Measurement of Student Engagement in Learning

Synonyms

Effort; Involvement; Learning; Motivation; Participation; Retention

Definition

Student engagement refers to people’s interaction with activities and conditions that lead to learning and development. The concept applies to learning in general but is typically used in formal educational contexts. Measuring student engagement involves capturing insights on what students are doing and their intrinsic involvement with learning, the extent to which people are making use of available resources, and the extent to which teachers and institutions are supporting learning. Empirical insights on student engagement provide a means for engaging teachers and institutions with core educational business, a structure for framing conversations about quality, and a stimulus for guiding new thinking about good practice.

Theoretical Background

Conceptually, student engagement is grounded directly in theories of how people learn. It builds directly on the epistemologies of Socrates, Kant, and...