Klemenčič, Manja; Bergan, Sjur; Primožič, Rok (eds.). Student engagement in Europe: society, higher education and student governance
I argue in this chapter that student engagement can take many forms, some of which may be overloo... more I argue in this chapter that student engagement can take many forms, some of which may be overlooked by researchers and even prohibited by higher education institutions. Using the example of student virtual cooperative communities at Czech universities, I demonstrate that especially in situations precluding meaningful student engagement in active learning and/or in governance, overlooking innovative forms of student engagement may lead to the misguided conclusion that students are passive, disinterested and disengaged. Students’ communal engagement enables them to study in environments that are often ill-disposed to learning and empowers them in institutions dominated by academic oligarchy. Therefore, in order to understand or even support student engagement, we need to pay more attention, first, to the very specific contexts of students’ lives and studies; and second, to the political and economic contexts shaping higher education.
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