Philippine E-Journals

School Contextual Factors of Connectedness: The Case of Indian and Filipino University Students

Wilson A. Thoppilan | Jerome A. Ouano | Gail D. Conway | Voltaire M. Marquez

 

Abstract:

School connectedness is essential to adolescents’ development and transition to young adulthood. While universities provide various opportunities for student development, it is not clear how these opportunities could benefit students’ school connectedness. Participated in by a total of 170 Indian and 153 Filipino university students, the present study investigated the relationship of school contextual factors and school connectedness. The scale for university contextual factors was based on the contextual factors that were earlier rated by Indian and Filipino students as frequently occurring in their respective universities. Results of Multiple Regression showed that, for the Indian sample, special interest development (β=.34, p<.01) and counseling programs (β=.18, p<.05) predicted school connectedness. For the Filipino sample, academic engagement opportunities (β=.29, p<.01) counseling programs (β=.35, p<.001) and school policies (β=.19, p<.05) predicted school connectedness. Results are discussed highlighting the role of universities in promoting a sense of school connectedness among the students.