The impact of family involvement on students' social-emotional development: the mediational role of school engagement

Family involvement has been identified as a mechanism that explains the differences in academic performance and well-being between students from different socioeconomic backgrounds. The implications of family involvement in students' non-academic outcomes have often been overshadowed by a focus on the academic domain. This study focuses on one type of non-academic attributes which is currently most critical to navigate in school and beyond: social-emotional development. In addition to that, the potential mediating role of school engagement in the association between family involvement and students' social-emotional development remains to be explored. This study aimed to investigate whether family involvement was associated with students' school engagement and social-emotional development and to clarify the underlying mechanism in the relationship. The sample consisted of 170 students from 8 to 17 years old and their parents who live in economically vulnerable situations and experience social exclusion. The analyses were performed using Jamovi statistical software and a GLM Mediation Model module. To address the research objectives, a series of mediation analysis were performed to fit the hypothesized relations among the study variables. The mediational analysis suggested that home-based family involvement could not predict students' social-emotional development, and that the effect of home-based family involvement on students' social-emotional development was fully mediated by school engagement, a variable not included in previous research. The results suggest that families who are actively engaged in their child's education at home positively influence students' level of participation in school, which, in turn, promotes the development of students' social-emotional competences.