Identifying engaging features of schooling: assessing the psychometric soundness of student-generated research

In this article we report on data analysed from a student project about attitudes to school and student perception of engagement and disengagement. The data were collected by students in an Australian study that employed the Young People as Researchers model. Middle year students devised and administered a questionnaire to students in grade 8, 9 and 10 at a secondary school in Australia. A total of 239 students completed the questionnaire. The students completed the initial analysis, which was followed by a more detailed analysis by the authors of this article. The findings support the work of American, British and Australian researchers about the factors that influence engagement and disengagement from schooling. The reported outcomes from the student work and the secondary analysis indicate that students do have the capacity to undertake valid and meaningful research and can make informed contributions to school improvement and student engagement.