5. Engagement
Three dimensions:
Affective
Behavioural
Cognitive
Two “poles”:
Congruent
Oppositional
The abyss of disengagement
6. Multiple dimensions
Congruent
Engagement
Disengagement Oppositional
Engagement
Affective Interest,
identification
Boredom Challenge,
rejection
Behavioural Attends class,
participates with
enthusiasm
Skips class
without excuse
Boycotts, pickets,
or disrupts class
Cognitive Meets or exceeds
assignment
requirements
Assignments late,
rushed, or absent
Redefines
parameters for
assignments
7. Why Engage?
Raft of benefits
For individual students
For Universities
“Silver Bullet”
Policy imperative
8. Three Students
Real people…
Though names have been changed
Real situations…
Though identifying details omitted
Not necessarily at GSA…
…but you can’t be sure!
12. QAA Code: The Expectation
The Quality Code sets out the following
Expectation about student engagement,
which higher education providers are
required to meet:
Higher education providers take deliberate
steps to engage all students, individually and
collectively, as partners in the assurance and
enhancement of their educational
experience.
13. QAA:Indicators of sound practice
Higher education providers, in partnership with their
student body, define and promote the range of
opportunities for any student to engage in
educational enhancement and quality assurance.
Higher education providers create and maintain an
environment within which students and staff engage
in discussions that aim to bring about demonstrable
enhancement of the educational experience.
Arrangements exist for the effective representation
of the collective student voice at all organisational
levels, and these arrangements provide
opportunities for all students to be heard.
14. QAA:Indicators of sound practice II
Higher education providers ensure that student
representatives and staff have access to training and
ongoing support to equip them to fulfil their roles in
educational enhancement and quality assurance
effectively.
Students and staff engage in evidence-based
discussions based on the mutual sharing of
information.
Staff and students to disseminate and jointly
recognise the enhancements made to the student
educational experience, and the efforts of students
in achieving these successes.
The effectiveness of student engagement is
monitored and reviewed at least annually, using pre-
defined key performance indicators, and policies and
processes enhanced where required.
Alex:
Fine Art Student
Arrives highly engaged, eager – happily identifies as “art student”
Engages behaviourally – in studio early each day, leaves late, produces huge, high quality portfolio of work
Engages cognitively – reads voraciously, participates enthusiastically in seminars in informed way, theoretical papers of high standard.
Becomes class rep – exposed to grumbles about the library, timetabling issues, etc.
Becomes affectively disengaged
Comes to regard curriculum as “irrelevant” and spends increasing amounts of energy on “protest” activities in search of relevance.
Body of work starts changing – mixing media, flouting technical norms, reinterpreting assignment topics.
Feels increasingly alienated from staff, though still connected with classmates
Increasing risk of drop-out
Bella:
Jewellery Design student
Arrives eager, highly engaged, identifies as a designer but sees disciplines and specialisms as mere enactments of philosophies
Engages affectively, uses her body as an enactment of her design philosophy
Reads widely and participates enthusiastically in debates and discussions, socialising with graduate students in cognate disciplines
Struggles to engage with behavioural demands of the programme, preferring to spend time in students’ union debating philosophical issues, works in fits and starts to complete assignments on time
Produces high quality assignments which are thoughtful and sometimes quirky, so staff are accommodating and consider her a “good” student even though her attendance is erratic and her work norm frustrating
Falls pregnant, but hides it because of health and safety issues. As the academic year draws towards a close, staf begin to notice but continue to turn a blind eye because of concern that if she does not complete the academic year, she may not return after the birth.
Concerns about drop-out
Cal:
Graphic Design student
Arrives eager, but unsure of some aspects of programme. Identifies as graphic designer,
Engages behaviourally, seems he is always in the studio, produces work of a high technical standard, and dresses the part. Attends every exhibition opening in the city and beyond, knows every arcane detail of every album cover design, has won prizes for book illustrations while still at school
Does not see the point of some modules – the more academic ones – and fails to engage cognitively, having to repeat some of these academic modules.
Failed courses mount up and impact timetabling problems and threaten progression
Despite brilliant graphics portfolio, faces possibility of academic exclusion (or delayed graduation at best)