In higher education, researchers have shown that student engagement is related to personal development and learning. The overall purpose of this non-experimental, cross-sectional, correlational study was to examine differences in student engagement across active learning experiences in prelicensure nursing clinical education. The specific active that were examined included the traditional clinical experience, clinical post-conference, the simulation experience, and simulation debriefing. In addition, this study explored the relation between student engagement and the contribution of the instructor as well as the relation between nursing student engagement in clinical education and academic burnout. Nursing students completed an online survey to self-report their engagement and the instructor contribution in either the clinical experience, the clinical post-conference, the simulation experience, or the simulation debriefing. Additionally, all students self-reported levels of academic burnout. Engagement scores were compared between the various clinical activities to identify problem areas in nursing education. Findings from this study will help to inform best practices that can be used in designing clinical experiences for prelicensure nursing students, to optimize learning and improve learning outcomes. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]