Abstract
What does it mean to be engaged, especially when it comes to literacy learning? It is this question that drove my doctoral research in 2007 when I became a participant observer in a grade two classroom with the goal of making the everyday visible while sharing a greater understanding of classroom life in relation to engagement. Six years later, I returned to the original school where the grade two students were in grade eight to revisit and expand student understandings of successful engagement in learning. In this paper, I revisit the narratives of Spike, Jasper and Avery (Scheffel, 2012) to consider themes of change and continuity, including ways in which initial success and struggle appeared to influence their journey over time. I also propose a revised Framework for Engagement that draws upon grade eight students' insights.
Highlights
Student engagement has continued to be a popular topic in Canadian schools just as it has worldwide, especially with reference to research surveys such as The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)
I rework the framework based on grade eight students’ considerations of engagement, which often moved beyond literacy-specific moments towards broader conceptions of engagement in learning
I outlined three areas of engagement literature that moved from a broader focus on school engagement (McMahon & Portelli, 2004; McMahon, 2003), to reading engagement (Baker, Dreher & Guthrie, 2000; Guthrie & Wigfield, 2000; Guthrie, 2004) and literacy engagement (Cambourne, 1988)
Summary
Student engagement has continued to be a popular topic in Canadian schools just as it has worldwide, especially with reference to research surveys such as The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). Butler-Kisber and Portelli (2003) described engagement as a “popular catch phrase in education circles, both in schools and in the academy” (p. 207). Using a mixed-methods approach in response to this recommendation, the present paper expands discussions about the complexity of engagement that first began with my doctoral work in 2007. During this time, I became a participant observer in a grade two classroom with the goal of sharing a greater understanding of classroom life in relation to engagement, during literacy learning. I wanted to revisit and expand student understandings of successful engagement in learning by continuing to put students’ understandings at the forefront of educational discussions about engagement (Scheffel, 2009). I rework the framework based on grade eight students’ considerations of engagement, which often moved beyond literacy-specific moments towards broader conceptions of engagement in learning
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