Trust and Students’ Classroom Engagement in the Context of Higher Education: Evidence Among Underserved Students

Abstract

Student trust in their teachers is considered a critical factor in their academic learning, yet it often receives less attention. Limited research has examined how specific trust dimensions influence student engagement in higher education institutions, particularly among underserved students in Zamboanga del Norte. Grounded in social exchange theory and self-determination theory, this study examined whether the dimensions of trust – competence, benevolence, and integrity – predict classroom engagement across four dimensions: agentic, behavioral, cognitive, and emotional. A descriptive, cross-sectional research design and a stratified random sampling yielded 400 responses. Descriptive results showed that across gender groups, students reported very high trust and engagement, with male and LGBTQIA+ students showing slightly higher overall means than females, suggesting that perceptions of trust vary slightly across gender identities. Strong positive associations between all trust dimensions and classroom engagement were found using correlational analysis. Multiple regression revealed that competence (β = 0.304, p < 0.001), benevolence (β = 0.291, p < 0.001), and integrity (β = 0.202, p < 0.001) significantly predicted students’ classroom engagement, explaining 50.8% of the variance (R² = 0.508). These findings highlight that the relationship between trust and classroom engagement remains salient in a highly resource-constrained context where educational disadvantage is part of students’ everyday learning realities. Practical implications suggest the importance of faculty development programs that strengthen competence, benevolence, and integrity, along with gender-based and autonomy-supportive teaching strategies to sustain inclusive and engaging classroom environments.