Investigating the interplay between teacher-student and peer relationships in predicting academic engagement in early adolescents

Katja Košir, PhD and Ivana Pikić Jugović, PhD are the authors of the scientific paper “Investigating the interplay between teacher-student and peer relationships in predicting academic engagement in early adolescents”. The paper is published in “Psychology in the Schools”, which is indexed in Q1 for Education (2023) in the Scopus data base.

Abstract: This study investigates the complex interplay between teacher–student and peer relationships in shaping academic engagement during early adolescence. Drawing on a sample of 6048 students from public elementary schools in Slovenia, the predictive power of these relationships beyond academic achievement was examined. Results revealed that both positive aspects of teacher–student relationships and perceived peer support significantly contributed to academic engagement. Moreover, an interaction effect indicated that peer support predicted engagement only in the absence of negative teacher–student relationships. These findings underscore the pivotal role of teacher–student relationships in fostering academic engagement, suggesting that peer support cannot fully compensate for adverse teacher–student dynamics.

The paper is available at the link.