Abstract

School engagement is the level of involvement of students with their school, their sense of belonging, and the motivation to learn and achieve academic goals. The purpose of this study was to characterize the role of the family on school engagement from the perspective of students with special educational needs. For this purpose, a qualitative study with a phenomenological focus was carried out. Eight Chilean students from first and second grade of secondary schools from the Biobio region, Chile, participated in the study. The study employed the technique of photo-elicitation, photographic narration, and interviews. Content analysis was performed with the data. The results show that the emotional dimension of school engagement is the most reported one, highlighting subjective experiences related to their families “being present”, providing support, and making company. The behavioral dimension of the engagement appears to a lower extent, through parental actions such as monitoring, reminding school work, and stressing the importance of education. In relation to the cognitive dimension, fewer students mentioned families provided pedagogical support actions. Participants do not mention special educational needs as a relevant issue in their academic experience. These results are discussed highlighting the importance of family support on students’ school engagement.