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The decline in pupils' emotional engagement with school. How does England compare to other countries?

Author

Listed:
  • John Jerrim

    (UCL Social Research Institute)

  • Neil Kaye

    (UCL Social Research Institute)

Abstract

Research has indicated how, in England, pupils' emotional engagement at school drops rapidly in the first stages of secondary education (Key Stage 3). But to what extent is a similar pattern observed in other countries, and is the fall steeper in England than elsewhere? This paper presents new comparative evidence on this issue, drawing on multiple waves of data from the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Our results show that between the end of primary and mid-secondary school, pupils' level of emotional engagement falls in almost every country with data available. The magnitude of this fall is, however, more pronounced in England than elsewhere. In several areas the drop is greater for girls than boys, though with little difference according to immigrant status. We also illustrate how secondary school pupils' emotional engagement with school has fallen significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • John Jerrim & Neil Kaye, 2025. "The decline in pupils' emotional engagement with school. How does England compare to other countries?," CEPEO Working Paper Series 25-03, UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities, revised Mar 2025.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucl:cepeow:25-03
    as

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    File URL: https://repec-cepeo.ucl.ac.uk/cepeow/cepeowp25-03.pdf
    File Function: Initial version, 2025
    Download Restriction: no
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    School engagement; international comparison; school belonging; COVID-19.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education

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