Measuring student engagement: findings from the Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE)

Surveys for Enhancement Conference

National College for School Leadership, Nottingham

19 May 2011

Ali RadloffAustralian Council for Educational Research (ACER)ausse@acer.edu.au

Elite

MassUniversal

Little data available on university students

Focus on satisfaction & retention data

Focus on effectiveness data

Why measure student engagement?

And what is student engagement?

A student-centred perspective that reflects the wide range of academic and non-academic interactions that students have with their institution

Individuals learn and develop through behavioural,cognitive and affective involvement with key educational practices

People learn and develop when staff and institutions provide support likely to encourage involvement

Student effort + institution and teacher support = desirable outcomes

Established; relatively easy to assess; direct connections to improvement; built on research foundations; looks at change between years

A compelling idea

Link between students’ engagement and retention, completion and success as graduates

A key assumption is that learning is influenced by how an individual participates in educationally purposeful activities.

Students are seen as responsible in their learning, but institutions and staff also need to generate conditions that stimulate student involvement.

Developed over a decade, Australasia now has a source of quality-assured data on current students that is comparable across institutions

Production of contextually nuanced reports, research briefings and enhancement guides

Actionable institution reports for tracking and improvement

More robust cross-institutional research techniques

Commitment to measuring what counts for high-quality education

• Engagement scales

Engagement scales

- Academic Challenge- Active Learning- Student and Staff Interactions- Enriching Educational Experiences- Supportive Learning Environment- Work Integrated Learning

Outcome measures

- Higher Order Thinking- General Learning Outcomes- General Development Outcomes- Career Readiness- Average Overall Grade- Departure Intentions- Overall Satisfaction

Run with 55

universities and

other institutions

in 2010

Undergraduate,

coursework postgrad

and academic staff

Over 120,000 student

responses

Benchmarks with

other institutions

in Australasia and

internationally

Data on what

students are

doing

Used for continuous

improvement

International benchmarks - engagement scales first year students

Engagement & outcomes – international & domestic students

Engagement & outcomes – external & on-campus students

Hours spent on various activities during typical seven-day week

Hours spent on various activities during typical seven-day week - by time spent in paid work off campus

Involvement in active forms of learning

‘Never’ given presentation in class or online – by broad field of education

Involvement in active forms of learning – by mode of study

Student and staff interactions

Later year students’ involvement in enriching educational experiences

Later year students – contribution of university experience to development of work-related knowledge and skills

Student departure intentions

All students International students

External students

Working students

Considered or plan to leave before completing

29.6% 27.2% 33.9% 31.5%

BoredomPersonal reasonsStudy-life balanceHealth or stress

Difficulty with workload

Personal reasonsAcademic exchange

Quality concernsBoredom

Financial difficulties

Study-life balanceDifficulty with

workloadHealth or stress

Needing paid workFamily

responsibilities

Boredom Study-life balanceNeeding paid workPersonal reasonsHealth or stress

Student departure intentions – link with institution support

Student departure intentions – link with institution support

Change through reporting

Do more for

learning

Change through data collection

Change through research

Measuring student engagement: findings from the Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE)

Surveys for Enhancement Conference

National College for School Leadership, Nottingham

19 May 2011

Ali RadloffAustralian Council for Educational Research (ACER)ausse@acer.edu.au