Affect vs cognition as antecedents of selection behaviour of elective courses using fsQCA

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate students’ attitude based on affective, behavioural and cognitive components. It will ascertain whether there is a link between the three components of attitude, which leads the possible classification of the elective courses. Design/methodology/approach The current study considers the students of the International Business Administration Department from Rustaq College of Applied Sciences, Ministry of Higher Education, Sultanate of Oman, during the academic year 2016–2017. The list of the elective courses was obtained from the existing study plan. A total of 101 students assessed elective courses’ affective and cognitive learning with the use of a web-based survey instrument. Findings An empirical analysis of the selection criterion was performed employing fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis. The results of this study found that students rated 17 elective courses into 8 different configurations (triodes) based on various degrees assigned to attitudinal variables. Research limitations/implications The present study explores the interaction between affective and cognitive factors in determining the selection behaviour of students. It is an investigation into the context of student choices regarding elective courses, especially the decision to select or not to select available courses. Originality/value The world of feelings and beliefs is always open to learning and self-development for the students. Students are continuously involved in taking charge of high-stakes decisions; one of them is the selection of elective courses. However, the critical components into the overall evaluations of their selection behaviour, such as feelings and beliefs, are not well studied.

From Industry 4.0 to Education 4.0: acceptance and use of videoconferencing applications in higher education of Oman

“…Among all hierarchies, cognitive–affect–behavior (CAB) (Ajzen, 1993; Holbrook, 1986) is the most widely used sequence because of its unidirectional flow (Liu et al , 2017), known as the standard learning hierarchy (Solomon et al , 2006). Moreover, the behavior is influenced by affective and cognitive components separately as well as jointly (Jain and Jain, 2018). It gives a vast opportunity to examine affect-, belief- and group-based attitudinal models to study the behavior (Herr, 1995).…”

Understanding student simultaneous smartphone use in learning settings: A conceptual framework

“…The first principle of the complexity theory, equifinality, asserts that multiple paths could lead to the same outcomes in many cases of social science (Jain & Jain, 2018). Using mainly regression-based analytical approaches, existing research found that several paths could lead to student smartphone use in learning settings.…”

Elective Course Selection Strategies in Social Studies Education

“…Öğrenciler, akademik ya da günlük hayatla ilgili birçok karar alırlar. Bu kararlar aile, arkadaş, öğretmen, okul, önbilgiler ve deneyimler gibi birçok faktörden etkilenir (Jain & Jain, 2018). Seçmeli ders seçimi de öğrencilerin karar vermek zorunda oldukları konulardan birisidir.…”

“…Students make many decisions related to their academic or daily life. These decisions are influenced by various factors such as family, friends, teachers, school, prior knowledge, and experiences (Jain & Jain, 2018). Choosing elective courses is one of the issues that students often find challenging and complex (Baruch, 2009).…”

“…This, in turn, can significantly alter the way education faculty students view elective courses. First and foremost, the elective course preferences of undergraduate students can lead to significant developments in the long term (Jain & Jain, 2018) and have the potential to influence their professional skills, and thus, the breadth of their material and spiritual rights in the future (Holtom & Inderriede, 2007). However, education faculty students will have personal rights that are independent of their professional skills and competencies when they are employed in the public sector.…”