Engaged students achieve excellence!

What does student engagement mean?

Do your students come to school motivated to learn? Do they feel welcome and accepted? Are they challenged? All of these elements form part of student engagement, which are referred to as social, intellectual and institutional engagement. Student engagement is defined as “a disposition towards learning, working with others, and functioning in a social institution.”1 It sits alongside academic achievement and student well-being as a key outcome of schooling.

Uncover barriers to learning

Create school improvement plans based on leading indicator data

Monitor progress and initiatives year over year

Why is understanding the level of engagement so important?

Engagement and learning go hand-in-hand. Signs of disengagement can develop in kindergarten and can serve as a warning system for intervention. A low sense of belonging at school, poor social behaviours, and a lack of interest in school work are early markers of school withdrawal. These issues can exacerbate over time, negatively affecting a students’ ability to develop the skills they need to succeed at school.

How does OurSCHOOL provide the results you need to increase student engagement?

The OurSCHOOL Student Survey provides the data you need to monitor the key markers of engagement at your school. In-depth reporting is available alongside a Student Engagement Report to help you identify evidence-based intervention and improvement strategies to increase the engagement and well-being of your students.

OurSCHOOL Student Engagement Measures

The OurSCHOOL Student Survey includes ten measures of engagement, categorized as social, institutional and intellectual engagement.

Social Engagement:

Do your students feel supported and respected at school? Being actively involved in the life of the school, making friends and participating in extra-curricular activities is a long-standing approach to measuring student engagement.1 Find out from your students if your school has an inclusive school climate that fosters a strong sense of belonging, such that all students feel accepted and respected.

Institutional Engagement:

Do your students feel that what they are learning is related to long term success? Students who value schooling outcomes and meet the formal rules of schooling are considered institutionally engaged. Monitor your students’ attendance, study habits and classroom behaviour to assess whether your students are simply complying with school expectations to achieve success or whether they are developing into life-long learners.

Intellectual Engagement:

Are your students engaged and motivated to learn? Intellectual engagement requires “a serious emotional and cognitive investment in learning, using higher-order thinking skills to increase understanding, solve complex problems, and construct new knowledge.”2
Use the OurSCHOOL data to find out if your students are being appropriately challenged in the classroom and are motivated to learn.

Aim to achieve high level of well-being in all students

Provide students with the environment to develop a positive sense of belonging

Embrace diversity, inclusion and equity in the classroom

1 Willms, J. D. (2003). Student engagemen t at school: A sense of belonging and participation. Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
2 Willms, J. D., Friesen, S. & Milton, P. (2009). What did you do in school today? Transforming classrooms through social, academic, and intellectual engagement (First National Report). Toronto: Canadian
Education Association