The Problem of Student Disengagement: Struggle, Escapism and Nietzsche’s Birth of Tragedy

Abstract

Numerous studies have shown that secondary and college students are increasingly apathetic and disengaged from their schooling. The problem of student disengagement is not confined to under-represented socioeconomic groups; it is found across the country—in cities, suburbs, and rural communities; in wealthy schools and poor schools; in public schools and charter schools; in majority white schools and those composed largely of students of color. In this essay, we argue that Friedrich Nietzsche’s Birth of Tragedy contains crucial pedagogical and conceptual resources for responding to this widespread problem. The conception of “Dionysian pessimism” Nietzsche advances in this early work and its relationship to the escapist, “Alexandrianism” he observes in late 19th century German education are relevant to the contemporary problem of student disengagement, we argue, because they address head on the reality of struggle in students’ academic experiences and can potentially explain the disengagement they experience when they fail to acknowledge, accept and even embrace the struggle of education. When struggle is seen as something to be avoided and endured only for the sake of later academic and career success, as it often is, Nietzsche argues that apathy, disengagement and even resentment can result. Thus, while Nietzsche’s diagnosis is rooted in an analysis of his own culture and time, this essay hopes to show that it has the potential to speak to important practical issues in contemporary education.

Student Selection of Content Licenses in OER-enabled Pedagogy

“…Research suggests that pedagogical practices can positively impact emotional and cognitive engagement and are critical to increasing student retention (Hanover Research, 2014;Pino-James, 2018). Disengagement by students is evident when students disregard or avoid educational interactions, including completing readings or participating in discussions (Trout, 1997 as cited in Yacek & Jonas, 2019). Regardless of the student or school demographic, students appear to be disengaging at an increasing rate (Yacek & Jonas, 2019), and finding ways to engage students remains a significant challenge for higher education professionals (Hanover Research, 2014;Nguyen, 2011).…”

Letting Nietzsche inside schools? Educational potential and an acknowledgement of the optimism of his philosophy

“…In particular, the value of self-integrity has been related to the educational demands of respecting student's individuality and developing critical thought. Learning through personal experience (as in Small 2016) and the significance of struggle in learning (Jonas 2010;Kameas and Almpanidis 2014;Yacek 2019) are obviously implied as well. Additionally, we could suggest that Nietzsche's assumptions about the inherent types of human's mental behaviour could be valuable to be examined further.…”

“…Besides, many scholars now agree that Nietzsche's work and his contradictory idiom should be regarded as outside of formal interpretation (see Allen 2018, p. 51;Babich 2019). Additionally, the study of his work has been turned towards more specific inquiries, as for example the importance of struggle in learning (Yacek 2019;Kameas and Almpanidis 2014;Jonas 2010), self-cultivation and aesthetics (Stolz 2017), the significance of disciplined schooling (Mintz 2004), the development of perception through perspectives (Ramaekers 2001) or the cultivation of intuitive knowledge (Gregory 2001). Accordingly, a content analysis of The Gay Science will respond to several previous educational inquires, providing further documentation to support validation of their conclusions.…”