Why Full Engagement Matters

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: Research has long linked academic engagement to positive social, psychological, and physical developmental outcomes; however, qualitative studies in high-performing schools find that some students who work hard in school may be compromising their mental and physical health in the pursuit of top grades. Such research calls for closer and more contextualized examinations of the concept of engagement. This study examines academic engagement in a sample of 6,294 students (54% female; 44% White, 34% Asian, and 22% other racial or ethnic background) attending 15 high-achieving schools. Findings show that two-thirds of students at these schools are not regularly ñfully engagedî in their academic schoolwork; that is, they do not regularly report high levels of affective, behavioral and cognitive engagement. Although most students report working hard, few enjoy their schoolwork and find it valuable. This lack of full engagement, particularly the absence of affective and cognitive engagement, is associated with more frequent school stress, higher rates of cheating, and greater internalizing, externalizing, and physical symptoms of stress. The study also finds that full engagement is strongly related to positive teacher-student relationships. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Type of resource	text
Date created	May 2013

Author	Pope, Denise C.
Author	Conner, Jerusha O.
Publisher	Springer Science and Business Media

Related Publication	Conner,J., & Pope, D. (2013). Not Just Robo-Students: Why Full Engagement Matters and How Schools Can Promote It. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 42(9): 1426-1442. DOI: 10.1007/s10964-013-9948-y
Related item	Title Published article
Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/kd541jw7583

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License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).

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