This is How We Do It : An exploratory multiple case study of the contextual factors supporting engagement in the personal learning networks of six 10- to 16-year-olds in England

Eguara, Oma and Passey, Don (2023) This is How We Do It : An exploratory multiple case study of the contextual factors supporting engagement in the personal learning networks of six 10- to 16-year-olds in England. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

Studies report that children’s digital technology use tends to increase as they grow older. Other studies indicate that learner engagement tends to decline as children progress through their time in school, notably at the transition from primary to secondary school. This indicates that at the stage when they are susceptible to declining school engagement, they are increasingly engaged with technology and networked activity. This paradox is the focus of this multiple case study which explores six 10- to 16-year-olds’ engagement in their personal learning networks, highlighting the contextual factors supporting this selfdirected, technology-mediated engagement. This study questions current understandings of networked learning, extending the approach to include under 18-year-olds. It proposes a typology of networked learning for children and young people in line with the trajectories of their psychological development. Undergirded by networked learning and student engagement theory, this study employs 8 methods – a semi-structured questionnaire, semi-structured interview, Draw and Talk, historical online records, field notes and memos, diagrams of participants’ networks, emails, as well as Mime and Tell, a childcentred method developed for this study, capturing children’s embodied, nonverbal communication. Reflexive thematic analysis has been used to unpack the data. Participants’ adolescent psychological needs, chiefly for selfefficacy, connectedness, and autonomy, were seen to influence the construction of, and participation in, their networks. The uniquely structured networked environment was then seen to support participants’ psychological needs. This cycle of support is akin to Stage-Environment Fit, known to support engagement. Insights from this study will be of interest to academics and scholars in networked learning and to teachers, school leaders, local education authority leaders, policy makers and all interested in student wellbeing and school engagement.