Examination of the gender–student engagement relationship at one university

Abstract

Research examining the relationship between gender and student engagement at the post secondary level has provided mixed results. The current study explores two possible reasons for lack of clarity regarding this relationship: improper parameter estimation resulting from a lack of multi‐level analyses and inconsistent conceptions/measures of ‘student engagement’. Data from the 2006 administration of the National Survey for Student Engagement (NSSE) at a southeastern university were analysed. Results indicated that the relationship between gender and engagement is related to engagement type as well as an institution level factor (gender composition). Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Keywords:

• engagement
• gender
• HLM
• NSSE
• students
• university

Acknowledgement

We thank Jaron T. Holmes for his contribution on an earlier version of this manuscript.