ABSTRACT
Learning in school is hard work. It requires effort, determination, and persistence in the face of challenges and setbacks. In order to learn, students must focus their attention, listen to their teachers, and expend mental energy participating constructively in academic tasks. In fact, this kind of wholehearted (and whole-headed) participation in academic work is considered by many educators and researchers to be a necessary condition for learning and a precondition for students’ long-term success in school (Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004). As a result, researchers in education and psychology have long focused on the question of how to promote and sustain students’ engagement in academic work (Christenson, Reschly, & Wylie, 2012).
