Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 31
2
The Nature end Conditions
of Engagement
WHAT IS ENGAGEMENT?1
Engagement in schoolwork involves both behaviors (e.g., persistence,
effort, attention) and emotions (e.g., enthusiasm, interest, pride in success;
Connell and Weliborn, 1991; Johnson, Crosnoe, and Elder, 2001;
Newmann, 1992; Skinner and Belmont, 1993; Smerdon, 1999; Turner,
Thorpe, and Meyer, 1998~. It is important to consider mental or cognitive
behaviors (attention, problem solving, using meta-cognitive strategies) as
well as observable behaviors (active participation in class, completing work,
seeking assistance when having difficulty, taking challenging classes) be-
cause relying only on observable behaviors as evidence of engagement can
be deceiving. (Who hasn't had the experience of appearing engrossed in a
lecture while writing a letter, making a grocery list, or daydreaming?) At-
tention to mental behavior is important because only genuine cognitive
engagement will result in learning.
Students also can be socially engaged in school by participating in
extracurricular activities, having friends at school, feeling a sense of loyalty
1One might distinguish between "engagement" and "motivation" with motivation as the
precursor (the reason for being engaged) and engagement as the psychological experience or
behavior. But in everyday contexts, people tend to use these terms interchangeably, presum-
ably because motivation is inferred from observed emotions or behavior. Thus, the word
"motivated" is just as likely as the word "engaged" to be used to describe someone who
appears to be concentrating intently or to be actively involved in a learning activity.
31
OCR for page 32
32
ENGAGING SCHOOLS
to the school, and more generally by believing in the legitimacy of school.
Promoting social engagement may have considerable value because it ap-
pears to motivate youth to attend and to stay in school (Johnson et al.,
2001; Newmann, Wehiage, and Lamborn, 1992; Tinto, 1993; Wehiage,
Rutter, Smith, Lesko, and Fernandez, 1989~. This is why dropout preven-
tion efforts often focus on keeping at-risk students socially attached to
school (Finn and Rock, 1997~.
Motivation to attend school is not sufficient, however, because stu-
dents can participate actively and enjoy the social affairs of school without
making meaningful academic progress. 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 en-
gagement that results in learning. Our focus is aptly captured in Newmann's
(1992, p.12) definition of engagement: " . . . the student's psychological
investment in and effort directed toward learning, understanding, or mas-
tering the knowledge, skills, or crafts that academic work is intended to
promote. "
The levels of both behavioral and emotional engagement can vary-
from paying minimal attention (as in the lecture example) to actively pro-
cessing information (e.g., making connections to previously learned mate-
rial, critically analyzing new information); from being minimally interested
to feeling excited and enthusiastic. Csikszentmihalyi (1975,1988) describes
the ultimate cognitive engagement as a state of "flow," in which people are
so intensely attentive to the task at hand that they lose awareness of time
and space. We are not proposing that all high school students be in a
constant state of flow, but we have seen youth deeply and enthusiastically
engaged in schoolwork and we believe this high standard should be our
goal. The nature of the work may vary from puzzling over a mathematical
problem or reading a novel to trying to design an eye-catching Web page.
Whatever the task, the goal is attentiveness and active problem solving that
will promote learning, understanding, and the development of new skills.
Both the form and consequences of engagement are influenced by stu-
dents' reasons for engagement (Ames, 1992; Linnenbrink and Pintrich,
2000; Meece, 1991; Nicholls, 1983~. For example, students who attend
class and complete assignments to avoid punishment or bad grades are less
likely to become engaged beyond a superficial (just get it done) level,
whereas students who complete assignments because the material captures
their interest or because they experience a sense of pride in accomplishment
are more likely to go beyond the minimal requirements and become actively
and deeply engaged. This distinction between coerced and voluntary en-
gagement is important, and we return to it later.
Just as there are many forms of engagement, there are many forms and
OCR for page 33
THE NATURE AND CONDITIONS OF ENGAGEMENT
33
reasons for disengagement from not paying attention and not completing
homework to cutting classes and school. Behavioral problems are also
evidence of disengagement and often a precursor to leaving school (or being
asked to leave; Finn, 19891. The ultimate disengagement is to drop out of
school. But because dropping out is usually preceded by less dramatic forms
of disengagement (e.g., absenteeism, poor attitudes toward school), it is
viewed as the final stage in a dynamic and cumulative process (Fine, 1991;
Finn, 1989; Newmann et al., 1992; Wehiage et al., 19891.
THE CONTEXT MATTERS
People often refer to motivation as a personal quality and describe
some students as motivated and others as unmotivated. Teachers usually
prefer to teach students who they perceive to be "self-motivated." Indeed,
students enter high school with well-developed beliefs, dispositions, and
behavioral patterns. But these personal beliefs and dispositions developed
partly as a consequence of the educational environments they experienced.
There is considerable evidence for the power of the educational context,
even as late as high school. If teachers could observe one of their own
students in other classes or learning contexts, they would see substantial
variation, making it difficult to characterize any one student as uniformly
high or low on motivation. The same adolescent who is unable to pay
attention in one classroom for more than a few minutes may persevere on
demanding cognitive tasks in another class or in an after-school program.
Within-student variation in engagement also is seen in class attendance
rates, with students skipping some classes substantially more than others
(Davidson, 19991.
The committee believes that all youth, even the most alienated, deserve
a chance to regain the enthusiasm for learning that they most likely had as
young children. We recognize that students vary in their abilities, disposi-
tion toward learning, and level of engagement when they enter high school,
and that many students living in poverty endure serious hardships and have
family responsibilities, such as providing income and sibling care, which
make it difficult to actively participate in high school. School contexts,
however, make a difference, and can diminish, if not eliminate, negative
effects of poverty on student engagement. Our focus, therefore, is on what
schools can do to engage (or reengage) adolescents in learning.
PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDIATORS OF ENGAGEMENT
There is substantial empirical evidence on the educational conditions
that promote intellectual engagement. The evidence suggests that the effect
of the educational context on engagement is partially mediated by three sets
OCR for page 34
34
Educational
context (e.g.,
school climate,
organization,
composition
size) and
instruction
ENGAGING SCHOOLS
Beliefs about
competence
and control
>
Values and
goals
Social
connectedness
Academic
engagement
FIGURE 2-1 A theory on educational conditions that promote intellectual engage-
ment.
of psychological variables beliefs about competence and control, values
and goals, and a sense of social connectedness. This theory is represented in
Figure 2-1.
For example, in schools that meet teachers' needs for resources, profes-
sional development, and collegiality, teachers are more likely to be caring
and effective. Such teachers are much more likely to give students a feeling
of being cared about, and to promote students' confidence in their ability to
succeed and the belief that academic success is important for future goals.
These positive beliefs and feelings, in turn, should lead to high levels of
effort and persistence. In contrast, teachers in large, impersonal schools
with a climate of low standards are likely to give up on students and teach
a watered-down curriculum that engenders in students doubts about their
ability to succeed, the belief that academic work has little personal value,
and generally negative feelings toward the teacher and school. 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. Successful programs address adolescents' needs for com-
petence, control, and a sense of belonging (Catalano, Berglund, Ryan,
Lonczak, and Hawkins, 1999; Eccles and Barber, 1999; Eccles and
Templeton, 2001; Hawkins, Catalano, Kosterman, Abbott, and Hill, 1999;
Kahne, Nagoaka et al., 2001; McLaughlin, 2000~. We elaborate on these
three sets of psychological mediators next, and later summarize what is
known about how educational contexts affect them.
Perceptions of Competence and Control (I Can)
Students will not exert effort in academic work if they are convinced
they lack the capacity to succeed or have no control over outcomes
OCR for page 35
THE NATURE AND CONDITIONS OF ENGAGEMENT
35
(Atkinson, 1964; Eccles et al., 1983; Skinner, Weliborn, and Connell, 1990;
Skinner, Zimmer-Gembeck, and Connell, 19981.2 They need to know what
it takes to succeed and to believe they can succeed. Thus, the student who
doesn't believe she can do the homework assigned will not attempt it; the
student who believes he is incapable of passing the courses he needs to
graduate will not exert much effort in class and may stop coming to school
altogether.
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. Perceptions of incompetence may also
contribute to the disproportionate number of low-income students and
students of color who drop out of high school. In Ferguson's (2002) survey
of more than 100,000 7th through 11th graders in 15 school districts,
students from families with low socioeconomic status and students of color
reported less understanding of teachers' lessons and comprehension of the
material they read for school. Although they spent nearly as much time on
homework as the other students in the same classes, they were much less
likely to complete their homework.
One high school student interviewed by Davidson and Phelan (1999, p.
259), in their ethnographic study of urban high schools, succinctly de-
scribes the typical helpless reaction to feeling incompetent: "Mr. Yana,
when he talks I just can't follow what he's saying. So I just give up."3
Students' beliefs about their academic competence may affect behavior
in the United States more than in some other countries because Americans
tend to have a concept of intelligence that is inherited rather than developed
2Self-determination theory posits that feelings of competence and control are basic human
needs and that people will not be engaged or otherwise function effectively in environments
that do not meet these needs (Cornell and Wellborn, 1991; Ryan and Deci, 2000a; Ryan and
La Guardia, 2000). Perceptions of competence and control are also central in social psychol-
ogy theories of learned helplessness (Diener and Dweck, 1978; see Dweck, 2000). Substantial
bodies of research, both experimental and embedded in real classrooms, provide support for
the importance of perceptions of competence and control for promoting academic engage-
ment (reviewed in Stipek, 2002).
3This study of students' experiences of high school (Davidson and Phelan, 1999) followed
48 students in four urban high schools in two large California school districts over a 2-year
period. Students were selected to represent the diversity of race/ethnicity and academic perfor-
mance of ninth graders. Research methods included repeated interviews, surveys, class obser-
vations, and shadowing of a subsample of students. The study focused on conditions in
classes and schools that affected students' engagement and success.
OCR for page 36
36
ENGAGING SCHOOLS
through effort (Dweck, 19991. Although Americans are not alone in em-
bracing a notion of ability that is stable and that limits the effects of effort
on performance, they do so more than people in the Asian countries that
have been studied (Chen and Stevenson, 1995; Stevenson and Stigler, 19921.
A student who believes that academic ability is fixed anal that she is low in
ability has little hope for success and therefore little reason to try.
The notion of fixed intelligence may be particularly problematic for
students of color. Steele and his colleagues have shown repeatedly that
high-achieving African-American students, as well as Latino students and
women (in math) perform relatively poorly on tests when the tests are
introduced as measures of their intellectual ability (e.g., Cokley, 2002;
Gonzales, Blanton, and Williams, 2002; Steele and Aronson, 1995, 19981.
Steele coined the term "stereotype threat" to explain the effect, suggesting
that anxiety about not being able to contradict a stereotype (e.g., that
African-Americans have relatively low intelligence or females are not good
in math) undermines students' performance.
Students' judgments about their ability can be global or specific. The
years of failure in school that many urban high school students have expe-
rienced can lead to general judgments of incompetence that bring about low
expectations for success in any academic subject, and consequently perva-
sive low effort. Perceptions of ability usually vary from subject to subject
(I'm good at math, but not in foreign languages), and they can certainly
vary from one context to another, depending on factors discussed later.
Students' perceptions of their competencies can be difficult to change
because they interpret feedback and their own performance outcomes
through this lens. A student who believes she is smart and expects to
succeed is likely to attribute success on a test or assignment in part to her
ability, and poor performance, when it occurs, to low effort or a poor
strategy. This pattern of attribution reinforces an optimistic view of the
future, even after a setback, because it implies that spending more time
studying or changing the strategy will lead to improved performance. In
contrast, a student who believes he is not smart is likely to attribute failure
on a test to his low ability and success to luck or an easy test. Such attribu-
tions reinforce his expectation for continued failure. Because students make
attributions that are consistent with existing beliefs, it is difficult to raise
expectations in students who have had years of failure experiences in school
and have come to believe they lack the capacity to succeed.
Even for students who have confidence in their academic ability, if they
believe their achievements will not be recognized because the teachers are
racist or prejudiced against them, or that rewards are dispensed on the basis
of behavior they aren't willing to engage in (e.g., ingratiating themselves
with the teacher), they are not likely to put much effort into trying to do
well in school. Studies have shown that low effort for some students also
OCR for page 37
THE NATURE AND CONDITIONS OF ENGAGEMENT
37
can be traced to a failure to understand what it takes to succeed (Skinner et
al., 19981. The rules of the game are not always made clear, or they are not
consistently applied. Even when the rules are clear and consistent, some
students need help to understand them.
Students' beliefs about their competencies and expectations for success
have a direct effect on their intellectual engagement; they also lead to
emotions that promote or interfere with engagement in schoolwork. Stu-
dents 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. Some-
times they exert less effort on tasks to provide an alternative explanation to
low ability if they fail ("I could have done it if I tried, but I didn't fee! like
doing it"; Covington, Spratt, and Omelich, 19801.
Self-confidence and expectations for success also affect academic inter-
ests and values. In one study of a diverse group of middle school students,
changes in students' perceptions of their competence in a class over the
course of a semester was a powerful predictor of changes in their interest in
the course topic (whereas changes in interest did not predict changes in
perceptions of competence; MacIver, Stipek, and Daniels, 19911. Similarly,
Jacobs, Lanza, Osgood, Eccles, and Wigfield (2002) found, in a longitudi-
nal study of children from grades 1 though 12 that declines in competence
beliefs accounted for much of the age-related decline in valuing academic
work. Students enjoy academic tasks more and learn more when they fee!
competent (Gottfried, 1990; Harter, 1992) and when they expect success
(Bandura, 1993, 1997; Pajares, 1996; Schunk, 19951. Feelings of compe-
tence give them a feeling of personal control, which has been shown to be
critical for enjoyment, effort, and actual learning (deCharms, 1976, 1984;
Deci and Ryan, 1985; Ryan and Deci, 2000a).
Values and Goals (I Want to)
Even if students believe they can succeed in school, they won't exert
effort unless they see some reason to do so. Adolescents can have many
reasons for engaging in academic work, and typically there is a complex set
of reasons for engaging in any one task. For example, a student may take
real pleasure in learning, or she may have internalized the values of learning
and getting a good education. Some reasons for doing academic work are
weakly, if at all, connected to learning and academic achievement. For
example, a student may not enjoy schoolwork or value education, but may
see high school graduation as a means to achieving a long-term goal, such
-
OCR for page 38
38
ENGAGING SCHOOLS
as getting a good job. Another student may desire an extrinsic reward (e.g.,
being able to play football) that has been made contingent on some form of
engagement or academic outcome, or he may want to avoid punishment or
disapproval for poor performance.
Reasons for being engaged vary in the degree to which they come from
within the self (giving students a feeling of self-determination that they
are working because they want to) in comparison to being imposed exter-
nally (giving them a feeling of being coerced that they are working be-
cause they have to). The nature of students' reasons, especially the degree to
which they fee! self-determining and autonomous versus coerced and con-
trolled, has important implications for the quality of their effort and their
learning. We will elaborate below on the implications of various reasons
high school students might have to be engaged in academic work.
Intrinsic Interest
Ideally, students take pleasure in learning. They engage in academic
work because they are interested in the topic and take pride in their achieve-
ments. 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 inter-
ested in an activity are more likely than students who are not intrinsically
interested to seek challenging tasks (Pittman, Emery, and Boggiano, 1982),
think more creatively (Amabile and Hennessey, 1992), exert effort (Downey
and Ainsworth-Darnell, 2002; Miserandino, 1996), and learn at a concep-
tual level (Ryan, Connell, and Plant, 19901.
Internalized Values
Some students are diligent whether or not they enjoy a particular course
or activity because they have adopted values related to schooling. They
believe it is important to work hard in school and get an education not to
achieve a particular outcome or reward, but because it's the right thing to
do. The internalization of academic values has not been well studied, but
there is evidence that students who believe in the importance of school are
more productively engaged (e.g., attend more regularly, complete home-
work, pay better attention) than students who do not value education
(Taylor, Casten, Flickinger, Roberts, and Fulmore, 19941.
Academic values are assumed to develop just like any other values.
When children observe significant others expressing and modeling particu-
lar values, such as trying hard in school, and when they are recognized and
supported for behavior consistent with those values, they adopt the values
as their own and behave in ways consistent with them (Cornell and Well-
OCR for page 39
THE NATURE AND CONDITIONS OF ENGAGEMENT
39
born, 1991; Downey and Ainsworth-Darnell, 2002; Ryan, Connell, and
Groinick, 1992; Ryan and Deci, 2000a; Ryan and La Guardia, 19991. The
more students have internalized positive education values, the more au-
tonomous they feel, and the more they voluntarily persist in the face of
challenge and in the absence of immediate rewards.
Negative values presumably are internalized through the same process.
Students who spend their time with adults and peers who devalue school
and who are not encouraged and reinforced for their efforts on schoolwork
may develop antiachievement values. To them, it is just as reasonable not to
exert effort (or at least appear not to be exerting effort) as it is for other
students to be diligent (see Chapter 3, this volume).
A few theorists have argued that students of color, especially African-
American youth, often develop antiacademic values because they do not see
any tangible return to schooling (For~ham, 1988; Ogbu, 1992, 1997;
Osborne, 1995, 19971. Ogbu and others propose that African-American
youth do not expect their own success in school to be rewarded with jobs
and higher incomes. According to the theory, the youth buffer themselves
psychologically from the failure they believe is inevitable in an unfair soci-
ety that is biased against them by disidentifying with academic achievement
values and by developing a strong identity with their own race that is
"oppositional" to the dominant culture. Although there are case studies
that are consistent with Ogbu's notion of Misidentification, large-scale sur-
veys, summarized in Chapter 5 in this volume, do not support these claims.
Antiachievement subcultures may exist, but the evidence does not suggest
they are pervasive among students of color.
However, there is evidence that connects beliefs about the potential
returns to education directly to academic engagement. Students' percep-
tions of social injustice and discrimination have been associated with low
engagement and persistence in school, and perceptions of opportunities and
connections between effort in school and success in the workplace have
been associated with high engagement and persistence (Fine, 1991;
Mickelson, 1990; Taylor et al., 19941.
Extrinsic Goals and Incentives
Students also may become engaged in schoolwork because they see
courses and activities in school as having some utility value. Succeeding in
them is a means to achieve goals that might not be related to the course or
activity itself. 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. Realistically, however, external incentives are powerful
motivators if they are believed to be genuinely available. Because a substan-
OCR for page 40
40
ENGAGING SCHOOLS
tial proportion of students in urban high schools serving economically
disadvantaged youth have never received high grades or recognition for the
academic accomplishments, the challenge is to convince them that these
rewards are within their reach and have value.
Long-term goals can also be important. For example, understanding chem-
istry 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) data conducted by Downey and Ainsworth-
Darnell (2002) provide correlational evidence for the importance of believing
that school is a means to long-term goals. Tenth-grade students of all ethnic
groups who agreed with the statement "Education is important to getting a
job later on" were rated by teachers as less disruptive and exerting more
effort, and reported that they spent relatively more time on homework. Educa-
tional and occupational aspirations also predict mobility and dropping out,
even controlling for the effects of achievement.
Utility value related to academic work usually requires some future
time perspective, and an understanding of the links between immediate
tasks and long-term goals (Husman and Lens, 19991. It also requires a
belief that the goals are linked to school, and that they are genuinely obtain-
able.
Research on urban high school youth suggests that they are often poorly
informed about the utility value of particular high school courses and ac-
tivities for college entry (Davidson, 1996; Yowell, 19991. For many stu-
dents, the problem is not a lack of aspiration or even expectation, but a lack
of knowledge about what is required to achieve their educational and pro-
fessional goals (see Chapter 7, this volume).
Sometimes students will work if something they desire is made contin-
gent on being productively engaged, or if some undesirable outcome will
occur if they do not do the work. Policies such as making scholarships and
a driver's license contingent on staying in school, making participation in
team sports contingent on maintaining a C average, or giving gift certifi-
cates to fast food restaurants for every book read are based on the assump-
tion that behavior can be influenced by extrinsic incentives.
In the past decade, many programs have been created that offer college
scholarships to motivate students to work hard and complete high school.
For example, the state of Georgia's HOPE program offers scholarships for
students who complete high school with at least a B average and enroll at
an eligible Georgia public college. Students must also maintain a B average
while in college to retain the scholarship. Florida similarly offers "Bright
Futures" scholarships. "I Have a Dream," "Gear-Up," and "Project
GRAD" offer scholarships as well as additional supports, such as men-
toring, tutoring, enrichment programs, and college visits. The effects of the
OCR for page 41
THE NATURE AND CONDITIONS OF ENGAGEMENT
41
scholarship incentive on student engagement are usually difficult to deter-
mine from available evidence because records are often poor, there is no
control group to which students in the program can be compared, or the
effect of the scholarship cannot be untangled from the effects of other
aspects of the program. One well-regarded evaluation of Georgia's
HOPE Scholarship program (Dynarski, 2000) cautions that modeling a
national scholarship program on the Georgia incentive will likely widen
the already large racial and socioeconomic-level gaps in college atten-
dance. Dynarski's study suggests that the HOPE Scholarship program has
successfully increased the college attendance rates in Georgia, but at the
expense of widening the gap between Blacks and whites as well as between
low- and high-income families (Dynarski, 2000, also see Cornwell and
Mustard, 20021. 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 aver-
age, 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. But
there is considerable evidence to suggest that extrinsic rewards should be
used cautiously and no more than necessary. The effects are often superfi-
cial they promote compliance (showing up, getting the work done), but
not deep cognitive engagement. For example, researchers have found that
students who are motivated primarily by the anticipation of rewards do not
exert effort when tasks are difficult, and they do not take on challenging
new work or put forth effort when they do not expect a reward (see Lepper
and Henderiong, 2000; Ryan and Deci, 2000b; Stipek, 2002, for reviews).
The short-term positive effects of extrinsic rewards also can be undone by
negative long-term consequences on attitudes toward school and toward
learning (it's just to achieve the reward). Furthermore, when students are
motivated by a desire to achieve extrinsic rewards, they do not fee! autono-
mous, as though they are doing work because they want to; the feeling of
being controlled undermines deep engagement on challenging tasks
(deCharms, 1976, 1984; Deci and Ryan, 1985; Ryan and Deci, 2000a).
Reliance on "carrot and stick" approaches can be particularly prob-
lematic for secondary students, who, for many reasons, do not value the
rewards typically available in schools, and may want to appear independent
rather than compliant. The promise of good grades and the threat of bad
grades will have no impact at all on the behavior of students who don't care
about grades. A student who is a member of a peer group that devalues or
ridicules high academic performance may consider a good grade or public
recognition to be a punishment, not a reward. Students who have experi-
enced years of failure are likely to conclude that no amount of effort will
lead to such a reward. In brief, extrinsic incentives that are genuinely achiev-
OCR for page 49
THE NATURE AND CONDITIONS OF ENGAGEMENT
49
homework. Ironically, they blamed their behavior in part on their teachers.
Referring back longingly to elementary school, one student explained,
"teachers made sure we finished our homework and made sure we turned it
in" (p. 18 ). Some students complained that in contrast to elementary school,
their high school teachers said little when they didn't do their work, and
rarely informed their parents of problem behavior. Parents usually did not
hear of their truancy, for example, until they had missed more than 20
classes and it was too late to make up the work. Ninth graders may require
more attention than students in the later grades of high school, but many
older students also need assistance and support in completing their work.
Taken together, research evidence suggests the value of choice, but within a
structure. It does not support either a free-for-all or a military approach.
Research also provides evidence on what makes learning experiences
more enjoyable, thus motivating to students. Making school more interest-
ing and fun may be a powerful strategy for engaging students or at least
increasing attendance. In the most recent MetLife (2002) survey of 7th
through 12th graders, the most frequent explanation for both skipping
school (37 percent) and dropping out of school (76 percent) was that
"school was boring." A summary follows of the particular qualities of
activities that engage students' interest and enthusiasm (see also Stipek,
20021. It is noteworthy, and probably not coincidental, that these same
qualities have been shown by cognitive scientists to promote deep, concep-
tual 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. When asked to provide reasons for
being unengaged in schoolwork, many of the economically disadvantaged
students in the Davidson and Phelan (1999) study complained that they had
little opportunity to convey or address conceptual misunderstandings. After
describing a math class in these terms, one urban student added, "I was
smart in math until I got her and I got stupid" (Davidson, 1999, p. 355~. In
contrast, when describing a particularly motivating teacher, another stu-
dent explained: "You ask him a question, and he . . . gives you the clues,
and then you have to figure it out yourself.... I like that, because he makes
you think" (Phelan, Davidson, and Yu, 1998, p. 1361.
Challenging work, mentioned earlier as being important for promoting
feelings of competence, also has been shown to promote greater interest
and enjoyment. Research evidence contradicts a common stereotype of
OCR for page 50
so
ENGAGING SCHOOLS
urban youth that they prefer easy work that requires little effort. In a
study by Turner et al. (1998), for example, students used a daily log to rate
each task they were given on how skillful they were in completing the task,
how challenging the task was, and how they felt about the task. They
reported the highest levels of engagement on tasks for which they rated
both their skills and challenge as high. When level of challenge was rated as
lower than their skills, students were not very intrinsically motivated or
engaged. Accountability and a focus on learning were also important. In
observations of the students' classes, the researchers found that teachers in
classes rated as high in challenge and high in intrinsic motivation were more
likely to hold students accountable for understanding.
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. When students were asked to identify, independently, the most
interesting and worthwhile class they took in the past year and the class
that made them "think the hardest," nearly 60 percent named the same
class. The association was especially strong for students from low-income
families.
Active Participation
Students enjoy and exert more effort when they are active participants
than when they are passive. Over the long term, they are more likely to
engage when they are asked to conduct rather than read about experiments;
to participate in debate and role playing rather than listen to a lecture; or to
create a mode! and complete projects rather than answer questions about
how a process works (Davidson, 1999; Guthrie et al., 2000; Mitchell,
19931. In the Public Agenda (1997) telephone survey of 1,000 high school
students, 67 percent claimed that they would learn a lot more if their
teachers used "hands-on projects and class discussion," compared to 14
percent who claimed they would learn more if their teachers lectured.
When students in Boaler's (2002a) study of British students who expe-
rienced different approaches to mathematics instruction were asked what
they like about mathematics, the most popular response given was "activi-
ties." They were also able to explain why they enjoyed activities more than
the textbook and workbooks they often used. A prominent theme was
being able to work autonomously and take pride in their achievement: "you
learn more by doing something on your own" (p.381; "you fee! more proud
of the projects when you done them yourself. If it's just working through
the book, you can't fee! proud" (p. 381; "because you had to work out for
yourself what was going on, you had to use your own ideas" (p. 681.
OCR for page 51
THE NATURE AND CONDITIONS OF ENGAGEMENT
Variety
51
In explaining her distaste for a particular English class, a student in the
Davidson and Phelan (1999) study explained:
. . . we read, read, read and that's all we do. It's like every week it's the
same routine. On Mondays you come in and do your vocab definitions.
And then Tuesdays you read the story, Wednesday keep on reading the
story, Thursday answer the questions, and Friday you do a test.... It's
boring to do the same thing every day . . . we should have like more
discussions of the stories that we read and have group work. That would
make the class more interesting. Plus that each week have a different class
project (p. 258~.
Her attendance was directly affected. She had 62 absences in this courses
compared to 28 in her science class, which involved more active learning.
Students in Boaler's (2002a) study also complained about instruction
that was repetitious. As one student explained: "The books are a bit boring,
the chapters . . . repeat the same questions over and over again, like when
they explain something they do the question and then you have to do about
20 of them at the same time" (Boater, 2002a, p.371. When another student
was asked how he would change math lessons in his class, he said he would:
" . . . have one lesson a week on the booklets, one on activities, one where
you get a problem and you have to solve it just a variety" (p. 371.
Collaborative Activities
Most students enjoy working together (Davidson, 1999; Johnson and
Johnson, 1985; Mitchell, 19931. Individual accountability is important, but
students' engagement in the learning process can be enhanced by allowing
them to work in pairs or small groups on activities that require sharing and
meaningful interactions. Students are also more receptive to challenging
assignments when they can put their heads together rather than work in
isolation. Collaborative work also can help students develop skills in coop-
eration. Furthermore, it helps create a community of learners who have
responsibility for each other's learning, rather than a competitive environ-
ment, which is alienating to many students, particularly those who do not
perform as well as their classmates (Cohen, 19941.
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 collabora-
tive 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
OCR for page 52
52
ENGAGING SCHOOLS
them (Cohen, 19971. Cohen and Lotan (1997) address these "status condi-
tions" of students in the underlying principles of "complex instruction" a
mode! of pedagogy that involves students actively and equitably in mean-
ingful, challenging group work. These principles include: (1) constructing
tasks that are open ended; (2) incorporating multiple intellectual abilities;
(3) bolstering group interdependence and enforcing individual accountabil-
ity; and (4) connecting activities through central concepts and big ideas of
the disciplines (Lotan, 1997, p. 1071. In this mode! of collaborative learn-
ing, teachers delineate the multiple intellectual abilities a group of students
must bring to each task, emphasizing that each student will have his or her
own strength to contribute to the group process. Another mode! for col-
laboration that increases the chance of equal contributions is the "Jigsaw
Classroom," which has been shown to improve the learning, engagement,
and enjoyment of low-performing students at all grade levels (Aronson,
Stephan, Sikes, Blaney, and Snapp, 19781. The mode! creates interdepen-
dency 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). A high school
English teacher gives the following example of connecting the curriculum to
students' experiences: "when we began To Kill ~ Mockingbird, I asked
them to remember their childhood and was there anyone on their block
they were afraid of" (McLaughlin and Talbert, 2001, p.281. A math teacher
describes another meaningful connection: "Graphing skills for example. I
make up a bunch of crazy data like compare the profits of Metallica versus
Billy Idol.... And I get a 90 percent return rate on homework" (p. 291.
Giving choices increases the likelihood that students will work on some-
thing of personal interest. Another strategy for making schoolwork more
relevant and interesting is to invite students to express opinions. Describing
a class that she found particularly engaging, one urban high school student
explained, "Like if you read something and everyone interprets it differ-
ently, she Ethe teacher] wants to hear everyone's opinion.... You learn
different points of view and how to analyze different things.... It's not just
memorizing facts and then spitting them back to the teacher" (Davidson,
1999, p. 3491.
Providing opportunities for students to take responsibility and engage
in work they believe offers value to their communities also enhances the
personal meaningfulness of school (McLaughlin, 20001. As one adolescent
commented on the experience of community service:
OCR for page 53
THE NATURE AND CONDITIONS OF ENGAGEMENT
It gives me a sense of responsibility, like what you've got to be When you
have a job].... You've got to be there on time, work hard at it, and get
done what needs to get done. That's why I am part of this Lprogram]
because I needed that responsibility (p. 6~.
Promoting a Sense of Belonging
53
Wentze! (1997) provides evidence on the kinds of behavior that adoles-
cents interpret as caring. She asked students: "How do you know when a
teacher cares about you?" and "How do you know when a teacher does not
care about you?" In their responses to the former question, students de-
scribed teachers who tried to make classes interesting; who talked and
listened to them; who were honest, fair, and trusting; and who showed
concern for them as individuals by asking whether they needed help, mak-
ing sure they understood what was being taught, and asking them if some-
thing was wrong. In response to the second question, students described
teachers who were boring or off task; who continued to teach when stu-
dents weren't paying attention; who ignored, interrupted, embarrassed,
insulted, or yelled at students; and who showed little interest in them per-
sonally by forgetting their name, not doing anything when they did some-
thing wrong, and not trying to explain something when the student didn't
understand. In a second study by Wentze! (2002), students' perceptions of
how fair their teacher was predicted their interest and enjoyment and their
desire to learn. Negative feedback (e.g., scolding) was associated with low
engagement in the form of disruptive behavior and violation of rules.
Newmann (1992) suggests that a sense of fair treatment is also critical
to feeling connected to school. He cites studies suggesting substantial ineq-
uities related to race and income in some schools in expectations, quality of
instruction, and due process. Such inequities are likely to disengage stu-
dents who are treated unfairly. Adolescents who perceive differential treat-
ment by teachers and counselors based on race are also less likely to value
school (Roeser, Eccles, and Sameroff, 19981.
In the Davidson and Phelan (1999) study, students stressed two
types of teacher behaviors that were important to them learning some-
thing 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. One student noted, "You go in and you're not
there for a day and they notice and they say, 'Why are you tardy?' And they
care" (p. 2501. One adolescent explained in a study in which urban high
school students were asked what advice they would give to a new teacher:
"If there's confusion on my face I want you to see it. If there's disagreement
OCR for page 54
54
ENGAGING SCHOOLS
I want you to say, You disagree? Why?" (Cushman, 2002, p. 2). Another
student complained about a particularly unmotivating teacher: " . . . he's
just writing things on the board . . . He don't look at the class like, Do you
understand? he's just teaching it to us. He sees that a couple of students
understand it and he moves on. He doesn't make a space for us to ask" (p.
81. Students also mentioned humor, which seemed to lessen the social dis-
tance between teacher and student. Another theme in their comments con-
cerned fair and respectful disciplinary practices that included student input.
Why does a caring teacher promote student engagement? One student
explained that teachers' concern made students want to give back: "We
owe her something now, now it's like we can't say 'we don't know this.' . . .
We gotta do it tour work], we owe her that, you know" (Davidson, 1999,
p. 3461. Another student, who had highly variable attendance for different
classes, attributed her regular attendance in one class to the teacher caring
about her as a person, explaining:
Like whenever I'm absent or whenever we plan to cut or whatever, I say
"No, I have to go to fifth period," all I care about is fifth period.... I
have to go to that class (p. 347~.
Some evidence suggests that a sense of belonging may, under some
circumstances, be associated with the degree to which a student's own
ethnic background is similar to that of other students. Finn and Voelk!
(1993) found that "at-risk" (mostly minority) students in their study rated
the school community (quality of teacher-student relationships and whether
the school has "real school spirit") more positively when they attended
schools with relatively high proportions of minorities. Using a nationally
stratified sample of high school students (AddHealth), Johnson et al. (2001)
similarly found that students reported greater attachment to school (feeling
close to people at school, feeling a part of their school) when they attended
schools with proportionally more students of their own race. School racial
composition was not, however, associated with students' reports of their
engagement in academic work.
In brief, students fee! like they belong in educational settings in which
they are treated fairly and with respect, and in which adults show they care
about them as people. One way that students judge how much teachers care
is by whether they hold them to high expectations and make an effort to
ensure they are learning.
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
No teacher, however good or committed, can engage students in aca-
demic work in a school context that does not support the kinds of practices
described in this chapter (see Chapter 41. Feelings of incompetence and no
OCR for page 55
THE NATURE AND CONDITIONS OF ENGAGEMENT
55
control over outcomes produce the same disengagement in teachers as in
students (Tschannen-Moran, Hoy, and Hoy, 19981. To protect their own
sense of competence, teachers often attribute poor student performance to
external factors over which they have no control, such as low student
capacity, unsupportive homes, and lack of resources. Some teachers give up
hope and stop trying. School administrators need to apply what is known
about maintaining confidence and feelings of control and belonging in
students to create supportive settings for teachers.
Teachers' efforts in individual classrooms can also be undermined by
school organization and policies. For example, tracking diminishes stu-
dents' choices and the access of relatively low-skilled students to peers with
positive academic values. Highly competitive school environments in which
only high-performing students are recognized publicly undermine many
students' sense of competence. Students are not likely to develop a sense of
belonging in schools that are organized in ways that make it difficult for
teachers to know and develop personal relationships with students, or in
schools that tolerate racism or bullying. Schools that do not promote a
sense of community and shared purpose among teachers are not likely to
provide clear expectations and goals or to promote a sense of connected-
ness and belonging among students. If teachers spend all of their workday
engaged directly with students, they will not have sufficient time to prepare
appropriately challenging and culturally meaningful instruction and activi-
ties that involve collaboration and higher order thinking. Teaching that
engages students takes much more time to plan than the repetitive textbook
teaching that many teachers resort to because of the other demands on their
time.
School policies also affect the degree to which students fee! 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 commu-
nity resources to meet basic physical and psychological needs conveys to
students that people care about them and want them to learn. Efforts to
make school a comfortable and accessible place for parents are also impor-
tant; one example is translating information into languages that parents
speak (see Chapter 3, this volume). Efforts to increase student engagement
therefore must involve the whole school. We elaborate on school-level
policies and practices in Chapter 4.
BEYOND THE SCHOOL
Student motivation is affected by policies made beyond the school as
well as in the school. For example, policies at the state or district level
related to curricula, textbooks, and resources for science laboratories and
OCR for page 56
56
ENGAGING SCHOOLS
technology have direct implications for the kind of instruction teachers can
offer.
Recent policies that promote greater accountability and stricter stan-
dards may have particularly powerful implications for student engagement
(Hanushek, 1997; National Research Council, 19961. In 2001, 17 states
required students to pass a state-administered exit examination in order to
graduate, and 7 more had committed to implementing graduation exams
within the next several years. Four states required students to pass a state-
wide exam as a condition for grade promotion, and four more were in the
process of implementing this policy. 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. Similar policies have been implemented by a number of school
districts, including New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boston.
Studies have not examined the effects of high-stakes testing for promo-
tion or graduation on student motivation and engagement, and research
assessing the effects on achievement is mixed (Bishop, 2002; Frederickson,
1994; Jacob, 20011. The evidence is clear, however, that they increase the
likelihood of retention (Jacob, 2001; McDill, Natriello, and Pallas, 1986;
Roderick and Engel, 20011. For example, during the 1999-2000 school
year, more than half of all ninth graders entering Boston's comprehensive
high schools could not read well enough to learn at the high school level. In
an effort to rectify this problem, Boston Public Schools required, for the
first time, that 9th graders pass a reading examination in order to be
promoted to 10th grade. Although many students made sufficient progress
during the school year to be promoted to 10th grade, more than one-third
of the 1999-2000 freshmen had to repeat 9th grade the following year.
Accountability approaches that increase retention have a serious down-
side. The evidence is mixed on whether retention improves academic per-
formance (Alexander, Entiwisle, and Dauber, 1994; McCoy and Reynolds,
1999; Pierson and Connell, 1992; Sheppard and Smith, 1989), and virtually
all the empirical studies to date suggest that retention, even in the lower
elementary grades, significantly increases the likelihood of dropping out
(Balfanz, McPartland, and Shaw, 2002; Fine, 1991; Goldschmidt and Wang,
1999; Grissom and Shepard, 1989; Jimerson, 1999; Kaufman and Bradby,
1992; Neild and Balfanz, 2001; Roderick, 1994; Roderick, Nagaoka,
Bacon, and Easton, 2000; Rumberger, 1995; Rumberger and Larson, 19981.
For example, Rumberger (1995) found that students who were retained in
grades 1 to 8 were four times more likely to drop out between grades 8 and
10 than students who were not retained, even after controlling for socio-
OCR for page 57
THE NATURE AND CONDITIONS OF ENGAGEMENT
57
economic status, eighth-grade school performance, and a host of back-
ground and school factors.
Emerging evidence suggests that exams required for entering and gradu-
ating from high school may also promote dropping out (Balfanz and Letgers,
2001; Haney, 2001; Lee, 2001; Mizell, 2002; New York City Board of
Education, Division of Assessment and Accountability, 2001~. In Chicago
reports are beginning to document students dropping out at a younger age,
as well as in higher numbers (Lee, 2001~. These negative effects of high-
stakes testing appear to be stronger for students of color (Balfanz and
Legters, 2001; Haney, 2001~.
In addition to their more direct effects on student engagement and
motivation, school accountability and high-stakes testing can have indirect
effects on students through their teachers. A study of school reform in a
Texas school district (Berends, Chun et al., 2002) indicates that high-stakes
testing can undermine the willingness and ability of teachers to engage
students in meaningful learning. This occurs because teachers fee! com-
pelled to teach what is on the test, which often results in broad, superficial
coverage. The multiple-choice format of typical tests promotes the teaching
of isolated facts and skills rather than conceptual understanding and critical
thinking. In an effort to raise test scores, some schools are imposing double-
period 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 high-
stakes testing on student motivation, the research on motivation described
in this chapter provides clues about what we can expect. The key concepts
are perceptions of competence and control. Most likely, high-stakes testing
has little effect on the motivation of the highest achieving students who are
confident they will achieve ambitious educational goals. High-stakes testing
should increase the motivation of students who are just getting by, but
know they could do better. The risk of being retained in grade or denied a
high school diploma may lead them to exert more effort on schoolwork
than they would otherwise (National Research Council, 1996; Roderick
and Engel, 2001), but only if they believe they have the capacity to succeed.
These positive effects, however, may come at the expense of students
performing at the lowest level. As Roderick and Enge! (2001, p. 221)
suggest, high-stakes testing may benefit some by "making sacrificial lambs
of the most vulnerable." Many students, especially in urban schools in
economically disadvantaged communities, have experienced years of failure
in school, and their skills lag far behind even minimal standards. Simply
asking them to achieve higher standards without providing them with the
assistance and support they need is more likely to discourage than to moti-
vate them. Research on motivation has shown clearly that people do not
OCR for page 58
58
ENGAGING SCHOOLS
exert effort when they do not expect their efforts to lead to success. To the
contrary, a perception that success is out of reach leads to helplessness and
withdrawal.
Standards and high expectations are critical, but they must be genu-
inely achievable if they are to motivate student engagement. The committee's
endorsement of challenging work and high standards does not imply en-
dorsement of high-stakes testing. If it is implemented, however, it is essen-
tial that it is accompanied by a great deal of support and resources devoted
to helping students achieve the standards. We base our conclusion prima-
rily on achievement motivation research that does not involve high-stakes
testing. But there is some evidence from research at the middle grades that
high-stakes testing for promotion may lead to improved student achieve-
ment when it is combined with extra instructional resources for low-achiev-
ing students (Roderick and Engel, 20011. Raising standards without pro-
viding this kind of support will be counterproductive.
A WAYS TO GO
Research on factors that motivate students to be engaged in academic
work is not definitive, but it provides a solid foundation that can be used to
guide practice. Currently, the practices supported by research are least
likely to be observed in schools serving the students who need them most.
Many developmental studies have shown substantial declines in achieve-
ment motivation and engagement in learning as children progress through
school (Jacobs et al., 2002; Stipek and MacIver, 19891. Steinberg, Brown,
and Dornbusch (1996) also found a decline from 7th to 9th grade in the
number of students who claimed to fee! a part of their school or close to
people at their school. Perhaps not coincidentally, studies comparing edu-
cational practices at different levels suggest that the practices known to
promote motivation are also less likely to be seen at the secondary than at
the elementary level. For example, at the point that autonomy needs are
most powerful in adolescence school environments usually become more
controlling (Eccles and Midgley, 19891. Perhaps this is why all of the 56
Latino 9th graders that Yowell (1999) interviewed named an elementary
school teacher when asked who their favorite teacher was. Furthermore,
the schools serving adolescents who are at greatest risk of becoming seri-
ously disengaged from school are the most likely to be large, impersonal,
and highly controlling, and to convey low expectations for academic suc-
cess.
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 confi-
dence that progress can be made. The MetLife (2001) survey mentioned
OCR for page 59
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. The remaining chapters in this
volume give further guidance for creating high schools that maintain stu-
dents' desire to learn and to succeed by showing how the general principles
of motivating contexts described here look in real schools.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
engaging schools
