Social support perceived as a predictor of academic engagement among adolescents

Studies have shown that social support from teachers, family, and friends positively impacts adolescent academic engagement. This study presents an explanatory model of the relationship between academic engagement and social support from the adolescents’ perspective. The sample consisted of 1,904 high school students from 25 different campuses across Brazil, with an average age of 15.9 (SD = .93). Most students attended morning classes (56.1%) and identified as female (63.2%), white (65.1%), and heterosexual (74.8%). The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and the Academic Engagement Scale were employed in this study. Based on multiple regression analysis, we found that teacher support is the variable that best explains overall academic engagement; it also represents the most relevant aspect of emotional and institutional engagement. As for cognitive/behavioral engagement, family support is the most relevant factor, followed by teacher support. Friend support showed a significant negative association with cognitive/behavioral engagement. The findings may not be generalizable to other educational contexts due to the convenience sampling method used in this study. However, they could contribute to informing educational practices that emphasize school and family support in the context of academic engagement. Keywords: Student engagement; Teachers; Adolescents; Education.