In this paper, we use an engagement framework to understand the experiences of university students midway through their initial teacher education programme. Analysis of interview transcripts revealed that engagement is being influenced negatively by a convergence of political, economic, structural and psychosocial factors. Despite the influence of these converging factors, some students maintained high levels of engagement, while others adopted survival strategies not conducive to deep learning. We argue that one way to deal with disengagement is to support learners to develop critical consciousness, a concept that includes learning agency, learning success, learning well-being and learning social justice.