Student Engagement in Higher Education Journal

Measuring Student Engagement with Assessment Tasks in Higher Education

Yusuf Josiah — 2025-11-06

Modern assessment practices emphasize student learning, skill development, and mastery, but the benefits of assessment tasks depend on effective student engagement, an area that remains underexplored in the literature. This review examines research on student engagement with a focus on engagement assessment tasks in higher education and identifies a significant gap in studies that focus on the subject. While student engagement is widely studied as a measure of educational quality and for accountability purposes, limited research has explored how students interact with assessment tasks, and how these tasks influence engagement and learning outcomes. This review evaluates various measurement approaches, including self-report surveys and virtual learning environment data, highlighting the challenges of capturing the multidimensional nature of engagement. Given these limitations, this review advocates for further empirical research using comprehensive mixed-methods approaches to better understand and enhance student engagement with authentic assessment tasks, ultimately improving learning outcomes.

The “SkillSense for Assessment Mastery” Programme: Developing Engaged Learners through a Community of Practice Approach.

Joanne McDowell — 2025-11-06

This paper introduces and evaluates the 'SkillSense for Assessment Mastery' (SSAM) Programme, a pedagogical initiative designed to improve assessment literacy among first-year undergraduate students in UK higher education. Grounded in theories of Communities of Practice and self-efficacy, SkillSense seeks to build students' confidence, reflective learning, and academic identity by embedding assessment skills within their academic journey. The programme comprises interactive workshops that guide students through peer review, self-assessment, and effective use of feedback via a purpose-built Assessment Skills Rubric (ASR). Evaluation involved mixed methods, including pre- and post-intervention surveys and focus groups conducted over two academic years (2022–2024), with 106 students participating across four modules. Results indicate improvements in students’ understanding of assessment criteria, increased engagement with feedback, and enhanced confidence in academic tasks. The paper argues that such structured, skills-based assessment programmes can play a critical role in facilitating student belonging and academic success, particularly during transitions into higher education.

“Be Wise and Participate”: Introducing Student-led Cross-Disciplinary Peer Support for Master Students

Nathalie Hyde-Clarke — 2025-11-06

Master students in their second year of study often feel isolated from their peers as most of their time is spent alone working on individual research for their thesis. Two recent Norwegian Students’ Health and Satisfaction Surveys (SHoT) in 2021 and 2022 had concerning statistics about student well-being, particularly at Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet) where more than a third often felt lonely, excluded or isolated. Studies show that a lack of contact with peers can affect motivation and therefore study progression negatively. Peer support mechanisms have proven successful in altering this pattern. To address these concerns at the postgraduate level, the Faculty of Social Sciences piloted a cross-disciplinary conference for second-year Master students, giving them an opportunity to present their research, interact with peers from different disciplines, and receive feedback. Relying on student facilitators to both organize and oversee the event, this initiative aimed to reinvigorate students and enhance a sense of belonging in the academic community. Responses after the event indicated that introducing a new opportunity for postgraduate students to meet and network with peers from different academic disciplines to share research experiences, while even for a short time, helped to improve a sense of belonging and renewed motivation to complete their studies.

Enhancing Student Motivation, Engagement, and Achievement through Gamification Techniques

Rohit Warikoo — 2025-11-06

This study investigates the impact of gamified learning in higher education, focusing on STEM disciplines, including Information Technology, Physics, and Microbiology. Conducted within a college-based higher education setting, I employed a qualitative methodology, incorporating in-depth interviews with a diverse cohort of students, lecturers, a special education manager, and a technologist. My primary aim was to examine the transformative potential of gamification in education by assessing its effects on student motivation, engagement, and academic achievement. Additionally, I explored how gamification, as an instructional strategy, can cater to diverse student needs, thereby enriching the overall learning experience. My research is theoretically underpinned by Activity Theory, which provides a structured framework for analysing the dynamic interactions between individuals, tools, and educational objectives within a social context. Engeström (1987) posits that Activity Theory serves as a robust analytical tool for understanding these interactions, particularly in educational environments where learning is mediated by cultural and institutional factors.

My findings indicate that gamification holds considerable promise in enhancing student engagement and motivation. The results suggest that features such as points, badges, and narrative elements can significantly improve the educational experience, making learning more engaging and contextually relevant. Methodologically, I adopted a rigorous qualitative framework, employing thematic analysis of interview data with the support of NVivo software. While I acknowledge limitations, including the relatively small sample size and the potential biases associated with purposive sampling, this study contributes valuable insights to the field of Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL). It demonstrates how gamification, when effectively integrated into curricula, can significantly enrich learning experiences, particularly in an era where sustaining student engagement remains a challenge. Moreover, my study highlights the need for further large-scale studies to refine the design and implementation of gamified learning strategies.

Fostering Engagement and Inclusive Learning: The Impact of Lego Based Learning Activity in Mechanical Science module

Izzati Ibrahim — 2025-11-06

A Lego based learning activity has been introduced to the Mechanical Science module in the Engineering Foundation Year at the University of Southampton. The implementation of Lego based learning was to promote student engagement, enhance student’s teamwork skills and foster a sense of belonging within the module. Given the diverse academic backgrounds and abilities of foundation year students, this case study explores how integrating Lego into the curriculum can promote inclusive learning and enhance student performance in a cognitively demanding module. Using Lego to simulate real-world engineering applications highlights the relevance of the subject matter, while creating an engaging and interactive learning environment. During the activity, students worked collaboratively and applied their newly acquired mechanics knowledge to solve engineering challenges. This teamwork encouraged peer interaction, the sharing of ideas, and celebration of group achievements, which helped strengthen their sense of community within the module. The effectiveness of the activity was evaluated through the student’s feedback and author’s observation, focusing on whether the learning environment was engaging, supportive and inclusive to students with diverse backgrounds, skills, and learning preferences.

Engaging novice psychology students through peer assessment

Tom H. Skoglund — 2025-11-06

Ensuring a positive student perception of peer assessment is essential for achieving its educational benefits. Thus, this case study explored first-year bachelor’s students’ experiences with a peer assessment writing assignment on the history of psychology (n = 272). Participants rated their agreement on six statements about their learning experience, with an option to add comments. Quantitative data showed that most students (80%) had an overall positive experience, finding value in reading others’ work, providing thorough feedback, and responding to feedback. Qualitative data indicated some felt a sense of mastery and gained insights into academic evaluation. Both data types revealed mixed opinions on the educational value of peer feedback. While web applications streamline peer assessment for large groups, I conclude that anticipating an associated workload is vital to ensure positive student perceptions of this method. This case study may invite educators to reflect on this rich, student-active method, particularly in the context of novice students in higher education.

Reimagining Student Engagement: Identity, Inclusion, and Innovation in Higher Education

Kiu Sum — 2025-11-06

In this issue, we are pleased to feature 14 papers comprising research articles and case studies, focusing on four key areas: understanding student engagement and identity, inclusive curriculum and structural challenges, pedagogical innovation and engagement strategies, and partnership, collaboration, and feedback. Together, these papers offer rich insights into how engagement is cultivated, disrupted, and reimagined across diverse HE contexts.

Student engagement in higher education: Examining Mozambican students' first-year experience and perceptions

Francisco Coelho De Carvalho — 2025-11-06

Improving the student learning experience in higher education requires an overarching approach towards integrating academic activities that are deemed relevant in promoting a high-quality experience and student success. No less important is improving our understanding of what it is like to be a student. Underpinned by the student engagement framework, we conducted a survey of 293 undergraduate first-year students from a university in Mozambique to examine the different ways in which students perceive and experience social and academic integration during the first year of their studies. In particular, the study measures students’ levels of engagement and educational outcomes. It also seeks to understand the students’ perceptions of the quality of the social and learning environment and their respective satisfaction with their experience. The findings indicate both low and moderate levels of engagement in the selected benchmarks of effective educational practices. Outcome measures such as departure intention and student satisfaction are also highlighted. The students in our study experienced a rather supportive learning environment with good relationships with teachers, peers, and administrative personnel. However, the typical challenges of first-year students, including their academic workload, time management, and difficult assessment tasks, were also reported while they were transitioning to university studies.

Perceptions of curriculum decolonisation and identification of actionable points to decolonise the psychology and neuroscience curriculum: Participatory research with students from around the globe

Gisele P. Dias — 2025-11-06

Universities play a crucial role in promoting social justice and fostering an open, plural society. Decolonising the curriculum is essential in the effort to resist colonisation and racialisation while enhancing student engagement and learning. This is particularly important in programmes that directly impact societal practices, such as neuroscience and psychology, which underpin much of the global mental healthcare system. However, it remains unclear how diverse student groups conceptualise curriculum decolonisation and what changes they perceive as necessary. To address this gap, we co-developed an open-ended survey with three MSc students from different ethnic backgrounds. This collaborative approach ensured the survey's relevance, clarity, and inclusivity. Students from two online MSc programmes in neuroscience and psychology participated in the study. A thematic analysis of the survey responses (n=16) revealed diverse understandings of curriculum decolonisation and its significance. Despite these varied perspectives, students identified common barriers and actionable points to enhance the cultural inclusivity of psychology and neuroscience education. Based on these findings, we propose a three-stage participatory roadmap as an initial framework for decolonising journeys beyond these programmes.

The Same, But Different: Teacher and student experiences of partnership

Gerald Decelles III — 2025-11-06

Norwegian Higher Education institutions are increasingly adopting partnership and co-creation approaches, in common with other universities internationally. The Centres for Teaching Excellence (SFU) initiative supports Norwegian Higher Education in embedding these approaches in different disciplines. We explore common experiences shared by students and teachers involved in partnership work in the iEarth network (an SFU). Through reflexive thematic analysis of surveys and interviews, we identify five shared themes: the value of relationship building; voice, agency, and power; the importance of positive past experiences for engaging in partnerships, multiple understandings of partnership; and uncertainty. The ‘uncertainty’ theme, whilst appearing briefly in some previous studies, is particularly interesting in this study, as our data suggests that students’ and teachers’ experience uncertainty in partnership differently. Teachers reported reduced uncertainty due to partnership, owing to enhanced relationships with students. Students found partnership increases uncertainty as it challenges their ideas about learning in higher education. We also found participants shared a practical, ‘down to earth’ approach to partnerships’ benefits and challenges, and suggest this is related to the context in which partnership was introduced. Additionally, this study suggests that staff and students who have no positive past experiences in partnership may be a group who find partnership challenging and may need further support. With increasing emphasis on partnership in higher education, it is important to understand and explore shared partnership experiences to align participants’ goals and expectations and potentially unlock new benefits.

Collaborative Learning and Student Engagement in Higher Education: A Systematic Scoping Review and Evidence-Gap Map

May Irene Furenes Klippen — 2025-11-06

Collaborative learning has emerged as a fundamental pedagogical approach in higher education to achieve shared learning objectives. This systematic scoping review provides a comprehensive overview of the empirical research on collaborative learning and student engagement in higher education. The review explored various concepts, stakeholders, and contexts involved in collaborative learning processes, along with the dimensions of student engagement examined in the literature. Based on a comprehensive literature search of relevant peer-reviewed articles in three databases, 485 studies were selected as eligible in line with the a priori defined criteria. The analysis revealed a growing body of research on collaborative learning, with most studies focusing on general collaboration among students, while specific forms such as co-creation, co-production, and co-design were less frequently addressed. The majority of the studies examined collaboration between students, but few included other stakeholders like industry partners. Additionally, much of the research lacks assessment of various dimensions of student engagement. In line with the significant gaps identified in the literature, this review underscores the need for future research to develop standardized measures of student engagement, include diverse stakeholders in studies on collaboration, and explore different types of collaborative learning. Addressing these gaps can enhance our understanding of how collaborative learning is related to student engagement and inform effective educational practices in higher education.

The feedback cafe: Creating opportunities for dialogue between students and staff regarding assessment and feedback.

Rebecca Pike — 2025-11-06

Feedback practices in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are often ineffective due to a combination of high staff workloads, low levels of student engagement and inadequate assessment literacy. To improve assessment literacy and student engagement with feedback at a UK HEI we introduced a Feedback Café initiative. Our Feedback Café was co-developed with students and has run for three years as a drop-in stall, manned by educators and student partners. The Feedback Café provides regular opportunities for students to ask questions about assessments and supports them to interpret and use feedback effectively. To explore student perceptions of the Feedback Café we surveyed two cohorts of Year 1 – 4 undergraduates (2021-22 N = 767; 2022-23 N = 729) gathering quantitative and qualitative data. Thematic analysis conducted on open-text responses revealed ways in which the Feedback Café was useful, barriers to attendance, and suggestions on how to improve through ongoing staff-student partnerships. The Feedback Café is generalizable to any subject and provides students with opportunities for two-way dialogue with relatively low staff workload. By sharing our insights, we aim to contribute to the efforts to improve assessment and feedback practices in HEIs and provide a guide for those interested in implementing a Feedback Café initiative.

Students' Experiences of Study Engagement Formation During Their First Year at University in Different Learning Models

Jenni Bäckman — 2025-11-06

The transition to university studies can be challenging for first-year students. This study examines the first-year university students' experiences of engagement in three different learning models (distance, hybrid and flipped-onsite) during emergency remote teaching. The data was collected using the semi-structured interview method and ten first-year students were interviewed. The data was analysed via theory-guided qualitative content analysis. The results show, as expected, that interactive pedagogical practices enhance student engagement regardless of the learning model. Student-centred teaching was emphasized in students’ experiences of engagement, while teacher-centred approaches were seen as disengaging. According to the students’ experiences, the lack of opportunities for genuine interactions disengages students in their studies. The aim of this study is to create a deeper understanding of learning models that improve or inhibit students' engagement in their studies during their first university year in the field of applied natural sciences, where collaboration and problem-solving are in the centre of the studies.

Edinburgh’s Student Housing Crisis: The Impact of Insecure Housing on Student Wellbeing and Engagement

Hannah Awcock — 2025-11-06

There is very little research on the experiences of students who are homeless and the impact it can have on them. The aim of this research was to better understand the forms that homelessness and precarious housing take for students and the impact it can have on student wellbeing and engagement with their studies and the university community. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 24 students at the University of Edinburgh who experienced homelessness or precarious housing during the 2022/23 academic year. The results show that homelessness and precarious housing can take a variety of forms amongst students. It had a significant impact on the students’ wellbeing and mental health, even after they found secure housing. There was also a profound impact on engagement with their course and sense of belonging. These findings can help universities to better support students who experience homelessness to improve wellbeing and engagement.

From Marginalised Student to Marginalised Professional - Identity and the Early Childhood Student

Harriet Pattison — 2025-11-06

The Early Childhood sector is one beset with tensions for its workforce. We raise the question of how this will affect the identity of Early Childhood undergraduate students as they work towards careers in the sector. Two cohorts of Early Childhood students were asked about their understanding of the ‘ideal’ student and what is special about Early Childhood students. Responses were thematically analysed with a priori and inductive coding and with particular mind to how author positionality, as both tutors and researchers, might affect the postulated meaning of data. Whilst we conclude that there is a shift in emphasis between student understandings of the ‘ideal’ and the early childhood student from a stronger academic vision to a more vocationally motivated persona, we also find it important to acknowledge our own part in constructing this understanding of our students. The findings have implications for strengthening student identity but also for considering the impact of academic staff perceptions and the positioning of early childhood studies within academia and beyond.