For more than two decades, the concept of student engagement has grown from simple attention in class to a construct comprised of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components that embody and ...further develop motivation for learning. Similarly, the goals of student engagement have evolved from dropout prevention to improved outcomes for lifelong learning. This robust expansion has led to numerous lines of research across disciplines and are brought together clearly and comprehensively in the Handbook of Research on Student Engagement. The Handbook guides readers through the field's rich history, sorts out its component constructs, and identifies knowledge gaps to be filled by future research. Grounding data in real-world learning situations, contributors analyze indicators and facilitators of student engagement, link engagement to motivation, and gauge the impact of family, peers, and teachers on engagement in elementary and secondary grades. Findings on the effectiveness of classroom interventions are discussed in detail. And because assessing engagement is still a relatively new endeavor, chapters on measurement methods and issues round out this important resource. Topical areas addressed in the Handbook include: Engagement across developmental stages.Self-efficacy in the engaged learner.Parental and social influences on engagement and achievement motivation.The engaging nature of teaching for competency development.The relationship between engagement and high-risk behavior in adolescents.Comparing methods for measuring student engagement.An essential guide to the expanding knowledge base, the Handbook of Research on Student Engagement serves as a valuable resource for researchers, scientist-practitioners, and graduate students in such varied fields as clinical child and school psychology, educational psychology, public health, teaching and teacher education, social work, and educational policy. Sandra L. Christenson, Ph.D., is the Birkmaier Professor of Educational Leadership, Professor of Educational Psychology, and faculty member in the School Psychology Program at the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on interventions that enhance engagement at school and with learning for marginalized students with and without disabilities. She is particularly interested in the identification of contextual factors that facilitate student engagement and increase the probability for student success in school, and the identification of the effect of family-school partnership variables. Amy L. Reschly, Ph.D., is an associate professor and training director in the School Psychology Program, Department of Educational Psychology Instructional Technology, at the University of Georgia. Areas of expertise include engagement and dropout prevention; working with families and schools to promote student success; and, Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) and Problem-Solving. Cathy Wylie, Ph.D., is a Chief Researcher with the New Zealand Council for Educational Research. She has led the longitudinal Competent Learners project since 1993. Her research interests include the interaction between experiences and student development, and identifying policies that best support school capability to provide engaging and productive learning. Her research into policy includes the impact on schools and students of New Zealand national policies, including the shift to self-managed schools since 1989.
School Psychology Review is the flagship scholarly journal of the largest professional organization of school psychologists in the world, the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). ...NASP's mission is to advance effective practices to improve students' learning, behavior, and mental health. This term, effective, underscores an emphasis on research that has been present since the organization's earliest days. Indeed, 96% of respondents to a survey of NASP's first members indicated their interest in having greater access to research from a range of disciplines to inform their practice. Here, Reschly discusses a brief history of the journal.
The purpose of this study was to examine whether secondary student engagement was predictive of college attendance. Data were drawn from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 9th grade (n = ...21,444) and 11th grade (n = 20,549) cohorts. Multilevel modeling was used to analyze whether demographic, academic, financial, and engagement variables predicted postsecondary enrollment. Demographic (higher SES, attending a Catholic or private school) and academic (English and Math GPA) variables were predictive of college enrollment across both cohorts, as were participants' thoughts on the affordability of college. For ninth grade students, the engagement scales of family support for learning and future goals and aspirations remained significant predictors of enrollment after accounting for other variables. Among 11th grade students, peer support for learning, future goals and aspirations, and behavioral engagement remained significant predictors of enrollment. Student engagement is thought to underlie high school and college completion efforts but little research connects these levels of schooling. This study suggests providing support for students' engagement in high school could positively affect college enrollment. Financial education about the costs and options for paying for college may also be beneficial.
Practitioner points
Students' engagement in both 9th and 11th grades was predictive of college enrollment.
Students' beliefs about the affordability of college in 9th and 11th grades was associated with enrollment in college.
Support for students' engagement and education regarding costs and financial options for college while in high school may positively affect college enrollment.
A review of relevant literatures led to the construction of a self-report instrument designed to measure two subtypes of student engagement with school: cognitive and psychological engagement. The ...psychometric properties of this measure, the Student Engagement Instrument (SEI), were assessed based on responses of an ethnically and economically diverse urban sample of 1931 ninth grade students. Factor structures were obtained using exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) on half of the dataset, with model fit examined using confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) on the other half of the dataset. The model displaying the best empirical fit consisted of six factors, and these factors correlated with expected educational outcomes. Further research is suggested in the iterative process of developing the SEI, and the implications of these findings are discussed.
This meta-analysis summarized the correlational evidence of the association between the CBM Oral Reading measure (R-CBM) and other standardized measures of reading achievement for students in grades ...1–6. Potential moderating variables were also examined (source of criterion test, administration format, grade level, length of time, and type of reading subtest score). Results indicated a significant, strong overall correlation among R-CBM and other standardized tests of reading achievement and differences in correlations as a function of source of test, administration format, and reading subtest type. No differences in the magnitude of correlations were found across grade levels. In addition, there was minimal evidence of publication bias. Results are discussed in terms of existing literature and directions for future research.
Theories of student engagement for dropout and school completion are proposed to begin as early as age five. Student engagement in elementary-age students has been linked to school completion, ...post-secondary education, and achievement. However, there is little research examining patterns and profiles of student engagement in this population. In an effort to provide more individualized support and intervention, work in the field of student engagement has begun to examine profiles of student engagement and disengagement or disaffection. This study explored the identification of distinguishable groups based on student engagement in a sample of third-grade students and those groups' associations with demographic and outcome variables. Consistent with findings of research with older students, four distinct profiles of student engagement were found for males and females: Engaged, Cognitively/Affectively Disengaged, Behaviorally Disengaged, Disaffected. An additional class characterized by high absences was found for males. Demographic characteristics were associated with cluster attributes for males (Free or Reduced Lunch, special education, English Learner, and race-ethnicity) and female (El status). Cluster affiliation was significantly associated with seventh grade Math and Language Arts grades for both males and females and absences for males. Implications and future directions for research are discussed. The findings from the current study indicate there are discernible classes of student engagement and disengagement that can be identified as early as the third grade. These results may aid in the early identification of those at risk for dropping out of school and more effectively link students to targeted early interventions.
This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Student Engagement Instrument-College version (SEI-C) with college students in the southeastern United States. Participants self-selected ...paper-and-pencil or online administration. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a modified 5-factor structure. Measurement invariance of the modified 5-factor structure of the SEI-C was assessed across the paper-and-pencil and online samples. Full configural, full metric, partial scalar, and full residual variance invariance were established. The paper-and-pencil and online data were aggregated, and correlational analyses between the 5 SEI-C factors and the 4 higher order factors of the Motivation and Engagement Scale-University/College (MES-UC) provided evidence of convergent and divergent validity. All but 1 of the 20 correlations were statistically significant, and all correlations were in the expected direction. Overall, there is evidence to suggest the appropriateness of extending the SEI upward for use with college students and for collecting data via online or paper-and-pencil administration.
The purpose of this study was to examine students’ self-reported cognitive and affective engagement before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Student engagement was examined in three ways: Fall 2020 ...survey responses for digital and in-person instruction were compared to those from Fall 2018 and Fall 2019; the engagement of students who remained in the same school (
n
= 49,161) from fall 2019 to fall 2020 was examined; and among those students in the same schools with prior year responses, we examined predictors of a change in their self-reported engagement. Students were also asked to rate their perceptions of learning and support compared to before their district transitioned to remote learning in March of 2020. All in-person student responses showed slight to large increases across grades for Teacher-Student Relationships and some slight declines on other factors. For students responding for the same schools across years, overall engagement decreased, with in-person students reporting consistent increases in Teacher-Student Relationships but varied changes across other factors. Statistical models indicated prior engagement predicted nearly all of the variance in fall 2020 engagement. Student reflections on the spring 2020 transition to online learning found the continued digital learners (into fall 2020) reporting worse engagement and support. In general, changes in student engagement were more positive for students receiving in-person instruction, and greater initial student engagement was related to greater subsequent engagement.
Research suggests the need to assess both positive and negative forms of student engagement. The purpose of this study was to pilot disaffection items with the Student Engagement Instrument (SEI) ...with a sample of middle school students from a rural area in the Southeastern U.S. This study explored the factor structure of the piloted items alongside the SEI, measurement invariance, and associations between student engagement and disaffection with educational outcomes such as mathematics and reading test scores, discipline referrals, and absences. Results hold implications for our theoretical understanding of engagement, suggesting that engagement and disaffection dimensions are theoretically and psychometrically distinct.
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