Reconceptualizing Student Engagement

Abstract

International students in the United States have been increasingly attracted to community colleges as a starting point to higher education. Recently, their enrollment has been dropping. Research highlights the importance of student engagement to international students. However, few studies investigate their engagement experiences in community colleges. This study investigated the validity of the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) benchmarks as proxies for international student engagement in community colleges. The original CCSSE benchmarks were a poor fit for international students. Resulting constructs and underlying items differed significantly from the original benchmarks and demonstrated poor reliability. Findings highlight the inapplicability of CCSSE benchmarks in representing international student engagement. Recommendations include adding culturally relevant variables to the CCSSE structure more applicable to international student populations, and accompanying the survey with qualitative input for in-depth knowledge of international student experiences.

School Dynamics and Their Role in the Educational Trajectories of At-Risk Students

“…The involvement of the student as a study construct has resurfaced strongly in recent years (Bernárdez-Gómez, 2022;Germain-Rutherford et al, 2021;Gottfried & Hutt, 2019). Due to the importance of this paradigm is the way in which the trajectory of students at risk takes place and how the different experiences of students develop throughout their schooling (Cents-Boonstra et al, 2022;Ghazzawi et al, 2021;Wong & Liem, 2022). The involvement of students is understood as the energy they devote to the educational task, the level of commitment or interaction they show with it, or to what extent they are involved with the educational experience (Cuconato et al, 2017;Tomaszewska-Pękała et al, 2017).…”