Engaging Schools Fostering High School Students' Motivation to Learn (2004) / Chapter Skim
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2. The Nature and Conditions of Engagement
2. The Nature and Conditions of Engagement
Pages 31-59
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as well as observable behaviors (active participation in class, completing work, seeking assistance when having difficulty, taking challenging classes) because relying only on observable behaviors as evidence of engagement can be deceiving.
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Although assessing proximal goals such as increasing attendance and reducing dropout rates can mark progress that reassures us that we are moving in the right direction, ultimately we need to achieve the more ambitious goal of promoting deep cognitive engagement that results in learning. Our focus is aptly captured in Newmann's (1992, p.12)
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adolescents in learning. PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDIATORS OF ENGAGEMENT There is substantial empirical evidence on the educational conditions that promote intellectual engagement.
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These beliefs and feelings lead to low effort or ultimately to dropping out of school altogether. The importance of these psychological variables in affecting student behavior is supported by studies of out-of-school programs that engage youth effectively.
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The effects of feeling incompetent on the decision to leave school were demonstrated in a national longitudinal study that tracked the educational careers of more than 13,000 eighth graders. About 32 percent claimed they dropped out because they could not keep up with schoolwork (Berktold, Geis, and Kaufman, 1998, Table 61.
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Students' judgments about their ability can be global or specific. The years of failure in school that many urban high school students have experienced can lead to general judgments of incompetence that bring about low expectations for success in any academic subject, and consequently pervasive low effort.
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Students who have negative views of their competence and low expectations for success are more anxious in learning contexts and fearful of revealing their ignorance (Abu-Hilal, 2000; Bandalos, Yates, and Thorndike-Christ, 1995; Harter, 1992; see Hembree, 19881. They anticipate embarrassment and humiliation, and are thus reluctant to ask questions even when they are confused (Newman and Goldin, 1990; Ryan and Pintrich, 19971.
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The advantages of intrinsic motivation have been shown in many studies, although not specifically involving urban high school youth. For example, researchers have found that students who are intrinsically interested in an activity are more likely than students who are not intrinsically interested to seek challenging tasks (Pittman, Emery, and Boggiano, 1982)
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The most prominent extrinsic rewards in school are good grades and social recognition. Ideally, such forms of extrinsic motivators would not be the only or even the most salient reasons for students to exert effort in school.
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For example, understanding chemistry and biology would have considerable utility value for a student aspiring to be a doctor, but may be seen as having little value to a student who has no expectation for any higher education. Analyses of the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS)
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The danger of higher income families taking advantage of a system without income restrictions, as well as the observed pattern of students reducing course loads in order to maintain the necessary B average, is an important caveat to consider (Glenn, 20031. Extrinsic rewards for intellectual engagement may be effective, and for some students, they may be the only effective strategy, at least initially.
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The research on belonging in educational contexts is relatively new, and the direction of causality has not been definitively established. Nevertheless, many correlational studies have shown that students who report caring and supportive interpersonal relationships in school have more positive academic attitudes and values and are more satisfied with school (Baker, 1999; Battistich, Solomon, Kim, Watson, and Schaps, 1995; Ryan and Deci, 2000a; Shouse, 1996a; Skinner and Belmont, 1993; Wasley et al., 2000; Yowell, 19991.
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Research consistently shows the critical role that positive, supportive peer relationships play in aclolescents' mental health and well-being (e.g., Berncit, 1996; Parker, Rubin, Price, and DeRosier, 19951. Although studies have not specifically connected peer relationships to engagement in school, inasmuch as they promote positive mental health, they might be expected to support stuclents' ability to be constructively engaged in learning.
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The next section summarizes research that examines the conditions that promote positive beliefs, values, and a feeling of belonging. ENGAGING LEARNING CONTEXTS Research on both school and out-of-school contexts provides substantial empirical evidence that can be used to guide efforts to improve adolescents' academic engagement.
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. Many studies show that schools in which students achieve high levels of performance have high expectations for student learning and hold students to high standards (Baker, Terry, Bridger, and Winsor, 1997; Evans, 1997; Lambert and McCombs, 1998; Lee et al., 1993; Lee and Smith, 1999; Marks, Doane, and Secada, in press; Phillips, 19971.
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In a telephone survey of 1,000 randomly selected public high school students, 66 percent claimed that they would learn a lot more if their teachers would "challenge students to constantly do better and learn more." Only 33 percent reported that their teachers did this (Public Agenda, 19971. An especially high proportion of African-American students (79 percent compared to 63 percent of white students)
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The research evidence indicates that evaluation should be based on clearly defined criteria, improvement, and achieving goals or standards, and it should provide specific and useful feedback that can guide future efforts (see Stipek, 2002, for a review)
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Other practices that undermine the desire to engage in activities were articulated by some of the urban youth interviewed by Davidson and Phelan (19991. The students in their study expressed feelings of alienation associated with authoritarian discipline policies, policies that limited their academic options or ability to make decisions, rigid and distrustful teachers, and teachers who did not encourage students to express their perspectives and opinions in class.
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It is noteworthy, and probably not coincidental, that these same qualities have been shown by cognitive scientists to promote deep, conceptual understanding (see National Research Council, 19991. Emphasis on High-Order Thinking Research on learning shows that students become cognitively engaged when they are asked to wrestle with new concepts, when they are pushed to understand for example, by being required to explain their reasoning, defend their conclusions, or explore alternative strategies and solutions (National Research Council, 19991.
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In another study, high school students rated classes that challenged them as being more engaging (Newmann, 19921. Furthermore, observers' ratings of the level of challenge and the degree to which high-order thinking was required in classes were strongly correlated to their ratings of student engagement.
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One challenge to successfully implementing a collaborative learning activity is the inherent status inequities that arise in the social system of the classroom. Those students who are seen as having high academic status typically do more talking and often control the group tasks in a collaborative learning activity, while the low-status students will have a hard time being heard or persuading the other members of the group to even listen to
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creates interdependency among students in a group by giving each member a critical element of the task. Meaningful Connections to Students' Culture and Lives Outside School Students enjoy learning more, and they learn better, when topics are personally interesting and related to their lives (Meece, l 991)
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study, students stressed two types of teacher behaviors that were important to them learning something about their lives outside of school and communicating directly and regularly with them about their academic progress. They mentioned subtle behaviors that demonstrated concern about their academic success, such as stopping to clarify a point when a student appeared confused and asking why they had missed school.
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Another theme in their comments concerned fair and respectful disciplinary practices that included student input. Why does a caring teacher promote student engagement?
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encouraged and supported in their learning. For example, a policy of contacting parents after only a few unexplained student absences, providing additional help for students who fall behind, and helping students gain access to community resources to meet basic physical and psychological needs conveys to students that people care about them and want them to learn.
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Other states (e.g., Alabama and Florida) used participation in extracurricular activities as an incentive for students to maintain a specified grade point average (Education Week, 20021; 19 states take students' driving privilege away or refuse to grant a license based on failure to attend school or poor academic performance (Martinez and Bray, 20021.
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In an effort to raise test scores, some schools are imposing doubleperiod test preparation sessions and requiring teachers to "teach to the test." Although such practices may improve high-stakes testing results, their effects on student motivation are questionable at best. Although systematic studies are not available on the effects of highstakes testing on student motivation, the research on motivation described in this chapter provides clues about what we can expect.
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Furthermore, the schools serving adolescents who are at greatest risk of becoming seriously disengaged from school are the most likely to be large, impersonal, and highly controlling, and to convey low expectations for academic success. Although examples of schools that promote high levels of engagement and achievement for low-income youth and students of color are few and far between, they are the proof we need to move forward with some confidence that progress can be made.
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THE NATURE AND CONDITIONS OF ENGAGEMENT 59 earlier, found that even among the low-income students in their sample, 89 percent claimed that the statement "I really want to learn" applied to them. In the 2002 survey, 84 percent of the students claimed that they worry about doing well in school (MetLife, 20021.
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