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Affective School Engagement and Self-Concept: How are Irish Boys and Girls Faring?

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Abstract

Internationally and in Ireland, much of the research around gender and educational engagement has centred on the academic differences between boys and girls (Warrington and Younger 2000; Francis 2009; O’Connor 2007). Less is known however about the factors shaping affective school engagement and student self-concept and how this can affect participation in learning. Children and young people emphasise the affective or emotional as much as the learning aspects of school life (Alexander 2008). Drawing on data from the 9-year cohort of the Growing Up in Ireland study, this paper examines self-concept among boys and girls in Irish primary schools. The findings show important differences in terms of the affective elements of school engagement, with boys more likely than girls to score significantly lower levels on measures of ‘good’ behaviour and intellectual school status, while girls score significantly lower on freedom from anxiety than boys. The findings also illustrate that predictors of disengagement are about more than the child’s gender – in that working class children and students with special educational needs are faring less well in terms of affective engagement in school.

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Notes

  1. Four types of Special Educational Needs (SEN) were reported by the teacher: Physical disability; Speech impairment; Learning disability; Emotional Behaviour Difficulties. It was also possible to identify a group with two or more of these SEN types, that is of having multiple disabilities.

  2. Those with a multiple SEN includes mainly children with a learning disability and an emotional/behavioural problem (Banks and McCoy 2011)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), Whitaker Square, Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin 2, Ireland

    Denise Frawley, Joanne Banks & Maeve Thornton

  2. The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and School of Education, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland

    Selina McCoy

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  1. Denise Frawley
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  2. Selina McCoy
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  4. Maeve Thornton
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Correspondence to Denise Frawley.

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Frawley, D., McCoy, S., Banks, J. et al. Affective School Engagement and Self-Concept: How are Irish Boys and Girls Faring?. Child Ind Res 7, 843–859 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-014-9247-5

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