Pupils in English secondary schools have some of the lowest school engagement rates around the world, with rates dropping amongst the fastest following the pandemic, report UCL researchers who analysed data in the recent Trends in International Maths and Science study.
The researchers found also that girls in year 9 in participating countries around the world reported feeling significantly less safe in 2023 than in 2019, with England seeing one of the biggest drop-offs. In 2023, girls in England in year 9 were 22% less likely to strongly agree that they felt safe at school compared to 2019, which was significantly larger than boys in England (10% decline) and the international average (13% decline).
A pupil's emotional engagement refers their enjoyment of school, their relationships with their peers and teachers and the extent to which they feel safe and that they belong in school. Globally, while primary school pupils in year 5 demonstrated a small fall in emotional engagement with school between 2019 and 2023, a steep drop appeared amongst pupils in year 9. This was the most pronounced amongst girls, particularly relating to how safe they feel in school. Whilst all 32 countries that participated in TIMSS reported a drop in engagement both between years 5 and 9 and overall since the pandemic, England's reported drop was one of the steepest, along with Australia and New Zealand.
For the analysis, the researchers measured subjective engagement indicators in the TIMSS study, using data from 2019 and 2023, including liking school, feeling safe, belonging, a sense of care from teachers and pride in their school, comparing England's results against participating countries. The team wanted to find out how emotional engagement changed over time and particularly since the pandemic, how this changed between years 5 and 9 and if there were any gender and immigrant status differences.
Levels of engagement in year 5 in England have remained relatively stable over the last 20 years. The percentage of pupils strongly agreeing that they like being in school was around 37% in 2011 and 38% in 2019, which the researchers say is not a significant drop, although there was an unexplained spike in 2015 to 50%. The percentage dropped further in 2023, to 31%. The results follow a similar pattern in OECD countries that participated in TIMSS.
In year 9 in England, the percentage of pupils strongly agreeing that they like being in school fell from 19% in 2019 to just 11% in 2023. When looking at other factors, 42% strongly agreed they felt safe at school in 2019 compared to 26% in 2023 and 35% in 2019 strongly agreed they felt proud to attend their school compared to 20% in 2023. On feeling a sense of belonging, 37% strongly agreed in 2019 compared to 24% in 2023.
The researchers say that the findings highlight a need for interventions to boost secondary pupils' emotional engagement with school, with a focus on girls and issues around safety and strength of relationships. There is also an opportunity to provide greater support for the transition from primary and secondary school and addressing lower levels of engagement at the beginning of secondary school in years 7 and 8.
Lead author Professor John Jerrim (IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education & Society) said: "The key finding in this paper is that the decline in emotional engagement is significantly greater in England compared to other countries. There could be several factors behind this, and the significance of the Covid-19 pandemic shouldn't be underestimated. The results we are seeing for girls are particularly concerning, with around a third of teenage girls in this country indicating they no longer feel safe at school."
Across all participating countries, girls reported a more pronounced decline in school engagement. The researchers say that in 2019, around 36% of girls across all participating countries had a high level of emotional engagement with school, falling to around 25% in 2023. For boys the fall across all participating countries was less steep, with the percentage of pupils with high levels of emotional engagement falling from 32% in 2019 to 28% in 2023.
This decline was amongst the steepest in England, particularly around feelings of safety. In 2019, around 47% of girls across all participating countries strongly agreed that they felt safe at school, falling to around 34% in 2023. In England, these figures were 43% in 2019 and 21% in 2023. For boys, the fall across all participating countries was less steep, with the percentage of pupils strongly agreeing they felt safe at school falling from 44% in 2019 to 38% in 2023. In England, these figures were 41% in 2019 and 31% in 2023.
The researchers say there is likely to be a strong connection between declining emotional engagement and pupil absences, with those who feel less engaged being more likely to skip school. While Anglophone countries in general tended to report faster declining levels of emotional engagement, more research is needed to understand why this is and why England's levels are similar to Australia and New Zealand.
Professor Jerrim continued: "Our research points towards something happening during the pandemic - quite possibly school closures - that has particularly impacted teenage girls. This may have particularly impacted girls' enjoyment and confidence at school and their peer relationships. What is really worrying is that there are signs from other evidence that this may well be feeding into greater school absence rates amongst girls and on to their educational achievement."
The TIMSS study, run by the Evaluation of International Achievement (IEA) takes place every four years. England has participated in every cycle since its inception in 1995.
