Self-ratings of behavioural engagement, cognitive engagement and school burnout were used in person-centred analyses to identify latent profiles among 2,485 Finnish lower-secondary school students. Three profiles were identified: high-engagement/low-burnout (40.6% of the sample), average-engagement/average-burnout (53.9%), and low-engagement/high-burnout (5.5%). Another sample of lower-secondary school students was used to validate the 3 profiles. The factors most strongly associated with the high-engagement/low-burnout profile of lower-secondary school students’ were high levels of support from teachers and family, good academic performance, and lack of truancy. The study indicated that teacher and family support and students’ academic achievement are pivotal in understanding student engagement and school burnout.

Student engagement has been identified as an influential mediator between classroom interactional quality and adolescent learning outcomes. This study examined the relationship between classroom quality and student behavioural engagement in secondary school classrooms. Three dimensions of classroom quality (emotional, organisational and instructional support) and the dimension of student engagement were observed in nine classrooms using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System. Self-ratings of behavioural engagement were provided by 181 Finnish secondary school students along with their teachers’ ratings of classroom-level student engagement. The results showed, first, that there was variation in both classroom quality and student behavioural engagement between the classrooms. Second, classroom organisational support was associated with observed and with teacher- and student-rated engagement, and instructional support was associated with student-rated and observed engagement. Third, emotional support did not have a direct effect on student engagement but contributed to student engagement indirectly via organisational and instructional support. There were no gender differences with respect to self-reported engagement. Class size had a positive effect on teacher-rated engagement. The results demonstrated specific associations between the domains of classroom quality and student behavioural engagement in secondary school classrooms.

This study examined the reliability and validity of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System–Secondary (CLASS-S) in Finnish classrooms. Trained observers coded classroom interactions based on video recordings of 46 Grade 6 classrooms (450 cycles). Concurrent associations were investigated with respect to teacher self-ratings (e.g., efficacy beliefs and teaching-related stress). Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the hypothesized three-factor structure of the original CLASS-S (Emotional Support, Organizational Support, and Instructional Support), with some modifications, provided a better fit for the data compared with one- and two-factor structures. Structural validity was demonstrated by mostly high factor loadings. Except for two interrater intraclass correlations, all item, scale, and interrater reliabilities were either acceptable or good. The study found some evidence for concurrent associations between the three CLASS-S factors and teacher self-ratings. The results provide evidence of the applicability of the CLASS-S instrument in educational contexts (Finland) outside the United States.