What Drives First-Semester Student Engagement in Large Lecture-Based Sociology Courses in Germany
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22042226 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Aida Montenegro (0000-0003-3667-9935, University of Bonn, corresponding author), Manuela Schmidt (0009-0000-7964-9053, University of Kaiserslautern) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 8 |
| Pages | 1080 |
| Publication date | 2025-08-21 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Education Sciences (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2227-7102 • E-ISSN: 2227-7102 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/educsci15081080 |
| OpenAlex | W4413395975 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 44 |
Research on the complex dimensions of engagement in large, lecture-based courses remains scarce. Lecture-based courses are often characterized by passive learning environments, raising concerns about their capacity to foster motivation. This study investigates how motivational factors shape multiple dimensions of engagement—cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and agentic—in introductory sociology courses. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey was conducted with 434 first-year students enrolled at seven public universities in North Rhine–Westphalia, Germany. All participants had completed the Abitur at the Gymnasium and experienced hybrid learning during their final years of secondary education due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study formulated three hypotheses: (1) mastery (self-improvement) goals positively predict emotional, behavioral, and cognitive engagement (validated); (2) perceived autonomy support increases emotional engagement (validated); and (3) performance goals (motivation to outperform peers) have a stronger effect on emotional than cognitive engagement (rejected). Results indicate that performance goals neither enhance emotional engagement nor exert a stronger influence on emotional than on cognitive engagement, challenging common assumptions about the role of competitive motivation in large lecture settings. Additionally, despite low levels of agentic engagement—attributed to the structural constraints of large lecture-based learning environments—students’ internal engagement was in line with other studies. These findings highlight the critical role of educational culture, particularly the emphasis on autonomy within the German school system, and the influence of learning spaces in shaping student engagement. We suggest that engagement is shaped by familiarity with hybrid formats that support autonomy, as well as by an academic culture in which active silent engagement is often the norm. In such contexts, mastery goals and autonomy-supportive backgrounds help foster more reactive dimensions of student engagement
Higher education · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Political science · Sociology · Student engagement · Computer Science · Educator Training and Historical Pedagogy · Evaluation of Teaching Practices · Innovative Teaching Methodologies in Social Sciences · Psychology
Handbook of Research on Student Engagement
Engagement in language learning
Agency as a fourth aspect of students’ engagement during learning activities
Multiple goals, multiple pathways
Covid-19 and schooling
On the measurement of achievement goals
Autonomy-supportive teaching
Achievement goals and achievement emotions
Student engagement in the educational interface
Performance-approach goal effects depend on how they are defined
Nonlinear principal components analysis
Enhancing Students' Engagement by Increasing Teachers' Autonomy Support
How students create motivationally supportive learning environments for themselves
Self-determination theory
Achievement Goals, Student Engagement, and the Mediatory Role of Autonomy Support in Lecture-Based Courses
‘Utility’ of education and the role of transformative agency
The National Educational Panel Study (Neps)—framework, design, and research potential
Adapting to online teaching during Covid-19 school closure
Emotions and emotion regulation in L2 classroom speaking tasks
Promoting an agentic orientation
Langsam vermisse ich die Schule …“
Reconstructing Changes in Agency in the Young People’s Social Biographies Through Longitudinal Qualitative Research
Teacher support for students’ psychological needs and student engagement
An ecological perspective of student engagement through digital technology
A 2 × 2 achievement goal framework
The Lecture as a Transmedial Pedagogical Form
On the influence of social norms on individual achievement goals
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |