Effectiveness of Psychosocial School-based Interventions in Improving Academic Engagement in Conflict Zones: Evidence from Goma, North-Kivu, DR Congo

Purpose: This study examined the effectiveness of psychosocial school-based interventions on academic engagement among students in conflict-affected settings in Goma, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Methodology: A quantitative quasi-experimental design was used, involving a sample of 400 students, of whom 240 (60%) were exposed to psychosocial interventions and 160 (40%) were not. Academic engagement was measured across behavioral, emotional, and cognitive dimensions. Findings: The results show that students exposed to psychosocial interventions had higher mean engagement scores (M = 3.8 behavioral; M = 3.5 emotional; M = 3.2 cognitive) compared to non-exposed students (p < 0.05 across all dimensions). ANOVA results confirmed statistically significant differences between groups, with emotional engagement showing the strongest effect (F = 8.45; p = 0.004). Chi-square analysis revealed a significant association between intervention exposure and school attendance (χ² = 12.45; p = 0.002). Correlation analysis indicated a strong positive relationship between psychosocial interventions and academic engagement (r = 0.62), while trauma exposure showed a strong negative correlation (r = -0.55). Regression analysis confirmed that psychosocial interventions significantly predict academic engagement (β = 0.58; p = 0.001), while trauma negatively affects it (β = -0.42; p = 0.003). The interaction term (β = -0.25; p = 0.021) indicated that high trauma levels reduce intervention effectiveness. The model explained 64% of the variance in academic engagement (R² = 0.64). Unique Contribution to Theory, Policy and Practice: This study contributes to Educational Psychology theory by demonstrating that psychosocial school-based interventions significantly improve students’ academic engagement in conflict-affected settings while highlighting the moderating effect of trauma exposure. It also provides empirical evidence from Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, an underrepresented context in educational research. In terms of policy and practice, the findings support the integration of trauma-informed psychosocial support, teacher training, and school counseling services into educational policies and programs to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes in conflict-affected schools.