Student Identity, Disengagement, and Learning

Abstract

Current student engagement literature fails to fully appreciate the psychosocial aspect of learning, especially the process of “opting out” of learning opportunities. We formulate a model of identity-based disengagement in an attempt to understand why some students choose to reject learning opportunities. Management education in particular may be subject to student disengagement due to learning activities that engender affective, identity-challenging responses. Using social identity theory, we model how some learning activities can trigger elements of students' identities, forcing a cognitive dissonance confrontation. We suggest that students undertake an identity-based risk–reward assessment when determining which learning opportunities to accept or reject. We argue that by increasing sensitivity to the process of disengagement, instructors can help draw students back into learning opportunities. Practical implications of the model and suggestions for future research end the article.