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Substantial recent focus has been placed upon the competitiveness of American students in increasingly global economies and entrepreneurial enterprises. As concerns center on students' educational preparedness and their efforts at continued learning, researchers acknowledge the importance of student engagement with school. In order to foster engaged learners, teachers must be able to determine and monitor their students' levels of engagement. The current study examined the alignment of perceptions of engagement by students, teachers, and outside observers across middle and high school mathematics and science classrooms. Results indicated significant teacher-student differences in perceptions of student cognitive engagement across mathematics and science classrooms with teachers consistently perceiving higher levels than students. Moreover, most effect sizes were moderate to large. A subsequent multi-level analysis indicated that while teacher perceptions of student cognitive engagement were somewhat predictive of student reported cognitive engagement, academic engagement ratings by outside observers were not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construct of student engagement is increasingly prevalent in the held of education, serving as the foundation of dropout prevention and high school reform initiatives. The purpose of this study was to further examine I measure of student engagement, the Student Engagement Instrument (SEI), designed to measure 2 subtypes of student engagement: cognitive and affective. This research extended the initial validation work on the SEI by examining score reliability and factorial invariance across grades and gender. Students (N = 2,416) were sampled from school districts in the rural Southeast and Upper Midwest of the United States. Results indicated similar factor structure, equal score reliability, and similar latent factor relationships across all grades. Evidence supported the contention that the SEI may be used at the middle and high school levels to measure cognitive and affective subtypes of student engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research supports the connection between engagement, achievement, and school behavior across levels of economic and social advantage and disadvantage. Despite increasing interest and scientific findings, a number of interrelated conceptual and methodological issues must be addressed to advance this construct, particularly for designing data-supported interventions that promote school completion and enhanced educational outcomes for all students. Of particular concern is the need to (a) develop consensus on the name of the construct, (b) identify reliable measures of the dimensions of the construct, and (c) complete the construct validation studies needed to move research and intervention forward. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review of relevant literatures led to the construction of a self-report instrument designed to measure two subtypes of student engagement with school: cognitive and psychological engagement. The psychometric properties of this measure, the Student Engagement Instrument (SEI), were assessed based on responses of an ethnically and economically diverse urban sample of 1931 ninth grade students. Factor structures were obtained using exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) on half of the dataset, with model fit examined using confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) on the other half of the dataset. The model displaying the best empirical fit consisted of six factors, and these factors correlated with expected educational outcomes. Further research is suggested in the iterative process of developing the SEI, and the implications of these findings are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Grade retention is an intervention that has received increasing scrutiny as policies, practices, and results of research diverge. This longitudinal study examines the reading growth trajectories of students (n =147) from first- through eighth-grade. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analytic procedures provide unique insights regarding the relative reading growth curves among retained students, similarly achieving but promoted students, and a random sample of students. The results revealed that retained students did not experience a benefit in their growth rate (relative to either the preceding year, or to similarly performing but promoted students), and made less progress compared to the randomly selected group of students. While consistent with the extant empirical evidence failing to support the effectiveness of grade retention, these findings warrant careful consideration given both the longitudinal design and the analytic procedures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Theories of student engagement for dropout and school completion are proposed to begin as early as age five. Student engagement in elementary-age students has been linked to school completion, post-secondary education, and achievement. However, there is little research examining patterns and profiles of student engagement in this population. In an effort to provide more individualized support and intervention, work in the field of student engagement has begun to examine profiles of student engagement and disengagement or disaffection. This study explored the identification of distinguishable groups based on student engagement in a sample of third-grade students and those groups' associations with demographic and outcome variables. Consistent with findings of research with older students, four distinct profiles of student engagement were found for males and females: Engaged, Cognitively/Affectively Disengaged, Behaviorally Disengaged, Disaffected. An additional class characterized by high absences was found for males. Demographic characteristics were associated with cluster attributes for males (Free or Reduced Lunch, special education, English Learner, and race-ethnicity) and female (El status). Cluster affiliation was significantly associated with seventh grade Math and Language Arts grades for both males and females and absences for males. Implications and future directions for research are discussed. The findings from the current study indicate there are discernible classes of student engagement and disengagement that can be identified as early as the third grade. These results may aid in the early identification of those at risk for dropping out of school and more effectively link students to targeted early interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early warning systems use school record data--such as attendance rate, behavior records, and course performance--to identify students at risk of dropping out. These are useful predictors of graduation-related outcomes, in large part because they indicate a student's level of engagement with school. However, these data do not indicate how invested students are in education--information that could help school counselors and other staff understand and intervene when students are falling off the path to graduation. To examine whether student engagement surveys have additional predictive value beyond data readily available in school databases, we followed a cohort of students, who completed a survey of cognitive/affective engagement as ninth graders, to one year beyond their expected high school graduation. Some engagement factors measured by the survey met rigorous tests of predictive value in terms of identifying which students were falling off the graduation path, even when controlling for other powerful predictors of the outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fredrickson's (1998, 2001) broaden and build theory postulates that the experience of frequent positive emotions serves to broaden humans' thoughts and behaviors, resulting in accrual of resources, including coping resources, which catalyze upward spirals toward future well-being. Initial research supports the tenets of broaden and build; however, few if any, studies have examined this theory with children or adolescents, particularly in the context of school experiences. This study explored the role of positive emotions during school, coping, and student engagement among a sample of 293 students in grades 7 to 10. As expected, frequent positive emotions during school were associated with higher levels of student engagement and negative emotions with lower levels of engagement. Positive emotions, but not negative emotions, were associated with adaptive coping, which was then associated with student engagement. The association between positive emotions and engagement was partially mediated by adaptive coping. Results support the broaden and build theory and the role of positive emotions in students' engagement at school and with learning. Implications and future directions for research are discussed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Student Engagement Instrument–College version (SEI–C) with college students in the southeastern United States. Participants self-selected paper-and-pencil or online administration. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a modified 5-factor structure. Measurement invariance of the modified 5-factor structure of the SEI–C was assessed across the paper-and-pencil and online samples. Full configural, full metric, partial scalar, and full residual variance invariance were established. The paper-and-pencil and online data were aggregated, and correlational analyses between the 5 SEI–C factors and the 4 higher order factors of the Motivation and Engagement Scale–University/College (MES–UC) provided evidence of convergent and divergent validity. All but 1 of the 20 correlations were statistically significant, and all correlations were in the expected direction. Overall, there is evidence to suggest the appropriateness of extending the SEI upward for use with college students and for collecting data via online or paper-and-pencil administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early school withdrawal, commonly referred to as dropout, is associated with a plethora of negative outcomes for students, schools, and society. Student engagement, however, presents as a promising theoretical model and cornerstone of school completion interventions. The purpose of the present study was to validate the Student Engagement Instrument--Elementary Version (SEI-E). The psychometric properties of this measure were assessed based on the responses of an ethnically diverse sample of 1,943 students from an urban locale. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the 4-factor model of student engagement provided the best fit for the current data, which is divergent from previous SEI studies suggesting 5- and 6-factor models. Discussion and implications of these findings are presented in the context of student engagement and dropout prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract. Research examining the effectiveness of grade retention has provided overwhelming and seemingly irrefutable evidence that grade retention is an ineffective and potentially harmful practice. However, proponents of grade retention often advocate that retention in the early elementary grades (e.g., kindergarten, first and second grade) is the justified exception. This longitudinal study examined the reading growth trajectories of students (n = 49) from first through eighth grade. Hierarchical linear modeling analytic procedures provided novel insights regarding the relative reading growth trajectories among retained students, comparing those students retained in kindergarten through second grade with those students retained in Grades 3-6. The results revealed that the growth trajectories of students retained early (Grades K--2) were comparable to those retained later (Grades 3-5). These findings failed to support the efficacy of retention at an earlier grade in elementary school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]