The Good Project Core Concepts: Engagement

by Shelby Clark

When you go to work, how do you feel? Consider the following questions: 

• At work, do you feel bursting with energy? 

• At work, do you feel full of meaning and purpose? 

• Does time fly when you are working?

• Are you enthusiastic about your job? 

• Does your job inspire you? 

• When you get up in the morning, do you want to go to work? 

If you answered yes to many of these questions, it’s likely that you feel very engaged by your work. Engagement can refer to how committed individuals feel towards their “work, team, and organization.” How happy and satisfied someone is at work is also often an element of worker engagement, perhaps why engagement and well-being efforts often go hand-in-hand. Commitment, happiness, satisfaction – these ideas of engagement are common. For example, students might be described as engaged in their school work if they show dedication and “stick-to-itiveness” or if they are consistently excited to show up to school each day.  

Here at The Good Project, the idea of engagement, in addition to ethics and excellence, serves as one of our 3 Es of “good work.” However, when The Good Project research originally began in the 1990s, this concept was not a part of the original “Es.” As Gardner described in Good Work: Theory and Practice, “To be sure, Excellence and Ethics emerged soon after Humane Creativity [the original Good Work study] had transmogrified into a study of the professions; but Engagement was added near the end of the empirical study.” 

The Good Work research study originally began with hundreds of interviews from a variety of different professions, including those such as genetics, journalism, law, and medicine. However, it was not until the research sample was later broadened to include more of the caring professions, such as teachers and nurses, that engagement was added to the “good work” model. These interviews indicated that without a clear commitment to and love of one’s work, those in these caring professions burnout or quickly leave the field. However, as other Good Project research has shown, too much engagement, or an overidentification with one’s work, can similarly lead to burnout. 

Lynn Barendsen described this phenomenon of engagement and over-engagement in The Good Project’s work with teachers over the past several years. These teachers, as Lynn noted, worked with The Good Project team on various research projects and have been “deeply committed to their students. Their work often went “above and beyond” - beyond regular hours and beyond “formal” commitments. The shared experiences between teachers and students can be positive experiences for both: teachers often describe learning from students, feeling a deep sense of meaning in their work; students identify teachers as role models for a lifetime. And yet teachers who give too much of themselves (especially in these days of remote learning) may well suffer from burnout and exhaustion.

Engagement as one of The Good Project’s 3 Es has been left open to some interpretation to fit a variety of contexts. In 2010, in line with Csikszentmihalyi’s original contributions to the Good Work project, we wrote that engagement means that the work “yields experiences of flow”. By 2015, engagement meant that a worker “likes to go to work, appreciates the institution in which she works, values her colleagues, and relishes the opportunity to practice her craft.” In 2021, we spoke of engaging work as being work that is “meaningful and purposeful for the worker.”

Figuring out how to create meaningful and purposeful work is not a new phenomenon (Cal Newport of The New Yorker asks us to remember the “follow your passion” hysteria of the 1990s parents of today’s Millennials). However, with the onset of Covid-19, the question of how to create and maintain one’s engagement in work became more important than ever, particularly in some spheres. A 2022 Gallup poll found that 44% of teachers felt burned out at work – significantly more than full time workers in any other industry. Moreover, only 35% of U.S. workers overall are considered “engaged” at work, and 61% of Gen Zers want a job that has a purpose beyond making a profit. 

At The Good Project, we’ve found that engagement overlaps with a variety of our other core concepts, such as missions, values, and responsibilities. A main finding from our work has been that having a common purpose or mission can often serve as a guidepost for employee engagement. As Lynn Barendsen explained, “Having a religious basis for work, or having colleagues that share the same mission, whether frankly religious or religious in spirit, can sometimes spell the difference between continuing and dropping out.” The Good Project has found that mission statements can help individuals to identify how their own values are in line with the mission of their organization. Indeed, missing statements have the power to “unify people around a common idea” and ask individuals to think about whether they agree with the kind of impact their organization is making in the world. 

Furthermore, The Good Project work has encouraged individuals to understand how their personal values contribute to their feelings of engagement. Individuals might do this by exploring their values via The Good Project Value Sort. That is, what is more important to them – acquiring wealth, acquiring fame, acquiring learning, or helping the community? Such rankings can help guide individuals to pursue work and activities that are more focused on their preferred values.

We know that more and more workers want to feel they are making a difference and are doing meaningful work. By using The Good Project’s Rings of Responsibility activity or exploring our impact framework, individuals can explore more what it means for them to make a difference in the world. Pursuing such work is another way for individuals to feel greater engagement.  

Consider the above definitions and suggestions. Would you consider yourself engaged at work? If yes, why? If not, why not? Might you be over-engaged? Burned out? Take stock of some of the suggestions recommended above. Do any of them resonate with your experience? Maybe your organization just needs to better articulate its mission and goals in order for you to feel a sense of direction. Or, rather, maybe your organization has a strong sense of mission, and you’re just not sure whether or not your values align because you haven’t had a chance to reflect on it systematically. Instead, perhaps you need to re-prioritize based on your overall goals for making a difference in your life. Or, maybe there is a conversation that could be started at your work regarding new goal setting or changing mindsets. 

Certainly, not every job will be engaging for every worker. But, hopefully, this blog helps offer some guidance for thinking about what engagement is and how and why one is or is not engaged in a variety of settings. 

Below are some resources you might use to explore engagement: 

A video describing the 3Es of The Good Project (Ethics, Excellence, & Engagement): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLNqvhQUGPU&list=PL5sNbw1uznitpzLCwnv49tgumEAh1bcxG

What is my Mission? Activity 

https://www.thegoodproject.org/activities-database-blog/2020/8/12/interview-a-worker-9wg8s-xgzhs-k3prh-2g5k7-zewcz-d2bch?rq=engagement

“Tough Love” Dilemma

https://www.thegoodproject.org/activities-database-blog/2020/8/12/interview-a-worker-9wg8s-xgzhs-k3prh?rq=engagement

Picture Yourself as a… 

https://www.thegoodproject.org/activities-database-blog/2020/7/13/your-two-cents-lblty-b2854-y5xrs-b2jp4-zwkmk-6esn9-xdyny-fmwyf-p2rcr-92wa8?rq=engagement

Does a Research Oath for Doctoral Students Make Sense?

by Howard Gardner

The French Office for Research Integrity recently announced a new policy. Going forward, all students who receive—as well as all who expect to receive—a doctorate in any field will be required to take an ethical oath. The wording: “I pledge to the greatest of my ability, to continue to maintain integrity in my relationship to knowledge, to my methods, and to my results.” On two occasions, these individuals need to affirm that, as holders of a doctoral degree, they will adhere in their work to the highest ethical standards.

The case for such a requirement is straightforward. In recent years, across the broad range of physical, natural, and social sciences, there have been numerous cases in which holders of doctorates have behaved in ways that disgrace their profession and may also damage human beings. Two cases that have recently received publicity:

1. Widespread claims that amyloid deposits cause dementia—and hence can be addressed by palliative drugs—have been based on faulty or ambiguous evidence.

2. Widespread claims that the blood thinner Xarelto can help to heal cardiac damage—it can actually have deleterious effects—have also been withdrawn because of data manipulation.

Moving beyond the medical sector, in my own field of psychology, the haphazard collection, misinterpretation, and fudging of data have been widespread. In response, all sorts of new requirements and checkpoints have been introduced—to what avail, remains to be seen. In light of such accumulating evidence of malfeasance, an oath is, so to speak, a no-brainer.

But it is almost as easy to make the case against such oaths. Numerous fields—ranging from those dating back to the time of Hippocrates to those new areas of work whose claim to be a profession are debatable—have ethical principles and/or oaths. These are easily accessible and sometimes administered solemnly. And yet, rarely does one hear of severe consequences for those who clearly have violated these precepts. Indeed (and this is not meant as a judgment), practitioners nowadays are far more likely to be penalized or chastised if they misbehave toward a colleague or make injudicious remarks than if they fail to honor the core strictures of their profession. And those whose malpractice has been confirmed at one institution all too often find a comparable position at other (though perhaps less prestigious) institutions.

As one who has held a doctorate for over a half century, I have a clear perspective on this matter. Far more important than any kind of oath, whenever and however administered, are the practices and norms that students witness in the course of their training. This immersion begins early in education (dating back well before matriculation at college or university) and reaches its apogee in the years of doctoral training. Particularly crucial are the standards, models, words, deeds of teachers, especially doctoral advisers; the values and ambitions of peers—other doctoral students in the cohort; and the atmosphere among young and senior professionals who work alongside the candidate in the lab, at the library, in class, or in the lunchroom.

Of course, there will always be exceptions. There will be graduates who, despite the positive models readily visible in their training, proceed to violate their professional oaths and norms. (I can think of colleagues who, lamentably, failed to learn from estimable role models). There will also be graduates who, despite a flawed adviser, lab atmosphere, and/or peer group, hold the highest standards for themselves and others. Bravo for them!

But we cannot and should not wait for outliers (or, if you prefer, out-liars!) We cannot count on physicians healing themselves or researchers reading and re-reading the oath that they have sworn to uphold. Instead, as teachers and mentors, we need to apply a critical lens to our own practices and models; and, if they are flawed in any way, we must strive to correct them. If future doctorates encounter positive models, we can rest assured that most of them will follow in the footsteps of their mentors. And then, should such an oath be required, it will serve—not as a prayer but as a celebration.

For helpful suggestions, I thank Courtney Bither and Ellen Winner

Top 5 Articles - Back To School

For many of us—including those in the US—a new school year has officially launched. While we hope that this is really the year that we “return to normal,” there are still some lingering effects from the last two years of pandemic that must be recognized and addressed. That said, the promise of a new start lends the opportunity for new tactics and strategies in the classroom. 

Take a look below to find some of the latest articles that our team has been reading and sharing as we kick off the new academic year. 

1. In this article, John Spencer argues that teachers need to be given the space to take creative risks with their teaching. Freedom gives teachers professional agency, which helps to bolster engagement in their craft. It also allows teachers to serve as role models for their students who are asked on a daily basis to take risks in their own learning. Spencer goes on to suggest 10 creative risks for teachers to try out this year. We hope this inspires some educators to test drive something new.

2. While schools are back in person, the effects of the pandemic and remote learning are still being felt. For some students, this can show itself through burn out. We’ve talked a lot over the last year about worker burnout, but how can teachers and schools turn their attention to this issue within their students? Miriam Plotinsky of Edutopia describes the problem space and offers some strategies for mitigating the effects of student burnout in her article here. 

3. In response to the rising number of students experiencing mental health issues, many teachers have added a mental health check-in with students to their daily routine. This article from NPR describes this new strategy and how school systems and professional care are working with educators to get resources to those students who need additional support. 

4. What do you know about Mastery Based Learning (MBL)? The Hechinger Report’s article gets into the nitty gritty of MBL and offers a rebuttal to some of the most common arguments from skeptics. Take a look and see if this might be the approach your students need to improve performance and deepen understanding.

5. Larry Cuban recently revisited his popular article on “classroom expectations” here. Cuban discusses not only how a teacher’s expectations of their students ultimately influence classroom outcomes, but also how students’ expectations of their teachers also play into the behaviors and academic achievements of the group.

8 Things We Learned About United World College's Mission-Based Education

by Shelby Clark and Danny Mucinskas

From 2017-2022, our team was involved in an investigation of international mission-driven schools, centered on the United World Colleges movement. A full report of findings was released in June 2022 and is available here.

A synthesis of major findings is presented in the slideshow below, which may be helpful for readers to understand the major takeaways that have come out of this original research.

Find an accessible version of these slides here [link].

For more information about the study overall, including appendices, background information, and the instruments used, please visit edimpactstudy.com [link].

The Good Project Presents at Project Zero Sparks 2022

by Lynn Barendsen and Danny Mucinskas

In late July 2022, we had the pleasure of leading a virtual workshop as part of Project Zero’s one-day online Sparks conference, an opportunity to learn about a variety of PZ ideas for a diverse group of educators. We were pleased that, for our session, we had an audience of almost 40 educators from around the world: participants from the US hailed from states as diverse as Georgia, Nebraska, Ohio, and Texas, while international participants joined from countries such as Brazil, Japan, Switzerland, and Trinidad and Tobago. 

Our session was titled “Good Work: What It Is and How to Teach It,” and we offered an introduction to Good Project ideas, a brief overview of our research, and an introduction to the Good Project Lesson Plans. Although we miss the collegiality of in-person meetings (and look forward to many more in the future!), we welcomed the variety of perspectives and responses that emerged from such a far-reaching, diverse group. 

We began with an activity from the Good Project Lesson Plans, asking participants to think of someone they believed exemplifies “good work.” In small breakout groups, participants described individuals they admired: sometimes they chose family members, friends, and colleagues; sometimes they described individuals they’d never met but nonetheless admired. They then pulled out terms they would use to describe these exemplary workers, including qualities such as “visionary,” “driven,” “optimistic,” “honest,” “trustworthy,” “caring,” and more.

When we returned as a full group, participants shared themes from the descriptions of the individuals they admired and what they learned from these individuals on a shared collaboration board, and we had a brief discussion. For example, one participant commented upon three qualities that their partner exemplified in their work, including approaching collaborators with kindness. Another participant spoke of a celebrity’s work ethic and commitment to excellence. Interestingly, a number of participants described the importance of positivity and bringing “joy” and compassion to work in various ways, using words and phrases such as “sense of humor” and “cultivate calm.” Our team has led this discussion on a number of occasions, and this focus on positivity is not something that has come up frequently in past sessions. We wonder now if perhaps attention to joy feels especially necessary for educators who are experiencing more challenges than ever. 

After a brief introduction to Good Work and the three “Es” that comprise our definition (excellence, ethics and engagement), we asked participants to revisit the qualities that defined their chosen “good workers” and consider whether their descriptions fit neatly under the heading of one or more of these “Es.” Some terms (such as “honesty”) seem to fall squarely into the “ethics” column. Other terms (such as “supportive” or “inclusive” or “kind”) could arguably fit into multiple categories. We explained that these conversations can make for great jumping-off points with students as they consider what’s important to them in their work, and how they might best find mentors to help them further establish their own standards for work. 

We then offered a brief introduction to the Good Project Lesson Plans. Incorporating real-world dilemmas, reflective activities, and guided conversations about ethical challenges, responsibilities, and values, these materials are designed to support students to develop the skills, understandings, and dispositions to effectively navigate their working lives. We are excited to explore the outcomes of our materials more systematically in our recently launched research project of the lesson plans, for which we are recruiting a passionate group of educators around the world. 

Despite calls for the development of “21st century skills” necessary for success in a changing working world—one that includes technological advancements, political turmoil, and evolving work habits—few educational outlets allow students to grapple with this complexity and address their own opinions and beliefs as they relate to present and future work. Inviting this diverse group of educators to reflect on their own beliefs about work gave us the briefest insight into how they approach some of these challenges.