1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The primary objective of the present study was to identify groups of students that show distinct profiles of classroom engagement in the classroom across the elementary school years (objective 1). [The authors] also examined whether child working memory and impulsivity predict patterns of engagement (objective 2) and family adversity predicts engagement trajectories (objective 3).» (p. 2)

Questions/Hypothèses :
«[Since] prior research has identified three clusters of youth who follow distinct trajectories of classroom engagement, [the authors] expect that a three-class model will best describe [their] data (Pagani et al. 2012). […] In terms of objectives 2 and 3, a first hypothesis is that better cognitive control will predict higher levels of engagement. [The authors] also expect that children whose mothers report more hostility and less warmth and consistent discipline will display lower, more maladaptive patterns of classroom engagement in the elementary classroom. Finally, because they can compromise the availability of parental resources, [the authors] expect that children whose mothers report more stress and less social support will be at greater risk of showing lower patterns of classroom engagement.» (p. 2)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
The authors used data from the «Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD 1998–2010) [...].» (p. 3) «Participants were included in this [...] study if they had least one valid classroom engagement score between kindergarten and fourth grade at 74 and 122 months, respectively (N = 1589). [...] This subsample represents 79% from the original sample.» (p. 3)

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«In [this study’s] sample of typically developing children, discrete subgroups showed stable high, moderate and low levels of classroom engagement. Most children appeared to follow a steady high trajectory of engagement. However, two minority subgroups of children (accounting for 26% of the sample) followed moderate or low trajectories of engagement. […] Preschoolers who were better able to keep information in working memory and who showed lower levels of impulsivity were more likely to remain organised and follow rules and procedures throughout elementary school. […] Furthermore, the positive contribution of cognitive regulation skills was observed regardless of family risk variables, which suggests that targeting these skills in vulnerable children might represent an effective strategy for improving academic success. In addition to these child-level skills, experiencing hostile parenting, higher parental stress and lower parental social support was related to less adaptive patterns of engagement in children.» (p. 7) Finally, «[e]arly childhood parental warmth and consistent use of discipline were not statistically associated with subsequent patterns of engagement. Maternal warmth and discipline, on the other hand, may be especially important for children’s development of positive emotional adjustment and social competence (Davidov & Grusec 2006; Steelman et al. 2002).» (p. 7)