Student engagement: A complex business supporting the first year experience in tertiary education

Abstract

At the heart of this paper is the idea that student engagement is a complex business. It examines a number of conceptual engagement frameworks that show how this complexity can enhance the first year experience of students in higher education. Eight propositions emerge from the complexity. Some are present in all conceptual frameworks; others feature only in a few or are implied rather than stated. But each offers some suggestions for teachers and institutions to engage students. Some propositions will look familiar. Chief among these are propositions that offer practical ways to improve engagement in the first year. But other propositions emerge from less well harvested research fields. They emphasise the importance of discipline knowledge, student wellbeing, outside influences on student learning and flexibility in the face of changing student expectations. But overarching the eight propositions is the realisation that so many of the ideas produced by engagement researchers are generic. It is up to teachers and institutions to interpret and shape such ideas for specific and unique contexts, subjects and, most importantly, learners.