Achievement vs. engagement: Providing support in socially disadvantaged schools

Educational inequalities persist between students of low socioeconomic status and their more affluent peers. At the same time, there is evidence of positive relations between student engagement and achievement. This multiple case study investigates a national project aimed at increasing student engagement and achievement through post-Covid-19 support focused on disadvantaged schools in the Czech Republic. School staff perceived poor attendance, low student motivation and discipline problems as the most challenging issues to be addressed through project support measures. Attendance problems are tackled mainly through experiential activities; motivation and discipline problems are usually addressed by personnel positions. We argue that the selected measures aimed predominantly to support student emotional and behavioural engagement; strategies to enhance cognitive engagement and student achievement were sidelined. Paradoxically, student engagement may become a goal in itself rather than being inscribed into learning outcomes. Implications for programme support and school improvement research are suggested.