School Engagement

School engagement (SE) refers to the attitude of students towards the educational establishment, their interpersonal relationships within it, and their willingness to learn. It is expressed through the feeling of connection and participation, friendships at school, positive relationships with teachers, the development of a sense of belonging, and identification with the institution and its values (^{Fredricks et al., 2004}; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2005). SE results from an interaction between people and an institutional environment that favors opportunities for participation, edifying interpersonal relationships, and intellectual challenges, so the characteristics of the socio-emotional context are important (Fredricks et al., 2004).

SE is a multidimensional construct, that includes the dimensions of behavior, emotion, and cognition, distinguishing three components: behavioral, emotional, and cognitive commitment. These relate to the way students behave and feel about the formal educational experience and the ability to synthesize new information, critical thinking, and problem-solving (^{Fredricks et al., 2004}; ^{Jimerson et al., 2003}). SE components relate to the three fundamental needs of the organism: competence, autonomy, and belonging. The satisfaction of the needs for competence and autonomy has been associated with the development of the three dimensions of SE, while the need for belonging has been associated with emotional and behavioral dimensions (^{Klem & Connell, 2004}; ^{Krauskopf, 2001}; ^{Osterman, 2000}; ^{Papházy, 2006}).

SE action patterns occur in the interactional dynamics between the needs of competence, autonomy, and belonging, and the factors of the academic and socio-cultural environment that influence their development since people actively orient their actions, thoughts, and emotions based on the satisfaction of these needs (^{Connell & Wellborn, 1991}). When these needs are met in the school environment, learning self-regulation, academic achievement, and the development of SE in students are facilitated (^{Raufelder et al., 2014}). In this way, SE acts as a mediator between the students, their relevant contexts, and their interests (^{Reschly & Christenson, 2012}).

Another variable that could contribute to satisfying the needs described (and, therefore, influence the SE) is the creation of learning communities, based on dynamic and complementary relationships between the different members of a class, where group work is more relevant than individual work, and where each student serves as a resource for others with variable roles depending on their understanding and management of the activity in question (^{Rogoff, 2014}; ^{Rogoff et al., 2018}). These group collaboration commitments would be more common in communities with indigenous heritage (^{Mejía-Arauz et al., 2007}). Similarly, collaborative learning, i.e., mutual involvement in shared tasks, has made it possible to observe, among other phenomena, how students, acting as a group, observe one another, engaging enthusiastically and maintaining the rhythm of interaction (^{Mejía-Arauz et al., 2007}).

It should be noted that SE is associated with low dropout rates and a higher degree of involvement in educational work (^{Sandoval-Muñoz et al., 2018}). Positive relationships have been found between SE and grade point averages, educational aspirations, satisfaction with school, behavior inside the school, and the motivational climate for learning (^{Gutiérrez et al., 2018}; ^{Wang & Eccles, 2011}).

Studying SE in Mapuche youth has theoretical and practical relevance. The former is because this research will help understand SE in Mapuche students, allowing exploring the variables related to the construct in the context of Mapuche intercultural education, such as learning, school performance, motivation for learning, and educational aspirations, in addition to helping to understand the phenomenon of lack of schooling (^{Gutiérrez et al., 2018}; ^{Sandoval-Muñoz et al., 2018}; ^{Wang & Eccles, 2011}). On the other hand, regarding practical relevance, understanding SE in Mapuche students could contribute to making improvements in pedagogical practices and generating curricular proposals that ensure better learning outcomes (^{Wang & Eccles, 2011}).

Aim of the study

The aim of this research is to make a description of the SE of Mapuche students in two subjects: Mapuche language and culture, and mathematics. The aim is to carry out the research from a qualitative, phenomenological, and ethnographic approach.

The distinction between the subjects of Mapuche language and culture and mathematics represents the historical-cultural tensions between Mapuche and Western knowledge. The Mapuche language and culture course, taught by a traditional educator from an indigenous community, addresses contents that usually involve aspects related to the language, with Mapuche cultural practices (work with a loom, for example). These aspects of the subject lead to assuming that these courses are close to training practices typical of the Mapuche culture. On the other hand, mathematics education represents Western education by definition, knowledge-based, that has no relation to the Mapuche culture. These differences in subjects could affect the way students feel and the way they act in class, that is, in their school engagement, and with this, in their learning process. In a similar vein, the school engagement of students can influence their decision to drop out of school.

Method

Data Collection Techniques

Two techniques were used for information collection: (1) semi-structured interviews with students, which consisted of 12 questions to inquire information about motivations to learn and attend high school, their grades, learning in beyentun and mathematics classes, and class participation (see Appendix1 ); (2) participant observation, which was done in the math and beyentun classes. In each class, one, two, or three researchers -depending on how many participants were present in that class- each recorded the actions performed by one or two students, at most. Both the mathematics and the beyentun classes lasted between 45 and 90 minutes (1 or 2 pedagogical hours, respectively). The information was collected through field notes with an observation format shared by the research team, where a written record of the observed context was made (^{Rodríguez et al., 1996}).

The shared observation format recorded actions carried out by the teachers and students during the class, which were later analyzed from the point of view of school engagement. An example of an action is when a student looks at her phone at some point in the class. Other observations relate to typical interactional aspects of a class, such as a question asked by the teacher. In some cases, depending on the situation, both aspects are inextricably linked. For example, observing that a student checks her phone while the teacher explains an important aspect of the class content.

Results

By reviewing the data collected in the interviews with students (S) and the observations of classes (M, B), 7 categories emerged. organized according to the research objective, from which some more specific subcategories appeared:

Behavioral engagement, cognitive engagement, and emotional engagement

In beyentun, the subcategories of high levels of engagement (High Behavioral Engagement, High Cognitive Engagement, and High Emotional Engagement) are repeated considerably more than those with low levels of engagement (Low Behavioral Engagement, Low Cognitive Engagement, and Low Emotional Engagement).

Below are some examples of high behavioral, cognitive. and emotional engagement in the subject, respectively: “Yo takes the loom and its parts by looking at it and handling it very carefully and very attentively” (B1A, P11); “Yo tries spinning for a while by hand, without the spindle. Then takes it and watches it. He does not give up” (B1A, P20); “I would like to be a beyentun teacher, like Rosa” (E8, P21).

It is also seen that High Behavioral Engagement is almost always accompanied by High Cognitive Engagement: “Pa manages to fix it and continues working, visibly focused and interested” (B1C, P14). Likewise, high emotional engagement frequently appears next to low behavioral engagement: “She hugs her classmate, not paying attention to the teacher” (B4A, P10); demonstrating tension between the emotional and behavioral engagement in this subject.

In mathematics, the subcategories of High Levels of Engagement are repeated noticeably more than those of Low Levels of Engagement, especially high cognitive engagement compared to low cognitive engagement.

Below are some examples of high behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement in math, respectively: “Pa draws the sphere projected on the board in their notebook” (M1C, P7); “Ju stays quiet and (...) confines himself to saying only what’s needed. He answers the teacher the result of a quick multiplication” (M1C, P16); “The special needs teacher arrives at the desk of Pa and their classmates. The four of them talk and laugh cheerfully” (M1C, P17).

On the other hand, High Emotional Engagement and the Need for Competence: With a teacher's hindering intervention, both occur together on considerable occasions. For example, “Teacher again talks about the topic of the trip and the choice of the students, commenting, jokingly, who she will ‘leave off the bus’. Pa smiles shyly and whispers to her classmates” (M1C, P16).

Likewise, High Behavioral Engagement appears next to High Cognitive Engagement, a relationship that is exemplified in the following quote: “The teacher explains how to get the lateral area, Ju looks carefully and stops writing” (M1A, P12).

When comparing the results obtained in terms of SE, High Emotional Engagement appears much more in beyentun than in mathematics. In contrast, High Cognitive Engagement appears more in mathematics than in beyentun and Low Cognitive Engagement is twice as high in beyentun than in mathematics. Meanwhile, in both subjects, high-engagement subcategories are repeated much more than low-engagement subcategories, and low-engagement levels appear more frequently in beyentun classes.

Discussion

This research describes the case of Mapuche high school students attending an establishment located in the commune of Tirúa, in the Biobío Region (Chile). For this purpose, observations were made in beyentun and mathematics classes, in addition to semi-structured interviews, with 10 participants. The main results of this work show that the levels of engagement, in general, are high in the subjects of mathematics and beyentun. There is a high emotional engagement in beyentun compared to mathematics, and a high cognitive engagement in mathematics compared to beyentun. However, low levels of engagement appear more frequently in beyentun classes than in math classes, especially in cognitive engagement. From the needs approach, a high driver of the need for competence is observed in mathematics classes, while in beyentun, a high driver of the needs of belonging and autonomy is seen. The results also show a high amount of collaborative learning interactions, between teachers and students, vertical and horizontal, with greater presence and duration of this type of exchange in beyentun classes.

The overall results of this research show good levels of engagement in the students who were part of the study. This means that students show personal involvement with the learning activities proposed by their teachers in the observed classes, along with an effort to try to achieve the learning proposed in those classes. These results coincide with previous research that shows high levels of motivation and school engagement in indigenous students (^{Martin et al., 2013}; ^{Martin et al., 2021}). In a similar vein, aspects related to negative emotional engagement or disconnection are observed in students, which also coincides, to some extent, with previous research that shows higher levels of disconnection or lack of school engagement in indigenous students (^{Martin et al., 2013}; ^{Martin et al., 2021})

More specific results on higher levels of cognitive engagement and drivers of the need for competence in mathematics classes could be attributed to a greater valuation of the subsector and its relationship with possible aspirations related to the life projects of the Western world on the part of teachers, students, and their families. However, no valuation was observed in the discourse in favor of learning mathematics in the classes, nor were higher evaluations observed in the student interviews. Instead, the results indicate that the mathematics classes evidence patterns of interaction where the promotion of the teacher's competence predominates, accompanied by the cognitive engagement of the students. The observation of this interaction format is positive since it allows students to progress in the process of learning mathematics. Future research may contribute, first of all, to determining the relationship between this type of interaction in greater detail, considering the pedagogical practice related to content presentation by teachers and student learning outcomes in mathematics. In this sense, the competency driving actions observed in our study (for example, reviewing exercise worksheets on the board, reviewing tasks next to each student’s desk, and asking students questions), could be studied in future research, in addition to the feedback provided by the teacher to the students (^{Martin et al., 2013}; ^{Wisniewski et al., 2020}). In this way, it will be possible to specify supports that contribute to improving the math learning results of Mapuche students.

On the other hand, the fact that High Emotional Engagement is present more often in beyentun than in math could be related to previous findings that indicate that, when teachers share the same cultural background, they provide a strong role model to the students, which becomes particularly relevant in contexts of academic vulnerability (^{Bingham & Okagaki, 2012}). In another vein, the results in emotional engagement can also be related to the greater presence of horizontal collaborative learning interactions. In this case, the predominant interaction formats are based on horizontal collaboration, affective support, or promotion of students' emotional engagement. In this sense, the findings coincide with the research of Bárbara ^{Rogoff (2014}) and her collaborators (^{Mejía-Arauz et al., 2007}; ^{Rogoff et al., 2018}), that account for a completely different way of understanding training, own and verifiable in American indigenous peoples, where collaboration is appreciated as a cultural aspect present in daily life, which acts as a basis for coexistence and, by extension, for teaching and learning.

It is noteworthy that, in these collaborative scenarios, a sense of mutual understanding guided affectively also predominates as the basis of social interactions. Indeed, it is common to observe patterns in the results related to the promotion of the need for belonging with aspects related to the affective commitment of students.

Future research requires expanding the results of the research because it can contribute to the generation of a new curricular framework or new educational projects based on collaboration and community participation, whose scope in the learning of language and culture and knowledge of Western disciplines is still unknown. In this sense, different authors point out the importance of involving communities in decision-making processes related to pedagogical and curricular aspects (^{Martin et al., 2021}).

Finally, in light of the results, which show high levels of SE in the observed students, and since SE is associated with low dropout rates and a higher degree of involvement in educational work (^{Sandoval-Muñoz et al., 2018}), in this study no evidence was found that would connect low levels of SE in the observed students with intention or attempts to drop out. In fact, it is observed that the high SE is greater than the low SE in all its dimensions in this set of students. These results are valuable, since they imply lower risks of dropout in the observed students, in a school context with high dropout levels. Future research may address this aspect by looking in detail at SE in students at risk of dropping out or who have previously dropped out.

Conclusion

The results of this study describe the SE and how it is related to the satisfaction of the needs of belonging, autonomy, and competence in Mapuche students in the context of intercultural education in Chile. Such findings are relevant for making curricular reforms that adapt to the needs of these students, considering how the conditions that have defined the institutionalization of the proposal of intercultural bilingual education by the State have limited the capacity for action and transformation of educational processes by incorporating indigenous and local knowledge into educational establishments with the logic of a monocultural school curriculum (^{Forno et al., 2009}).

Within the limitations of the study, there is a limited number of students in the sample. Future research should expand the sample size, taking as a reference the categories observed in this study. Other practical limitations were given by the conditions of the country in 2019, which is the year when the observations of the study were made. On one hand, a teachers' strike caused the class schedules to be different from the usual ones. In fact, some subjects had excessive-class hours. The Chilean popular uprising that occurred in October 2019 is also relevant, since one of the activities planned in the study, which consisted of holding a focus group with the participants, could not be done.

It is hoped that the results presented in this research will contribute to a better understanding of the situation of Mapuche students and the context of intercultural education in Chile, and that future research carried out in this context will extend upon the results presented in this study.