Students' engagement in schools: differentiation and promotion

E str a té g ias d e In cl u são 117

Students´ engagement in schools: di

d erencia on and

promo on

Feliciano Veiga e Carolina Carvalho2

Ana Almeida e Céu Taveira3

Isabel Janeiro e Sara Baía4

Isabel Festas5

João Nogueira6

Madalena Melo7

Suzana Caldeira8

Abstract: The objec ve of this work is to present elements of the project Student engagement in Scho-ols (SES). The team consists of 10 researchers from six Universi es. Student engagement in schoScho-ols is a mul dimensional construct that unites ad ec ve, behavioural, and cogni ve dimensions of student adapta on in the school and has infl uence on students‘outcomes. The team of researchers concep-tualized two major studies, a did eren al study to analyze the rela ons between SES and contextual factors, personal factors, student’s outcomes, and a quasi-experimental study to analyze the ed ects on SES of a specifi c interven on programmes. In study 1, the sample size is around 600 students (150 6th graders, 150 7th graders, 150 9th graders, and 150 10th graders). We shall focus on years of school transi on, with rural and urban popula ons, on did erent regions of the country, and on students with did erent family background. We shall conduct ques onnaires with na onal and interna onal scales. The study 2 will involve students in 7th and 9th grade, from four classes, two of the experimental group and two of the control group. Pa erns of verbal communica ons between a teacher and students can infl uence the classroom environment and SES. This model of communica on would result in more ed ec ve student management and more me on-task for learning.

Key words: students´ engagement, did eren a on, school mo va on.

Introdu on

Student engagement in schools (SES) has a racted, in recent years, growing interest in the field of Educational Psychology and Education, as a solution to the problems of

1. Comunicação apresentada no XI Congresso da AEPEC (Associação da Educação Pluridimensional e da Escola Cultural) - Da exclusão à excelência - caminhos organizacionais para a qualidade da educação. Évora: Universidade de Évora, 16, 17 e 18 de Setembro de 2010.

Este estudo foi apoiado fi nanceiramente pela FCT para o período 2007-2010, e desenvolvido no Ins tuto de Educação da Universidade de Lisboa. Informações podem ser pedidas a Feliciano H. Veiga [e veiga@ie.ul.pt]. A informação que aqui se apresenta segue de perto os elementos do Projecto SES, subme do em 2010 à FCT para obtenção de apoio fi nanceiro. Redigido obrigatoriamente em língua Inglesa e com especifi cidades nas referências bibliográfi cas, assim se decidiu manter também aqui.

2. Universidade de Lisboa, Ins tuto de Educação [e veiga@ie.ul.pt] 3. Universidade do Minho, Ins tuto de Educação

4. Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Psicologia 5. Universidade de Coimbra, Faculdade de Psicologia

6. Universidade Nova de Lisboa, F. de Ciências Sociais e Humanas 7. Universidade de Évora, Departamento de Psicologia

D a E x cl u sã o à E x ce lê n ci a : C a m in h o s O rg a n iz a ci o n a is p a ra a Qu a li d a d e d a E d u ca çã o _ Man u e l F e rr e ir a P a tr íc io , L u ís S e b as ão , J o sé Man u e l Ma ta J u st o , J o rg e Bo n it o ( O rg s. )

118 low academic achievement and high dropout that ad ect many schools. The general objec ve of this project is to study the engagement of Portuguese students in schools and how enga-gement is related with personal and contextual variables (such as mo va onal beliefs, and instruc onal and social relatedness contexts). Student engagement in schools (SES) is a mul -dimensional construct that unites ad ec ve, behavioural, and cogni ve dimensions of student adapta on in the school and has infl uence on students’ outcomes. In a recent study, Lam & Jimerson (2008) developed the – Student Engagement in School Questionnaire – (SESQ), to evaluate the 3 dimensions of school engagement; including items about personal and con-textual variables (see literature review for more details). The team is composed by several uni-versity researchers, from North to South of the country, including Azores Islands. Our project aims the study of the Portuguese students´ engagement in schools, and analyzes rela onships between personal and contextual factors, as well as the consequences of school engagement in the student (academic, behavioral and emo onal consequences). The school, as a psycho-educa onal space, is understood as an ecologic and systemic context in which the students´ development takes place. For this, we conceptualize 2 major studies, one did eren al (Study 1) and another with a quasi-experimental design (Study 2), to analyse: 1) the rela onships between student‘s school engagement and factors of the instruc onal context; 2) the rela ons between student‘s school engagement and factors of the socio-relatedness context; 3) the rela ons between student‘s school engagement and personal factors; 4) the rela ons be-tween student‘s school engagement and student‘s outcomes, such as academic performance and behaviour; 5) the rela onships between student‘s school engagement and the represen-ta ons of their teachers about their academic performance and behaviour; and 6) the ed ects on student‘s school engagement of one interven on programme, the – Eclec c

onal Model – MCE (Veiga, 2007; Veiga et al., 2009). In study 1, the sample size is around 600 students (150 6th graders, 150 7th graders, 150 9th graders, and 150 10th graders). We shall focus on years of school transi on, with rural and urban popula ons, on did erent regions of the country, and on students with did erent family background. We shall conduct ques onnai-res with na onal and interna onal scales. The study 2 will involve students in 7th and 9th gra-de, from four classes, two of the experimental group and two of the control group. The results of our studies will allow: a deeper knowledge of Portuguese students´ engagement; a be er comprehension of the rela onships between school engagement and personal and contextual variables; an analysis of the ed ect of the interven on programme to promote students´ enga-gement and posi ve outcomes. In summary, our project has na onal diversity, in a cohesive team of university researchers with experience in the study of these contents. In this project, we go beyond the usual rela onal research: the interven on designed to promote students is an interest translated into specifi c tasks. Our project is also concerned with the mission of schools in the promo on of the personal and social development of the students.

Literature review

The concept of Student Engagement in Schools (SES) has received much interest from researchers (Archambault et al., 2009; Fredericks, Blumenfeld & Paris, 2004; Lam & Jimerson, 2008). In our project, the SES construct is revisited, a ending to specifi c groups of students and variables, as refl ected in the review that follows.

Concept of Student Engagement in Schools (SES). Student engagement in schools (SES) is

a mul dimensional construct that unifi es ad ec ve, behavioral, and cogni ve dimensions of student adapta on in the school (Archambault et al., 2009; Jimerson, Campos, & Greif, 2003). Ad ec ve engagement refers to students´ feelings about learning (Fredericks, Blumenfeld & Paris, 2004) and the school they a end (Schussler, 2009; Smyth, 2006). Behavioral engage-ment refers to students´ persistence and ed ort in learning (Smyth, 2006; Verkuyten & Thijs, 2009) and their involvement in extra-curricular ac vi es in the school (Fredericks, Blumenfeld

E str a té g ias d e In cl u são 119 & Paris, 2004; Verkuyten & Thijs, 2009; Veiga, 2001). Cogni ve engagement refers to the qua-lity of cogni ve processing that students bring to academic tasks (Walker, Greene, & Mansell, 2006). Student engagement provides researchers and school prac oners with an integrated perspec ve (Fredrick, Blumenfeld, & Paris 2004).

Signifi cance of Student Engagement in Schools. In recent years the concept of SES has

at-tracted growing interest in the fi eld of educa on (Fredrick, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004; Walker, Greene, & Mansell, 2006). Many educators and researchers see it as a solu on to the pro-blems of low academic achievement and high dropout rates that plague many schools (Ar-chambault et al., 2009; Veiga, 2007; see Fredrick, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004 for a review). The literature on intrinsic mo va on indicates that enjoyment and interest in learning tasks are predic ve of higher academic achievement (Archambault et al., 2009; Ryan & Deci, 2000). Similarly, there is a consistent posi ve associa on between teacher and student reports of behavioral engagement and achievement (Archambault et al., 2009; Ryan & Deci, 2000). In the literature on self-regulated learning, cogni ve engagement relates posi vely to students´ in-depth understanding and synthesis (Schussler, 2009; Smyth, 2006) and to various indicators of academic achievement (Boekart, Pintrich, & Zeidner, 2000; Zimmerman & Schunk, 2007).

Background of Student Engagement in Schools (SES). Student engagement in schools (SES)

is a rela vely new theore cal construct. Few empirical studies have addressed all three di-mensions (ad ec ve, behavioral, and cogni ve) of the construct. In search of the antecedents of student engagement in schools, we can look at the literatures on mo va on, school bon-ding, and self-regulated learning (Schussler, 2009; You & Sharkey, 2009; Schunk & Zimmerman, 2006). Two sets of factors – of contextual and personal nature – have emerged.

Contextual Factors. In the Study 1 of this Project, we have research ques ons that aim

to analyze the rela onship between SES and contextual factors. In the school, at least two sets of contextual variables are likely to infl uence SES. How teachers teach in classrooms has tremendous impact on student motivation (Caldeira & Veiga, in press; Neves & Carvalho, 2006; Fredrick, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004). Research has iden fi ed important components of mo va ng contexts and that the teachers´ communica on has a very important impact on students. Social-relatedness contextual factors can also ad ect SES. Children who report a higher sense of relatedness to teachers and peers show greater engagement (Furrer & Skin-ner, 2003; Gest, Welsh, & Domitrovich, 2005). The impact of contextual factors in SES and career decisions has also been documented (Bahia, Janeiro & Duarte, 2007). Our research on school bullying also reveals that children with a larger circle of friends and lower levels of peer vic miza on tend to like school more (Almeida et al., 2008; Veiga, 2008). It has also been documented that parental involvement (Festas, 2007; Veiga, 2001, 2009 a) contributes to SES and academic performance (Veiga, 2001; 2008; Veiga et al., 2009).

Personal Factors. In Study 1, the research ques ons analyze the rela onships between SES

and personal factors. Several beliefs seem essen al to students´ intrinsic interest and may be important proximal determinants of SES (see Schunk & Zimmerman, 2006 for a review). These beliefs include goal orienta ons, a ribu on and self-eq cacy (Fredericks, Blumenfeld & Paris, 2004; You & Sharkey, 2009). Students with learning goals are more persistent aｦ er failure than students with performance goals (Lam & Jimerson, 2008; Veiga et al., 2009). Goal orienta on ad ects not only students’ persistence and ed ort in learning but also their cogni ve engage-ment (Fredericks, Blumenfeld & Paris, 2004; Schussler, 2009; Smyth, 2006; You & Sharkey, 2009). The associa on between students´ rights and SES has also been documented (Veiga, 2001; Veiga et al., 2009).

Student Engagement in Schools and Outcomes. In study 1, there are also research

ons that aim at examining the rela onships between SES and student outcomes. In the li-terature, SES is considered a mediator between contextual infl uences and academic, social, and emo onal learning outcomes (Fredericks et al., 2004). Literature indicates that a sense of school belonging relates not only to academic achievement (Festas, 2007; Lam & Jimerson, 2008; You & Sharkey, 2009), but also to a wide range of adjustment outcomes, such as school

D a E x cl u sã o à E x ce lê n ci a : C a m in h o s O rg a n iz a ci o n a is p a ra a Qu a li d a d e d a E d u ca çã o _ Man u e l F e rr e ir a P a tr íc io , L u ís S e b as ão , J o sé Man u e l Ma ta J u st o , J o rg e Bo n it o ( O rg s. )

120 _{disrup ve behavior, violence and delinquency (Maddox & Prinz, 2003; Melo & Pereira, 2007;} Veiga, 2007, 2008). Research on the infl uence of race and social class in student engagement has shown that students who begin class with weaker reading and wri ng skills are less likely to be engaged, se ng the stage for a cycle of reduced achievement growth (Kelly, 2008). We found that student engagement in schools is a bud er against poor academic achievement and a myriad of nega ve adjustment outcomes (Lam & Jimerson, 2008; Veiga, 2008; Veiga et al., 2009).

Teacher-student communica on. The study 2 considers teacher-student communica on.

Pa erns of verbal communica ons between a teacher and students can infl uence the class-room environment, student management in the classclass-room, and SES (Archambault et al., 2009; Fredericks, Blumenfeld & Paris, 2004; Hargie, Saunders, & Dickson, 1995; Veiga, 2007; Veiga et al., 2009). The “Eclec c Communica onal Model” (Veiga, 2007, 2009 b) will be used by te-achers to promote SES. This model of communica on would result in more ed ec ve student management and more me on-task for learning.

Plan and methods

The main objec ve of this project is the study of the students’ engagement in schools, how it is infl uenced by personal and contextual factors, and how these factors relate to student outcomes. The project aims at a further understanding of the mul dimensional concept of engagement (ad ec ve, cogni ve and behavioural). The general research problem of this study is: what factors are involved in students’ engagement in schools? To answer this problem we formulated the following research ques ons: Q1. What are the rela ons between students’ engagement in schools and factors of the instruc onal context? Q2. What are the rela ons between students engagement in schools and factors of the socio-relatedness context? Q3. What are the rela ons between students´ engagement in schools and personal factors? Q4. What are the rela ons between students´ engagement in schools and student‘s outcomes? Q5. What are the rela ons between students´ school engagement and the representa ons of their teachers about their behaviour and school outcomes? Q6. What are the ed ect on stu-dents´ engagement in schools of specifi c interven on programme (Eclec c Communica onal Model – ECM), designed to promote posi ve engagement? Each of these six major research ques ons can lead to other more specifi c ones, in order to deepen and improve the unders-tanding of the did erent concepts and variables in analysis.

Methodology

For the research ques ons 1 to 5 (Q1 to Q5): The sample size is approximately 600 stu-dents (150 6th graders, 150 7th graders, 150 9th graders, and 150 10th graders). We shall focus on years of school transi on, with rural and urban popula ons, on did erent regions of the country (north, centre, south, and Azores islands), and on students with did erent family background. We shall conduct ques onnaires with na onal and interna onal scales. For rese-arch ques on fi ve (Q5), each student of the sample will be evaluated on engagement by one teacher of each of the classes of the sample.

For Q6 (Study 2): the sample will involve students in 7th and 9th grade, from four classes, two of the experimental group and two of the control group. In what regards both na o-nality and academic performance, the groups are to be considered equivalent, as well as in the results obtained in the SES scale, with no signifi cant did erences between these groups in the pre-test situa on. Instruments – Student Engagement in School Inquiry (Lam & Jimerson, 2008). This inquiry has items about the Student Engagement in School, SES (ad ec ve, cogni ve

E str a té g ias d e In cl u são 121 and behavioural) and about the following concepts: Instruc onal Contexts; Personal variables (goal orienta ons, a ribu ons, learning self-eq cacy, and mo va ng instruc onal); Social-relatedness contexts (teacher support, peer support, peer aggression, peer vic miza on, and parental support); and Student outcomes. A Portuguese adapta on of the ques onnaire will be used. – Student Engagement in School – Teacher Report Form (Lam & Jimerson, 2008). This ques onnaire assesses behaviour and school outcomes of each student of the sample, in teacher opinion. – Others instruments: Tradi onal bullying and cyberbullying prac ces (Portu-guese adapta on); Ques onnaire of Self-eq cacy.

Data analyses

The data collected will be processed using SPSS. We will use both descrip ve sta s cs and mul variate data analysis. Specifi cally, we will analyse: a) the varia ons in students‘ enga-gement in schools (SES); b) the rela onships among the concepts of SES and instruc onal, contextual, personal, and outcome variables; c) the rela onships among those constructs; the ed ects in SES of instruc onal, contextual, and personal variables, using mul ple regression analyses and tests of media on models.

Expected Results. The theore cal model allows us to expect strong rela onships among the

concepts of SES and instruc onal, contextual, and personal factors; we also expect that the concepts of SES have a role of media on between the instruc onal, contextual, and personal factors and students outcomes. Posi ve ed ects of the Eclec c Communica onal Model (ECM) in the SES are also expected. Impact The results of this project will allow: a deeper knowledge of Portuguese students‘ engagement; a be er comprehension of the rela onships between school engagement and personal and contextual variables; analyses of interven on program-mes to promote engagement and posi ve outcoprogram-mes.

Task descrip on and expected results

Year 1. During the fi rst year of the project, the research team will develop the following

tasks: – Review relevant literature – Review exis ng new instruments. Analyze the possibility of adapta on of some of these instruments aｦ er a pilot study. Final decision of the choice of the instruments to be used in the data collec on. – Selec on of the sample in did erent regions of country. The classes will be chosen randomly within each school. We will include transi on years. We will also include in the sample students in special programs for students at risk of dropping out. – Data collec on, in the Study 1.

Year 2. Data analysis, in the Study 1. Implementa on of Study 2 (quasi-experimental).

Based on the results of the tasks of the 1st year, we will select the classes for interven on. The teachers of those classes will a end training workshops for the development of teacher-student communica on, according the Eclec c Communica onal Model (ECM). The study will proceed in two phases: training of teachers in the Eclec c Communica onal Model (ini al seminar, with subsequent mee ngs for refl ec on and planning), and interven on in the ex-perimental groups (with support from researchers, review mee ngs and case discussions, and exchange experiences to meet the specifi c needs of students, and possible revision of strate-gies). This provides a study of longitudinal nature, with a quasi-experimental research model, specifi cally the type O1 X O2 / O3 – O4, with records before (O1) and aｦ er (O2) treatment (X) in the experimental groups and control groups (O3, before, and O4, later). Aｦ er the training of teachers in the Eclec c Communica onal Model (SCM) and the iden fi ca on of the groups of students involved in an inves ga on, the Students Engagement in will be administered before and aｦ er the interven on. The interven on eclec c communica onal program will be applied

D a E x cl u sã o à E x ce lê n ci a : C a m in h o s O rg a n iz a ci o n a is p a ra a Qu a li d a d e d a E d u ca çã o _ Man u e l F e rr e ir a P a tr íc io , L u ís S e b as ão , J o sé Man u e l Ma ta J u st o , J o rg e Bo n it o ( O rg s. )

122 _{to the experimental group, whereas the control group will con nue to have the same kind} of teacher-student rela onship. The interven on will last approximately 24 weeks of school, in four classes of students, from schools par cipa ng in study 1. It is expected, through the analysis, that the did erences between the control group and experimental group shiｦ from non-signifi cant in a pre-test to sta s cally signifi cant and in favor of experimental group in the post-test. Teachers involved in the implementa on of the program will be provided with monitoring and support in the continuation of the training given prior to the experiment. At the end of this phase teacher will be interviewed

Year 3. Data analysis, in Study 2 (the ed ect of the communica onal interven on in

stu-dents’ engagement). – Evalua on of the total project. – Elabora on of a communica onal program to be used by teachers, based on data supplied by students and on interviews with teachers. – Descrip on of a fi nal report to disseminate the results of the Project, deriving and specifying lines of research to be developed with teachers and post-graduate students.

The results of our studies will allow: a deeper knowledge of Portuguese students´ engage-ment; a be er comprehension of the rela onships between school engagement and personal and contextual variables; an analysis of the ed ect of the interven on programme to promote students´ engagement and posi ve outcomes.

In summary, the project has na onal diversity, in a cohesive team of university researchers with experience in the study of these contents. In this project, we go beyond the usual

onal research: the interven on designed to promote students is an interest translated into specifi c tasks. Our project is also concerned with the mission of schools in the promo on of the personal and social development of the students.

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