Student engagement can strengthen students’ democratic confidence
Students who feel involved in the planning of teaching do not only have higher democratic confidence. They are also more motivated, have higher well-being at school and greater academic confidence. Nevertheless, more than one in three students feel that they are only engaged to a low degree in the planning of teaching, a new study shows.
There is a clear positive correlation between the extent to which students are involved in the planning of teaching and a number of characteristics associated with a good school experience. This is shown in a new study among students, teachers and school leaders conducted by Epinion for Egmont and Danish School Students. See the fact box about the study.
For example, half, 50 percent, of all students who experience a high level of engagement have high democratic confidence at school. Among students who experience a low level of engagement, this applies to only 10 percent. See Figure 1.
Democratic confidence at school means that students feel able to express their opinions, be heard and have influence on matters related to teaching and the class. In short, it means that they believe their views can contribute to shared decisions and dialogue in teaching.
In the interviews with students, many of them express directly that the opportunity to influence teaching strengthens their courage to participate in lessons and increases their belief that they can make a difference:
“I’m left with the experience that I feel heard and that I’m taken seriously. That they really listen and respect what I say. It gives me this happy feeling inside,” says a student in fifth grade.
The majority of their teachers (63 percent) say that student influence on teaching is, to a high or very high degree, important for strengthening students’ democratic confidence.
“It is a form of democratic formation — being listened to. The fact that they meet adults here who take them seriously, I actually think that is quite important for Denmark having the social cohesion that we have,” says a teacher.
Stronger motivation, confidence and well-being at school
Students who feel engaged also have a significantly greater desire to engage in schoolwork because they find it interesting and meaningful in itself — known as intrinsic motivation.
Among students who experience a high level of engagement in the planning of teaching, 74 percent have high intrinsic motivation. Among students who experience a low level of engagement, this applies to only 24 percent. See Figure 2.
Two out of three of their teachers (65 percent), say that student engagement often increases students’ engagement, perseverance and sense of ownership.
“They feel more motivated. I can see that they read more when they have helped choose the book themselves. In general, they are more motivated when it is an assignment they have chosen themselves than when I simply give everyone the same assignment,” explains a teacher.
This is confirmed by a student in ninth grade: “I feel that when I help choose a topic, or how I would like to work, it helps me remember it better. I also feel that it gives me more motivation and discipline to get done what I need to do. I make an effort with it.”
There is the same positive correlation between the level of engagement and both students’ academic confidence and their well-being at school. See Figure 3.
Seven out of ten students (70 percent) who experience a high level of student engagement have high academic confidence. This means that they believe in their own academic abilities, for example their ability to understand assignments in teaching and manage the academic work at school. This applies to only three out of ten students (28 percent) who experience a low level of student engagement.
The relationship between the groups is almost the same when it comes to well-being at school. This refers to students’ experience of feeling good at school, being happy, feeling safe and feeling that they belong to a community. Two out of three students (67 percent) who feel engaged in the planning of teaching have high well-being at school. This applies to only one in five students who do not feel engaged (21 percent).
These positive correlations between, on the one hand, engagement and, on the other hand, well-being at school, motivation, academic confidence and democratic confidence are strong, regardless of whether students attend a school with low or high socioeconomic status. This status is calculated based on the school’s overall student population and includes factors such as gender as well as parents’ education and income.
The analysis of the questionnaire responses does not prove that a high level of engagement is the cause of the above-mentioned characteristics of a good school experience. However, the qualitative analysis of the interviews with students, teachers and school leaders supports the conclusion that student engagement in the planning of teaching plays a direct and positive role in students’ democratic confidence, motivation, well-being at school and academic confidence.
Only few students feel engaged
In light of these positive correlations, it is notable that only one in six students (17 percent) feel engaged in teaching to a high or very high degree. 37 percent experience this to a low or very low degree. A large middle group of 46 percent feel engaged “to a medium degree”. This may mean that they experience it in some subjects, in some lessons and with some teachers, as many students express in the qualitative interviews. See Figure 4.
In lower secondary school, 43 percent of students experience a low level of engagement — compared with only 30 percent at intermediate level. In the interviews, students and teachers point out that the difference may be due to teaching in the oldest classes being more focused on final exams. It may also be because older students have higher expectations of being engaged, which they do not feel are being met.
Teachers generally believe that they engage students more in teaching than the students themselves express. Three out of four teachers assess that they engage students to a high or very high degree.
As an explanation for this difference, the study points, among other things, to the fact that teachers and students have slightly different views on what counts as engagement. For students, engagement should preferably be concrete and noticeable in everyday school life. For teachers, it may also consist of more indirect consideration of students’ wishes. Several teachers also say themselves that they do not always make it clear how students’ input helps shape the teaching.
How student engagement was measured
Section 18(4) of the Danish ”Folkeskole” Act states, among other things:
“The determination of working methods, teaching approaches and choice of subject matter must, as far as possible, take place in cooperation between teachers, educators and students.”
In the study, student engagement is calculated as a combined scale based on the following four questions:
I can often choose between different ways of solving an assignment
I can influence which topics are worked with in teaching.
I can influence which books and materials are used in teaching.
I think that teaching takes my interests as its starting point.
How the study was conducted
The study is based on responses from students in Grade 4-9, as well as their own teachers and school leaders from 18 schools across Denmark. In total, 1,511 students, 71 teachers and 16 school leaders completed the questionnaires. In addition, interviews were conducted with 26 students, 21 teachers and 14 school leaders to elaborate on and add nuance to the results.
The study focuses on students’ experience of being engaged in the planning of teaching, and on how this engagement correlates with their democratic confidence, motivation, well-being at school and academic confidence. All correlations mentioned in the article are statistically significant, and they are not due to differences in gender, grade level or the school’s socioeconomic student profile (calculated using the method of the Danish Ministry of Children and Education).
The study was conducted by Epinion for Danish School Students and Egmont. Data was collected in the period from December 2025 to February 2026.
The results have been interpreted with input from an advisory group consisting of representatives from the Danish Children’s Council, the Danish Union of Teachers, Local Government Denmark (KL), the Danish Association of School Leaders, UNICEF Denmark and Thomas Illum Hansen, Head of Research at UCL University College.
The full study and a thorough account of the methodology can be found at www.egmont.com/key-figures-reports