Engagement for learning: What matters to students, what motivates them and how can institutional support services foster student engagement?

Abstract

Discusses the results from a project on first year student engagement at an open and distance learning (ODL) institution in Aotearoa New Zealand. The research was part of a national project involving nine Tertiary Education Organisations which investigated the question: 'How do institutional learning environments influence student engagement with learning in diverse tertiary settings'? It used case study design to examine a number of aspects of student engagement: motivation and agency, transactional engagement, institutional support and active citizenship. This paper reports on two of those aspects. It considers student motivation and agency and institutional support. It outlines some ways in which institutional student support services might foster learning engagement in first year ODL students.