Chapter 1

The Seven Engagement Factors

Robyn Diethart
Ashley Miller
Heather Tindall

 Engaging low-SES students has been a challenge

to public and private schools
This challenge has often been blamed on the
following:

Inadequate funding
Lower teacher salaries
Larger class sizes
Less rigorous curriculum
Fewer experienced teachers

Success Stories
Over 50% of the academic outcomes come from what the
teacher does in the classroom.

Teaching matters more than any other

factor in a students school years

The Seven Engagement Factors

The following are seven factors that correlate with student
engagement:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Health & Nutrition

Vocabulary
Effort and Energy
Mind-set
Cognitive capacity
Relationships
Stress Level

Health and Nutrition

Students coming from a low SES environment have greater health risks
due to the following:

Less likely to exercise

More likely to be born premature, low in birth weight or have a disability
Receive appropriate medical care
Less likely to live in a quality home or have access to high quality community services
More likely to have poor nutrition

Poor nutrition poses a strong risk to students learning and engagement

Kids need fuel: oxygen and glucose

Key Answer: High protein breakfast

Vocabulary
Toddlers from middle and upper-income families used more words in talking to their parents than
low-SES mothers used in talking to their own children.

Smaller vocabularies place students at a greater risk for academic failure

Teaching and insuring students understand academic vocabulary is critical
for students

Using nonverbal communication

Visual aids
Vocabulary building engagement activities

Effort and Energy

Low SES students are practical about what motivates them
They want to know who the teacher really is and they want the
teacher to connect to their world
Key point: Connecting with students personally on their
level

Mind-Set
Mind-set is crucial for students and teachers when it comes to the
success in school
Teachers need to focus on student growth and change
Teacher support is essential to the academic success of low SES
students
A positive, growth orientated mind-set can help compensate for
students negative mind-sets

Cognitive Capacity
Adverse environmental factors can artificially suppress
childrens IQ

For example, low SES children more likely to be exposed to lead

This may affect a childs low working memory

Cognitive problems
Short attention spans
High levels of distractibility
Difficulty monitoring the quality of their work
Difficulty generating new solutions to problems

Relationships
All children need positive and caring adults in their lives
Children who grow up in healthy, caring environments learning

appropriate emotional responses to everyday situations

Developing strong teacher-student relationships help counter
the negative effects on inappropriate emotional responses.
Model to students on how to behave versus becoming upset
Expect kids to test their boundaries

Stress Level
Children raised in poverty are more likely to experience acute and
chronic stress
1. Acute Stress

More likely to lead to aggressive behavior

Aggression may allow a child to feel in control of a situation
2. Chronic Stress
Increased sense of hopelessness

How to diminish stress at school?

. Give students appropriate amounts of control at school

Questions
1. Do you think this chapter overstates, understates, or

accurately states the seven engagement factors' connection

to poverty and achievement? Why?
2. Which of the seven factors pose the strongest challenge for
you?
3. What can we do to overcome these seven factors? Explain
your reasoning.