Engaging and RE-engaging Students and Families

FROM CENTER AT UCLA ‑ 2015 Initiative*

Engaging and Re-engaging Students and Families

Enhancing motivation is a central concern in all efforts to improve schools. That is why engagement and re-engagement are foundational considerations in unifying and developing a comprehensive and equitable system of learning supports.

So, as part of the 2015 National Initiative for Transforming Student and Learning Supports,* we are widely providing free and easy access to the Center’s continuing education modules on Engaging and Re-engaging Students and Families. See

>Module I: Motivation: Time to Move Beyond Behavior Modification-- http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/engagei.pdf

>Module II: Strategic Approaches to Enhancing Student Engagement and Re‑engagement -- http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/engageii.pdf  

>Module III: Enhancing Family Engagement and Re‑engagement --http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/engageiii.pdf  

>Module IV: Embedding Engagement and Re‑engagement into a Unified and Comprehensive System of Student and Learning Supports –

http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/engageiv.pdf  

Feel free to adapt these resources. Consider ways they can be offered for continuing education credit.

The set of four modules provides a perspective on motivation that goes beyond mainly reinforcing and enforcing behavior. The emphasis is on:

•        expanding understanding of engagement, re‑engagement, and intrinsic motivation in the context of school improvement and school climate

•        highlighting strategic approaches to engaging and re‑engaging students, with special attention to avoiding over‑reliance on extrinsic reinforcers and minimizing practices that can produce reactance

•        engaging and re‑engaging families by attending to differences among families and other primary caretakers with respect to resources, motivation and needs, and barriers to involvement with the school

•        stressing that teachers can't and should not be expected to do it all alone. Rather their work needs to be embedded into a unified and comprehensive system of learning supports and that system should be built with a view to engaging and re‑engaging students, families, and all the professionals who have a stake in improving schools.

*For more on the 2015 National Initiative for Transforming Student and Learning Supports, go to http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/newinitiative.html .

 The initiative stresses that: Equity of opportunity is fundamental to enabling civil rights; transforming student and learning supports is fundamental to enabling equity of opportunity and promoting whole child development.

If you have questions or want some assistance, contact Ltaylor@ucla.edu  or adelman@psych.ucla.edu