Predicting Students’ Academic Engagement Based on Academic Support and Family Emotional Climate: The Mediating Role of Academic Emotions

This study was carried out to predict academic engagement based on academic support and family emotional climate with the mediating role of academic emotions. This cross-sectional research had a descriptive-correlational design. The statistical population of the study comprised all female junior high school students in Semnan in 2019-20 school year from among whom 236 individuals were selected through multi-stage cluster sampling method. Research instruments included School Engagement Questionnaire (Fredricks et al., 2004), Academic Emotions Questionnaire (Pekrun et al., 2005), Heilbrun’s Parent-Child Interaction Rating Scale (1964), and Academic Support Scale (Sands & Plunkett, 2005). The data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and Structural equation modeling. Results showed that among subscales of academic emotions, enjoyment, anxiety, and fatigue in the classroom could mediate the relationships of family emotional climate and academic support to academic engagement. Results of path analysis demonstrated that academic support had no significant effect on enjoyment, anxiety, and fatigue in the classroom. The rest of the model paths were significant. Therefore, by strengthening positive academic emotions, making classrooms more interesting, reducing negative academic emotions such as students' anxiety and fatigue in the classroom, increasing academic support, and promoting a positive and constructive family emotional climate, it is possible that students' academic engagement will also increase.