Social support, school engagement, and academic achievement in a sample of African American male high school students

Research has consistently shown that African American male students have lower grade point averages (GPAs) (McGuire, 2005), lower standardized test scores (Sims, 2012), lower class level placement (Noguera, 2005), have higher dropout rates (Schott Foundation for Public Education, 2010), and lower college graduation rates (Harper, 2012) on average compared to White students in particular. School engagement, or, how a student behaves in school (behavioral engagement), feels about school (emotional engagement), and thinks about school (cognitive engagement) (Fredericks et al., 2004), has been shown to have a significant impact on student outcomes. Decreased dropout rates (Finn & Rock, 1997), higher grades (Caraway, Tucker, Reinke, & Hall, 2003; Wang & Holcombe, 2010), and lower problem behaviors (Finn et al., 1995; Eccles & Barber, 1999) have all been linked to increased school engagement. When students perceive that their teachers, parents, and peers are supportive of them, school engagement increases (Garcia-Reed, Reed, & Peterson, 2005), grades increase (Rosenfeld, Richmond, & Bowen, 2000), as well as a host of other positive school related outcomes (Demaray & Malecki, 2002). However, connections between social support, school engagement, and student outcomes in African American male high school students are non-existent. The current study fills the identified gaps by uncovering how social support and school engagement relate to African American male high school students' grades. Additionally, this research project examines if behavioral, emotional, and/or cognitive school engagement mediates the significant pathways from parent, teacher, and peer support to grades. Multiple regression analyses indicated that student GPA increases when students report increased behavioral engagement and GPA decreases when students report increased peer support. Additionally, when students report increased teacher support, emotional school engagement and behavioral school engagement are also likely to increase. Implications for the results of the current study and future directions are discussed