Research supports the connection between engagement, achievement, and school behavior across levels of economic and social advantage and disadvantage. Despite increasing interest and scientific findings, a number of interrelated conceptual and methodological issues must be addressed to advance this construct, particularly for designing data-supported interventions that promote school completion and enhanced educational outcomes for all students. Of particular concern is the need to (a) develop consensus on the name of the construct, (b) identify reliable measures of the dimensions of the construct, and (c) complete the construct validation studies needed to move research and intervention forward. C 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.The importance of student engagement with school is recognized by educators, as is the observation that far too many students are bored, unmotivated, and uninvolved, that is, disengaged from the academic and social aspects of school life. More than 20 years ago, researchers remarked that although attendance at high school was compulsory in the United States, engagement could not be legislated (Mosher & MacGowan, 1985). Laws may regulate the structure of the educational system, but student perspectives and experiences substantially influence academic and social outcomes.Despite the passage of time, the importance of engaging all students in their education continues to resonate strongly with families, students, educators, and researchers. The purpose of this article is to critically examine how the engagement construct has been used by researchers and to propose a way to integrate perspectives that have been used in research. We first identify myriad conceptualizations of engagement and describe definitional similarities and differences. Relevant student engagement research (i.e., behavior and psychological connections with school) is then reviewed, and it is emphasized that engagement is malleable and relevant for predicting and preventing school dropout, as well as facilitating positive educational outcomes for all students. To further clarify the boundaries of the engagement construct, we explicate the motivational theories that are foundational to engagement and provide an explanation of the relationship between the constructs of motivation and engagement. We conclude with a discussion of core conceptual and methodological considerations for advancing the engagement research. Engagement, a potentially important and useful construct, is at a critical crossroads, one in need of conceptual clarity and constancy (Blumenfeld, 2006). This article is intended as a step toward that important end. MYRIAD CONCEPTUALIZATIONS OF STUDENT ENGAGEMENTThe short, approximately 22-year history of engagement highlights its need for a clear definition. In 1985, a review by Mosher and MacGowan found only two studies that actually used the term "engagement," and one of these studies defined engagement as student participation in school-offered activities, but proceeded to infer it by examining disengagement (Na...

The 3-step method for estimating the effects of auxiliary variables (i.e., covariates and distal outcome) in mixture modeling provides a useful way to specify complex mixture models. One of the benefits of this method is that the measurement parameters of the mixture model are not influenced by the auxiliary variable(s). In addition, it allows for models that involve multiple latent class variables to be specified without each part of the model influencing the others. This article describes a unique latent transition analysis model where the measurement models are a latent class analysis model and a growth mixture model. We highlight the application of this model to study kindergarten readiness profiles and link it to elementary students' reading trajectories. Mplus syntax for the 3-step specification is provided.

Accurate assessment of bullying is essential to intervention planning and evaluation. Limitations to many currently available self-report measures of bullying victimization include a lack of psychometric information, use of the emotionally laden term "bullying" in definition-first approaches to self-report surveys, and not assessing all components of the definition of bullying (chronicity, intentionality, and imbalance of power) in behavioral-based self-report methods. To address these limitations, we developed the California Bullying Victimization Scale (CBVS), which is a self-report scale that measures the three-part definition of bullying without the use of the term bully. We examined test-retest reliability and the concurrent and predictive validity of the CBVS across students in Grades 5-12 in four central California schools. Concurrent validity was assessed by comparing the CBVS with a common, definition-based bullying victimization measure. Predictive validity was examined through the co-administration of measures of psychological well-being. Analysis by grade and gender are included. Results support the test-retest reliability of the CBVS over a 2-week period. The CBVS was significantly, positively correlated with another bullying assessment and was related in expected directions to measures of well-being. Implications for differentiating peer victimization and bullying victimization via self-report measures are discussed.

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This article discusses the school engagement literature and offers a conceptual framework with the intention of developing a common terminology to more efficiently organize research and practice. Three distinct perspectives are outlined in relation to school engagement: psychological, educational, and developmental. Four main contexts of school-based engagement are identified, including the student, peers, classroom, and the school environment. Although some researchers have focused on students at risk for negative developmental outcomes, the proposed model postulates that all youth benefit from school engagement. Overall, the intent of this new framework is to support efforts to promote positive student outcomes, increase psychosocial competence and efficacy, and promote life-long learning.

This study investigates the role of school connectedness in mediating the relation between students' sense of hope and life satisfaction for three groups: Bullied Victims, Peer Victims, and Nonvictims. Students in grades 5 to 12 (N = 866) completed the California Bully/Victim Scale, School Connectedness Scale, Children's Hope Scale, and Students' Life Satisfaction Scale. Multigroup latent mean analysis revealed significant group mean differences in hope, school connectedness, and life satisfaction, supporting our bullying classification. Multigroup structural model analysis showed differential patterns between hope, school connectedness, and life satisfaction. Specifically, school connectedness partially mediated the relation between hope and life satisfaction for the Nonvictims only. The effect of hope on school connectedness was stronger for the Bullied Victims than the Nonvictims, and the effect of hope on life satisfaction was stronger for the Peer Victims and Bullied Victims than the Nonvictims group. Implications for research and practice are discussed. C 2008

There is consensus that student engagement is a relevant and multidimensional construct that integrates students' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors (Fredericks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004;Furlong et al., 2003). Most typically, researchers have incorporated a three-part typology, emphasizing affective, behavioral, and cognitive dimensions of engagement (Finn, 1989;Fredericks et al., 2004;Jimerson, Campos, & Greif, 2003). Practitioners, however, have often been highly influenced by academic engaged time (i.e., time on task) or academic learning time (i.e., amount of time engaged completing an academically relevant task) when identifying a student's difficulty in school and/or designing an intervention in collaboration with teachers. In this special issue, the articles represent the seminal nature of considering a four-part typology-the degree to which students are engaged academically, behaviorally, cognitively, and affectively (i.e., psychologically) at school and with learning-for creating an assessment-to-intervention link that enhances students' connection to the school environment. Even a cursory reading of the literature supports that student engagement is defined as a concept that requires psychological connections within the academic environment (e.g., positive relationships between adults and students and among peers) in addition to active student behavior (e.g., attendance, effort, prosocial behavior). Effective interventions address engagement comprehensively, not only focusing on academic or behavioral skill deficits, but also on the social, interpersonal aspects of schooling, particularly the need for supportive connections to other adults and peers and the explicit programming for motivation to address students' confidence and apathy (Brophy, 2004).Both academic and social aspects of school life are posited to be integral for student success, especially those students who are vulnerable to educational failure, showing signs of withdrawal from learning or motivational difficulties. McPartland (1994) provided an organizing framework for broad interventions to engage students. In this 2 × 2 framework, the type of school goals (academic or social) interact with the nature of the concern (within or out-of-school experiences) to produce four recommendations for engaging students. Opportunities for success in schoolwork and communicating the relevance of schooling experiences to students' future endeavors are necessary to help students meet academic goals. Equally important, creating a caring and supportive environment and helping students with personal problems are necessary to facilitate students' reaching social goals. This framework also reifies that student performance in school is best conceptualized from systems theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1992), wherein students are engaged because of what students do in the classroom; however, students' engagement is influenced by the context, including instructional support from teachers and the academic and motivational home support for learning (Christenson & Thurlow,...