Student engagement in higher education: Lecturers’ perspectives
Nirashnee Padayachee, Dipane Hlalele & Flip Schutte
Abstract
This article, a stepping stone for further research, explored lecturers' perspectives on student engagement at a higher education institution (HEI). This qualitative case study was based on an interpretivist paradigm and Schindler’s conceptual framework on behavioural, emotional and cognitive indicators. A purposive sampling technique was applied to select eight lecturer-participants presently teaching compulsory modules in the initial year of the teacher education programme at a HEI in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A narrative interview, discursive informed conversations, and an open-ended questionnaire were used to generate data from all the participants. A thematic data analysis technique was employed. According to the findings, lecturers at the HEI understand student engagement as participation, which entails being interactively and meaningfully involved during lectures. This includes collaboration, co-construction, interaction, and metacognition. Considering the conclusion and the results, this study paves the way for further research that explores active participation through digital pedagogy. Such research is recommended to provide further insights into student engagement and inspire more contributions in this area.
Keywords
active participation, collaboration, co-construction, interaction, metacognition
Author information & Contribution
Nirashnee Padayachee. Senior lecturer, Stadio Higher Education.
Dipane Hlalele. University of KwaZulu Natal
Flip Schutte. Corresponding author. Dean of Research and Head of the Institute for Postgraduate Studies, Stadio Higher Education.
Disclosure statement
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
AI Declaration
Notes
Acknowledgement
References
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Cite this article:
Padayachee, N., Hlalele, D. & Schutte, F. (2024). Student engagement in higher education: Lecturers’ perspectives. International Journal of Educational Management and Development Studies, 5(3), 28-49. https://doi.org/10.53378/ijemds.353083
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