Engagement with mathematics : what does it mean and what does it look like?

When discussing issues surrounding mathematics education, the topic of student engagement (or lack of) often dominates conversations. The low levels of engagement with mathematics experienced by students during the middle years have been of some concern to Australian mathematics educators and stakeholders in recent decades. Lowered engagement with mathematics has the potential to affect our communities beyond the need to fill occupations that require the use of high level mathematics. It can also limit one’s capacity to understand life experiences through a mathematical perspective. What does the term ‘engagement’ mean and what does it look like in the primary mathematics classroom? This article will explore the concept of engagement against the backdrop of a recent longitudinal study into the influences on student engagement during the middle years of schooling, provide some insight into students’ perceptions of engaging mathematics lessons and introduce a framework for engagement with mathematics that could be used to inform planning.