Although teachers and peers play an important role in shaping students' engagement, no previous study has directly investigated transactional associations of these classroom-based relationships in adolescence. This study investigated the transactional associations between adolescents' behavioral engagement, peer status (likeability and popularity), and (positive and negative) teacher-student relationships during secondary education. A large sample of adolescents was followed from Grade 7 to 11 (N = 1116; 49 % female; M age = 13.79 years). Multivariate autoregressive cross-lagged modeling revealed only unidirectional effects from teacher-student relationships and peer status on students' behavioral engagement. Positive teacher-student relationships were associated with more behavioral engagement over time, whereas negative teacher-student relationships, higher likeability and higher popularity were related to less behavioral engagement over time. We conclude that teachers and peers constitute different sources of influence, and play independent roles in adolescents' behavioral engagement.

Although research has examined the bivariate effects of teacher support, peer acceptance, and engagement, it remains unclear how these key classroom experiences evolve together, especially in late childhood. This study aims to provide a detailed picture of their transactional relations in late childhood. A sample of 586 children (M = 9.26 years, 47.1% boys) was followed from fourth to sixth grade. Teacher support and engagement were student-reported and peer acceptance was peer-reported. Autoregressive cross-lagged models revealed unique longitudinal effects of both peer acceptance and teacher support on engagement, and of peer acceptance on teacher support. No reverse effects of engagement on peer acceptance or teacher support were found. The study underscores the importance of examining the relative contribution of several social actors in the classroom. Regarding interventions, improving both peer acceptance and teacher support can increase children's engagement, and augmenting peer acceptance can help to increase teacher support.

No abstract

No abstract