Phenomenon of student disengagement at elementary education level understanding silent exclusion from school

Abstract

An Interpretive Phenomenological approach was employed to understand silent exclusion through the lens of student disengagement. It focused on the lived experiences of students disengagement, drawing attention to the school spaces. A purposive sampling procedure was used to recruit sample of 8 drop outs and 20 enrolled students. The themes distilled evinced that school spaces failed in engaging the participants affectively. Participants endured lack of belongingness and considered themselves lesser beings. The behavioristic pedagogical practices suggest that the schools and teachers must critically examine the minutiae of their own practices and foster spaces where teaching is with and for engagement. newline