective on Engagement and Disaffection: Conceptualization and Assessment of Children’s Behavioral and Emotional Participation in Academic Activities in the Classroom Ellen A. Skinner, Thomas A. Kindermann, and Carrie J. Furrer Portland State University and NPC Research Key words: academic engagement, disaffection, achievement motivation, classroom participation, emotional engagement, on-task behavior In press. Educational and Psychological Measurement. Author contact information: Ellen Skinner Psychology Department Portland State University PO Box 751 Portland, OR 97207-751 Email: skinnere@pdx.edu FAX: (503) 725-3904 A Motivational Perspective on Engagement and Disaffection: Conceptualization and Assessment of Children’s Behavioral and Emotional Participation in Academic Activities in the Classroom Abstract This paper presents a motivational conceptualization of engagement and disaffection in the classroom that emphasizes children’s active, constructive, focused, enthusiastic participation in the activities of learning, and that distinguishes engagement from disaffection, and behavioral from emotional features. The psychometric properties of scores from brief teacher-report and self (student)- report assessments of behavioral engagement, emotional engagement, behavioral disaffection, and emotional disaffection were examined using data from 1018 students in third through sixth grade. Structural analyses of these four indicators confirmed that a multi-dimensional structure was a better fit to the data than bipolar or unidimensional models. The validity of scores from these measures was supported by findings that teacher-reports were correlated with student- reports, with in vivo observations of engagement in the classroom, and with markers of self-system and social contextual processes. We conclude that these measures capture important features of engagement and disaffection in the classroom, and that any assessment aiming to be compr