A Culturally Responsive Definition of Student Engagement: A Malaysian School Perspective

• In Event: Supporting Underrepresented Learners in Schools

Abstract

This study explores teachers’ conceptualization of student engagement in a Malaysian school context. A culturally responsive understanding of engagement is useful in promoting and sustaining the level and quality of engagement amongst students. Designed as a two-part exploratory study, the first phase consists of semi-structured interviews with 22 teachers, followed by an online survey which captures four teachers’ detailed comments on the cultural appropriateness of questions relating to student engagement. The Malaysian teachers described student engagement as a complex construct comprised of behavioral, emotional, cognitive and social aspects. Further, the data showed that engagement is contextual and highly relational. These culturally nuanced insights from teachers offer a unique Malaysian perspective to the engagement discourse.

Authors

• Katina Tan, The University of Melbourne

• Janet Clinton, University of Melbourne

• Mark R. Wilson, University of California - Berkeley