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The anatomy of adolescents’ emotional engagement in schoolwork

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Abstract

This study explores the complexity of emotionally engaging schoolwork among students by analysing the interrelation between the affective and the social dimensions of emotional engagement. The data were collected from 78 Finnish sixth-grade (aged 12–13 years) and 89 eighth-grade (aged 14–15 years) students using picture tasks. The results show that the main elements of the affective dimension are the valuing of schoolwork and the enjoyment of learning, and the main element of the social dimension is a sense of belonging in terms of social cohesion and the support experienced by students. Furthermore, the results suggest that emotional engagement has internal dynamics: the affective and social dimension influence each other, regulating the students’ sense of emotional engagement. Consequently, neither of the dimensions alone result in strong, balanced emotional engagement. In addition, the results show that the relation between the affective and social dimension was more unbalanced in the peer interaction than in the teacher–student interaction at both grade levels. This suggests that tensions in the peer interaction at school make for a more complicated context in terms of emotional engagement.

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Acknowledgments

The funding of the study: The Finnish Cultural Foundation and Ministry of Education and Culture.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, University of Tampere, Åkerlundinkatu 5, 33014, Tampere, Finland

    Sanna Ulmanen & Tiina Soini

  2. School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistokatu 2, P.O. Box 111, Joensuu, Finland

    Janne Pietarinen

  3. Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 9, 00014, Helsinki, Finland

    Kirsi Pyhältö

  4. Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Oulu, P.O. BOX 2000, 90014, Oulu, Finland

    Kirsi Pyhältö

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  1. Sanna Ulmanen
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Correspondence to Sanna Ulmanen.

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Ulmanen, S., Soini, T., Pietarinen, J. et al. The anatomy of adolescents’ emotional engagement in schoolwork. Soc Psychol Educ 19, 587–606 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-016-9343-0

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