| Summary: | This thesis explores the complex and multidimensional topic of student engagement in one Ontario postsecondary setting. This study was designed to discover if faculty and students agree or differ in their understanding and perceptions of student engagement and, if so, how.
Using a qualitative approach, full-time faculty and students from one school in one college were observed and interviewed about their understandings and perceptions regarding student engagement in the classroom. Faculty volunteers had at least two years of full-time teaching experience and students were past their first year of study. Study participants confirm that student engagement differs in definition and understanding among and between individuals, shifts over time, and can be experienced in isolation or with others. There are cognitive, behavioural and emotional aspects of engagement that participants described as having a clear impact on their learning. In addition, various demographic factors were deemed to influence experienced and perceived variances in levels of engagement.
Discussions of demographic factors reveal a great deal of work needed in order to understand and work with these areas to foster engagement. Interviews revealed a narrow
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interpretation of concepts, such as gender interpreted as sexual designation and socio-economic status as financial income. To support engagement a deeper understanding of, and appreciation for, these factors is needed. Added understandings of culture, race and ethnicity are needed to truly honour students in the classroom. Faculty need to take the time to look past surface behaviours, invite student collaboration and truly attend to individual needs to facilitate a deeper level of engagement in the classroom.
This study confirms that our perceptions and experiences with engagement are highly personal and complex. There was no common definition found; student engagement is as diverse as the student population. It is an elusive, evolving, complex phenomenon. To understand and promote engagement in the field of postsecondary education, it is imperative that student engagement remain a focus of ongoing dialogue and reflection. Implications for practice and consideration for future areas of research are suggested.
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