Exploring Global Trends of Students’ Engagement at Higher Education

Abstract

Engaging students in university settings is crucial for enhancing their learning
experiences, fostering deeper understanding, critical thinking and academic success.
Universities worldwide implement various strategies to enhance student engagement,
focusing on both in-class and out-of-class experiences to foster a holistic educational
environment. Student engagement is often measured through surveys such as NSSE,
FSSE, AUSSE, SASSE, and UKES. Despite the emphasis on student engagement as a
critical determinant of academic success, there is a significant gap in understanding
how engagement strategies vary across these global surveys. This lack of comparative
research limits educational institutions' ability to adopt best practices from diverse
contexts and hinders the development of globally effective students' engagement
strategies. This qualitative research, therefore, explores global student engagement
strategies using a comparative thematic analysis of NSSE, FSSE, AUSSE, SASSE, and
UKES. The study involved analyzing publicly available documents from these surveys
used in universities across six countries. Thematic and cross-case analyses were
employed to identify commonalities and differences in engagement practices. Findings
revealed common themes across the five surveys include: academic challenge, learning
with peers, experiences with faculty/staff, and campus environment.