Engagement theory recognises that a student’s engagement with education is impacted by factors external to schooling. It is argued that this relationship starts at birth and is continually influenced by family, community, media and individual characteristics in both positive and negative ways.

This chapter investigates the various external factors that influence student engagement. It explores an ecological approach to engagement focusing on personal, family, community and social factors. It reviews the impact of key indicators of health, wellbeing and development on student engagement and highlights what teachers can do to recognise these influences and accommodate them where possible.

In 2014, Fabrice Brégier, then chief operating officer of Airbus, called for the European Central Bank to intervene as the strength of the euro was “crazy.” He wanted them to push it down against the dollar by 10% from an “excessive” $1.35 to between $1.20 and $1.25. We learned in Chapter 14 how a strong currency makes it harder for domestic manufacturers to export goods, so we can understand why a European executive trying to sell commercial airplanes might worry that a strong euro was making his job harder. And it is a fact that in 2014, Airbus was registering disappointing sales compared to its rival across the Atlantic, Boeing. But why would it be “crazy” for the euro to be worth $1.35, and yet normal and acceptable for the euro to be worth 10% less than that? And how did Fabrice Brégier expect the European Central Bank to adjust the euro’s value, when the euro is under a floating, rather than a fixed, exchange rate regime?

This chapter first describes the generic situations of risk, subjective uncertainty, ambiguity, and true uncertainty. It then outlines the main decision theory under risk in neoclassical economics, expected utility theory (EU). We outline EU’s axiomatic structure and highlight the independence axiom that has often been rejected by the evidence, as exemplified by the Allais paradox. The two main drawbacks of EU are that it does not allow for individuals who (i) derive utility from changes in outcomes relative to a reference point (although this is consistent with it's underlying axioms) and (i) weight probabilities in a nonlinear manner. Other violations of EU are also considered; these include description invariance and preference reversals.

In January 2017, just three days after taking office, President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP. This trade agreement involving about a dozen Pacific Rim countries would have reduced trade barriers and established rules governing trade in the region. “We’re going to stop the ridiculous trade deals that have taken … companies out of our country,” he stated. Trump had consistently argued that trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico were “a bad deal” for US workers and unfair to American business, allowing other countries “to take advantage of us.”

In times of turmoil, one would think that a stable, or relatively stable, exchange rate would be a boon to policymakers, soothing the anxieties of international investors. However, keeping the value of the currency stable against a foreign currency such as the US dollar, when buffeted by shocks, entails sometimes painful tradeoffs.

This chapter defines and describes trauma, adversity and trauma-informed practice. We explore how trauma impacts children and young people and how this may influence their engagement with education. A summary about how a student may present when experiencing trauma is provided. As teachers often hear about and address trauma and adversity faced by children, the concepts of compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma are also briefly explored. The chapter ends with examples of ways in which teachers can create trauma-informed classrooms and support and promote trauma-informed policies and practices in schools.

There is a parable about an entrepreneur who invents an amazing machine. Wheat, soybeans, lumber, and oil are fed into one end of the contraption. As if by magic, smartphones, coffee, and tea, and all manner of clothing and apparel come out the other end. The inventor is praised as a genius – until further investigation reveals that the wheat and the other inputs were being secretly shipped to other countries in exchange for the electronics and apparel that later emerged. When this news is made public, the inventor is denounced as an unpatriotic fraud who is destroying jobs.

In January 2017, just three days after taking office, President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP. This trade agreement involving about a dozen Pacific Rim countries would have reduced trade barriers and established rules governing trade in the region. “We’re going to stop the ridiculous trade deals that have taken … companies out of our country,” he stated. Trump had consistently argued that trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico were “a bad deal” for US workers and unfair to American business, allowing other countries “to take advantage of us.”