Teacher perception of the factors influencing academic engagement among rural secondary school-going adolescents in Kabarole District: Implications for educational practice and learner support

Abstract

The study explored teachers’ perceptions of the factors that influence academic engagement among secondary school adolescents in rural schools in Kabarole District, Western Uganda. The participants of the study were Arts and Sciences teachers, selected purposively based on experience, role, and expertise. Data was collected from 24 participants using key informant interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings reveal that academic engagement is influenced by student personal factors that are psychological nature, teacher or instructional, school or institutional, home-based and social, characterized by self-esteem, self-efficacy, value attachment, teaching styles, teacher personality, instructional materials, parenting styles, parental level of education and attitude towards education, learner socio-economic status, quality of recruited teachers, school rules and regulations, and peer pressure/influence. Based on the above findings, it can be concluded that academic engagement is influenced by in-school and out-of-school factors at school, home, and within the student. As a result of such findings, it is recommended that for academic engagement to be improved and sustained at healthy levels, schools, teachers, and parents need to boost support for learners through the impartation of soft skills such as self-esteem and self-efficacy, improvement of teaching strategies, and enhancement of teacher-student, teacher-parent, and student-student relationships.