Home-school cooperation: Analysing its impact on Chinese students’ classroom disciplinary behaviour, learning anxiety and engagement

Introduction: This study investigates the impact of home-school cooperation on students’ classroom disciplinary behaviours, considering the mediating roles of learning anxiety and learning engagement. Method: Drawing on a large-scale dataset that includes responses from 5,600 students, 4,917 parents, and 4,732 guardians in China, the research employs validated and contextually adapted instruments from established literature to ensure measurement reliability. Data were collected through the Credamo platform and analysed using SPSS 26.0, the PROCESS macro Model 6, v3.5, and JASP software. Results: The findings reveal that home-school cooperation has a direct negative impact on students’ classroom disciplinary behaviour and learning anxiety, and a positive effect on learning engagement. Furthermore, while learning engagement reduces disciplinary issues, learning anxiety increases them. The total effect of home-school cooperation on classroom disciplinary behaviour was stronger than both its direct and total indirect effects. Conclusion: The study underscores the complex and significant role of parental involvement in shaping students’ behaviour, and highlights the importance of emotional and engagement-related pathways in educational outcomes.