Both students and teachers want more engagement

Students do not lack the will to have more influence on teaching. 42 percent of students in fourth to ninth grade would like to be engaged more. Only one in five (19 percent) do not want more engagement. See Figure 1.

This is shown in a new study from Danish School Students and Egmont.

“It’s really great that we get to share our opinions about things, and that there is a chance it might then be changed,” says a student in eighth grade.

The desire for more engagement is strongest among those who already feel engaged. This suggests that students gain the courage to take part in more engagement once they have experienced it.

A student in seventh grade puts it this way: “Andreas does it a lot. Yesterday he asked me and my friend what we should do at the end of the Danish lesson, and we chose Kahoot. Other teachers don’t ask as much. I would really like all teachers to be a bit more like Andreas.”

The study shows that there are no significant differences in how much students feel engaged when comparing schools with weaker and stronger socioeconomic profiles. In other words, the fact that students at a school, on average, come from a weaker socioeconomic background is no barrier to student engagement.

Teachers would also like to engage students more

Students’ wish for increased engagement is supported by their own teachers. Although many teachers assess that students are satisfied with the current level of engagement, most teachers (61 percent) would like to give them “much more influence” than they have today. Only 8 percent of teachers do not want to give students much more influence.

In the interviews, several teachers express that when student engagement increases students’ commitment, it also has a positive effect on the teachers’ own professional satisfaction, job satisfaction and sense of meaning in teaching.

However, several teachers mention that it can be difficult to increase student engagement, partly because of very fixed requirements in some subjects and a focus on tests and exams, especially in the oldest classes.

Agreement on the teacher’s responsibility

Students’ wish for more engagement does not mean that they want to control the teaching themselves or take over the teacher’s responsibility for it. Only one in ten students (10 percent) disagree that it is a good thing that the teacher has the overall responsibility and makes the final decisions about teaching. More than half agree with this. See Figure 2.

Students generally ask for better opportunities to have influence within clear frameworks.

“I think it’s probably quite positive that our teacher is the one who decides. Because I wouldn’t really know which novel is worth reading. And if I could decide entirely by myself, I probably wouldn’t read a novel at all. So I think that kind of thing is perfectly fine to let the teachers decide,” says a student in eighth grade.

The same approach to student engagement is reflected among both teachers and school leaders:

“It is important to talk to students about what it actually means when we say student engagement. It can be compared a bit to looking in the fridge and saying to your children: ‘These are the five dishes we can choose to make — which one would you like today?’ But that does not mean they can instead just decide that we should order pizza,” explains a teacher.

Or, in the words of a school leader: “It is important that the adult is the captain. And once that has been established as the foundation, you can give students the opportunity to have their ideas heard. But the adults need to be the adults.”

Good student engagement requires structure and classroom management

In the interviews, students also point out that the culture in the class is crucial for good student engagement. It is especially important that the teacher sets clear frameworks and creates a calm and safe classroom community where everyone dares to express their opinion. Students also highlight a good relationship between students and teacher as important for giving them the courage to take the opportunity to help shape the teaching.

Just over half of the students’ own teachers (53 percent) feel equipped to engage students in teaching. However, a large group of 37 percent call for more knowledge and inspiration in this area.

Teachers themselves emphasise that engaging students well requires professional consideration and good classroom management. Among other things, it must be clearly framed what students are given influence on. And the engagement must be designed in a way that matches students’ different circumstances and prerequisites. See also the fact box: Teachers’ six pieces of advice for better engagement.

Several teachers call for a more shared pedagogical dialogue about student engagement in individual subjects. Among other things, they point to the need for organisational structures that can support their collaboration on good student engagement.

Teachers express that school leadership supports them and gives them considerable professional freedom to engage students in ways that make sense in the individual class. At the same time, some teachers call for a clearer shared direction, so that the use of student engagement does not become so dependent on the individual teacher.

Teachers’ six pieces of advice for better engagement

1. Offer few and clear choices: Define the framework and let students choose within it. Clear choices strengthen both structure and participation.

2. Make it clear when students have had influence: Be explicit when student input is used — and also explain when it cannot be accommodated.

3. Use input professionally and selectively: Use students’ suggestions when they are academically relevant and can strengthen the teaching.

4. Be brave — and learn from what does not succeed: Try out new approaches, even when the outcome is not given in advance.

5. Create flexibility in planning: Make room to deviate from the annual plan when students’ ideas prove academically meaningful.

6. Make it practical and sustainable: Work with concrete approaches that can be implemented in a busy everyday school life.

The advice is an analytical summary across interviews with 21 teachers. In the report on the study, the advice is presented in a slightly longer form — together with corresponding advice from the students and school leaders interviewed.