What does student engagement and connection to school mean to senior students?

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Melbourne, Faculty of Education, 2007The issue of promoting mental health within primary and secondary schools has been an important State and Federal government initiative over the last ten years. Research has shown that students who experience connection and engagement feel positively about themselves, acquire resiliency skills and have hope for the future. The college, highlighted in this study, although not working from a specific Health Promoting Schools' Framework, appears to have created its own effective model. This study used qualitative methods in the form of a case study of a Catholic boys' school to ascertain if senior students experienced connection and engagement and asked them to articulate why this did or did not occur. Three focus groups were used and the study focused on three aspects: whether senior students experienced connection and engagement; how the school facilitated or hindered this; and if the students themselves could articulate their understanding of both of these somewhat abstract terms