Abstract
Notwithstanding its crucial role in facilitating desired outcomes of schooling, educational psychology researchers have recognized the conceptual haziness of student engagement as a multidimensional construct. With the main purpose of refining its conceptual definition, this paper aims to attain the following four goals. First, we seek to highlight theoretical, conceptual, and operational concerns about the student engagement construct, and synthesize these concerns into four related areas: overgeneralization, jingle-jangle fallacies, object ambiguity, and under-theorization. Second, we conduct a comprehensive review of prevailing perspectives on student engagement and critically examine their strengths and limitations. Building upon such extant models, third, we offer the Dual Component Framework of Student Engagement, which differentiates learning engagement from school engagement, and articulates the conceptual definition and scope, as well as the objects and dimensions, of the two engagement constructs. Lastly, we underscore the theoretical, research, and applied implications of the proposed framework in advancing the field of student engagement.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
Not applicable.
References
Allen, K., Kern, M. L., Vella-Brodrick, D., Hattie, J., & Waters, L. (2018). What schools need to know about fostering school belonging: a meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 30(1), 1–34. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-016-9389-8.
Appleton, J. J., Christenson, S. L., Kim, D., & Reschly, A. L. (2006). Measuring cognitive and psychological engagement: validation of the student engagement instrument. Journal of School Psychology, 44(5), 427–445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2006.04.002.
Appleton, J. J., Christenson, S. L., & Furlong, M. J. (2008). Student engagement with school: critical conceptual and methodological issues of the construct. Psychology in the Schools, 45(5), 369–386. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.20303.
Archambault, I., Janosz, M., Fallu, J., & Pagani, L. S. (2009). Student engagement and its relationship with early high school dropout. Journal of Adolescence, 32(3), 651–670. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2008.06.007.
Ashinoff, B. K., & Abu-Akel, A. (2021). Hyperfocus: The forgotten frontier of attention. Psychological Research, 85(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-019-01245-8.
Azevedo, R. (2015). Defining and measuring engagement and learning in science: conceptual, theoretical, methodological, and analytical issues. Educational Psychologist, 50(1), 84–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2015.1004069.
Baumeister, R. F. (2016). Toward a general theory of motivation: problems, challenges, opportunities, and the big picture. Motivation and Emotion, 40(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-015-9521-y.
Ben-Eliyahu, A., Moore, D., Dorph, R., & Schunn, C. D. (2018). Investigating the multidimensionality of engagement: affective, behavioral, and cognitive engagement across science activities and contexts. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 53, 87–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2018.01.002.
Boekaerts, M. (2016). Engagement as an inherent aspect of the learning process. Learning and Instruction, 43, 76–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2016.02.001.
Caspi, A., Chajut, E., Saporta, K., & Beyth-Marom, R. (2006). The influence of personality on social participation in learning environments. Learning and Individual Differences, 16(2), 129–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2005.07.003.
Chi, M. T. H., Adams, J., Bogusch, E. B., Bruchok, C., Kang, S., Lancaster, M., Levy, R., Li, N., McEldoon, K. L., Stump, G. S., Wylie, R., Xu, D., & Yaghmourian, D. L. (2018). Translating the ICAP theory of cognitive engagement into practice. Cognitive Science, 42(6), 1777–1832. https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.12626.
Christenson, S. L., Reschly, A. L., & Wylie, C. (Eds.). (2012). Handbook of research on student engagement. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2018-7.
Cleary, T. J., & Zimmerman, B. J. (2004). Self-regulation empowerment program: a school-based program to enhance self-regulated and self-motivated cycles of student learning. Psychology in the Schools, 41(5), 537–550. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.10177.
Cohen, R. A. (2014). The neuropsychology of attention. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-72639-7.
Cohen, J., Mccabe, E. M., Michelli, N. M., & Pickeral, T. (2009). School climate: research, policy, practice, and teacher education. Teachers College Record, 111(1), 180–213.
Connell, J. P., & Wellborn, J. G. (1991). Competence, autonomy and relatedness: a motivational analysis of self-system processes. In M. Gunnar & L. A. Sroufe (Eds.), Minnesota Symposium on Child Psychology: Vol. 23. Self processes in development (pp. 43–77). University of Chicago Press.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. Harper & Row.
Delle Fave, A., & Bassi, M. (2000). The quality of experience in adolescents' daily lives: developmental perspectives. Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs, 126(3), 347–367.
Dinsmore, D. L. (2017). Toward a dynamic, multidimensional research framework for strategic processing. Educational Psychology Review, 29(2), 235–268. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-017-9407-5.
Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: a meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405–432. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x.
Eccles, J. S. (2016). Engagement: Where to next? Learning and Instruction, 43, 71–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2016.02.003.
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43–71. https://doi.org/10.1002/piq.21143.
Faircloth, B. S. (2012). “Wearing a mask” vs. connecting identity with learning. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 37(3), 186–194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2011.12.003.
Finn, J. D. (1989). Withdrawing from school. Review of Educational Research, 59(2), 117–142. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543059002117.
Finn, J. D., & Cox, D. (1992). Participation and withdrawal among fourth-grade pupils. American Educational Research Journal, 29(1), 141–162. https://doi.org/10.2307/1162905.
Finn, J. D., & Zimmer, K. S. (2012). Student engagement: what is it? Why does it matter? In S. L. Christenson, A. L. Reschly, & C. Wylie (Eds.), Handbook of research on student engagement (pp. 97–131). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2018-7_5.
Finn, J. D., Folger, J., & Cox, D. (1991). Measuring participation among elementary grade students. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 51(2), 393–402. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164491512013.
Fitzgerald, M. S., & Palincsar, A. S. (2019). Teaching practices that support student sensemaking across grades and disciplines: a conceptual review. Review of Research in Education, 43(1), 227–248. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X18821115.
Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C., & Paris, A. H. (2004). School engagement: potential of the concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74(1), 59–109. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543074001059.
Fredricks, J. A., Filsecker, M., & Lawson, M. A. (2016a). Student engagement, context, and adjustment: addressing definitional, measurement, and methodological issues. Learning and Instruction, 43, 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2016.02.002.
Fredricks, J. A., Wang, M.-T., Linn, J. S., Hofkens, T. L., Sung, H., Parr, A., & Allerton, J. (2016b). Using qualitative methods to develop a survey measure of math and science engagement. Learning and Instruction, 43, 5–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2016.01.009.
Fredricks, J. A., Reschly, A. L., & Christenson, S. L. (Eds.). (2019). Handbook of student engagement interventions: working with disengaged students. Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/C2016-0-04519-9.
Furlong, M. J., Whipple, A. D., Jean, G. S., Simental, J., Soliz, A., & Punthuna, S. (2003). Multiple contexts of school engagement: moving toward a unifying framework for educational research and practice. California School Psychologist, 8(1), 99–113. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03340899.
González, A., & Paoloni, P. V. (2014). Self-determination, behavioral engagement, disaffection, and academic performance: a mediational analysis. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 17, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1017/sjp.2014.82.
Goodenow, C. (1993). The psychological sense of school membership among adolescents: scale development and educational correlates. Psychology in the Schools, 30(1), 79–90. https://doi.org/10.1002/1520-6807(199301)30:1<79::AID-PITS2310300113>3.0.CO;2-X.
Green, J., Martin, A. J., & Marsh, H. W. (2007). Motivation and engagement in English, mathematics and science high school subjects: towards an understanding of multidimensional domain specificity. Learning and Individual Differences, 17(3), 269–279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2006.12.003.
Greene, B. A. (2015). Measuring cognitive engagement with self-report scales: reflections from over 20 years of research. Educational Psychologist, 50(1), 14–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2014.989230.
Griffiths, A.-J., Sharkey, J. D., & Furlong, M. J. (2009). Student engagement and positive school adaptation. In R. Gilman, E. S. Huebner, & M. J. Furlong (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology in schools (pp. 197–211). Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
Handelsman, M. M., Briggs, W. L., Sullivan, N., & Towler, A. (2005). A measure of college student course engagement. The Journal of Education Research, 98(3), 184–191. https://doi.org/10.3200/JOER.98.3.184-192.
Hilgard, E. R. (1980). The trilogy of mind: cognition, affection, and conation. Journal of the History of the Behavioural Sciences, 16(2), 107–117. https://doi.org/10.1002/1520-6696(198004)16:2%3C107::AID-JHBS2300160202%3E3.0.CO;2-Y.
Hospel, V., & Galand, B. (2016). Are both classroom autonomy support and structure equally important for students' engagement? A multilevel analysis. Learning and Instruction, 41, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2015.09.001.
Hughes, J. N., & Chen, Q. (2011). Reciprocal effects of student–teacher and student–peer relatedness: effects on academic self efficacy. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 32(5), 278–287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2010.03.005.
Jaccard, J., & Jacoby, J. (2010). Theory construction and model-building skills: a practical guide for social scientists. The Guilford Press.
Jang, H., Kim, E. J., & Reeve, J. (2016). Why students become more engaged or more disengaged during the semester: a self-determination theory dual-process model. Learning and Instruction, 43, 27–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2016.01.002.
Jimerson, S. R., Campos, E., & Greif, J. L. (2003). Toward an understanding of definitions and measures of school engagement and related terms. California School Psychologist, 8(1), 7–27. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03340893.
Keller, J. M. (2009). Motivational design for learning and performance: the ARCS model approach. Springer.
King, R. B., & McInerney, D. M. (2019). Family-support goals drive engagement and achievement in a collectivist context: integrating etic and emic approaches in goal research. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 58, 338–353. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2019.04.003.
Knifsend, C. A., Bell, A. N., & Juvonen, J. (2017). Identification with multiple groups in multiethnic middle schools: what predicts social ingroup overlap? Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 46(2), 317–327. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0535-x.
Kreiner, G. E., & Ashforth, B. E. (2004). Evidence toward an expanded model of organizational identification. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25(1), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.234.
Ladd, G. W., & Dinella, L. M. (2009). Continuity and change in early school engagement: predictive of children's achievement trajectories from first to eighth grade? Journal of Educational Psychology, 101(1), 190–206. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013153.
Ladd, G. W., Buhs, E. S., & Seid, M. (2000). Children's initial sentiments about kindergarten: is school liking an antecedent of early classroom participation and achievement? Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 46(2), 255–279.
Lam, S. F., Jimerson, S., Wong, B. P. H., Kikas, E., Shin, H., Veiga, F. H., Hatzichristou, C., Polychroni, F., Cefai, C., Negovan, V., Stanculescu, E., Yang, H., Liu, Y., Basnett, J., Duck, R., Farrell, P., Nelson, B., & Zollneritsch, J. (2014). Understanding and measuring student engagement in school: the results of an international study from 12 countries. School Psychology Quarterly, 29(2), 213–232. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000057.
Lazowski, R. A., & Hulleman, C. S. (2016). Motivation interventions in education: a meta-analytic review. Review of Educational Research, 86(2), 602–640. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654315617832.
Lee, E., Reynolds, K. J., Subasic, E., Bromhead, D., Lin, H., Marinov, V., & Smithson, M. (2017). Development of a dual school climate and school identification measure–student (SCASIM-St). Contemporary Educational Psychology, 49, 91–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2017.01.003.
Li, Y. (2011). School engagement: what it is and why it is important for positive youth development. In R. M. Lerner, J. V. Lerner, & J. B. Benson (Eds.), Advances in child development and behavior: Positive youth development (pp. 131–160). Elsevier.
Li, Y., & Lerner, R. M. (2013). Interrelations of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive school engagement in high school students. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(1), 20–32. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-012-9857-5.
Liem, G. A. D. (2016). Academic and social achievement goals: their additive, interactive, and specialized effects on school functioning. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 86(1), 37–56. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12085.
Liem, G. A. D., & Martin, A. (2012). The motivation and engagement scale: theoretical framework, psychometric properties, and applied yields. Australian Psychologist, 47(1), 3–13. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1742-9544.2011.00049.x.
Linnenbrink, E. A. (2007). The role of affect in student learning: a multi-dimensional approach to considering the interaction of affect, motivation, and engagement. In P. A. Schutz & R. Pekrun (Eds.), Emotion in education: A volume in educational psychology (pp. 107–124). Academic Press.
Luo, W., Paris, S. G., Hogan, D., & Luo, Z. (2011). Do performance goals promote learning? A pattern analysis of Singapore students’ achievement goals. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 36(2), 165–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2011.02.003.
Marks, H. M. (2000). Student engagement in instructional activity: patterns in the elementary, middle, and high school years. American Educational Research Journal, 37(1), 153–184. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312037001153.
Martin, A. J. (2007). Examining a multidimensional model of student motivation and engagement using a construct validation approach. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 77(2), 413–440. https://doi.org/10.1348/000709906X118036.
Martin, A. J., Ginns, P., & Papworth, B. (2017). Motivation and engagement: same or different? Does it matter? Learning and Individual Differences, 55, 150–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2017.03.013.
Martinez, A., Coker, C., McMahon, S. D., Cohen, J., & Thapa, A. (2016). Involvement in extracurricular activities: identifying differences in perceptions of school climate. The Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 33(1), 70–84. https://doi.org/10.1017/edp.2016.7.
Massin, O. (2017). Towards a definition of efforts. Motivation Science, 3(3), 230–259. https://doi.org/10.1037/mot0000066.
Mosher, R., & MacGowan, B. (1985). Assessing student engagement in secondary schools: alternative conceptions, strategies of assessing, and instruments. University of Wisconsin, Research and Development Center. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 272812).
Mouratidis, A. A., & Sideridis, G. D. (2009). On social achievement goals: their relations with peer acceptance, classroom belongingness, and perceptions of loneliness. Journal of Experimental Education, 77(3), 285–307. https://doi.org/10.3200/JEXE.77.3.285-308.
Nakamura, J., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014). The concept of flow. In M. Csikszentmihalyi (Ed.), Flow and the foundations of positive psychology (pp. 239-263). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9088-8_16.
National Research Council, & Institute of Medicine. (2004). Engaging schools: fostering high school students’ motivation to learn. National Academy Press.
Natriello, G. (1984). Problems in the evaluation of students and student disengagement from secondary schools. Journal of Research and Development in Education, 17(4), 14–24.
Oyserman, D. (2013). Not just any path: implications of identity-based motivation for disparities in school outcomes. Economics of Education Review, 33, 179–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2012.09.002.
Pekrun, R. (2006). The control-value theory of achievement emotions: assumptions, corollaries, and implications for educational research and practice. Educational Psychology Review, 18(4), 315–341. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-006-9029-9.
Pianta, R. C. (2001). Student-Teacher Relationship Scale: professional manual. Psychological Assessment Resources.
Pintrich, P. R. (1999). Taking control of research on volitional control: challenges for future theory and research. Learning and Individual Differences, 11(3), 335–354. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1041-6080(99)80007-7.
Pöysä, S., Vasalampi, K., Muotka, J., Lerkkanen, M., Poikkeus, A., & Nurmi, J. (2018). Variation in situation-specific engagement among lower secondary school students. Learning and Instruction, 53, 64–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2017.07.007.
Reed, J. H., Schallert, D. L., & Deithloff, L. F. (2002). Investigating the interface between self-regulation and involvement processes. Educational Psychologist, 37(1), 53–57. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15326985EP3701_6.
Reeve, J. (2012). A self-determination theory perspective on student engagement. In S. L. Christenson, A. L. Reschly, & C. Wylie (Eds.), Handbook of research on student engagement (pp. 149–172). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2018-7_7.
Reeve, J. (2013). How students create motivationally supportive learning environments for themselves: the concept of agentic engagement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(3), 579–595. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032690.
Reeve, J., & Tseng, C.-M. (2011). Agency as a fourth aspect of student engagement during learning activities. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 36(4), 257–267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2011.05.002.
Reeve, J., Lee, W., & Won, S. (2015). Interest as emotion, as affect, and as schema. In K. A. Renninger, M. Nieswandt, & S. Hidi (Eds.), Interest in mathematics and science learning (pp. 79–92). American Educational Research Association.
Reeve, J., Cheon, S. H., & Jang, H. (2020). How and why students make academic progress: reconceptualizing the student engagement construct to increase its explanatory power. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 62, 101899. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101899.
Reitan, R. M., & Wolfson, D. (2000). Conation: a neglected aspect of neuropsychological functioning. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 15(5), 443–453. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0887-6177(99)00043-8.
Reschly, A. L., & Christenson, S. L. (2012). Jingle, jangle, and conceptual haziness: evolution and future directions of the engagement construct. In S. L. Christenson, A. L. Reschly, & C. Wylie (Eds.), Handbook of research on student engagement (pp. 3–19). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2018-7_1.
Reyes, M. R., Brackett, M. A., Rivers, S. E., White, M., & Salovey, P. (2012). Classroom emotional climate, student engagement, and academic achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104(3), 700–712. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027268.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. The Guilford Press.
Saks, A. M. (2019). Antecedents and consequences of employee engagement revisited. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 6(1), 19–38. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOEPP-06-2018-0034.
Salmela-Aro, K., & Upadaya, K. (2012). The schoolwork engagement inventory: energy, dedication, and absorption (EDA). European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 28(1), 60–67. https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759/a000091.
Salmela-Aro, K., Moeller, J., Schneider, B., Spicer, J., & Lavonen, J. (2016). Integrating the light and dark sides of student engagement using person-oriented and situation-specific approaches. Learning and Instruction, 43, 61–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2016.01.001.
Schaufeli, W. B., Martínez, I. M., Marques Pinto, A., Salanova, M., & Bakker, A. B. (2002a). Burnout and engagement in university students: a cross-national study. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 33(5), 464–481. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022102033005003.
Schaufeli, W. B., Salanova, M., González-romá, V., & Bakker, A. B. (2002b). The measurement of engagement and burnout: a two sample confirmatory factor analytic approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3(1), 71–92. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015630930326.
Schunk, D. H. (1991). Learning theories: an educational perspective. Macmillan.
Schunk, D. H., Meece, J. R., & Pintrich, P. R. (2014). Motivation in education: theory, research, and applications (4th ed.). Pearson.
Shapiro, E. S. (2000). In T. R. Kratochwill (Ed.), Behavioral assessment in schools: theory, research, and clinical foundations (2nd ed.). The Guilford Press.
Shernoff, D. J., & Anderson, B. (2014). Enacting flow and student engagement in the college classroom. In A. C. Parks & S. M. Schueller (Eds.), The Wiley Blackwell handbook of positive psychological interventions (pp. 194–212). Wiley Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118315927.ch11.
Shernoff, D. J., Csikszentmihalyi, M., Shneider, B., & Shernoff, E. S. (2003). Student engagement in high school classrooms from the perspective of flow theory. School Psychology Quarterly, 18(2), 158–176. https://doi.org/10.1521/scpq.18.2.158.21860.
Shernoff, D. J., Ruzek, E. A., & Sinha, S. (2017). The influence of the high school classroom environment on learning as mediated by student engagement. School Psychology International, 38(2), 201–218. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143034316666413.
Shin, D. D., & Kim, S.-I. (2019). Home curious: curious or interested? Educational Psychology Review, 31(4), 853–874. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-019-09497-x.
Shulman, S., & Laursen, B. (2002). Adolescent perceptions of conflict in interdependent and disengaged friendships. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 12(3), 353–372. https://doi.org/10.1111/1532-7795.00037.
Sinatra, G. M., Heddy, B. C., & Lombardi, D. (2015). The challenges of defining and measuring student engagement in science. Educational Psychologist, 50(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2014.1002924.
Skinner, E. A., & Belmont, M. J. (1993). Motivation in the classroom: reciprocal effects of teacher behavior and student engagement across the school year. Journal of Educational Psychology, 85(4), 571–581. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.85.4.571.
Skinner, E., Furrer, C., Marchand, G., & Kindermann, T. (2008). Engagement and disaffection in the classroom: part of a larger motivational dynamic? Journal of Educational Psychology, 100(4), 765–781. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012840.
Skinner, E. A., Kindermann, T. A., & Furrer, C. J. (2009). A motivational perspective on engagement and disaffection: conceptualization and assessment of children’s behavioral and emotional participation in academic activities in the classroom. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 69(3), 493–525. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164408323233.
Steele, J. P., & Fullagar, C. J. (2009). Facilitators and outcomes of student engagement in a college setting. The Journal of Psychology, 143(1), 5–27. https://doi.org/10.3200/JRLP.143.1.5-27.
Tonks, S. M., Wigfield, A., & Eccles, J. S. (2018). Expectancy-value theory in cross-cultural perspective: what have we learned in the last 15 years? In G. A. D. Liem & D. M. Mclnerney (Eds.), Big theories revisited 2 (pp. 91–115). Information Age Publishing.
Trautwein, U., Lüdtke, O., Kastens, C., & Köller, O. (2006). Effort on homework in grades 5-9: development, motivational antecedents, and the association with effort on classwork. Child Development, 77(4), 1094–1111. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00921.x.
Tweed, R. G., & Lehman, D. R. (2002). Learning considered within a cultural context: Confucian and Socratic approaches. American Psychologist, 57(2), 89–99. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.57.2.89.
Upadyaya, K., & Salmela-Aro, K. (2013). Development of school engagement in association with academic success and well-being in varying social contexts: A review of empirical research. European Psychologist, 18(2), 136–147. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000143.
Voelkl, K. E. (1997). Identification with school. American Journal of Education, 105(3), 294–318. https://doi.org/10.1086/444158.
Waldrop, D., Reschly, A. L., Fraysier, K., & Appleton, J. J. (2019). Measuring the engagement of college students: administration format, structure, and validity of the Student Engagement Instrument–College. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 52(2), 90–107. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481756.2018.1497429.
Wammes, J. D., Seli, P., & Smilek, D. (2018). Mind-wandering in educational settings. In K. C. R. Fox & K. Christoff (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of spontaneous thought: Mind-wandering, creativity, and dreaming (pp. 259–271). Oxford University Press.
Wang, M.-T., Fredricks, J. A., Ye, F., Hofkens, T. L., & Linn, J. S. (2016). The Math and Science Engagement Scales: scale development, validation, and psychometric properties. Learning and Instruction, 43, 16–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2016.01.008.
Wang, M. T., Degol, J. L., & Henry, D. A. (2019a). An integrative development-in-sociocultural-context model for children’s engagement in learning. American Psychologist, 74(9), 1086–1102. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000522.
Wang, M.-T., Fredricks, J., Ye, F., Hofkens, T., & Linn, J. S. (2019b). Conceptualization and assessment of adolescents’ engagement and disengagement in school: a multidimensional school engagement scale. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 35(4), 592–606. https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759/a000431.
Wang, M.-T., Binning, K. R., Toro, J. D., Qin, X., & Zepeda, C. D. (2021). Skill, thrill, and will: the role of metacognition, interest, and self-control in predicting student Engagement in mathematics learning over time. Child Development. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13531.
Wentzel, K. R. (1999). Social-motivational processes and interpersonal relationships: implications for understanding motivation at school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91(1), 76–97. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.91.1.76.
Wentzel, K. R., Muenks, K., McNeish, D., & Russell, S. (2018). Emotional support, social goals, and classroom behavior: a multilevel, multisite study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 110(5), 611–627. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000239.
Yang, C., Bear, G. G., & May, H. (2018). Multilevel associations between school-wide social–emotional learning approach and student engagement across elementary, middle, and high schools. School Psychology Review, 47(1), 45–61. https://doi.org/10.17105/SPR-2017-0003.V47-1.
Yik, M., Russell, J. A., & Steiger, J. H. (2011). A 12-point circumplex structure of core affect. Emotion, 11(4), 705–731. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023980.
Zumbrunn, S., McKim, C., Buhs, E., & Hawley, L. R. (2014). Support, belonging, motivation, and engagement in the college classroom: a mixed method study. Instructional Science, 42(5), 661–684. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-014-9310-0.
Code Availability
Not applicable.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics Approval
This is a review paper; therefore, no ethical approval is required.
Consent to Participate
Not applicable.
Consent for Publication
Not applicable.
Competing Interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wong, Z.Y., Liem, G.A.D. Student Engagement: Current State of the Construct, Conceptual Refinement, and Future Research Directions. Educ Psychol Rev 34, 107–138 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-021-09628-3
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-021-09628-3