This mixed methods research uses econometric analysis and thematic analysis to identify the practices of teachers, in a selected sample of disadvantaged schools in Mexico with high value-added scores and engaging lessons. In the first chapter, a review of the literature is conducted to explore the definition of student engagement, determine the factors that facilitate it, and examine its relevance for achievement. As a result of the review, student engagement was defined in the research as a metaconstruct with cognitive, behavioural and emotional components. The review revealed that student engagement is influenced by home and personal factors, school factors, and classroom factors. Among the latter, the literature provides evidence that teachers’ practices play a major role in promoting student engagement, and teachers act as mediators between student engagement and achievement. The second chapter examines the design and methodology of the research. The final four chapters investigate whether the schools in the sample fit the theoretical proposition of the research, that there are marginal primary schools in Mexico, where students outperform their peers on the national standardized test, due to the teachers’ ability to engage students; and investigate what those practices in the selected schools are. Results from a random effects model, which used data from 315 6th-grade students in 18 schools, revealed a positive and significant correlation between student engagement and teacher practices, clarity, academic press, academic personalism, trust, and rigour; and the variables parental support and teacher qualification. Results from a multiple case study conducted in two of the 18 schools, and where students reported relative high levels of student engagement, corroborated the importance of the practices, academic personalism, trust, academic press, and parental involvement. In addition, school leadership, discipline, and the students’ exposure to fun and creative lessons delivered by an enthusiastic teacher, were also found to be promoters of student engagement. The difficult socioeconomic background of the students and lack of incentives for the teachers, were found to be challenges to student engagement.

Yes / Plagiarism and referencing are areas in which the transition into Higher Education can be a particularly severe leap. University expectations regarding referencing are often wildly different from those previously encountered, not just for international students but for UK school leavers and mature students (Hardy and Clughen 2012). These expectations are often implicit rather than clearly expressed, hidden in little-read departmental handbooks or pre-enrolment information at a time when the student is more concerned with immediate issues of where they will live and whether they will make any friends. Lillis (2001 p14) calls referencing ¿an ideologically inscribed institutional practice of mystery¿. This paper reports on an initiative from the University of Bradford library which attempts to smooth the transition into HE by introducing students to ideas of referencing and plagiarism in a timely and non-threatening manner.

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The purpose of this study was to explore the engagement levels among entering and returning Hispanic community college students. This study provides needed data focused specifically on Hispanic student engagement. Limited data exist on the persistence of community college students in general, and Hispanic students in particular. The data were collected using the Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE). SENSE was administered as a pilot test to students at volunteer community colleges during the fourth and fifth weeks of the fall 2007 semester. These 22 colleges are located in eight states. This study consisted of two research questions: Are there significant differences in the engagement levels of entering and returning Hispanic community college students? Are there significant differences in engagement levels of entering Hispanic students when analyzed in terms of the following breakout variables: enrollment status (full-time and part-time); age (traditional and nontraditional; 18-19 years old and 20 years old and older); first-generation and non-first-generation status; developmental education status (enrollment in developmental writing course; developmental reading course; developmental math course); sex (male and female); academic goal aspiration (degree seeking and non-degree seeking). The results show that when there are significant differences in levels of engagement between entering and returning Hispanic students, returning students are consistently more engaged. This study also identifies the importance of collaborative learning in Hispanic student engagement. Full-time students reported higher engagement levels than part-time students. Nontraditional age students reported higher engagement levels than traditional age students. Students 20 years and older reported higher engagement levels than students 18-19 years old. First-generation students reported higher engagement levels than non-first-generation. Students enrolled in developmental reading reported higher engagement levels than students not enrolled in developmental reading. Students enrolled in developmental writing reported higher engagement levels than students not enrolled in developmental writing. Students enrolled in developmental math reported higher engagement levels than students not enrolled in developmental math in regards to use of skill labs. Females were more likely to report that they would prepare at least one draft of an assignment before turning it in. Degree-seeking students reported higher engagement levels than non-degree seeking students. / text

Low student achievement and decreasing student engagement have provoked a call for pedagogical change in the UAE. In an attempt to address these challenges an intervention was introduced that consisted of an alternate pedagogical approach in the form of standards-focused project-based learning which is an active-learning approach where students drive their own learning through the completion of a project(s) that promotes inquiry, standards alignment, and collaborative research. This action research study sought to analyse the effectiveness of this alternate approach by answering two research questions using by collecting and analysing both quantitative and qualitative data. The first research question was: what kind of change can be brought about by engaging students in a student-focused and active learning environment by the design and implementation of a standards-focused project-based learning model? The second research question was: what is the difference in exam scores between students in a lecture-based class and students in an active-learning class that utilizes a standards-focused project-based learning curriculum? In response to these research questions, statistical significance was found in the difference between the mean examination scores of the Foundation course experimental section and the Foundation course control section. No significance was found when comparing the mean examination scores of the First year education experimental section with the first year education control section. Four primary themes were identified through thematic content analysis of the feedback shared by the participants during the focus groups. The four themes were (a) connection between teaching style and performance, (b) students’ preparedness for exam, (c) positive influence of peer pressure and (d) students driven by an external locus of control.

The findings of this study challenge essentialised conceptions of “the student” as a young national, entering higher education directly from school with appropriate school-leaving qualifications, to devote themselves entirely to their studies, undistracted by caring responsibilities or work commitments, unconstrained by disabilities, conforming to an unproblematised binary conception of gender which informs an appropriate choice of study programme, participating in stereotypical student extramural pursuits along the way. The study tracked 23 students from 7 universities who volunteered themselves as ‘non-traditional’ in their own study contexts over the course of a calendar year. Drawing on concepts of ‘diaspora space’, ‘nomadism’, dis/identification and mis/recognition, this study maps out these students’ perceptions of the different aspects of their engagement as these changed over time as well as their self-conceptions and their descriptions of their ‘imagined communities’. The importance of relationships of different kinds (with other people, with their studies, and with their universities and other structures) in their decisions about persistence is noted. Student Engagement (SE) has been widely accepted as contributing positively to the student experience, student success and outcomes, including persistence / retention. ‘Non-traditional’ students, while having the potential to benefit most from SE, are often reported as feeling unengaged or alienated, and constitute ‘at risk’ groups in terms of persistence / retention. This study has established that the construct ‘non-traditional student’ can be considered a ‘chaotic conception’, since students bearing that label may have nothing in common beyond not conforming to ‘traditional’ criteria. Students may consider themselves ‘non-traditional’ in their particular study contexts for many reasons, often presenting with more than one factor from a checklist of what is not traditional in that context. The study also found reported mismatches between resources and services offered by universities for defined groups of ‘non-traditional’ students, and the support sought by students in this study. These mismatches hinge on factors such as fear of stigma, disparities between how target groups are defined and how students self-identify, opacity of systems and processes and perceived differences in priority.

As various stakeholders examine the value and quality of higher education, a greater emphasis is being put on educational outcomes. There is constant focus on improving the quality of undergraduate education and one of the keys to this is understanding what makes a good instructor. Effective instructors rely on a variety of tools and techniques to engage their students and help them learn. One common tool that instructors in higher education rely on in the classroom is humor. The primary research question this study is attempting to answer is: In what ways, if any, does humor infused instruction promote high levels of affective, cognitive, and participant perceptions of behavioral engagement among college students? The researcher's hypothesis is that college students who view video clips of humor infused instruction will be significantly more affectively, cognitively, and behaviorally engaged than students who view video clips of the same instructional content without humor. In order to test whether instructor use of humor in class increases student engagement, students were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group watched a lecture on fallacies that includes humorous illustrations and examples while the other group watched a lecture that does not include these humorous illustrations and examples. Immediately after watching the lecture students were asked to complete an 18-item questionnaire that measured their engagement.

The gender gap in American college attendance has grown over four decades (see for example, Sax, 2008). The National Center for Educational Statistics noted that women received 57 percent of all bachelor's degrees conferred in 2009-2010. Furthermore, women engage in college opportunities inside and outside the classroom at greater rates than men. Engagement opportunities connect students to their college environment, support student learning, and contribute to student persistence (see for example, Astin, 1993). However, little research is available that focuses on which specific co-curricular opportunities men and women choose and any gender differences in engagement that exist within those programs (Sax, 2008). Many colleges offer interdisciplinary programs as a co-curricular student engagement option. Interdisciplinary studies allow students to study broad topics from many disciplinary perspectives and synthesize the various methods and theories for an often better understanding of the topic at hand (Newell, 1992). However, there is a paucity of research regarding gender differences in students who choose to pursue interdisciplinary programs. The purpose of the study was to investigate why male students choose or choose not to get involved in a specific interdisciplinary program at a large research institution in the southwestern United States. Moreover, the study examined the perceptions of administrators regarding male student involvement and their strategies to recruit male students. The study design was qualitative, and interviews of students and program administrators were the primary data source. The researcher employed two conceptual frameworks in the study: Terenzini and Reason's (2005) college experience model and Harris' (2010) model of the meanings college men make of masculinities. Key findings of the study indicated that there was a gender imbalance in student engagement in the interdisciplinary program. Furthermore, male students interested in the interdisciplinary program eschewed masculine norms both in their co-curricular pursuits and their academic interests. The study contributes to the field of student affairs by focusing on a research gap in male student engagement in interdisciplinary programs. By examining engagement experiences through the lens of male gender identity, the study provides rich data and offers strategies to student affairs practitioners. / text

Archived video of presentation given by Dr. George Kuh at UBC Vancouver, May 7, 2009. Explores factors for student success in university and National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) 2008 results for UBC-Vancouver.

This research investigates the use of build-your-own capture the flag ethical hacking simulations to help learners engage and understand penetration testing methodologies. Students in a senior level ungraduated ethical hacking class were tasked with the development of a capture the flag platform that scored participants' progress while exploiting a vulnerable web site. Remediation of the found vulnerabilities was also demonstrated to illustrate secure coding best practices. This work chronicles the development of one of the CTF platforms and the process used to develop it.