Introduction to Student Engagement
The concept of student engagement has evolved through different theories ranging from student participation, student integration within campus life, and student interaction with their institution, whether it is within their classroom, campus initiatives or social clubs. Although there are different definitions of engagement, within the post-secondary context, it is an important component of academic success, retention, wellbeing, and mental health.
What does it mean for a student to participate?
Traditionally student participation may have referred to a student partaking in questions and discussion within a classroom. However, keeping in mind the diversity of students and their needs and manners of being, participation can look very different depending on the student. For instance, neurodiverse students may not participate the same way neurotypical students are expected to and yet achieve high academic satisfaction or engagement.
Student engagement is multidimensional and reflected in
 Behaviours, such as participation, attendance, persistence, and effort. |  Cognitions, such as, investment in meaningful learning strategies. |  Affect, such as interest, enjoyment, and belonging. |
Students are responsible for their own involvement, but schools and staff are responsible for creating environments that stimulate and encourage a certain level of student participation. Thus, engagement
can be defined from both the student and institutional perspective. When both students and the campus focus energy and time into helping students reach their desired goals from their post-secondary experience, student engagement is achieved.
In this toolkit, we explore engagement in three major areas:
Academic – in teaching, learning, research, and with faculty and staff
Social – with other students and the post-secondary community
Program – with programs and initiatives led by the post-secondary community.
While we discuss these areas separately within the toolkit, these realms interconnect in many ways. According to Schlossberg’s theory, if student initiatives are to be meaningful, it is crucial that they involve peer interactions. In other words, social, program, and academic engagement all reinforce each other. For example, increased social engagement can facilitate academic discussions, course work, and current issues within the classroom with confidence.