The Relationship Between Academic Helplessness, Teacher Relationships, and Academic Engagement in Middle School Students : Moderated mediating effects of parenting attitudes and peer relationships

This study focuses on early academic helplessness and engagement in middle school, examining the relationships between academic helplessness in the first year of middle school (7th grade), relationships with teachers, parenting attitudes, peer relationships, and academic engagement in the second year (8th grade). The purpose of this study is to verify the mediating effect of the teacher-student relationship in the link between academic helplessness and academic engagement, as well as to explore the moderated mediating effects of parenting style and peer relationships in the relationship between academic helplessness and teacher relationships. To achieve this, data from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS) 2018, specifically from the first (7th grade) and second year (8th grade) middle school samples (2,147 participants), were utilized. Data analysis was conducted using Hayes' (2017) PROCESS Macro. The findings are as follows: First, academic helplessness in 7th grade showed a significant negative correlation with teacher relationships, parenting attitudes, peer relationships in 7th grade, and academic engagement in 8th grade. Meanwhile, teacher relationships, parenting attitudes, and peer relationships in 7th grade, as well as academic engagement in 8th grade, showed significant positive relationships. Second, the mediating effect of the teacher relationship was verified in the relationship between academic helplessness in 7th grade and academic engagement in 8th grade. Third, the moderated mediating effects of parenting style and peer relationships in the impact of academic helplessness on teacher relationships in 7th grade were identified. Based on these findings, educational implications for interventions in early academic helplessness and engagement in middle school were discussed.