Tom Lowe: the complexities of student engagement

Student engagement is complex and multifaceted. Ten years ago it meant engaging the student voice. Since then it’s become much more about attendance, attention, motivation, presence on campus, belonging, engagement with the curriculum, and more; ‘student engagement’ covers all of these, so it’s important for us to be clear what we mean when we talk about student engagement. What’s already clear is that the more pressured a higher education system is – such as that of the UK – the more focus there is on student engagement. That pressure can come from a policy angle, a financial angle, or both. The outcome is that students need to perceive that their university education is worth it – whatever that might mean to them. And how do we know what it means? Tom advocates for regularly topping up our empathy by keeping in touch with students about their experiences. Student engagement is never done and achieved, just as learning is always ongoing. 

Like many of us, Tom has had a portfolio career and sees himself as ‘someone who works in a university’. Identity is important but we shouldn’t let ourselves be limited by it. As Alan Watts once said, ‘Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth’!

The resources we mentioned

Hamshire, C. and Wibberley, C. (2014) The listening project: Physiotherapy students' narratives of their Higher Education experiences. In Bryson, C. (ed.) Understanding and developing student engagement, pp.47-63. Routledge.

InForm: a journal for international foundation programme professionals. Available from: https://www.reading.ac.uk/inform/

LoveLD magazine. Available from: https://aldinhe.ac.uk/news/loveld-magazine/

Lowe, T., & El Hakim, Y. (Eds.). (2020). A Handbook for Student Engagement in Higher Education: Theory into Practice (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429023033

Spire, Z. (2023) University estates: From spaces to places of student engagement. In Lowe, T. (ed.) Advancing student engagement in higher education: reflection, critique and challenge, pp.189-202. Routledge.

Watts, A. https://public-library.online/Alan-Watts-This-Is-It And the book we talked about

Lowe, T. (Ed.). (2023). Advancing Student Engagement in Higher Education: Reflection, Critique and Challenge (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003271789