The role of parent, classmate, and teacher support in student engagement: Evidence from Ghana

The literature is unequivocal about the importance of improving academic engagement in addressing challenges such as school drop out or increasing student motivation. What is less certain, particularly in the literature from developing countries, is how social support systems (parents, teachers, and classmates) influence students’ emotional and behavioral engagement. Drawing from the ecological perspective, this study analyzes data from Ghana using structural equation modeling to examine mediated and unmediated pathways through which parent, teacher, and classmate support affect students’ emotional and behavioral engagement. Findings suggest classmate support has the strongest association with student engagement, followed by parental support. Teacher support is neither a mediator nor a direct predictor of student engagement. These findings have implications for teacher training and professional development, especially training on how to actively involve parents in motivating their children to be engaged scholars.