The role of engagement in inspiring teaching and learning

The aim of the paper is to integrate notions of the improvement of student learning through a focus on the concept of engagement, and adds to that broader discussion through a recent empirical study of the perceptions of students gathered through a case study in a UK university. It is proposed that student engagement lies on a continuum from disengaged to engaged, and also exists at a number of levels within which the same student may exhibit different degrees of engagement. We argue that if the built-in alienating influences within higher education are to be countered, multi-faceted engagement is required. Learners, we conclude, are more likely to engage if they in turn are supported by teaching staff who engage with: students, with the subject, and with the teaching process, and furthermore that the classroom teacher requires support in achieving this.