Involvement
Well-being and involvement are the quality criteria of the process-oriented approach of the Experiential Education Model. Below you will zoom in on involvement.
Involvement is …
- A quality of human activity
- That can be recognised by concentration and persistence
- And is characterised by:
- motivation, interest and fascination
- openness to stimuli and intense mental activity
- vivid sensations and an embodied sense of meaning
- deep satisfaction and a strong flow of energy
- which are determined by:
- the exploratory drive and the individual pattern of developmental needs
- the fundamental schemes reflecting the actual level of development. One acts at the very limits of one’s capabilities (the ‘zone of proximal development’)
… as a result of which development occurs
Why is involvement important?
Involvement is something very special. When you observe it you sense intuitively that you cannot disturb the activity. When people are involved, we know that they address their capabilities and that they are ‘developing’: they learn at a deeper level, they become more competent.
Involvement is congruent with Csiksentmihayli’s ‘state of flow’, Vygotsky’s ‘zone of proximal development’ and Gladwell’s concept of ‘hard work’. Therefore we consider involvement as an indispensable condition for fundamental or deep-level-learning. High involvement creates the best possible conditions for sustainable development. If involvement is lacking, there is reason for concern. Chances are that their development will stagnate. That is why we should do everything we can in order to create an environment in which people can engage in a wide variety of activities.
Involvement around the world
Involvement as defined by The Centre for Experiential Education is part of the Flemish pedagogical framework for babies and toddlers, the Dutch pedagogical framework for childcare and the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. It is recommended by in the Early years Foundation Stage Profile (UK) and is an integral part of quality-instruments such as (Baby) Effective Early Learning (EEL and BEEL) and the Australian instrument Reflect, Respect, Relate.
Measure Involvement
The Centre for Experiential Education developed the Leuven Involvement Scale (LIS) to capture the levels of Involvement.
Video
How Does Well-being & Involvement Contribute to the Quality of Learning
References
- Laevers F, Declercq B. (2018). How well‐being and involvement fit into the commitment to children’s rights, in: Eur J Educ., 35, 325–335. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12286
- Laevers, F., & Declercq (2013). Increasing children’s competencies through wellbeing and involvement, in: Reflections Magazine, 52.
- Laevers, F., & Heylen, L. Involvement of Children and Teacher Style: Insights from an international study on Experiential Education. [Socrates publication]
- Lietaert, S. (2016). A gender gap in the classroom? Different perceptions of student engagement and teacher support. [doctoraat Psychologie en Pedagogische wetenschappen, KULeuven]
- Lietaert, S., Roorda, D., Laevers, F., Verschueren, K, & De Fraine, B. (2015). The gender gap in student engagement: The role of teachers’ autonomy support, structure, and involvement, in: British Journal of Educational Psychology, 85, 498–518. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12095