Identifying and understanding the drivers of student engagement in a school of politics and international relations
| Published date | 01 August 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/02633957221086879 |
| Author | James Strong |
| Date | 01 August 2024 |
| Subject Matter | Learning and Teaching in Politics and International Studies |
https://doi.org/10.1177/02633957221086879
Politics
2024, Vol. 44(3) 501 –517
© The Author(s) 2022
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/02633957221086879
journals.sagepub.com/home/pol
Identifying and understanding
the drivers of student
engagement in a school of
politics and international
relations
James Strong
Queen Mary University of London, UK
Abstract
During the 2020/2021 academic year, I conducted a mixed quantitative and qualitative analysis of
the drivers of student engagement in the School of Politics and International Relations at Queen
Mary University of London. My main finding was that students vary widely in their ability to
manage the competing demands on their time. Those who are able to avoid scheduling conflicts
between taught classes and off-campus commitments engage at higher rates and achieve better
marks. Those who struggle – whether due to under-developed time management skills, a lack of
confidence in asking for assistance, or both – miss out on vital learning opportunities, and their
attainment suffers. While there is little a department can do about the broader socio-economic
forces that require students to take on significant responsibilities beyond the classroom, my
findings suggest there are things we can do to improve engagement among those who struggle.
I conclude by recommending actions to help students resolve clashing commitments, to build
their confidence in and ability to seek support from staff, and to develop positive peer networks.
Keywords
online learning, student engagement, transitions to university
Received: 10th December 2021; Revised version received: 14th January 2022; Accepted: 23rd February 2022
Like many comparable UK-based academic departments, the School of Politics and
International Relations (SPIR) at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) has
grown significantly in recent years. Seven years ago, we admitted around 120 students
per year across our programmes; that number has since trebled. Growth has also meant
Corresponding author:
James Strong, School of Politics and International Relations, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End
Road, London E1 4NS, UK.
Email: j.strong@qmul.ac.uk
1086879POL0010.1177/02633957221086879PoliticsStrong
research-article2022
Learning and Teaching in Politics and
International Studies
502 Politics 44(3)
significantly increased diversity. Around two-thirds of our undergraduates now come
from a Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnic background. Approximately 70% are Home/
UK students, 90% commute from the family home, and approximately 90% attended
non-fee-paying schools. On average, they enter with 124 UCAS tariff points, equiva-
lent to the half-way point between ABB and BBB at A-Level. Approximately 30% join
us through clearing.
The rapid switch to full-scale online provision for undergraduate students necessitated
by the Covid-19 pandemic raised serious questions about how we do things. In particular,
it turbocharged our existing concerns about student engagement. We were already wor-
ried about variable levels of attendance, preparedness for taught sessions, and assignment
submission and deeply aware of how little we really knew about our students’ lives
beyond the classroom. Suddenly finding ourselves in an environment where we generally
could not even see the people we were teaching made those concerns all the more
pressing.
Against this backdrop, I designed and ran a two-stage study intended to identify and
explain the key drivers of student engagement in our programmes. I first fielded a large
online survey aimed at testing three main hypotheses – covering students’ time commit-
ments, experiences of teaching and learning, and ability to access advice and support. On
the basis of this survey, I then conducted four online follow-up focus groups to generate
additional qualitative insights.
My main finding was that, in SPIR, the primary driver of student engagement is the
ability to manage competing time commitments successfully. This is not, however, sim-
ply a function of the volume of outside time commitments individuals face. Instead, it
reflects two things: first, the relative predictability and (in)flexibility of students’ outside
commitments, and second, how prepared they are to manage potential conflicts. Both of
these things are unevenly distributed across the population, in predictable ways; students
from more ‘traditional’ backgrounds generally enjoyed more control over their outside
commitments, understood more readily the need to take greater responsibility for their
own learning in a university environment, and felt more confident asking for advice, sup-
port, and adjustments when necessary.
I begin by clarifying my conceptual approach, reviewing prior research on student
engagement, developing three hypotheses about what might drive differential engage-
ment rates in an undergraduate population, and explaining my research design and
method. I then report my findings, initially reviewing each hypothesis separately before
building an over-arching model, supplementing my quantitative analysis with discussion
of the qualitative data generated by both free-text survey responses and focus group par-
ticipants. Finally, I draw out some conclusions and highlight some implications, both for
SPIR specifically and for colleagues in similar circumstances more generally.
Identifying the drivers of student engagement
Defining ‘engagement’
I began by reflecting on what ‘engagement’ actually is. As Trowler (2010: 17) makes
clear, there is no ‘shared, universal’ definition. The result is that too many studies of
engagement uncritically ‘measure that which is measurable’, an approach which leads
‘to a diversity of unstated proxies for engagement’, conceptual confusion, and a lack
of mutual comprehension between studies. Different accounts focus on behaviour,
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
