Student engagement is recognised as a key process that can assist students’ learning. This paper reports a study in which three variables were examined to assess their potential in creating engaging and participative classrooms. The focus was on ‘teacher engagement in the community’, ‘teacher engagement in school’ and ‘teachers’ teaching confidence’ and their impact on the way teachers perceive their classrooms. Data was drawn from the International Civics and Citizenship Study, and the views of over 1400 teachers in 90 Hong Kong schools were analysed. The results of the study showed that teacher engagement is an important construct that directly supports teachers’ positive descriptions of their classroom activities. At the same time, teacher engagement also influenced teachers’ confidence in their teaching which in turn influenced the positive descriptions of their usual classroom activities. The theoretical foundations of these results are discussed as well as the implications for teachers’ professional lives, for policymakers concerned with enhancing teacher quality and for school leaders with responsibility for teacher professional development.