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Páginas: 242-255 Recibido:
2022-11-15 Revisado:
2022-12-04 Aceptado: 2023-01-03 Preprint: 2023-03-15 Publicación
Final 2023-05-15: |
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Variables related to academic engagement and
socioemotional skills in adolescents: a systematic review
Variables relacionadas con el compromiso académico y las
habilidades socioemocionales en adolescentes: una revisión sistemática
|
Begoña María Tortosa
Martínez |
||
|
María
del Carmen Pérez Fuentes |
||
|
María
del Mar Molero Jurado |
Abstract
Some research aimed at
the educational context showed that the promotion of academic engagement and
developing socioemotional skills benefit the development of students,
especially adolescents. However, there were difficulties in finding studies
that addressing both constructs simultaneously, as the scientific evidence
regarding the subject is scarce. Due to this inconsistency, the objective of
the present review was to identify the variables associated with academic
engagement and socioemotional skills that are studied in the stage of
adolescence. This study followed a systematic review methodology based on the
recommendations established by the PRISMA 2020 Declaration. To do this, two
different searches were made in the scientific databases of Scopus, Web of
Science and PsyCINFO: the first focused on academic engagement and the second
on socioemotional skills, both focused on adolescent population, including a
total of 47 documents in the study. The results showed the existence of
numerous variables, establishing those that are analyzed in both constructs
through a qualitative analysis with Atlas.ti 22: academic performance,
emotional intelligence, school bullying and resilience, finding that academic
commitment is the most prevalent construct in research. In conclusion, it is
advisable to include programs, strategies or projects in educational centers in
order to increase the levels of academic engagement of students and develop
socioemotional skills in the most favorable way possible.
Resumen
Algunas investigaciones
dirigidas al contexto educativo mostraron que el fomento del compromiso
académico y el desarrollo de habilidades socioemocionales benefician a los
estudiantes, especialmente a los adolescentes. Sin embargo, hubo dificultades
para encontrar estudios que aborden ambas construcciones simultáneamente, ya
que la evidencia científica con respecto al tema es escasa. Debido a esta
inconsistencia, el objetivo de la presente revisión fue identificar las
variables asociadas con el compromiso académico y las habilidades
socioemocionales que se estudian en la etapa de la adolescencia. Este estudio
siguió una metodología de revisión sistemática basada en las recomendaciones
establecidas por la Declaración PRISMA 2020. Para ello, se realizaron dos
búsquedas diferentes en las bases de datos científicas de Scopus, Web of
Science y PsyCINFO: la primera se centró en el compromiso académico y la
segunda en las habilidades socioemocionales, ambas enfocadas en la población
adolescente, incluyendo un total de 47 documentos en el estudio. Los resultados
mostraron la existencia de numerosas variables, estableciendo las que se
analizan en ambos constructos mediante un análisis cualitativo con Atlas.ti 22:
rendimiento académico, inteligencia emocional, acoso escolar y resiliencia,
encontrando que el compromiso académico es el constructo con mayor prevalencia
en la investigación. Concluyendo, es recomendable incluir programas,
estrategias o proyectos en los centros educativos con el fin de aumentar los
niveles de compromiso académico de los estudiantes y desarrollar habilidades
socioemocionales de la manera más favorable posible.
Palabras
clave / Keywords
Compromiso
académico; habilidades socioemocionales; revisión sistemática; adolescencia;
investigación; análisis cualitativo; variables; competencias para la vida.
Academic engagement; socioemotional
skills; systematic review; adolescence; investigation; qualitative analysis;
variables; life skills.
1. Introduction
Currently, there are a plethora of challenges involved with the purpose of
ensuring that students, especially adolescents, are able to cope with the
problems and difficulties that arise in the academic context and in adolescence.
Addressing these issues requires adolescents to develop certain skills and
competencies necessary to be able to make the most of their studies and improve
their learning, aspects closely related to fostering academic engagement and
developing socioemotional skills (Suarez & Ramos, 2018). However, teachers
and researchers find it difficult to understand the existing literature in
relation to both constructs without a coherent framework for drawing useful and
practical conclusions that facilitate their understanding. This inconsistency
highlights the need for a literature review in terms of a single framework.
First, most scientific literature defines engagement as an essential
variable within the educational context, as it is essential to achieve academic
success and prevent school dropout (Zaff et al., 2017). For this reason, the
Positive Educational Psychology approach is being promoted, in which engagement
plays an essential role for the full development of students (Saracostti,
2021). In this sense, the empirical evidence confirms that this
multidimensional construct presents a close link with variables specific to the
academic context such as the well-being presented by the student, satisfaction,
motivation, etc. (Green et al., 2012; Usán et al., 2019). However, there are
some discrepancies about the multiple influential variables, an aspect that
hinders its approach (Sinatra et al., 2015). Therefore, it is essential to
identify which variables are related to the engagement in order to continue
researching this construct and to form highly engaged individuals. To this end,
instruments have been developed and validated to identify the level of academic
engagement presented by high school students. Other studies have focused on
detailing the most used instruments to measure this construct and on developing
projects and strategies to promote school engagement (Saracostti, 2021).
On the other hand, it has been confirmed that some of the variables related
to academic engagement have in turn a close relationship with socioemotional
skills, which are the dispositions and competencies that allow the handling of
emotions and, consequently, they generate different responses that lead to
correct or not behaviors depending on the social and emotional context in which
students develop (Gutiérrez & Buitrago, 2019). These skills encompass the
fundamental behaviors, thoughts and emotions to establish quality
relationships, so they integrate five aspects that improve the classroom climate,
social relations and school motivation: emotional regulation, emotional
awareness, well-being, life skills and emotional autonomy (Gutiérrez &
Buitrago, 2019). Consequently, socioemotional skills become a tool to deal with
the daily life of schools and promote quality social relations.
For all of this, it can be corroborated that academic engagement and socioemotional
skills are two tools of vital relevance for learning at all stages of life,
being its relationship the objective of this study. But it is in adolescence
that more attention must be paid. This is because adolescents experience
continuous psychological, physical and social changes that can affect their
physical and mental health, in addition to situations that cause anxiety,
stress and demotivation, being hindered the learning process (Salavera et al.,
2019). For this reason, it is essential to work with these skills in order to
achieve that students are able to solve their problems and have quality
interpersonal relationships (Suarez & Ramos, 2018). Today, in terms of
academic engagement, it is estimated that adolescents with high prevalence of
engagement tend to present high levels of motivation and emotional intelligence
and favorable interpersonal relationships (Martin et al., 2021; Usán et al.,
2019). Regarding socioemotional skills such as resilience, adaptability,
empathy and communication in adolescents, studies indicate that they promote
positive behaviors and contribute to risky behaviors, stating that the main
constrcuts of this study are related (Arató et al., 2020; Jacome et al., 2020;
Salavera et al., 2019).
1.1. Object of study
First, a first search has been carried out in order to review the existing
scientific evidence regarding academic engagement and socioemotional skills in the
adolescent population. However, the research that addresses both constructs as
a whole is insufficient and, consequently, there is no research on this
relationship. Therefore, the main objective is to identify the variables
associated with academic engagement and socioemotional skills that are studied
in adolescence. In this way, the findings of this study will reduce the
existing gap in relation to this relationship and a better understanding of
both constructs, in order to contribute to the improvement of students'
learning.
2. Methodology
2.1.
Procedure
To achieve the objective of this research and provide work with good
qualities, the systematic review methodology was followed based on the search
of recent publications on the relationship between engagement and
socioemotional skills with other variables. To this end, the recommendations
established by the PRISMA 2020 Declaration were followed, highlighting the
strategies that enrich the studies developed through this methodology (Page et
al., 2021; Yepes-Nuñez et al., 2021). In order to give quality and effectiveness
to this research, the following five phases were applied: (1) present the main
topic of the study, (2) establish the objective to be achieved, (3) establish
the databases and search formulas to be used, (4) display the flow chart
presenting the publications included in this work, and (5) expose the findings
from all this procedure (Ramírez et al., 2018).
2.2. Search
strategy
The most important international databases in the interdisciplinary field
used to carry out this study were: Scopus, Web of Science and PsyCINFO. In
addition, the Google Scholar search engine was handled for more information. An
initial search was conducted to learn about recent publications that analyze
academic engagement and socioemotional skills together. However, no relevant
results were obtained and the existing scientific evidence in both constructs
was investigated individually. For this reason, two independent searches were
carried out whose synthesis of the results obtained in each of the databases
are shown in tables 1 and 2 :
Table 1
Results obtained in databases in search 1 (Academic
engagement AND adolescents and compromiso académico
AND adolescentes)
|
Database |
Language |
Results after filters |
|
Scopus |
Spanish |
1 |
|
|
English |
1373 |
|
Web
of Science |
Spanish |
8 |
|
|
English |
2359 |
|
PsycINFO |
Spanish |
3714 |
|
|
English |
1703 |
|
Total |
|
9158 |
·
Search 1. The purpose of the first search was to identify the variables
that are addressed based on the academic engagement of adolescent students. A
generic search was performed using the descriptors "academic
engagement" and "adolecents", both in Spanish and English that,
incorporating the proximity boolean operator "AND", the search
formulas used were: in Spanish (compromiso
académico AND adolescentes) and in English (academic engagement AND adolescents).
· Search 2. The second search aimed to know the existing
publications on socioemotional skills and the variables analyzed in the sample
of adolescents. The descriptors "socioemotional skills" and
"adolecentes" were used, both in Spanish and English which,
incorporating the proximity boolean operator "AND", the search
formulas used were: in Spanish (habilidades
socioemocionales AND adolescentes) and in English, (socioemotional
AND adolescent skills).
Considering the
search strategies used, it is necessary to indicate the way in which the
filters of the databases have been handled, in order to limit the studies and
include those that best relate to the objective of the present work. The
filters mentioned paid attention to the date of publication of the studies, the
language, the type of document and the availability to the full text.
Table 2
Results obtained in
databases in the search 2 (Socioemotional skills AND adolescent and habilidades socioemocionales AND adolescentes)
|
Database |
Language |
Results after filters |
|
|
Scopus |
Spanish |
0 |
|
|
|
English |
108 |
|
|
Web of Science |
Spanish |
5 |
|
|
|
English |
148 |
|
|
PsycINFO |
Spanish |
5 |
|
|
|
English |
115 |
|
|
Total |
|
381 |
|
2.3. Eligibility
criteria
In order to refine the initial results and include the most relevant ones
on the subject of the study, a series of inclusion and exclusion criteria were
considered. These criteria were imposed thanks to the PICoS strategy, which covers
four distinct aspects (Landa & Arredondo, 2014):
·
Participants: we included those studies whose analysis focused on a
neurotypical adolescent population, that is, young people between 11 and 18
years old who did not suffer any mental or physical alteration. As a result,
studies with participants of other ages or with special educational needs were
excluded.
·
Topic of interest: all the studies that addressed the study constructions
with other variables were considered, since there is little evidence of studies
that address academic engagement and
socioemotional skills as a whole. For this reason, publications that do not
associate constructs with any different variable were rejected, in other words,
those that focused on other purposes such as measuring instruments or
intervention proposals.
·
Context: the works included differ because they belong to the educational
field, thus excluding those carried out in a health, family and/or clinical
context.
·
Study design: this research includes scientific articles in both Spanish
and English, with access to the full text and quantitative nature published in
the last five years (2018-2022) with the aim of establishing a systematic
review analysing the most recent studies. For this reason, studies
corresponding to final studies, chapters of books or books, doctoral theses,
conference proceedings, editorial notes, qualitative articles, those whose
publication was prior to 2018, written.
2.4. Selection
of documents
Once the eligibility criteria were established, a manual revision of the
title, summary and development of the remaining works was carried out, with the
aim of including exclusively the articles that responded to the proposed
objective.
Figure 1 shows the study selection process followed in both searches (flow
diagram). On the one hand, with search 1, focused on identifying the variables
that are investigated in relation to the academic engagement of adolescents, a
total of 9158 initial results were obtained that, after the application of the
inclusion and exclusion criteria and its subsequent manual revision, 39 articles
remained. On the other hand, in search 2, focused on knowing which variables
are investigated in relation to socioemotional skills in adolescent population,
initially 381 studies were found, which were reduced to 8 following the
inclusion of eligibility criteria and manual review.
Figure 1. Flow diagram with document selection process
3. Results
After the selection of the documents, we will analyze the empirical
evidence found in the databases. To this end, the results are presented in four
paragraphs, as this work has been carried out on the basis of two different
searches: 1) the first aimed at variables linked to academic engagement in
adolescence, 2) the second refers to variables associated with socioemotional skills
in adolescents, 3) the third indicates the common variables for both constructs
and, 4) the last, pays attention to the qualitative analysis that identifies
the relationships between the main constructs of this study.
3.1.
Variables linked to academic engagement
With a total of 39 studies, Table 3 shows the variables that have been
analyzed and studied in terms of their relationship with school engagement in
adolescents.
Tabla 3
Variables linked to the
engagement
|
Author/s
(year) |
Country |
Sample to which it is addressed
(age) |
Variables linked to the
engagement |
|
Engels
et al. (2019a) |
Belgium |
794 (14-18 years). |
Peer status |
|
Green
et al. (2012) |
Australia |
1866 (12-18 years) |
Academic motivation Academic self-concept Attitudes towards the school |
|
Shoshni
et al. (2016) |
Israel |
2517 (10-16 years) |
Life satisfaction Wellbeing Peer relations |
|
Satu
et al. (2017) |
Philippines |
606 (12-18 years) |
Autonomous motivation |
|
Martin
et al. (2021) |
Brazil |
10828 (12-18 years) |
Student-teacher relations Peer victimization |
|
Hershberger
& Jones (2018) |
Mexico |
1025 (11-17 years) |
Social relationships (parents and peers/s) |
|
Li
et al. (2020) |
Chinese |
813 (12-18 years) |
Victimization School climate Academic performance |
|
Wang
& Eccles (2013) |
USA |
1157 (12-18 years) |
School environment Motivation for achievement Academic self-concept |
|
Zhen
et al. (2017) |
Chinese |
605 (11-18 years) |
Satisfaction of basic psychological needs Academic self-efficacy |
|
Doyle
et al. (2013) |
USA |
1718 (11-13 years) |
Depressive symptoms Quality of relations between friends Family relations |
|
Boutakidis
et al. (2014) |
USA |
61 (12-15 years) |
Academic performance |
|
Hill
et al. (2018) |
USA |
624 (13-16 years) |
Parental support School relations (student-teacher) |
|
Gutiérrez
et al. (2018) |
Angola |
2034 (12-18 years) |
Support for perceived autonomy Satisfaction of psychological needs |
|
Shin
(2017) |
Korea |
1413 (11-12
years) |
Descriptive norm (behavior within the classroom) Status norm (particular behavior and social status perceived by peers) |
|
Bakadorova & Raufelder (2017) |
Germany |
1933 (13-15 years) |
School self-concept Perception of teachers and peers as positive motivators |
|
Metzger et al. (2020) |
USA |
140 (11-15 years) |
Parental participation in school Academic self-cherishing |
|
Ochoa
et al. (2018) |
Colombia |
88 (14-17 years) |
Motivation Perception of skill, challenge and relevance |
|
Corchuelo
et al. (2019) |
Spain |
193 (13-18 years) |
Family support School support |
|
Usán
et al. (2020) |
Spain |
1756 (12-18 years) |
Goal orientation Academic self-concept |
|
Bilge
et al. (2014) |
Turkey |
605 (14-18 years) |
Study habits Self-efficacy expectations |
|
Jelas
et al. (2016) |
Malaysia |
2359 (12-17 years) |
Academic performance Learning support |
|
Mih
& Mih (2013) |
Romania |
174 (15-16 years) |
Support for autonomy Academic self-concept Academic self-efficacy Expectation of success Persistence |
Tabla 3
Variables linked to the
engagement (continuation)
|
Author/s
(year) |
Country |
Sample to which it is
addressed (age) |
Variables linked to the engagement |
|
Yang
et al. (2022) |
Chinese |
1549 (11-18 years) |
Resilience |
|
Usán
& Salavera (2019) |
Spain |
1756 (12-18 years) |
Emotional intelligence Academic performance |
|
Serrano & Andreu (2016) |
Spain |
626 (13-18 years) |
Emotional intelligence Subjective well-being Perceived stress Academic performance |
|
Dierendonck et al. (2021) |
France, Luxembourg and Belgium |
4047 (12-18 years) |
Academic motivation |
|
Li et al. (2017) |
Chinese |
4036 (15-16 years) |
Performance Educational expectations Intelligence theories |
|
Zhao
et al. (2021) |
Chinese |
480 (12-15 years) |
Self-esteem Perceived social support Academic self-efficacy |
|
Gutiérrez
et al. (2019) |
Dominican Republic and Angola |
4330 (14-18 years) |
Perception of support for autonomy Satisfaction with the school Academic success Academic self-concept |
|
Engels et al. (2017) |
Belgium |
1116 (11-17 years) |
Aggression Peer status (sympathy and popularity) |
|
Engels et al. (2019b) |
Finland |
356 (11-15 years) |
Performance Teacher-student
relationship |
|
Gaxiola
et al. (2020) |
Mexico |
166 (16-18 years) |
Support for school friendships Parental academic support Positive family atmosphere |
|
Vibeke
& Bru
(2021) |
Norway |
1085 (13-14 years) |
Emotional well-being Emotional regulation Social skills |
|
Wang & Eccles (2012) |
USA |
1479 (12-17 years) |
Participation in extracurricular activities Teaching support Peer support Parental support |
|
Romano et al. (2021) |
Italy |
205 (14-19 years) |
Academic resilience Perceived emotional teaching support |
|
Usán
et al. (2019) |
Spain |
1756 (12-18 years) |
Emotional intelligence |
|
Yau
et al. (2021) |
USA |
741 (14-18 years) |
Parental support Parental psychological control Academic performance Motivational goals and strategies for separating goals |
After the analyses, two variables have been found more studied by the
researchers: academic performance and social support. In consideration of
academic performance, studies are disparate, which makes it difficult to
understand their relationship. On the one hand, Jelas et al. (2016) who take
into account the three dimensions of engagement reveal that cognitive
engagement is the best predictor of academic performance, behavioral engagement
was negatively associated with it and the affective engagement did not present
a direct relation with the performance. On the other hand, Boutakidis et al.
(2014) and Li et al. (2020) refer to the relationship being influenced by
personal variables such as sex and origin. Only three studies state that
academic performance is related to engagement, so the previous performance of
adolescents predicted their behavioral, emotional and cognitive engagement, the
latter being the most prominent (Serrano & Andreu, 2016; Li et al., 2017;
Engels et al., 2017). Regarding social support, all studies confirm the
positive relationship between social support and the engagement of adolescents,
since when students perceived more social support, their academic engagement
was higher (Zhao et al., 2021; Yau et al., 2021; Hill et al., 2018; Wang &
Eccles, 2012; Romano et al., 2021). Therefore,
the data reinforced the idea that support acts as a mediator between the
family’s engagement to school and the academic engagement of young people (Corchuelo et al., 2019). In this sense, the findings
suggest that social support perceived by adolescents is a key factor that
should be considered to improve their academic engagement.
It has been shown that academically engaged adolescents stand out for
having high levels of emotional intelligence, motivation and self-efficacy, as
well as favorable relationships with people in their environment, adapt better
to adversity and believe in their own abilities to achieve certain achievements,
unlike less engaged students (Dierendonck et al.,2021; Hershberger & Jones,
2018; Martin et al., 2021; Ochoa et al., 2018; Satu et al., 2017; Shoshni et
al., 2016; Wang & Eccles, 2013; Zhen et al., 2017). In contrast, engagement
has been poorly associated with poor adaptation outcomes such as stress
(Serrano & Andreu, 2016), depression (Doyle et al., 2013) and victimization
(Martin et al., 2021).
Finally, it has been found that the academic engagement of students is
essential for their success and
well-being (Gutiérrez et al., 2019; Mih & Mih, 2013; Vibeke & Bru,
2021). Given the important role of youth participation in development, it is
imperative to identify the relevant factors for its promotion.
3.2. Variables related to socioemotional
skills
As shown in table 4, 8 articles have been selected on socioemotional
skills.
Tabla 4
Variables related to
socioemotional skills
|
Author/s
(year) |
Country |
Sample to which it is
addressed (age) |
Variables linked to the
socioemotional skills |
|
Primi
et al. (2020) |
Brazil |
12987 (12-18 years) |
Academic
performance |
|
Arató
et al. (2020) |
Hungary |
524 (12-18 years) |
Bullying Empathy Cyberbullying |
|
Portela et al. (2021) |
Spain |
964 (11-18 years) |
Academic performance |
|
Salmela-Aro
et al. (2021) |
Finland |
2755 (11-14 years) |
Academic burnout Academic engagement |
|
Aydos
& Akyol (2018) |
Turkey |
383 (12-14 years) |
Various states of
weight |
|
Akelaitis & Lisinskiene (2018) |
Lithuania |
468 (15-16 years) |
Prosocial
behavior |
|
Jacome et al. (2020) |
Peru |
300 (12-14 years) |
Resilience |
|
Salavera
et al. (2019) |
Spain |
1358 (12-17 years) |
Emotional intelligence |
Paying attention to the different variables that are contemplated about
socioemotional skills, it should be noted that academic performance is the most
outstanding. The study by Primi et al. (2020) indicates that young people with
high levels of academic performance have a low relationship with the possession
of socioemotional skills, not existing a direct relationship. Also, Portela et
al. (2021) highlight that some students who attend extracurricular activities
show high academic performance and better socioemotional skills, due to the
relationships that occur in that context, not stating a close relationship
between the two variables.
Finally, regarding other influential factors, it is explained how empathy,
resilience, emotional intelligence and prosocial behaviors are potentiators of
socioemotional skills, contributing to their development in adolescent
population (Akelaitis & Lisinskiene, 2018; Arató et al., 2020; Jacome et
al., 2020; Salavera et al., 2019). Unlike disruptive behaviors such as bullying
and cyberbullying, which are defined as risk factors for the development of
socioemotional skills in this population (Arató et al., 2020).
3.3. Common variables for engagement and
socioemotional skills
Table 5 shows the studies that analyze the same variable with both school
engagement and socioemotional skills, noting that resilience, emotional
intelligence, bullying and academic performance are factors that, Although not
jointly analysed, they have been studied individually.
Tabla 5
Variables analyzed on both
constructs
|
Author/s
(year) |
Country |
Sample to which it is
addressed (age) |
Common
variables for academic engagement and socioemotional skills |
|
Primi
et al. (2020) |
Brasil |
12987 (12-18 years). |
Academic performance |
|
Portela
et al. (2021) |
España |
964 (11-18 years) |
Academic
performance |
|
Li
et al. (2020) |
China |
813 (12-18 years) |
Victimization by bullying Academic
performance |
|
Jelas et al. (2016) |
Malasia |
2359 (12-17 years) |
Academic performance |
|
Usán & Salavera (2019) |
España |
1756 (12-18 years) |
Emotional intelligence Academic performance |
|
Li et al. (2017) |
China |
4036 (15-16 years) |
Academic performance |
|
Yau et al. (2021) |
EE.UU. |
741 (14-18 years) |
Academic performance |
|
Arató
et al. (2020) |
Hungría |
524 (12-18 years) |
Bullying Cyberbullying |
|
Martin
et al. (2021) |
Brasil |
10828 (12-18 years) |
Peer victimization |
|
Engels et al. (2017) |
Bélgica |
1116 (11-17 years) |
Aggression |
|
Jacome et al. (2020) |
Perú |
300 (12-14 years) |
Resilience |
|
Yang et al. (2022) |
China |
1549 (11-18 years) |
Resilience |
|
Romano et al. (2021) |
Italia |
205 (14-19 years) |
Resilience |
|
Salavera et al. (2019) |
España |
1358 (12-17 years) |
Emotional
intelligence |
|
Serrano & Andreu (2016) |
España |
626 (13-18 years) |
Emotional intelligence Academic performance |
|
Usán et al. (2019) |
España |
1756 (12-18 years) |
Emotional
intelligence |
First, it is noted that resilience is positively related to the three
dimensions that define academic engagement, acting general self-efficacy and
social support as moderating variables and being age, sex and socioeconomic
level influential variables (Romano et al., 2021; Yang et al., 2022). Given the
socioemotional skills, it is indicated that resilience is an essential aspect
for the mental health of young people. However, socioemotional skills are not a
protective factor against mental health problems (Arató et al., 2020; Jacome et
al., 2020).
Regarding emotional intelligence, it relates to all dimensions of academic
engagement. Therefore, students with high prevalence in emotional intelligence
show a high academic engagement (Serrano & Andreu, 2016; Usán &
Salavera, 2019). Following this line, xxx add that this relationship is
moderated by the self-esteem of the youngest. As with socioemotional skills,
students with high scores in both variables reduce depression and anxiety and
contribute to their well-being and mental health (Salavera et al., 2019).
Regarding victimization and bullying, students with low prevalence of
academic engagement present higher levels of victimization compared to other
peers, with children being the most affected (Li et al., 2020; Martin et al.,
2021). Arató et al. (2020) verifies that cyberbullying is related to difficulties
in the development of socioemotional skills, being the victims less empathic
and showing a lower morality.
Finally, in terms of academic performance, some research claims that
characteristic dimensions of engagement are associated with academic
performance, with the cognitive dimension being the most correlated (Jelas et
al., 2016; Li et al., 2017; Yau et al., 2021). As for socioemotional skills,
the existence of a direct relationship between both constructions is not
affirmed. But it highlights the importance of participating in extracurricular
activities, since they favor social skills and, in turn, the academic
performance (Primi et al., 2020; Portela et al., 2021).
3.4. Qualitative analysis
The ideas extracted from the selected articles were contrasted between the
authors and after arguing the various variables found that are usually related
to academic engagement or socioemotional skills in adolescents and thanks to
the computer program Atlas.ti 22, a
qualitative analysis has been carried out in order to group the different variables
analyzed in the last five years and to identify the relationships between them
and between academic engagement and socioemotional skills. It is observed that
the variables related to the main constructs of the study are: academic achievement,
emotional intelligence, bullying and resilience.
The categorization of the variables is shown in Figure 2, showing that there
is a mismatch between the number of publications on academic engagement in
relation to socio-emotional skills. Therefore, academic engagement is the
construct with the highest prevalence in research.
Figure 2. Categorization of the variables found in terms
of academic engagement and socioemotional skills
4. Discussion and conclusions
Academic engagement and socioemotional skills are two constructs of great
importance within the educational context, especially in the stage of
adolescence. This is because both help students develop certain skills to
improve their learning, be able to solve their own problems and have positive
interpersonal relationships (Suarez & Ramos, 2018). Through this review it
has been found that there are studies that address both constructs
individually, being their approach simultaneously scarce.
On the one hand, the most recent studies on academic engagement are aimed
at proposing projects in order to develop various competencies in students
(Saracostti, 2021), theories that aim to conceptualize the engagement in
different dimensions, the elaboration of measurement instruments and the
analysis of the relationship between this term and other variables (Green et
al., 2012). Considering the variables identified about academic engagement, it
is pointed out how students who have a high prevalence in school participation,
in turn, present high levels of motivation (Satu et al., 2017), self-efficacy
(Zhao et al., 2021), emotional intelligence (Usán & Salavera, 2019),
positive relationships (Salavera et al., 2019), self-regulation (Ennis et al.,
2013) and, consequently, well-being (Usán et al., 2019). These high scores in
academic engagement are also associated with high levels of resilience,
contributing to young people’s mental health (Romano et al., 2021). In
contrast, young people with low scores in school engagement can be immersed in
physical and mental health problems such as anxiety, demotivation or the
tendency to employ disruptive behaviors such as harassment towards their peers
(Li et al., 2020), as they do not have the necessary capabilities to cope with
the continuous psychological, physical and social changes they experience.
On the other hand, regarding socioemotional skills, scientific evidence has
focused on how academic performance influences this construct, claiming that
there is no consensus in such a relationship (Primi et al., 2020). Young people with good levels of
socioemotional skills are characterized by being more empathetic (Arató et al.,
2020), present prosocial behaviors (Akelaitis & Lisinskiene, 2018) and are
emotionally smarter compared to those who do not have good scores (Salavera et
al., 2019), who are more likely to suffer disruptive behaviors such as school
and cyber bullying (Li et al., 2020).
In this review, the variables that have been analyzed
in academic engagement and socioemotional skills have been grouped
individually because no evidence has been found on both constructs together,
although studies that associate academic engagement and socioemotional
skills with various variables in adolescent sample. In this way, it has been
found that both engagement and socioemotional skills directly influence the
resilience of students (Jacome et al., 2020; Romano et al., 2021) and emotional
intelligence (Salavera et al., 2019; Serrano & Andreu, 2016) and, on the
contrary, both constructs do not have a favorable relationship with problems of
internalization (anxiety and stress) or with disruptive behaviors, assuming
that academic engagement and socioemotional skills serve as protective factors
against this type of behavior (Arató et al., 2020; Martin et al., 2021; Salavera et al., 2019).
In conclusion, it is worth highlighting the presence
of research on academic engagement and socioemotional skills in adolescents.
Among the limitations of this study are the omission of studies, involuntarily,
published in other databases. Since the search strategy has been limited in the
scientific databases of Scopus, Web of Science and PsycInfo, which may hinder
the findings of a greater number of quantitative investigations related to the
topic to be studied. The inclusion of other databases would favour the
incorporation of other studies. In addition to the difference between the
documents found in both searches, 39 of them refer to academic engagement and 8
to socio-emotional skills and the absence of scientific evidence that addresses
the main constructs of this study jointly, an aspect that has led to the
realization of two independent searches of each of the main terms. Accordingly,
future lines of research are proposed focusing on: (a) Conducting new
bibliometric studies, taking into account other databases and (b) To
investigate if there are studies that address these two constructs in other
vital stages such as childhood or adulthood, so, knowledge on the subject will
be expanded and contribute against the scientific vacuum.
Finally, the importance and benefits of fostering academic engagement and
socioemotional skills are highlighted in the adolescent population. Therefore,
more and more progress is needed in the inclusion of programs already designed,
strategies or projects in educational centers in order to increase the levels
of academic engagement of students and develop socioemotional skills in the
most favorable way possible.
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