Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2022, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (3): 591-598.

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The effect and its mechanism of classroom justice on learning engagement: Serial mediating model

  

  • Received:2020-09-29 Revised:2021-08-02 Online:2022-05-20 Published:2022-05-22
  • Contact: Huai-Yong WANG

课堂公平对高中生学习投入的影响及其机制:链式中介模型

王怀勇1,郑意颖2   

  1. 1. 上海师范大学
    2. 杭州市开元商贸职业学校
  • 通讯作者: 王怀勇

Abstract: Classroom justice is an important topic in educational psychology. Classroom justice refers to the perceptions of fairness regarding outcomes or processes that occur in the instructional context. Previous studies indicated that when students perceive that teachers are not concerned with justice, they are likely to engage in resistance or verbal aggressiveness, enact revenge, or communicate in a deceptive manner. However, when students perceive that their instructors do engage in classroom justice, they report that they are motivated and affectively engaged. In addition, past research on the school experience of justice has shown that the sense of being treated by one’s own teachers fairly is associated with students’ competence and motivation, positive attitudes towards institutions and authorities, and group cooperation skills. Moreover, in adolescence the feeling of being treated in a respectful manner contributes to the perception of being a valued group member, it promotes a sense of belonging, and reinforces the personal obligations to behave in compliance with the collective rules. On the contrary, the feeling of injustice in class leads to negative outcomes, such as a decline in learning motivation and a psychological disengagement from school life. Yet, although prior work on classroom justice has been fruitful in highlighting the effects of justice to students, scholars have not focused on how classroom justice influences the students’ learning engagement and its mechanisms. In order to investigate the relationship between classroom justice and learning engagement, as well as its underlying mechanism, a sample of 621 high school students were participated for the study. They were required to complete a battery of questionnaires, including Classroom Justice Questionnaire, Teacher-Student Exchange Relationship Questionnaire, the Learning Self-efficacy Questionnaire as well as the Learning Engagement Questionnaire. The results indicated: (1) The correlations between classroom justice, teacher-student exchange relationship, learning self-efficacy and learning engagement were significantly positive. Moreover, classroom justice significantly predicted teacher-student exchange relationship, learning self-efficacy and learning engagement; (2) The effect of classroom justice on students’ learning engagement was explained by three indirect paths: the simple mediating role of teacher-student exchange relationship, learning self-efficacy, respectively, and the serial mediating role of both teacher-student exchange relationship and learning self-efficacy. In sum, these findings highlight the complex mechanism underlying the relationship between classroom justice and learning engagement. Classroom justice predicts high school students’ learning engagement through mediating roles of teacher-student exchange relationship and learning self-efficacy. Individuals with classroom justice would maintain good teacher-student exchange relationship and strong learning self-efficacy, and finally have higher level of learning engagement. It may contribute to our better understanding of how classroom justice influences learning engagement from the teacher-students exchange theory and social cognitive theory.

Key words: classroom justice, teacher-student exchange relationship, learning self-efficacy, learning engagement, high school students

摘要: 学习投入是预测学生学业成就的重要指标。如何提高学习投入一直是学者们探讨的具有较强现实意义的研究课题。然而,以往鲜有从课堂公平的视角进行的探索。本研究从社会交换理论出发,以621名高中生为被试,探讨课堂公平对高中生学习投入的影响,以及师生交换关系和学习自我效能感在二者关系中的链式中介机制。发现:(1)课堂公平与师生交换关系、学习自我效能感以及学习投入两两之间均呈显著正相关;(2)课堂公平不仅能直接正向预测中学生的学习投入,而且还能够通过师生交换关系的单独中介作用、学习自我效能感的单独中介作用及二者的链式中介作用间接影响学习投入。研究结果揭示了课堂公平对学习投入影响的内部心理机制,为通过营造课堂公平而改进师生交换关系与学习自我效能感以及更好地提高中学生学习投入提供了科学参考。

关键词: 课堂公平, 师生交换关系, 学习自我效能感, 学习投入, 高中生