Student Momentary Engagement in the Life Course: A Sociocultural Developmental Perspective

• In Event: Fostering Engagement for All: Advancing Socioculturally Inclusive Theory, Research, and Practice in Student Engagement

Abstract

Educators who aim to support student learning and development need to understand why and how students engage momentarily in academic tasks at various developmental levels. Doing so will help educators improve task design, create more supportive learning situations, and provide better guidance to the students in their classes. Of particular interest is learning about the momentary engagement behaviors of students who struggle to regulate their motivation. Despite its importance to many fields, momentary engagement remains difficult to explain (Symonds et al., 2024). Researchers still lack empirically tested models and the measurement that show how motivation, emotion, cognition, and behavior interact in real time during educational tasks that shape engagement. Because of this gap, no single resource can adequately guide practice. Therefore, we offer a refined theoretical perspective on momentary engagement based on recent literature and our own international studies, with specific examples from a case study in rural Sierra Leone. We took a conceptual approach to review and synthesize key studies and theories. We extracted core elements and developed a richer, more integrated perspective. Our review of the literature allowed us to find that culturally meaningful and developmentally appropriate tasks boost momentary engagement. We also found that key transitions during the life course, such as moving from one educational level to another or entering the workforce, have important implications for momentary engagement. Therefore, momentary engagement plays a powerful role in shaping students’ life trajectories and deserves greater attention in both policy and practice.

The presentation will highlight the following provocative/novel insights:
● Teachers, students, and classroom settings interact to create the conditions for momentary engagement to emerge and be sustained. Tasks should be carefully designed to promote momentary engagement through student engagement by harnessing cultural norms and values.
● When tasks have visible structure and clear goals, students can better anticipate positive experiences. This clarity allows them to engage in the moment more fully, as they connect their motivation, emotions, thinking, and actions with potential rewards in their environment or social world.
● Transitions create opportunities for students to develop engagement skills and lasting habits. These patterns, once established, help students gain access to important resources, especially those who face vulnerabilities.

Authors

• Jennifer Symonds, University College London

• Benjamin M. Torsney, Temple University

• Ioannis Katsantonis, University of Cambridge

• Natassa Kyriakopoulou, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

• Jonathan Smith, Université de Sherbrooke