Introduction
Victoria’s schools are facing significant challenges in supporting students to engage meaningfully with their education. Evidence points to rising concerns about student wellbeing, declining engagement and persistent inequities, particularly during the middle years of schooling. For many young people, experiences of schooling are not supporting sustained motivation, connection or confidence in learning.
Drawing on Australian research and Victorian policy, this report examines how student disengagement develops and why current approaches to schooling are often insufficient. It highlights how policy and practice settings that prioritise narrow and standardised conceptions of learning risk overlooking the emotional, relational and aspirational foundations of engagement.
The report examines student engagement across behavioural, emotional and cognitive dimensions and identifies the cultural and pedagogical conditions that support or undermine students’ capacity to engage. By foregrounding student voice and lived experience, the findings challenge narrow conceptions of learning and point to the need for more relational, meaningful and human‑centred approaches to education in the middle years.
For many young people, experiences of schooling are not supporting sustained motivation, connection or confidence in learning.
Conceptual framework and theory
The report draws on established research frameworks to examine student engagement as a multidimensional and relational phenomenon, with particular attention to the conditions that shape students’ experiences of schooling.
Student engagement is conceptualised as a multidimensional construct encompassing behavioural (doing), emotional (feeling) and cognitive (thinking) dimensions, consistent with contemporary engagement research (Archambault et al., 2019; Fredricks et al., 2019; Reschly & Christenson, 2022). This approach recognises that engagement is not limited to attendance or compliance but includes students’ emotional connection to school, their sense of belonging, and their willingness to invest effort and meaning in learning.
The report emphasises evidence that emotional engagement acts as an antecedent to behavioural and cognitive engagement, highlighting the foundational role of relationships, care and belonging in shaping students’ participation and learning. This perspective aligns with Australian research demonstrating the importance of student-teacher relationships and support for students’ autonomy, competence and relatedness in fostering engagement (Quin et al., 2017).
The analysis also draws on theoretical perspectives related to belonging, aspiration, and student voice, choice and agency, including Appadurai’s (2004) concept of the capacity to aspire. By combining insights from engagement research with broader social and cultural theory, the framework positions student disengagement as both an educational and relational challenge shaped by school practices, policy contexts and students’ lived experiences.
The report calls for a shift towards schooling as a humanising endeavour, one that is done with students rather than to them.
Key findings
The paper identifies significant and interconnected challenges for student engagement in Victoria.
The middle years of schooling (years five to nine) are a period of heightened vulnerability. Developmental changes associated with adolescence, combined with the transition from primary to secondary schooling, increase students’ risk of disengagement, emotional and behavioural difficulties and subsequent declines in learning and wellbeing.
Belonging is a critical driver of engagement. Students who feel accepted, valued and connected to their peers, teachers and school are more likely to engage emotionally, behaviourally and cognitively. Conversely, weak relationships and a lack of belonging are associated with disengagement, poorer wellbeing and reduced academic outcomes.
The paper highlights the importance of supportive student–teacher relationships and learning experiences that attend to students’ interests, autonomy and sense of purpose.
The analysis draws on self‑determination theory to emphasise autonomy, competence and relatedness as key conditions for engagement, with relational support playing a particularly important role in emotional engagement.
The review also highlights persistent equity challenges. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to report positive engagement and belonging and are more likely to experience absenteeism and behavioural difficulties. However, engagement is also a powerful mediator of achievement for these students, suggesting that strengthening engagement can help mitigate the effects of socioeconomic disadvantage.
Finally, the report identifies growing tensions between engagement‑focused research and policy trends that prioritise standardisation and narrow cognitive conceptions of learning, which risk marginalising the relational, emotional and aspirational dimensions essential for sustained engagement.
Implications
The evidence reviewed points to the need for a fundamental rebalancing of policy and practice in Victorian schools.
Student engagement is foundational, not peripheral, to learning, wellbeing and long‑term outcomes, particularly during the vulnerable middle years of schooling. Improving engagement requires intentional attention to the emotional and relational conditions that enable students to participate and invest in learning.
Belonging, aspiration, and student voice, choice and agency must be treated as core components of effective schooling, rather than optional additions. Schools that cultivate inclusive cultures, foster strong relationships and provide opportunities for meaningful participation are better positioned to support engagement and prevent disengagement from becoming entrenched.
The report calls for a shift towards schooling as a humanising endeavour, one that is done with students rather than to them. By empowering students as active participants and supporting their capacity to aspire, Victorian schools can respond more effectively to current challenges and create conditions in which young people can connect, learn and flourish.