Student engagement is understood to be an important benchmark and indicator of the quality of the student experience for higher education; yet the term engagement continues to be elusive to define and it is interpreted in different ways in the literature. This paper firstly presents a short review of the literature regarding online engagement in the higher education environment, moving beyond discipline-specific engagement. It then presents a conceptual framework which builds upon recurring themes within the literature, including students’ beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours. The framework was developed by adopting a constant comparison method to analyse the literature, and to search for and identify current and emerging themes. The framework identifies indicators for five key elements of online engagement, and the authors propose that the framework provides a guide for researchers and academics when exploring online engagement from a conceptual, practical and research basis. Finally, the paper provides recommendations for practice, outlining how the framework might be used to reflect critically upon the effectiveness of online courses and their ability to engage students.

This paper examines the values of the CHE principles of Connectivity, Humanness and Empathy as a guiding framework for maximizing the ethical and methodological advantages of semi-structured interview research practices. The authors draw from two separate educational studies and apply the CHE principles to analyse and evaluate the effectiveness of decision-making in facilitating sustainable relationships with the participants in each study. Findings highlight that dialogical relations with participants were evident in both studies, and identify significant junctures where decision-making and actions influenced effective rapport-building and respectful and reciprocal relationships with participants in the research. The CHE principles emerge as providing a robust framework for educational researchers to employ when auditing their decision-making prior to and during their engagement in qualitative interviews.

Student engagement is consistently identified as a key predictor of learner outcomes within the online learning environment. However, there is limited guidance about using proactive strategies to improve engagement for low and non-engaged students: for example by specifically employing course learning analytics (CLA) and nudging strategies in courses to assist these students. To explore how CLA and nudging can be used more effectively to engage students, the authors were informed by a 12-month research project, as well as by the theoretical perspectives presented by communication and critical literacies. These perspectives were applied to develop a conceptual framework which the authors designed to prioritise expectation management and engagement principles for both students and academics. The article explains the development of the framework as well as the elements and key communication strategies it embodies. The framework contributes to practice by explaining and justifying the accessible, time-efficient, student-focused approaches that can be integrated simply into each course’s online learning pedagogy to support both academics’ and students’ engagement.

Move and Play Every Day: National Physical Activity Recommendations for Children 0-5 Years was part of a suite of physical activity guidelines issued by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing in 2010. Guidelines included the recommendation that “children younger than 2 years should not spend any time watching television or using other electronic media.” In-depth semistructured interviews investigated parents’ interpretations and factors affecting decision making regarding screen time behaviors of their young children (from birth to 2 years). Results reveal great diversity in understandings of recommendations and confirm that unique contextual factors, many of which emerge from the micro-environment of the family home, affect decision making. Variations in interpretation may account for disparities in the awareness and effectiveness of recommendations. Results may help inform future guidelines and interventions by pointing to the need to consider the idiosyncratic nature of young families in order to have the desired impact.

Universities increasingly implement online delivery to strengthen students’ access and flexibility. However, they often do so with limited understanding of the impact of online pedagogy on student engagement. To explore these issues, a research project was conducted investigating the use of course-specific learning analytics to ‘nudge’ students into engaging more actively in their courses. Drawing on perspectives emanating from communication and critical theories, the research involved a staged intervention strategy conducted across three courses (n=892) focussing on a range of timely, strategic communication interventions. Research findings revealed benefits for students who felt supported by explicit expectation management and the strategic use of early nudging to enhance their prioritisation of key course-specific resources. Academics benefited by making use of nudging templates/principles to increase student engagement in their courses. The course-specific context meant that academics and students explicitly shared ways of working in the one place where learners ultimately succeed – the course.

Combining nudge theory with learning analytics, ‘nudge analytics’, is a relatively recent phenomenon in the educational context. Used, for example, to address such issues as concerns with student (dis)engagement, nudging students to take certain action or to change a behaviour towards active learning, can make a difference. However, knowing who to nudge, how to nudge or when to nudge can be a challenge. Providing students with strategic, sensitive nudges that help to move them forward is almost an art form. It requires not only technical skills to use appropriate software and interpret data, but careful consideration of what to say and how to say it. In this article a nudge protocol is presented that can be used in online courses to encourage student engagement with key course resources that are integral to supporting their learning.