Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable educational and learning environments have never been more critical in today’s fast paced exchange of information. In a context in which misinformation is all too easily conveyed, learning environments that encourage and support learners to more critically engage information should be our aim.

Instructional support to date has been studied in various settings including contextual support (Skinner & Belmont, 1993), teacher practices (Patall, Dent, Oyer, & Wynn, 2013), general classroom practices (Eccles, 2006), classroom social environment (Patrick, Ryan, & Kaplan, 2007), and teacher-student relationships (Roorda, Koomen, Spilt, & Oort, 2011), all of which support a multidimensional and process-oriented view of instructionally supportive contexts for the development of student motivation, classroom action, and academic learning (Anderman, Andrzejewski, & Allen, 2011). The provision of relevance, for example, has been defined as classroom actions that highlight the connection of the academic material to students’ interests and goals (Finn & Voekl, 1993). Along with relevance of instruction, instructor/teacher involvement is another important aspect of instructional support and has, thus far, been defined as the dedication of time, resources, and warmth with individual students (Belmont, Skinner, Wellborn, & Connell, 1992; Nix, Fraser, & Ledbetter, 2005). From learners’ perspective, engagement is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct, comprising behavioral, emotional, and cognitive dimensions (Fredericks, 2011; Skinner, Furrer, Marchand, & Kindermann, 2008; Wang & Eccles, 2013).

This Special Issue—Instructional Support and Engagement: Working Toward Sustainable Education—is intended to highlight innovative research on instructional support and student engagement, with emphasis on sustainable educational and learning environments. 

Regards,

References

Anderman, L. H., Andrzejewski, C. E., & Allen, J. (2011). How do teachers support students’ motivation and learning in their classrooms? Teachers College Record, 113(5), 969–1003.

Belmont, M., Skinner, E. A., Wellborn, J., & Connell, J. P. (1992). Teacher as social context (TASC): Two measures of teacher provision of involvement, structure, and autonomy support: Student report measure (Technical Report). University of Rochester, Rochester, NY.

Eccles, J. S. (2006). A motivational perspective on school achievement: Taking responsibility for learning, teaching, and supporting. In R. F. Subotnik & R. J. Sternberg (Eds.), Optimizing student success in school with the other three Rs: Reasoning, resilience, and responsibility (pp. 199–224). Information Age.

Finn, J. D., & Voelkl, K. E. (1993). School characteristics related to student engagement. Journal of Negro Education, 62, 249–268.

Fredricks, J. A. (2011). Engagement in school and out-of-school contexts: A multidimensional view of engagement. Theory into Practice, 50, 327–335.

Nix, R. K., Fraser, B. J., & Ledbetter, C. E. (2005). Evaluating an integrated science learning environment using the Constructivist Environment Survey. Learning Environments Research, 8, 109–133.

Patall, E. A., Dent, A. L., Oyer, M., & Wynn, S. R. (2013). Student autonomy and course value: The unique and cumulative roles of various teacher practices. Motivation and Emotion, 37, 14–32.

Patrick, H., Ryan, A., & Kaplan, A. (2007). Early adolescents’ perceptions of the classroom social environment, motivational beliefs, and engagement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99, 83–98.

Roorda, D. L., Koomen, H. Y., Spilt, J. L., & Oort, F. J. (2011). The influence of affective teacher-student relationships on students’ school engagement and achievement: A meta-analytic approach. Review of Educational Research, 81(4), 493–529.

Skinner, E., & Belmont, M. (1993). Motivation in the classroom: Reciprocal effects of teacher behavior and student engagement across the school year. Journal of Educational Psychology, 85, 571–581.

Skinner, E. A., Furrer, C. J., Marchand, G. C., & Kindermann, T. A. (2008). Behavioral and emotional engagement in the classroom: Part of a larger motivational dynamic? Journal of Educational Psychology, 100(4), 765–781.

Wang, M.-T., & Eccles, J. S. (2013). School context, achievement motivation, and academic engagement: A longitudinal study of school engagement using a multidimensional perspective. Learning and Instruction, 28, 12–23.

Dr. Antonio P. Gutierrez de Blume
Guest Editor

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• Instructional Support 
• Behavioral Engagement 
• Cognitive Engagement 
• Emotional Engagement 
• Sustainability in Education