| Description |
Student engagement (SE) is essential for student success; it is also extremely complex. SE can be seen as a combination of behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement; therefore, we must look at it holistically. As an educator, I wanted to explore how students' lived experiences affect their engagement in education. Therefore, in this qualitative, action research study, I explored the relationship between students' lived experiences and engagement. I followed the triangulation method for data collection and collected data through several sources, classroom observations, interviews, student work, and reflections. This method allowed me to take a more complete view at student engagement, due to its complexity. As I collected and analyzed my data, I followed the constant comparison method, which helps researchers continuously compare their data so that we can draw patterns. As I started seeing those patterns and codes, five themes that affect SE emerged - university environment, classroom environment, living environment, wellbeing, and motivation. Those themes, along with their subthemes, demonstrate the relationships between students' lived experiences and their engagement. They impacted student engagement in positive or negative ways, depending on the situation. At times, they individually affected student engagement, but at other times they came together to affect it. Lastly, some factors that positively affected student engagement for some participants also negatively affected the other participants. These factors reveal how complex student engagement is and that we must continue exploring it though a holistic lens. With the research findings, I will be creating guidelines to support student engagement. |
