Active Engagement, Stronger Learning: Lived Experiences of Senior High School Students at Ditumabo National High School in Developing Learning Skills

Abstract

Student engagement has emerged as a critical determinant of learning quality and the development of essential learning skills in senior high school education. As educational paradigms increasingly shift toward learner-centered instruction, active participation in classroom activities has become fundamental in enhancing students' communication, critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and self-directed learning. Senior High School learners are expected to acquire these competencies to prepare them for higher education, employment, and lifelong learning. Despite the growing recognition of student engagement as a predictor of academic success, limited qualitative studies have explored how learners themselves experience active classroom participation and how such experiences contribute to the development of learning skills. This phenomenological study aims to explore the lived experiences of Senior High School students at Ditumabo National High School in developing learning skills through active engagement in classroom instruction. The study examines students' perceptions of classroom participation, collaborative learning, communication, instructional experiences, challenges, coping strategies, and personal growth. Participants will consist of purposively selected Grade 11 and Grade 12 students from Ditumabo National High School who have demonstrated consistent classroom participation across different learning activities. Data will be collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews and analyzed using the systematic procedures of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The study is expected to generate meaningful themes that explain how active engagement strengthens learners' academic competence, confidence, communication skills, critical thinking, collaboration, and lifelong learning dispositions. The findings are anticipated to contribute to the improvement of learner-centered pedagogy, curriculum implementation, and instructional practices in Senior High School education. Student engagement has increasingly been recognized as a multidimensional construct closely associated with meaningful learning experiences and improved educational outcomes. However, qualitative explorations of how students themselves experience engagement remain relatively limited, reinforcing the need for phenomenological investigations.