STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
One of the increasingly valued outcomes of school improvement activities, as well as an indicator of successful classroom instruction, is student engagement. Students are engaged when they are attracted to their work, persist despite challenges and obstacles, and take visible delight in accomplishing their work.
For students to be engaged, they should have the willingness, need, desire and compulsion to participate in, and be successful in, the learning process. They should have a connection towards any aspect of learning, schools or education.
According to studies, student engagement may overlap with but is not the same as student motivation. The former has been used to depict students’ willingness to attending classes, submitting required work, and following teachers’ directions in class; as well as participating in the activities offered as part of the school program and reform activities.
Those who are engaged show sustained involvement and a positive emotional tone. They select tasks based on their competencies, initiate action when given the opportunity, and exert intense effort and concentration in the implementation of learning tasks. They are enthusiastic, optimistic, curious, and interested.
Another study identified five indicators for student, including the level of academic challenge; active and collaborative learning; student-faculty interaction; enriching education experiences; and a supportive learning environment.
Signs of student disengagement, however, are unexcused absences from classes, cheating on tests, and damaging school property. Those who are disengaged are passive, do not try hard, and give up easily in the face of challenges…
Reasons for their disengagement may include boredom, depression, anxiety, or even anger. They are withdrawn from learning opportunities or even rebellious towards teachers and classmates.
It is tantamount that all schools continue to evolve towards becoming more engaging, more meaningful and more powerful learning environments for all students.