The Predictive Level of Educational Motivation and the Perceived Social Support for School Commitment

Abstract

In this study, the school engagement of high school students was examined in terms of educational motivation and perceived social support. The data was obtained from 826 secondary school students in Düzce in 2017-2018 academic year. The School Engagement Scale, the Educational Motivation Scale, and the Perceived Social Support Scale were used in the study. T-test, ANOVA, Pearson Correlation Analysis, and Stepwise Multiple Regression were used to analyze the data. According to the findings, there isn’t a statistically significant difference between educational motivation and the gender of the students. However, there is a significant difference in the peer support sub-dimension of perceived social support. The peer support average score of female students is higher than that of male students. There is no significant difference in commitment to school when the gender of the students considered. However, the psychological commitment of male students is higher than female students. Also, there is no significant difference in educational motivation among students. There is a significant difference in peer support sub-dimension of perceived social support according to the grades of students. There is also a significant difference in the sub-dimension of psychological commitment in regards to school commitment. Commitment to school amongst 12th-grade students is higher than others. The results of the correlation showed that when educational motivation increases, students’ perceived social motivation increases, too. Moreover, there is a positive correlation between perceived social support and school engagement. Furthermore, regression results revealed that social support predicts school commitment.