Correlation etween academic engagement and positive mental health in university students

Abstract

Academic Engagement is a theoretical construct internationally recognized for the evaluation of higher education institutions. Empirical studies of academic engagement in Brazil are still scarce and its importance is gradually increasing, given the expansion of the number of higher education institutions and students in the last decades in the country. The objectives of the present study are to describe the self perception of the academic satisfaction, the degree of integration of students on their courses and to identify if there is an association  between the perception of academic engagement and positive mental health. The participants were 3484 students of 37 courses of graduation at public university of the south area of the country, with an average age of 22,8 (sd = 6,92). The results indicate that almost half of the students (47,4%, n=1644) do not felt satisfied with their academic performance. The items related to their academic experience showed that the students interviewed perceive themselves moderately integrated on their courses. The Pearson correlation showed significant positive association between the dimensions of academic engagement and positive mental health. The strongest correlation between these constructs was between the dimension of emotional engagement and positive mental health. The study demonstrated that the more the students felt good with themselves on the university facilities, more they engaged emotionally on studies, which provoke cognitive development. The results indicate the potential of active participation of the university on the promotion of policy and practices that contribute to the academic engagement and positive mental health of  students.