Exploring the relationship between student engagement and academic achievement in science: A study of junior high school students
Abstract
Academic success, especially in science education, is greatly influenced by student engagement, but its effects vary depending on socioeconomic status and past performance, leaving gaps in how each type of engagement specifically impacts junior high students. According to research, these interactions require more investigation in order to guide focused interventions, fair policies, and instructional strategies that improve student engagement and science proficiency, particularly for diverse student populations. This study investigates the relationship between junior high school scientific achievement and student involvement, with a particular emphasis on the engagement indicators that most accurately predict academic performance. This study uses a correlational research design to quantitatively examine the direction and degree of the association between junior high school students' academic achievement in science and their level of student involvement. Participants in the study were 100 eighth graders (31% male, 69% female) from a public junior high school in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. There are two instruments used in the study, namely a questionnaire for student engagement and multiple-choice questions through online exams with the Pijar Sekolah application. Since all of the Spearman coefficients were weak and statistically insignificant (p > 0.05), the study found no significant correlation between academic achievement and student engagement (cognitive, behavioural, emotional, or social). These results suggest that engagement-focused therapies should be re-examined, and other indicators of academic performance should be investigated. In order to better understand these dynamics, future research should use longitudinal designs and include other variables (such as self-efficacy and institutional support).
References
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Li, P., Zhou, N., Zhang, Y., Xiong, Q., Nie, R., & Fang, X. (2017). Incremental theory of intelligence moderated the relationship between prior achievement and school engagement in Chinese high school students. Frontiers in Psychology, 8(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01703
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Xie, K., Vongkulluksn, V. W., Heddy, B. C., & Jiang, Z. (2024). Experience sampling methodology and technology: An approach for examining situational, longitudinal, and multi-dimensional characteristics of engagement. Educational Technology Research and Development, 72(5), 2585–2615. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-023-10259-4
Ahmadaliev, D., Metwally, A. H. S., Yousef, A. M. F., & Shuxratov, D. (2022). The effects of educational robotics on STEM students’ engagement and reflective thinking. 2022 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 1(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1109/fie56618.2022.9962498
Bae, C. L., & DeBusk-Lane, M. (2019). Middle school engagement profiles: Implications for motivation and achievement in science. Learning and Individual Differences, 74(1), 1–54. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2019.101753
Carini, R. M., Kuh, G. D., & Klein, S. P. (2006). Student engagement and student learning: Testing the linkages. Research in Higher Education, 47(1), 1–32. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-005-8150-9
Chang, D. F., Chien, W. C., & Chou, W. C. (2016). Meta-analysis approach to detect the effect of student engagement on academic achievement. ICIC Express Letters, 10(10), 2441–2446.
Chase, P. A., Hilliard, L. J., John Geldhof, G., Warren, D. J., & Lerner, R. M. (2014). Academic achievement in the high school years: The changing role of school engagement. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 43(1), 884–896. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-0085-4
Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (fourth edition). Pearson Education.
Dadandı, İ., & Yazıcı, H. (2024). Cognitive ability or motivation, or both: An integrative path analysis of the interplay between two key factors in academic achievement. British Educational Research Journal, 50(5), 2342–2362. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.4027
Finn, J. D., & Zimmer, K. S. (2012). Student engagement: What is it? Why does it matter? In Handbook of research on student engagement (pp. 97–131). Springer US.
Gerber, C., Mans-Kemp, N., & Schlechter, A. (2013). Investigating the moderating effect of student engagement on academic performance. Acta Academica, 45(4), 256–274. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.38140/aa.v45i4.1425
Gokpinar-Shelton, E., & Pike, G. R. (2022). Strategies to boost international student success in US higher education: an analysis of direct and indirect effects of learning communities. Higher Education, 84(2), 279–297. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-021-00767-8
Hasanov, Z., Antoniou, P., Suleymanov, E., & Garayev, V. (2021). The impact of behavioural, cognitive and emotional dimensions of student engagement on student learning: the case of Azerbaijani higher education institutions. International Journal of Knowledge and Learning, 14(1), 10–38. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1504/ijkl.2021.115027
Heng, K. (2014). The relationships between student engagement and the academic achievement of first-year university students in Cambodia. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 23(2), 179–189. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-013-0095-8
Ilhami, M., Amanah, S., Nuriyatman, E., Priyanto, P., Kumalasari, A., Kurniati, E., Hayati, S., & Nusantara, D. S. (2025). The influence of scientific attitude, active learning, and friendly character on science learning outcomes in junior high school students. Jurnal Ilmiah Ilmu Terapan Universitas Jambi, 9(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.22437/jiituj.v9i1.41809
Kaliisa, R., Misiejuk, K., López-Pernas, S., Khalil, M., & Saqr, M. (2024). Have learning analytics dashboards lived up to the hype? A systematic review of impact on students’ achievement, motivation, participation and attitude. Proceedings of the 14th Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference, 14(1), 295–304. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1145/3636555.3636884
Kassab, S. E., El‐Sayed, W., & Hamdy, H. (2022). Student engagement in undergraduate medical education: a scoping review. Medical Education, 56(7), 703–715. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.14799
Lei, H., Cui, Y., & Zhou, W. (2018). Relationships between student engagement and academic achievement: A meta-analysis. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 46(3), 517–528. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.7054
Li, H., Xu, Y. L., Jing, M. J., Wei, X. J., Li, L. M., & Guo, Y. F. (2022). The mediating effects of adversity quotient and self‐efficacy on ICU nurses’ organizational climate and work engagement. Journal of Nursing Management, 30(7), 3322–3329. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.13773
Li, P., Zhou, N., Zhang, Y., Xiong, Q., Nie, R., & Fang, X. (2017). Incremental theory of intelligence moderated the relationship between prior achievement and school engagement in Chinese high school students. Frontiers in Psychology, 8(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01703
Martin, K. M., Davis, L. S., & Sandretto, S. (2021). Engagement with science across the middle years in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 56(1), 83–99. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s40841-020-00185-x
McGrath, A. (2016). Searching for significance in the scholarship of teaching and learning and finding none: Understanding non-significant results. Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 4(2), 150–155. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.4.2.12
Nurismawati, R., Rusyati, L., Husna, H. N., & Hidayanti, W. (2025). Exploring the Relations between Peer Assessment, Self-Assessment, and Academic Achievement in School Science Experiment Course. Journal of Innovation in Educational and Cultural Research, 6(3), 657–665. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.46843/jiecr.v6i3.2269
Putri, R. A. H., Widodo, A., & Rusyati, L. (2024). Diagnosis of Students’ Conception on Light and Optic Topics with Four-Tier Test. Atlantis Press, 860(1), 177–190. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-283-5_18
Sankar, E., & Benjamin, A. (2024). Studying the student’s perceptions of engagement and problem-solving skills for academic achievement in chemistry at the higher secondary level. Education and Information Technologies, 29(7), 8347–8368. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-12165-x
Schnitzler, K., Holzberger, D., & Seidel, T. (2021). All better than being disengaged: Student engagement patterns and their relations to academic self-concept and achievement. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 36(3), 627–652. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-020-00500-6
Sontam, V., & Gabriel, G. (2012). Student engagement at a large suburban community college: Gender and race differences. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 36(10), 808–820. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2010.491998
Suen, L. J. W., Huang, H. M., & Lee, H. H. (2014). A comparison of convenience sampling and purposive sampling. Hu Li Za Zhi, 61(3), 105–111. https://doi.org/doi:10.6224/JN.61.3.105
Tomaszewski, W., Xiang, N., & Western, M. (2020). Student engagement as a mediator of the effects of socio‐economic status on academic performance among secondary school students in Australia. British Educational Research Journal, 46(3), 610–630. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3599
Wang, M. T., Fredricks, J. A., Ye, F., Hofkens, T. L., & Linn, J. S. (2016). The math and science engagement scales: Scale development, validation, and psychometric properties. Learning and Instruction, 43(1), 16–26. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2016.01.008
Xerri, M. J., Radford, K., & Shacklock, K. (2018). Xerri, M. J., Radford, K., & Shacklock, K. (2018). Student engagement in academic activities: a social support perspective. Higher Education, 75(4), 589–605. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-017-0162-9
Xie, K., Vongkulluksn, V. W., Heddy, B. C., & Jiang, Z. (2024). Experience sampling methodology and technology: An approach for examining situational, longitudinal, and multi-dimensional characteristics of engagement. Educational Technology Research and Development, 72(5), 2585–2615. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-023-10259-4
Authors
Achwani, A. S., Rahman, T., & Rusyati, L. (2025). Exploring the relationship between student engagement and academic achievement in science: A study of junior high school students. Journal of Environment and Sustainability Education, 3(3), 323–330. https://doi.org/10.62672/joease.v3i3.116
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