ERIC Number: EJ992883
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0729-4360
EISSN: N/A
Student Engagement: Rhetoric and Reality
Baron, Paula; Corbin, Lillian
Higher Education Research and Development, v31 n6 p759-772 2012
Recently, there has been much interest in higher education literature and policy on the concepts of student engagement and disengagement. While most academic writings recognise the significance of student engagement, they have tended to concentrate on it in relation to academic activities. Increasingly, universities are "cascading" down the need to improve student engagement to schools and ultimately to individual academics. This article asserts that ideas about student engagement in the university context are often fragmented, contradictory and confused. Even the meaning of the term "student engagement" is uncertain. Further, while government and universities urge attention to student engagement, many of their actions, it may be argued, have contributed to greater student disengagement. Relying on the available literature, we argue that the student experience as a whole is the key to engagement and, thus, efforts to re-engage students cannot be successful until a "whole-of-university" approach is adopted. (Contains 1 note.)
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Learner Engagement, Rhetoric, Student Motivation, Postsecondary Education as a Field of Study, Student Experience, Student College Relationship, Barriers, Student Participation, Student Employment, Context Effect
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A