Tapping the Voices of Learners for Authentic Student Engagement Bryan Bronn University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
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University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ScholarWorks@UARK Theses and Dissertations 5-2018 Tapping the Voices of Learners for Authentic Student Engagement Bryan Bronn University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd Part of the Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Educational Leadership Commons, and the Secondary Education Commons Recommended Citation Bronn, Bryan, "Tapping the Voices of Learners for Authentic Student Engagement" (2018). Theses and Dissertations. 2660. http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/2660 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Tapping the Voices of Learners for Authentic Student Engagement A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership by Bryan R. Bronn Southwest Baptist University Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies, 1989 NOVA Southeastern University Master of Science in Education, 2005 Lindenwood University Educational Specialist, 2012 May 2018 University of Arkansas This dissertation is approved for recommendation to the Graduate Council. John C. Pijanowski. Ph.D. Dissertation Director Ed Bengtson, Ph.D. Kara Lasater, Ed.D. Committee Member Committee Member Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the problem of practice of the decline in student engagement from the perceptions of secondary school learners as they proceed throughout their educational experience. According to researchers, learners who are engaged— meaning those who are committed and connected in active relationships with teachers, other learners, the learning environment, learning interests and ideas, the curriculum, and learning goals, are more likely to enjoy and be in control of their own learning [student agency]. This study is significant because of its potential to provide new understandings of the problem of a decline in student engagement from the perceptions of learners themselves. Therefore, this study qualitatively explored a purposeful sample of secondary school learners’ perceptions regarding the phenomenon of student engagement during their secondary school experience. The purpose of a phenomenological qualitative research approach is to understand and describe the essence of some phenomenon by capturing the common experience of the phenomenon among a group of research participants. Subsequently, meaning can be constructed out of the common experience of the group. By listening to the voices of learners, a greater understanding could be developed for confronting the life-altering concern of a lack of student engagement in learning during the secondary school experience. Since researchers have found student engagement in school can transfer to academic, emotional, economic, and social success in school, college, career, and life, understanding what personally engages learners holds significant weight for all students. Gaining a clearer picture in the local context of what engages secondary students from the perceptions of learners could provide a deeper understanding for establishing access to personalized student learning environments, experiences, and opportunities. ©2018 by Bryan Bronn All Rights Reserved Acknowledgements I am indebted to my wife, Paula, for her ongoing encouragement, help, perseverance, and support through my three years of learning, researching, and writing. I am indebted to my professors in the University of Arkansas Graduate School of Education for adopting the signature pedagogy of identifying and framing a local problem of practice as the basis of study for the doctoral program. Without such a framework and the effective training of these scholars in expanding my thinking and developing my research study skills, I would not have been able to understand sufficiently a local problem of practice. The expectation of the professors for our cohort to rise to a level of scholarly research and to commit to the habits of heart, hands, and mind of a practitioner scholar, will benefit my educational leadership throughout my remaining years of service. The rigor, relevance, and relationships our professors provided throughout the doctoral cohort’s coursework and subsequent dissertation hours were outstanding. I am also indebted to the secondary school student learners of this school district for their willingness to serve as research participants in this study. I greatly appreciate their commitment of time to share and make sense of their lived experiences of engagement. What began for each student learner as an invitation to interview as a possible research candidate, followed by their own and their parents’ consent to participate in a series of individual and focus group interviews, ensued by their commitment of time for collecting their perceived experiences of engagement based on the Continuum of Engagement (Appendix C), and lastly, member-checking their transcribed interview data for authenticity, resulted in a body of evidence which I am hopeful will be their legacy for helping understand and remedy the local problem of practice of a lack of engagement among secondary school student learners. Dedication This dissertation in practice study is dedicated to the community committed to learning at the research context school district. From our school board, to the superintendents, to my fellow principals, and finally, to the collaborative, hardworking, hopeful, innovative, inquiring, and loving teachers of our school district, I dedicate this study to you for your desire to be the best possible influence on our student learners. Particularly, I thank the teachers and staff at the junior high for their unwavering support and encouragement to undertake this study for the high purpose of student success. Lastly and most importantly, I dedicate this study to our district’s student learners as well as to student learners throughout our nation and around the world, hopeful the voices of learners will be recognized as significant cultural change agents in schools. Table of Contents CHAPTER 1: Introduction……………………………………………………………………….1 Problem Statement………………………………………………………………………...3 Focus on Instructional and/or Systemic Issues……………………………………………4 Is Directly Observable…………………………………………………………………….5 Is Actionable ……………………………………………………………………………...6 Connects to a Broader Strategy of Improvement………………………………………….7 Is High Leverage…………………………………………………………………………..8 Research Questions………………………………………………………………………10 Overview of Methodology………………………………………………………….........10 Positionality……………………………………………………………………………...11 Researcher’s Role………………………………………………………………..12 Assumptions……………………………………………………………………...13 Definition of Key Terms…………………………………………………………………14 Organization of the Dissertation…………………………………………………………16 CHAPTER 2: Literature Review………………………………………………………………..17 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………...17 Review of Literature……………………………………………………………………..18 Overview………………………………………………………………………................19 Engagement........................................................................................…................20 Transactional View of Engagement……………………………………………...24 Definition of Engagement………………………………………………………..36 The Importance of Engagement………………………………………………….38 Summary of Subsection Related to the Problem of Practice……………….........42 Motivation………………………………………………………………....……..43 Self-determination Theory……………………………………………………….44 Additional Motivation Theories………………………………………………….46 Expectancy-value Theory………………………………………………………..46 Self-regulation Theory…………………………………………………………...49 Summary of Subsection Related to the Problem of Practice……..……………...50 Voice……………………………………………………………………………..50 Summary of Subsection Related to the Problem of Practice…………………….52 Conceptual Framework…………………………………………………………………..52 Summary…………..……………………………………………………………………..58 CHAPTER 3: Inquiry Methods…………………………………………………………………60 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………...60 Rationale…………………………………………………………………………………61 Problem Setting/Context………………………………………………………………...63 Research Sample and Data Sources……………………………………………………...66 Data Collection Methods………………………………………………………………...67 Data Analysis Methods…………………………………………………………………..71 Trustworthiness…………………………………………………………………………..75 Limitations and Delimitations……………………………………………………………80 Summary…………………………………………………………………………………81 CHAPTER 4: Presentation of the Data and Discussion………………………………………...83 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………....83 Research Question One Results………………………………………………………….87 Research Question Two Results…………………………………………………………88 Research Question Three Results………………………………………………………..89 Research Question Four Results……………………………………………………........89 Two Themes of Student Engagement……………………………………………………91 Theme One: The Rung of Compliance as Engagement…………………………91 Passivity………………………………………………………………………….94 Disinterested……………………………………………………………………..96 Boredom………………………………………………………………………...100 Controlled………………………………………………………………………104 Summary of Theme One………………………………………………………..109 Theme Two: The Rung of Connection as Engagement………………………..110 The Importance of the Teacher…………………………………………………112 Freedom and Responsibility Opportunities…………………………………….119 Guidance and Support Relationships…………………………………………...131 Purpose and Relevance…………………………………………………………141 Summary………………………………………………………………………………..150