The relational social support system in primary school

Description

These precarious times have highlighted the importance of live interaction among the school community members in promoting and maintaining their well-being in studies and work. Previous research indicates that for students, socially supportive school environment is crucial resource not just for successful schoolwork but also for life course in general. Teachers, peers, and guardians have been found to be the essential sources of support for students in their studies. Teachers have been found to play a particularly essential role in constructing a supportive learning environment at school and thus, teachers’ ability to support their students is crucial. However, there is a gap in the literature concerning the social support in primary school as a relational system and its complex relations to engaging and enjoying schoolwork and learning. This research explores the students’ perceived relational social support system in primary school by combining the key results of three part-studies that will constitute a PhD dissertation.

The first study explores the interrelations between perceived social support from teachers, peers, and guardians in relation to the students’ perceived study engagement. A cross-sectional survey data from fourth graders (N=2401) was analyzed with structural equation modelling. Social support from teachers was found to be particularly essential as it relates to study engagement as well as the social support students share among peers. The second study further explores the bidirectional relations between perceived study engagement, teacher support, peer support and guardian support over time. The fourth graders were followed until sixth grade and the three-wave longitudinal data was analyzed with a random-intercept cross lagged panel model (RI-CLPM). The results indicated that, over time, study engagement was a stronger and more consistent predictor of later social support than vice versa. Engaged students perceived more support than less engaged students did. Teacher support was again found to be essential as it was the only form of support that promoted study engagement over time. The results highlighted the importance to identify the factors that affect the teacher’s abilities to provide social support for the students. However, also the student’s willingness and ability to utilize the available support appeared to be essential to consider. In the third study, the students perceived social support from teachers was predicted with the student’s individual characteristics (i.e. perceived study engagement and gender), the teacher’s resources (i.e. perceived social resources in the professional community, work-related stress and teaching experience), and contextual factors (i.e. class size, school size and neighborhood SES). A two-level latent growth curve model was used to analyze the three-year longitudinal survey data simultaneously collected from the students (n=1518) and their teachers (n=140). The results indicated again that study engagement was a strong predictor of the individual as well as the class differences in perceived support from the teacher. However, also the teacher’s perceived professional recognition and support from colleagues was found to be a resource that facilitates the support students perceive from the teacher.

Aikajakso	2022
Tapahtuman otsikko	NERA 2022 (Nordic educational research association): EDUCATION AND INVOLVEMENT IN PRECARIOUS TIMES
Tapahtuman tyyppi	Conference
Sijainti	Reykjavik, IslantiNäytä kartalla
Tunnustuksen arvo	International