Skip to main content

Part III Commentary: Socio-Cultural Contexts, Social Competence, and Engagement at School

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Handbook of Research on Student Engagement

Abstract

A highly regarded motivation researcher, Kathryn Wentzel, shared her perspectives in a commentary on the chapters in Part III. Wentzel explored questions relating to student competence including its definition, relation to engagement, and the role of support from important contexts (home, school, peers, and community) in fostering competence and engagement. The chapter concludes with directions for future research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 189.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Assor, A. (2012). Allowing choice and nurturing an inner compass: Educational practices supporting students’ need for autonomy. In S. L. Christenson, A. L. Reschly, & C. Wylie (Eds.), Handbook of research on student engagement (pp. 421–439). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bempechat, J., & Shernoff, D. J. (2012). Parental influences on achievement motivation and student engagement. In S. L. Christenson, A. L. Reschly, & C. Wylie (Eds.), Handbook of research on student engagement (pp. 315–342). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss. Attachment (Vol. 1). New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bronfenbrenner, U. (1989). Ecological systems theory. In R. Vasta (Ed.), Annals of child development (Vol. 6, pp. 187–250). Greenwich, CT: JAI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bukowski, W. M., & Hoza, B. (1989). Popularity and friendship: Issues in theory, measurement, and outcome. In T. J. Berndt & G. W. Ladd (Eds.), Peer relationships in child development (pp. 15–45). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chang, L. (2003). Variable effects of children’s aggression, social withdrawal, and prosocial leadership as functions of teacher beliefs and behaviors. Child Development, 74, 535–548.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Collins, W. A., & Repinski, D. J. (1994). Relationships during adolescence: Continuity and change in interpersonal perspective. In R. Montemayor, G. Adams, & T. Gullotta (Eds.), Personal relationships during adolescence (pp. 7–36). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crosnoe, R., & Needham, B. (2004). Holism, contextual variability, and the study of friendships in adolescent development. Child Development, 75, 264–279.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Darling, N., & Steinberg, L. (1993). Parenting style as context – An integrative model. Psychological Bulletin, 113, 487–496.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Developmental Studies Center (n.d.). Retrieved August 2, 2007, from www.devstu.org/

  • Dowson, M., & McInerney, D. M. (2003). What do students say about their motivational goals?: Towards a more complex and dynamic perspective on student motivation. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 28, 91–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2012). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82, 405–432.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eccles, J. S., & Midgley, C. (1989). Stage-environment fit: Developmentally appropriate classrooms for young adolescents. In C. Ames & R. Ames (Eds.), Research on motivation in education (Vol. 3, pp. 139–186). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evertson, C., & Weinstein, C. (2006). Handbook of Classroom Management – Research, Practice, and Contemporary Issues. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ford, M. E. (1992). Motivating humans: Goals, emotions, and personal agency beliefs. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C., & Paris, A. H. (2004). School engagement: Potential of the concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74, 59–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenfield, P. M. (1997). You can’t take it with you – Why ability assessments don’t cross cultures. American Psychologist, 52, 1115–1124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hinde, R. A. (1997). Towards understanding relationships. London: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hipkins, R. (2012). The engaging nature of teaching for competency development. In S. L. Christenson, A. L. Reschly, & C. Wylie (Eds.), Handbook of research on student engagement (pp. 441–456). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Irvine, J. J. (1986). Teacher-student interactions: Effects of student race, sex, and grade level. Journal of Educational Psychology, 78, 14–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Juvonen, J., Espoinoza, G., & Knifsend, C. (2012). The role of peer relationships in student academic and extracurricular engagement. In S. L. Christenson, A. L. Reschly, & C. Wylie (Eds.), Handbook of research on student engagement (pp. 387–401). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuczynski, L., & Parkin, M. (2007). Agency and bidirectionality in socialization: Interactions, transactions and relational dialectics. In J. Grusec & P. Hastings (Eds.), Handbook of social development (pp. 259–283). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laible, D., & Thompson, R. A. (2007). Early socialization: A relationship perspective. In J. Grusec & P. Hastings (Eds.), Handbook of social development (pp. 181–207). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lam, S., Wong, B. P. H., Yang, H., & Liu, Y. (2012). Understanding student engagement with a contextual model. In S. L. Christenson, A. L. Reschly, & C. Wylie (Eds.), Handbook of research on student engagement (pp. 403–419). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meece, J. L., Wigfield, A., & Eccles, J. S. (1990). Predictors of math anxiety and its influence on young adolescents’ course enrollment intentions and performance in mathematics. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 60–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nichols, S., & Dawson, H. (2012). Assessment as a context for student engagement. In S. L. Christenson, A. L. Reschly, & C. Wylie (Eds.), Handbook of research on student engagement (pp. 457–477). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pekrun, R. (2009). Emotions at school. In K. R. Wentzel & A. Wigfield (Eds.), Handbook of motivation at school (pp. 575–604). New York: Taylor & Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phinney, J. S., Kim-Jo, T., Osorio, S., & Vilhjalmsdottir, P. (2005). Autonomy and relatedness in adolescent-parent disagreements: Ethnic and developmental factors. Journal of Adolescent Research, 20, 8–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piaget, J. (1983). Piaget’s theory. In P. H. Mussen (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 103–128). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pianta, R. (2006). Classroom management and relationships between children and teachers: Implications for research and practice. In C. Evertson & C. Weinstein (Eds.), Handbook of classroom management – Research, practice, and contemporary issues (pp. 685–710), Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum

    Google Scholar 

  • Pianta, R. C., Hamre, B., & Allen, J. P. (2012). Teacher-student relationships and engagement: Conceptual­izing, measuring, and improving the capacity of classroom interactions. In S. L. Christenson, A. L. Reschly, & C. Wylie (Eds.), Handbook of research on student engagement (pp. 365–386). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raftery, J. N., Grolnick, W. S., & Flamm, E. S. (2012). Families as facilitators of student engagement: Toward a Home-School Partnership Model. In S. L. Christenson, A. L. Reschly, & C. Wylie (Eds.), Hand­book of research on student engagement (pp. 343–364). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, D. R. (1995). Rural education: Decentering the consolidation debate. In E. N. Castle (Ed.), The changing American countryside: Rural people and places (pp. 451–480). Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roeser, R., Urdan, T., & Stephens, J. (2009). School as a context of student motivation and achievement. In K. R. Wentzel & A. Wigfield (Eds.), Handbook of motivation at school (pp. 381–410). New York: Taylor & Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rose-Krasnor, L. (1997). The nature of social competence: A theoretical review. Social Development, 6, 111–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rumberger, R. W. (1995). Dropping out of middle school: A multilevel analysis of students and schools. American Educational Research Journal, 32, 583–625.

    Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Saft, E. W., & Pianta, R. C. (2001). Teachers’ perceptions of their relationships with students: Effects of child age, gender, and ethnicity of teachers and children. School Psychology Quarterly, 16, 125–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sagi, A., Koren-Karie, N., Gini, M., Ziv, Y., & Joels, T. (2002). Shedding further light on the effects of various types and quality of early child care on infant-mother attachment relationship: The Haifa study of early child care. Child Development, 73, 1166–1186.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sederberg, C. H. (1987). Economic role of school districts in rural communities. Research in Rural Education, 4, 125–130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skinner, E. A., Kindermann, T. A., Connell, J. P., & Wellborn, J. P. (2009). Engagement and disaffection as organizational constructs in the dynamics of motivational development. In K. R. Wentzel & A. Wigfield (Eds.), Handbook of motivation at school (pp. 223–246). New York: Taylor & Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Slavin, R. (2011). Instruction based on cooperative learning. In R. Mayer & P. Alexander (Eds.), Handbook of research on learning and instruction (pp. 344–360). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinberg, L., Brown, B. B., & Dornbusch, S. M. (1996). Beyond the classroom: why school reform has failed and what parents need to do. New York: Simon & Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wentzel, K. R. (1991). Social competence at school: Relations between social responsibility and academic achievement. Review of Educational Research, 61, 1–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wentzel, K. R. (1994). Relations of social goal pursuit to social acceptance, classroom behavior, and perceived social support. Journal of Educational Psychology, 86, 173–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wentzel, K. R. (1997). Student motivation in middle school: The role of perceived pedagogical caring. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89, 411–419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wentzel, K. R. (1998). Social support and adjustment in middle school: The role of parents, teachers, and peers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90, 202–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wentzel, K. R. (1999). Social-motivational processes and interpersonal relationships: Implications for understanding students’ academic success. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 76–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wentzel, K. R. (2002). Are effective teachers like good parents? Interpersonal predictors of school adjustment in early adolescence. Child Development, 73, 287–301.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wentzel, K. R. (2003). School adjustment. In W. Reynolds & G. Miller (Eds.), Handbook of psychology, Vol. 7: Educational Psychology (pp. 235–258). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wentzel, K. R. (2004). Understanding classroom competence: The role of social-motivational and self-processes. In R. Kail (Ed.), Advances in child development and behavior (Vol. 32, pp. 213–241). New York: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wentzel, K. R. (2005). Peer relationships, motivation, and academic performance at school. In A. Elliot & C. Dweck (Eds.), Handbook of competence and motivation (pp. 279–296). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wentzel, K. R. (2009). Students’ relationships with teachers as motivational contexts. In K. Wentzel & A. Wigfield (Eds.), Handbook of motivation at school (pp. 301–322). Mahwah, NJ: LEA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wentzel, K. R., & Wigfield, A. (2009). Handbook of motivation at school. New York, NY: Taylor Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wentzel, K. R., Baker, S. A., & Russell, S. (2009). Peer relationships and positive adjustment at school. In R. Gillman, S. Huebner, & M. Furlong (Eds.), Promoting wellness in children and youth: A handbook of positive psychology in the schools (pp. 229–244). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wentzel, K. R., & Looney, L. (2007). Socialization in school settings. In J. Grusec & P. Hastings (Eds.), Handbook of social development (pp. 382–403). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wentzel, K., Russell, S., & Baker, S. (2011). Multiple goals of teachers, parents, and peers as predictors of young adolescents’ goals and affective functioning. Unpublished manuscript, University of Maryland, College Park.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wentzel, K. R., Russell, S., Garza, E., & Merchant, B. (2011). Understanding the role of social supports in Latina/o adolescents’ school engagement and achievement. In N. Cabrera, F. Villarruel, & H. Fitzgerald (Eds.), Volume of Latina/o adolescent psychology and mental health: Vol. 2: Adolescent development. (pp.195–216). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wentzel, K. R., Baker, S. A., & Russell, S. L. (2012). Young adolescent’s perceptions of teachers’ and peers’ goals as predictors of social and academic goal pursuit. Applied Psychology.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kathryn Wentzel .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Wentzel, K. (2012). Part III Commentary: Socio-Cultural Contexts, Social Competence, and Engagement at School. In: Christenson, S., Reschly, A., Wylie, C. (eds) Handbook of Research on Student Engagement. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2018-7_23

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics