Teacher perceptions of student motivation and engagement: longitudinal associations with student outcomes

Abstract

Studies have shown that teacher perceptions of student achievement influence teacher-student interactions, subsequently affecting student outcomes. However, teachers may also take note of and respond to the motivation and engagement of their students in a differential way, which could affect student outcomes as well. In the present study, we thus examined whether teacher perceptions of student motivation and engagement predict student achievement and self-reported motivation and engagement in reading and maths over several school years. Analysing longitudinal data from N = 2402 students and their teachers, we found that teacher perceptions of student motivation and engagement in Grade 5 were significantly related to student achievement in reading 1 year later and in maths 1, 2, and 3 years later. An association with student motivation and engagement was only found for maths 1 year later.