Developmental Trends in Student Engagment from a Flow Theory Perspective

ABSTRACT This study will compare elementary schoolers to high schoolers educational experience

It is hypothesized that students in the elementary level would report higher levels of academic engagement than students in the high school level due to the use of innovative methods in the elementary level This will be a mixed-methods study that will compare student experience using data that were collected through questionnaires , interviews , and the experience sampling method (ESM . The data from both samples (n 100 ) of the elementary and high school students will be analyzed to compare time use

, levels of student engagement , autonomy , relevance , the conditions for flow and feelings of belongingness

The analyses would employ hierarchical linear modeling (HLM ) to examine the impact of instructional method , quality educational experience and students ' educational level . Hence , it is hope that the quantitative and qualitative results will reveal that the students in the elementary level spend a greater amount of time in student-centered activities and reported higher levels of engagement both in school overall and specifically during lecture and independent study . Associations between autonomy , belongingness , and student engagement and suggest that the methods used in elementary schools are associated with higher levels of academic engagement

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF FLOW THEORY : A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS EXPERIENCE

IN ELEMENTARY AND HIGH SCHOOL CLASSROOMS

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY

Educational settings nowadays often provide students with abstract and decontextualized learning environments which provide little relevance and meaning . This persistent educational problem is what school psychologists are concerned about . Some of these problems include tardiness , absenteeism , failing classes , suspensions , and transitions between schools (Finn , 1989 . All of these problems may lead to the worst problem of all : dropping out of school . Nevertheless , those students who did not dropped out and managed to finish the required years of schooling also experienced these problems : boredom alienation , and disconnection with schooling (Larson Richards , 1991 .As the passive recipients of an education frequently characterized by routinized , dull , and boring instruction (Lee , Bryj Smith , 1992 , high school students report spending about half their class time (54 ) on independent work (individual work , tests , studying , taking notes ) and nearly one third (32 ) of their time sitting passively , listening to a lecture or watching a video . Students experience this time as significantly less challenging , less in their control , less enjoyable and less relevant to their future goals when compared with other school activities (Shernoff , Knauth Markis , 2000 . While school is often experienced as challenging , it is rarely experienced as challenging and enjoyable simultaneously . Only when involved in group discussion and other hands-on interactive tasks do students report both challenge and enjoyment however , these activities only consume a fraction (8 ) of student experience in the classroom (Shernoff , Csikszentmihalyi Schneider Shernoff , 2003 . Studies show that schools have evolved into large institutions that feel more like factories than families to students (Darling-Hammond et al , 2002 . But according to recent literature , those schools that features student-centered instruction focused on mastery of skills and knowledge rather than performance personalized instruction , democratic decision...