Implicações do ambiente socioemocional de aprendizagem no engajamento acadêmico de estudantes de Pós-graduação em Administração

Abstract

This thesis examines how the socioemotional learning environment (SLE) influences the engagement of graduate students in Business Administration in Brazil. The specific objectives were: (i) to validate the academic engagement scale for the Brazilian context; (ii) to identify the level of academic engagement; (iii) to assess the socioemotional learning environment in graduate programs; and (iv) to characterize the relationships between the SLE and student engagement in the postgraduate context. The central argument is that the SLE directly affects engagement in Brazilian stricto sensu graduate programs. A mixed-methods design was adopted. The quantitative phase comprised three stages: first, a study with 139 master’s students using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to examine the structure of the academic engagement scale; second, a study with 190 doctoral students to validate the scale via Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and to test the research hypotheses through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM); additionally, the SLE was analyzed using the What Is Happening in This Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire, previously validated in Brazil. The qualitative phase deepened understanding of the SLE, academic engagement, and their interrelations through 19 interviews with doctoral students, analyzed using a comprehensive–interpretive approach. Quantitative results from the adjusted structural model indicate that the SLE Research dimension positively and significantly influences all engagement dimensions (cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and social), whereas Student Integration influences only social engagement. To characterize the SLE, the WIHIC dimensions-student integration, teacher support, involvement, research, and cooperation-were summarized (means, SD, quartiles) and then compared across groups using the Mann-Whitney U test. Group comparisons showed that men reported higher means in teacher support and involvement, and private institutions outperformed public ones in teacher support, involvement, research, and the overall SLE index. The qualitative phase revealed salient socioemotional challenges (stress, anxiety, loneliness during thesis writing) alongside positive emotions (pride, satisfaction), underscoring the roles of social support (peers, faculty, advisors) and emotional self-regulation in sustaining engagement. Motivation for the doctorate proved multifaceted-initially driven by institutional prestige, vocation for teaching, and a desire for social contribution- yet faced end-stage challenges due to exhaustion and pressure. The thesis concludes that the socioemotional learning environment significantly influences students’ academic engagement. Practically,

graduate programs that expand students’ involvement in research, structure peer- integration strategies, and attend to the quality of supervisory relationships tend to

foster higher and broader levels of academic engagement.