EARLY PREDICTORS OF SCHOOL ENGAGEMENT: EXPLORING THE ROLE OF PEER RELATIONSHIPS

School engagement is an important theoretical and practical cornerstone to the promotion of school completion. The current study explores the influences of childhood peer relationships in the third grade predicting school engagement at Grade 5. Participants are among the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (Research Triangle Institute, 2002). Given the importance of evaluating school engagement as a complex developmental process, longitudinal and multi-informant data were used to account for various child characteristics as well as relationships with parents that may affect school engagement. Results indicate that peer friendship quality, support from friends, and aggressive behavior toward peers all uniquely relate to school engagement. Implications for intervention are discussed. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.