Trajectory patterns of academic engagement among elementary school students: The implicit theory of intelligence and academic self-efficacy matters

Background The dropout rate of Chinese elementary school students after 2007 rose again. Little research to date has identified individual differences in pathways of academic engagement to discern those at risk of disengagement and dropout from schools, as well as the longitudinal linkages between cognitive beliefs with academic engagement. Aims Examine the developmental trajectories of cognitive, emotional, and behavioural engagement, and assess relations between the implicit theory of intelligence and academic self-efficacy and the development of academic engagement. Sample and methods We recruited 532, 450, and 415 elementary students to rate on self-report scales in April 2016 (T1), October 2016 (T2), and April 2017 (T3), respectively. Trajectories of academic engagement were analysed by using a multiple-process growth mixture model, and levels of entity theory of intelligence and academic self-efficacy between engagement groups were compared by using analysis of variance. Results We categorized the students into four groups: persistent (71.24%), climbing (6.01%), descending (16.54%), and struggling engagement (6.20%) groups. Within each group, the levels of academic self-efficacy from T1 to T3 demonstrated a consistent trend with the engagement trajectory; the levels of the implicit theory of intelligence over time showed the reverse trend. Conclusions Attention should be given more on the students from the descending and struggling groups. The implicit theory of intelligence and academic self-efficacy showed different longitudinal associations with engagement trajectories.