Chapter Five Conclusion
5.1 Major Findings
This study applies the quantitative research method to investigate the general situation of postgraduates’ AERE and the influence path of the four dimensions on AERE. Based on the above research purposes, the major findings drawn from the study are as follows:
First, the questionnaire for AERE has a high level of reliability. Besides, the questionnaire has also undergone additional testing, and it proves to have excellent validity, making it a key step for the whole study. Reading engagement can be classified into four dimensions: behavioral engagement, emotional engagement, cognitive engagement, and social engagement. Postgraduate students’ overall AERE is found to be at a medium-to-high level, with scores for each dimension ranging from high to low as far as cognitive engagement, behavioral engagement, social engagement, and emotional engagement are concerned.
Secondly, the results of independent sample T test, single factor method analysis and post hoc multiple comparison show that there is no significant difference in AERE between male and female postgraduates. There are significant differences in AERE among postgraduates from different levels of universities. The engagement level of postgraduates in 985 universities is higher than that of students in ordinary universities. There are significant differences in AERE for postgraduates of different grades. The level of the second-year postgraduates’ engagement is higher than that of the first-year and third-year postgraduates. Moreover, there are significant differences in AERE among postgraduates of different majors. Postgraduates majoring in humanities have the highest level of engagement, those majoring in social sciences ranking the second and those in natural sciences being the third. There are significant differences in AERE among postgraduates with different English levels. The higher the English level, the higher the degree of engagement.
Thirdly, according to the path analysis as a structural model of AERE, it is found that behavioral engagement is directly and positively affected by cognitive engagement, emotional engagement and social engagement; Cognitive engagement has a direct and significantly impact on behavioral engagement; Emotional engagement has a direct and significantly impact on cognitive engagement and behavioral engagement; Social engagement has a direct and significant impact on behavioral engagement, cognitive engagement and emotional engagement, and can also have an indirect impact on cognitive engagement through the intermediary variable of emotional engagement.
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