When students show some initiative: Two experiments on the benefits of greater agentic engagement

Correlational and longitudinal research suggests that agentically-engaged students experience multiple educational benefits. Recognizing this, two experiments tested the causal capacity of manipulated agentic engagement to create three categories of benefits: a supportive learning environment; motivational satisfactions; and effective functioning (e.g., engagement, performance). Study 1 used the teacher–student laboratory paradigm to place 121 same-sex pairs of preservice teachers into the roles of teacher and student during a videotaped 12-min instructional episode. Teachers were randomly assigned to be autonomy supportive or not, while students were randomly assigned to be agentically engaged or not. MANOVAs on 10 self-reported and rater-scored dependent measures showed that manipulated agentic engagement enhanced both a supportive learning environment and greater motivational satisfaction but not more effective functioning. Study 2 used the same teacher-student paradigm to randomly assign 74 same-sex pairs into one of three conditions: agentic engagement to change the environment (as in Study 1); agentic engagement to change one's functioning (a new Study 2 manipulation); and a neutral control. The first manipulation again enhanced the supportive learning environment and motivational satisfaction but not effective functioning, while the second manipulation produced no benefits. Collectively, these findings confirm some limited causal benefits from agentic engagement and therefore provide guidance for future research, including the design and implementation of student-focused agentic engagement interventions.     

我国学校变革的政策走向

我国学校变革的背景是政府治理方式的转变,政府从教育管理走向公共治理,从划桨者转变为掌舵者。学校变革的基础是确立学校办学的自主权,要求学校既不能完全受制于政府干预,也不能完全受制于市场牵制,在政府与市场之间取得平衡,不仅需要强调学校独立法人地位,也要完善学校内部的民主机制,促使学校由外延式向内涵式发展转变。学校变革的形式已经由以前的单个学校的变革走向多所学校的合作共赢,主要有政府主导型合作、大学介入式合作和学校自愿型合作。