Positive school climate and emotional engagement: a mixed methods study of Chinese students as ethnocultural minorities in Malaysian secondary schools

Past research on ethnocultural minority students indicates that persistent inequities require greater attention to the multiple learning supports needed to enhance school success. The present study was designed to extend research in this area by exploring school climate and emotional engagement amon...

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Autors principals: Krauss, Steven, Wong, Emily J. Y., Zeldin, Shepherd, Kunasegaran, Mageswari, Nga Lay Hui, Janice, Ma’arof, Aini Marina, Yee Mei Tien, Wendy, Ismail, Ismi Arif
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Publicat: SAGE Publications 2022
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author Krauss, Steven
Wong, Emily J. Y.
Zeldin, Shepherd
Kunasegaran, Mageswari
Nga Lay Hui, Janice
Ma’arof, Aini Marina
Yee Mei Tien, Wendy
Ismail, Ismi Arif
author_facet Krauss, Steven
Wong, Emily J. Y.
Zeldin, Shepherd
Kunasegaran, Mageswari
Nga Lay Hui, Janice
Ma’arof, Aini Marina
Yee Mei Tien, Wendy
Ismail, Ismi Arif
author_sort Krauss, Steven
collection UPM
description Past research on ethnocultural minority students indicates that persistent inequities require greater attention to the multiple learning supports needed to enhance school success. The present study was designed to extend research in this area by exploring school climate and emotional engagement among minority ethnocultural Chinese students in Malaysian secondary schools. We employed quantitative surveys with 724 students (Mage = 16.1 years; 47.9% female), followed by qualitative interviews with a subset of 25 students (Mage = 16.1 years; 52% female). Path analysis indicated that feelings of safety, socio-emotional support from teachers and peers, and student voice were predictors of emotional engagement for Chinese students, which further predicted cognitive engagement, academic performance, and school behavior. Thematic analysis further revealed that language and communication barriers and bullying negatively impacted students’ sense of safety and engagement. Caring, respectful relationships with teachers led to students having opportunities to direct their own learning and make decisions on schoolwide activities, promoting students’ feelings of engagement. Support from peers increased students’ emotional engagement by reducing school-related stressors. The findings suggest that a mutually respectful, caring school climate and opportunities for student voice can enhance critical school experiences for ethnocultural minority high school students.
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spelling upm.eprints-1028022024-06-30T02:01:41Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/102802/ Positive school climate and emotional engagement: a mixed methods study of Chinese students as ethnocultural minorities in Malaysian secondary schools Krauss, Steven Wong, Emily J. Y. Zeldin, Shepherd Kunasegaran, Mageswari Nga Lay Hui, Janice Ma’arof, Aini Marina Yee Mei Tien, Wendy Ismail, Ismi Arif Past research on ethnocultural minority students indicates that persistent inequities require greater attention to the multiple learning supports needed to enhance school success. The present study was designed to extend research in this area by exploring school climate and emotional engagement among minority ethnocultural Chinese students in Malaysian secondary schools. We employed quantitative surveys with 724 students (Mage = 16.1 years; 47.9% female), followed by qualitative interviews with a subset of 25 students (Mage = 16.1 years; 52% female). Path analysis indicated that feelings of safety, socio-emotional support from teachers and peers, and student voice were predictors of emotional engagement for Chinese students, which further predicted cognitive engagement, academic performance, and school behavior. Thematic analysis further revealed that language and communication barriers and bullying negatively impacted students’ sense of safety and engagement. Caring, respectful relationships with teachers led to students having opportunities to direct their own learning and make decisions on schoolwide activities, promoting students’ feelings of engagement. Support from peers increased students’ emotional engagement by reducing school-related stressors. The findings suggest that a mutually respectful, caring school climate and opportunities for student voice can enhance critical school experiences for ethnocultural minority high school students. SAGE Publications 2022 Article PeerReviewed Krauss, Steven and Wong, Emily J. Y. and Zeldin, Shepherd and Kunasegaran, Mageswari and Nga Lay Hui, Janice and Ma’arof, Aini Marina and Yee Mei Tien, Wendy and Ismail, Ismi Arif (2022) Positive school climate and emotional engagement: a mixed methods study of Chinese students as ethnocultural minorities in Malaysian secondary schools. Sage. art. no. 074355842211074. pp. 1-39. ISSN 0743-5584; ESSN: 1552-6895 (In Press) https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/07435584221107431 10.1177/07435584221107431
spellingShingle Krauss, Steven
Wong, Emily J. Y.
Zeldin, Shepherd
Kunasegaran, Mageswari
Nga Lay Hui, Janice
Ma’arof, Aini Marina
Yee Mei Tien, Wendy
Ismail, Ismi Arif
Positive school climate and emotional engagement: a mixed methods study of Chinese students as ethnocultural minorities in Malaysian secondary schools
title Positive school climate and emotional engagement: a mixed methods study of Chinese students as ethnocultural minorities in Malaysian secondary schools
title_full Positive school climate and emotional engagement: a mixed methods study of Chinese students as ethnocultural minorities in Malaysian secondary schools
title_fullStr Positive school climate and emotional engagement: a mixed methods study of Chinese students as ethnocultural minorities in Malaysian secondary schools
title_full_unstemmed Positive school climate and emotional engagement: a mixed methods study of Chinese students as ethnocultural minorities in Malaysian secondary schools
title_short Positive school climate and emotional engagement: a mixed methods study of Chinese students as ethnocultural minorities in Malaysian secondary schools
title_sort positive school climate and emotional engagement a mixed methods study of chinese students as ethnocultural minorities in malaysian secondary schools
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