5. Engagement in school and learning

In this study, “engagement in school” is used to refer to positive feelings about the work of school, such as enjoyment of learning, and not feeling bored or restless at school.

SCHOOL ATTENDANCE

Three-quarters of the age-16 students had good, very good, or excellent attendance at school. The rest had fair or poor attendance, and five percent had been involved in truancy.

Not surprisingly, those with good, very good or excellent attendance were more engaged with school, and enjoyed it more than those whose attendance was fair or poor. Good attenders were also more successful at school. They were likely to:

• gain more NCEA credits
• have higher competency levels
• be viewed more positively by teachers.
  

In many cases, those who had turned away from school were continuing patterns from the past. In other words, they started to switch off from school long before they reached 16. Fair or poor school attendance at this age is linked to several factors. These include:

• low motivation levels at age 14
• fewer interests at age 14, or only being interested in playing computer games
• experiencing an adverse event in their life during the previous year
• risky behaviour
• having friends with risky behaviour.
  

STUDENTS’ VIEWS OF SCHOOL ENGAGEMENT

Between two-thirds and three-quarters of age-16 students said they usually or always liked their teachers, they enjoyed learning and they kept out of trouble.

Most students’ feelings about school were as positive at 16 as they were at 14. However, they enjoyed school less than they did when they were 12. Just over a third of 16-year-olds said they were usually or always bored at school, and close to a fifth wanted to leave school as soon as they could.

After having a relatively positive attitude towards homework at 12, less than a quarter now saw homework as important, and half did not like doing it.

We found that students’ experiences of the transition to secondary school were not related to their levels of engagement in school at years 11 and 12. Indeed, during this project we have found little evidence that the transition to secondary school in itself is a major issue for most students.

At age 16, most students were involved in extra-curricular activities offered by the school. Of these, team sport was the most common, followed by music and the arts. Sport also offered the most opportunities for these senior students to take a leadership role in the school by, for example, captaining a sports team.

PARENTS’ VIEWS OF SCHOOL ENGAGEMENT

Parent reports confirmed that levels of enjoyment of school had fallen over time, with just 55 percent of parents saying their 16-year-olds enjoyed school, compared to 75 percent when they were 12. Just over half of parents—59 percent— were satisfied with their child’s progress at school. This is similar to the number of parents who were satisfied with their child’s progress at age 14, but lower than at age 12, when 69 percent of parents were satisfied with their progress at school.

A fifth of parents were not satisfied with their child’s progress at school; the remaining parents had mixed views about their progress. However, only 10 percent of parents thought their child had very little or no support for their learning from their teachers, and 19 percent thought their child had little or no support for their emotional wellbeing.

Parents of Mäori or Pacific students were less positive about their child’s secondary school experiences than others.

FACTORS THAT ARE RELATED TO SCHOOL ENGAGEMENT

Age-16 engagement in school is related to previous levels of engagement, and motivation; students who were engaged previously are more likely to be engaged at 16. School engagement is also associated with how much students enjoyed reading when they were younger, and with their previous competency scores.

However, we found that engagement at age 16 is also related to students’ current experience of school. This includes the types of learning opportunities they have, and the relationship they have with their teachers. Students who were disengaged in school were more negative about these things. They also showed more risky behaviour outside school, and they had friends who were also into risky behaviour.

WHY DO STUDENTS LEAVE SCHOOL EARLY?

The most common reason participants gave for leaving school at the age of 16 was that they were bored. Many also said they didn’t like the teachers, and that they got into trouble at school. However, some said they were ‘pulled’ to appealing alternatives, such as a particular occupation.

Most of the 27 school leavers were either working or studying, and three quarters of them said they were happy with what they were doing. However, male school leavers were much happier than female ones. In fact, female school leavers were the least happy of any group in the study.

According to their parents, male school leavers were also more likely to have left school to take up a specific job, apprenticeship or training course than female school leavers.

Most parents said they regretted that their children had left school. They were also much less likely to think that their children were happy than the parents of those who had stayed at school.

Several factors distinguish early school leavers from those who stay at school. Early school leavers are more likely to have:

• lower mathematics and literacy levels from age 5. This gap became even wider after the age of 8.
• lower attitudinal competency from the age of 10. This gap also became wider as they grew older.
  

As with those who have low competency levels, and who performed poorly in NCEA, the early school leavers:

• are less likely to enjoy reading between the age of 8 and 14
• have been less engaged in school at 14
• have been less motivated to complete and use their education at 14
• have poor school attendance
• have more experience of bullying (whether as a victim, a bully, or both)
• are more likely to engage in risky behaviour at age 14
• watch a lot of television between the ages of 8 and 14
  

School leavers are also more likely to come from homes with less than 100 books, and they currently enjoy reading and writing much less than those who stay on at school. They are more likely than those who are still at school to see having money to spend and looking cool as important, and to report friendships as one of their main interests.

But while school leavers tend to disengage from school much earlier than school stayers, just over half wished they had had better guidance on what subjects or options to take.