Basic psychological needs satisfaction at school, behavioral school engagement, and academic achievement: Longitudinal reciprocal relations among elementary school students

By Yanhui Wang, Lili Tian, E. Scott Huebner. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 2019

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Abstract Based on self-system processes theory and transactional theory, a longitudinal design was employed to test the reciprocal relations among basic psychological needs satisfaction at school (BPNSS), behavioral engagement, and academic achievement. A total of 627 elementary school students from Grades 3-4 in China (Mage = 9.01, 45.8% female) completed measures of BPNSS and behavioral engagement in the middle of four consecutive semesters. Teachers also assessed students’ academic achievement at the end of the first three consecutive semesters. After controlling for gender, age, and fathers’ and mothers’ education, the results indicated that: (a) BPNSS, behavioral engagement, and academic achievement reciprocally facilitated each other directly; (b) BPNSS indirectly enhanced academic achievement via behavioral engagement, and academic achievement also indirectly enhanced BPNSS via behavioral engagement. Findings suggested that BPNSS, behavioral engagement, and academic achievement formed a complex, dynamic system. Limitations and practical applications of the study were discussed.

Subfields: Education, Safety Research, Sociology and Political Science

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