Student Engagement and Classroom Variables in Improving Mathematics Achievement

87 Since Coleman et al. (1966) began to explore school effects on student achievement in the United States, research on a relationship between education resources (e.g. money, curricula, and facilities) and education outcomes (e.g. student achievement, cognitive development) has taken large part of educational research in the twentieth century ((Burstein, 1980; Bryk & Raudenbush, 1992; Sammons, 1999; Shavelson & Towne, 2002; Teddlie & Reynolds, 2000). However, the early research design was too simple and did not consider process. Overcoming the critical notes, researchers began to establish links between resources, transformational educational processes, and student outcomes over time (Shavelson & Towne, 2002). This study is also one of the efforts to overcome the limitations of the early research by taking student engagement as one of educational processes and exploring the linkage between educational processes and student outcomes. Student engagement is the most immediate and persisting