Engagement in Health Education: Just a Fairy Tale?

Abstract

Engagement is increasingly used to describe students’ involvement and investment within their learning environments. Student engagement continues to be part of the student achievement conversation in Saskatchewan. The purpose of this study is to examine what constitutes engaged learning for grade 8 health education students and to develop a deeper understanding of how a teacher plans for and supports student engagement in health education. This single case study is guided by two research questions: How do students understand engagement? How can a grade 8 teacher plan for and support student engagement in health education?

Drawing on the method of case studies, this study will seek to understand how a teacher plans for and supports student engagement in a grade 8 health education class. Case study research is not limited to a single source of data (Yin, 2012). Thus, multiple sources of data were used in this study, including a student questionnaire, four direct observations of classroom teaching and learning, five teacher interviews, seven student focus-group discussions with 22 of the 24 grade 8 students, and a personal research journal. This research allowed for direct observation of events being studied and interviews of the people involved in the events. This real-life context provided a depth and breadth for rich descriptions. Grounded theory analysis techniques were used to code and compare ideas as main themes emerged from both the interviews and the focus group.

As determined from the data, students understood engagement to be learning that was enjoyable and purposeful, with teachers who were likeable.