They take pride not simply in earning the formal indicators of success (grades and qualifications), but in understanding the material and incorporating or internalizing it in their lives.
"[6] Student engagement is also a usefully ambiguous term for the complexity of 'engagement' beyond the fragmented domains of cognition, behaviour, emotion or affect, and in doing so encompass the historically situated individual within their contextual variables (such as personal and familial circumstances) that at every moment influence how engaged an individual (or group) is in their learning.
[15][16] These researchers generally adopt a combination of psychological and socio-cultural perspectives to represent student engagement as three dimensions including affect, behavior, and cognition.
[21] There are several strategies for developing these relationships, including acknowledging student voice, increasing intergenerational equity and sustaining youth-adult partnerships throughout the learning environment.
[27] Engaged students show sustained behavioral involvement in learning activities accompanied by a positive emotional tone.
They select tasks at the border of their competencies, initiate action when given the opportunity, and exert intense effort and concentration in the implementation of learning tasks; they show generally positive emotions during ongoing action, including enthusiasm, optimism, curiosity, and interest.
A high level of engagement results in better learning, and the learner will be emotionally connected, feel satisfied with the course and the institution.
Disaffected students are passive, do not try hard, and give up easily in the face of challenges... [they can] be bored, depressed, anxious, or even angry about their presence in the classroom; they can be withdrawn from learning opportunities or even rebellious towards teachers and classmates.
Research by Fletcher identifies eight different ways student engagement is affected through these internal and external factors, including manipulation and equity.
The second internal factor is cognitive engagement, which concerns the student's mental processes of paying attention and pushing themselves past their expectations.
The last factor deals with the student's positive or negative experience of learning, and is called emotional-affective engagement.
Literacy resources and translators will help to make these connections between school and family for these students and aid in their engagement.
It is vital to consider sociocultural factors when observing the engagement behavior of youths of color, because they experience intergenerational oppression, discrimination, and socioeconomic inequality.
[39] Environmental stressors, predicted by both race-ethnicity and SES, play a large role in student engagement.
Children from poor or low socioeconomic households may experience a disruption in family functioning due to economic hardships and financial strains, and children from low SES neighborhoods and communities of color (specifically black, Native American, and Latino) experience more stressors due to their surroundings.
[44] Critical educators have raised concerns that definitions and assessments of student engagement are often exclusive to the values represented by dominant groups within the learning environment where the analysis is conducted.
"[50] The body of literature concerning college student athletes and how they spend their time has increased in recent years.
[50] For a student-athlete, personal development, a necessary ingredient to leading a successful life, includes participation in activities outside the sphere of one's sport and interaction with non-athletes.
A trend in results developed as well; freshman student athletes proved to be more socially outgoing than senior student-athletes who admitted to spending more time with teammates.
[54] Some literature that attempts to explain student athlete involvement in extracurricular activities looks at factors such as the profile of the sport, the educational, social, economic and cultural background of athletes and characteristics of the institution, which may or may not support and foster student-athletes' involvement in groups and clubs outside of their team.
"[53] Many studies have shown that "on average, student athletes are as engaged in most educationally purposeful activities as their peers.
[64] By being part of a group taking the same classes, students show an increase in academic performance and collaborative skills.
[66] One method that has been gaining popularity in university teaching is the creation or encouragement of learning communities (Zhao and Kuh 2004).
Within learning communities, students are able to interact with peers who share similar interests and stimulate conversation about the topic.
Students that are a part of such communities are therefore able to generate and construct their knowledge and understanding through inquisitive conversations with peers, as opposed to being given information by the instructor.
This type of engagement in the field leads to a deep understanding of the material and gives the student a personal connection to the topic (Zhao and Kuh 2004).
Connected learning environments allow students to be embedded in social networks and communities of different interests and expertise that they can call upon for help, feedback, and mentorship.
Connected learning environments are characterized by their "low barriers to entry and a multiplicity of roles, ways of participating, and improving and gaining expertise.
"[67] The goal of connected learning is to integrate the peer culture, academics, and interests in the way that each individual student is best reached.
[68] The J. Erik Jonsson Community School (3 year-old-5th grade) in Dallas, TX has a simple formula for success: "Powerful Pedagogy + trusting relationships = student engagement" (Journal of Staff Development, 2008).