Student engagement in the middle years: Describing influences and possible teacher actions

This article proposes a model identifying some factors influencing student engagement in school, especially in middle years, and indicates possible foci for interventions to improve engagement and life opportunities. It argues that students' needs inform their goals, which in turn direct their beliefs about their capacity to influence their own futures, which then determine their orientation to learning. Teachers, and others, can intervene productively at each point.

Keywords: Engagement, Motivation, Needs, Goals, Mastery goals, Performance goals, Persistence, Effort