Perfiles momentáneos de compromiso a lo largo de tres clases de ciencias en estudiantes colombianos

Based on a person-oriented approach
(Conner y Pope, 2013; Schmidt, Rosenberg y
Beymer, 2017), this study examines momentary profiles of cognitive, affective, and behavioral engagement in high school students
through three sessions of science classes (e.g.
environmental education, biology, chemistry,
and physics). A total of 53 Colombian high
school students participated in this study (63
% women, 9th to 11th grade). The experience
sampling method (ESM; Csikszentmihalyi y
Larson, 1987; Zuzanek, 1999) was used to
take repeated measures of cognitive engagement (importance), affective engagement
(enjoyment and interest) and behavioral
engagement (concentration and effort).
Through a cellphone alarm, the students were
called to answer the Experience Sampling
Form (ESF) once in each class throughout
the thematic unit studied. In the ESF students
reported their thoughts, emotions and efforts
at the moment of the signal. A total of 159
students’ responses were collected. A clustering analysis was performed to identify the
profiles. The cluster analysis allowed the
identification of five momentary engagement
profiles that were classified into three types
for each session: moderate, universally low,
reluctant, rational, and recreational. In the
first session, the students were distributed
as follows: Moderate (43 %), Recreational
(32 %) and Universally Low (25 %); in the
second session, Reluctant (44 %), Moderate
(38 %), and Rational (18 %); and in the third
session, Moderate (47 %), Rational (32 %)
and Universally Low (21 %). That profiles
showed permanence and variation. The most
frequent and permanent engagement profile
was the moderate, while the most variable
was the universally low. When reviewing the
profiles by session, we found that the groups
that make up these profiles were not the same
students. This not only marks a variability
in the profiles between sessions, but also
allows the description of the oscillations and
intraindividual trajectories of engagement.
This implies that the same student does not
necessarily present the same pattern of engagement throughout the three classes sessions
and, although some students tend to have
stable profiles over time, others show greater
variability. It is concluded that momentary
profiles of academic engagement pose different questions and challenges for educators, in terms of educational practices that
may promote engagement profiles linked to
deep learning processes and performance in
sciences. Results are discussed in terms of the
educational implications in teacher-student
interactions. Future research should combine
three elements in the study of engagement: to
include multidimensionality of engagement
(e.g., cognitive, affective and behavioral), to
describe momentary profiles, and to establish
relationship among these profiles with the
characteristics of educational environments (e.g., educational practices and relationships
between teachers and students).