What is the role of teaching support in students’ motivation and engagement trajectories during adolescence? A four-year latent growth modeling study

This 4-wave longitudinal study investigated the role of perceived teaching support in motivation and engagement trajectories from early adolescence in Year 6 (Time 1) to mid-adolescence in Year 9 (Time 4). A total of 7769 Australian school students participated. Latent growth modeling (LGM) was implemented to explore students' trajectories. Findings confirmed the well-known pattern of motivation and engagement declines from early to mid-adolescence—but the role of perceived teaching support played a significant part in how these patterns of motivation and engagement unfolded. Specifically, we found evidence for: (1) temporal effects, such that motivation and engagement declined over time; (2) initiating effects, such that perceived teaching support at Time 1 was associated with positive "starting points" for motivation and engagement at Time 1; (3) contemporaneous effects, such that for at least one timepoint, perceived teaching support was related to positive motivation and engagement at the same timepoint; (4) sustaining effects, such that perceived teaching support significantly predicted positive motivation and engagement at all four timepoints; and (5) escalating effects, such that the predictive role of perceived teaching support on students' motivation and engagement increased over time. Findings contribute to knowledge about how to boost and sustain the motivation and engagement trajectories of students during early to mid-adolescence.