Students as partners in the promotion of civic engagement in higher education

Owusu‐Agyeman, Yaw; Fourie‐Malherbe, Magda

doi:10.1080/03075079.2019.1666263

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Under the theoretical guidance of social cognitive theory that elucidates how humans regulate and tune their own behavior ( Owusu-Agyeman and Fourie-Malherbe, 2021 ), the current research sets out to investigate the cognitive and psychological mechanisms ( Zhang X. et al, 2021 ) through which innovation capability, social adaptability, and self-efficacy may influence the employability of college students. According to social cognitive theory ( Bandura, 1977 , 1986 , 1997 ), although behavior is jointly determined by the external environment and internal cognition, cognition plays a leading role in determining the final action.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impacts of innovation capability and social adaptability on undergraduates’ employability: The role of self-efficacy

Pu²,

Liao³

2022

Front. Psychol.

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Introduction: As the world is consistently driven by the infusion of new-generation information technology and the knowledge economy, college students are placed under mounting pressure in developing occupation-related competencies. Their employability has been receiving growing concerns from stakeholders such as higher education institutions, governments, employers, parents, and even student groups themselves as it plays a decisive role in occupational success, social stability, and economic prosperity. Under the theoretical guidance of social cognitive theory, this study set out to investigate the cognitive and psychological mechanisms through which innovation capability, social adaptability, and self-efficacy influence the employability of college students. It also attempts to analyze the mediating role of self-efficacy in the relations between innovation capability, social adaptability, and employability which has been rarely studied in academia.Methods: A quantitative approach was employed in this study. Data was collected from 726 undergraduates from 9 higher education institutions in the mainland of China by questionnaire survey method. The research model showed a good fit (χ2/df=4.46, RMSEA=0.069, SRMR=0.049, GFI=0.934, CFI=0.965, NFI=0.955, TLI=0.955). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to this study for data analysis.Results: The findings showed that innovation capability, social adaptability, and self-efficacy significantly and positively correlates with undergraduates’ employability. University students with stronger innovation capability, social adaptability, and self-efficacy tend to be more employable in the job market. Model 4 of SPSS PROCESS Macro revealed that self-efficacy played a mediating role in the correlation between innovation capability, social adaptability, and employability.Discussion: Undergraduates with higher levels of innovation capability and social adaptability are more confident in their abilities to take specific actions and achieve expected goals, which in turn intensifies their employability. The study suggests the possibility of improving undergraduates’ employability through positive interference of innovation capability, social adaptability, and self-efficacy in the era of information technology and knowledge-based economy.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impacts of innovation capability and social adaptability on undergraduates’ employability: The role of self-efficacy

Pu²,

Liao³

2022

Front. Psychol.

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“…According to the social cognitive theory that interprets how the mechanisms of self-influence and self-regulation stimulate and govern human behavior ( Owusu-Agyeman and Fourie-Malherbe, 2019 ), self-efficacy is identified as a dominant behavior determinant ( Lee et al, 2018 ). It reflects an individual’ beliefs about his or her ability to take actions, accomplish tasks, and reach goals under different situations ( Bandura, 1986 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of achievement motivation on college students’ employability: A chain mediation analysis of self-efficacy and academic performance

Phakdeephirot

2022

Front. Psychol.

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Employability of college students has been attached great importance by higher education institutions, employers, and governments because college graduates are the strategic human resource for the sustainable growth of universities, organizations, and countries across the world. It is also receiving growing attention from academic community. This study aimed to examine the psychological mechanism that impacts college students’ employability. It adopted an empirical approach by collecting data from 646 final-year students from 9 universities in the mainland of China. SPSS 25.0 was used for description, correlation, and regression analysis. AMOS 24.0 was utilized for path analysis. Model 6 Bootstrap method of PROCESS Version 3.5 was adopted for mediation analysis. The results showed that achievement motivation positively predicted self-efficacy, academic performance, and employability among undergraduates. Participants’ self-efficacy did not significantly impact their employability or play a mediating role in the relationship between achievement motivation and employability, while academic performance was a significant mediator of this association. Self-efficacy and academic performance served as chain mediators in the prediction of achievement motivation on college students’ employability. After controlling gender and family residence, achievement motivation still had significant and positive impact on employability of college students. This research made several noteworthy contributions to the existing studies on college students’ employability and provided insight for practitioners in strengthening their employability through these psychological constructs.

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“…Thus, in spite of numerous experience-based studies on service-learning (Salam et al , 2019) showing positive outcomes in terms of personal, academic or social development (Myers, 2020), knowledge about African students’ experiences in this regard is just emerging. So far, studies from Ghana have revealed that cultural diversity experience, social responsibility and students as partners are keys to stimulate civic participation among university students (Owusu-Agyeman and Fourie-Malherbe, 2021). Furthermore, in the post-colonial era, educational research from Zambia emphasises the importance of incorporating indigenous knowledge systems into African universities to foster sustainable development in society (Mbah et al , 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Encouraging social innovation for combating poverty: master’s students’ gendered experiences with a service-learning intervention in Kenya and Uganda

Wao

Otendo

Syonguvi

et al. 2022

SGPE

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Purpose This study aims to understand master’s students’ experiences of service-learning, following their participation in a workshop with local social innovators whose activities had contributed to combating poverty in East Africa and to determine how this participation affected work on the students’ theses. The authors also explored possible gender differences in this context. Design/methodology/approach The study was based on pretest–posttest mixed methods research design. Data were collected from master’s students within the social sciences and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, respectively, in Kenya and Uganda, via surveys and interviews before the workshop, immediately afterwards and six months later. Findings Students’ immediate experience was that the workshop contributed to increased critical awareness, adoption of transdisciplinary community-serving approaches and strengthened self-confidence. Six months later, most had related their projects to social problems (e.g. poverty) in their communities. Moreover, the results motivated integration of gender-sensitive curricula based on service-learning in East Africa. Practical implications Based on the results, the authors suggest a framework for gender-sensitive curriculum development that can stimulate service-learning in master’s students. Implementation of such a curriculum could eventually contribute to community development, including, e.g. poverty reduction. Originality/value Studies on service-learning are rare in Africa, especially in postgraduate education. Gender-sensitive studies on service-learning are generally scarce and the same holds for studies on encouraging STEM students to integrate social innovation into their thesis work. By combining these aspects, this study presents an original contribution to existing research.

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Students as partners in the promotion of civic engagement in higher education

Cited by 14 publications

References 47 publications

The impacts of innovation capability and social adaptability on undergraduates’ employability: The role of self-efficacy

The impacts of innovation capability and social adaptability on undergraduates’ employability: The role of self-efficacy

The influence of achievement motivation on college students’ employability: A chain mediation analysis of self-efficacy and academic performance

Encouraging social innovation for combating poverty: master’s students’ gendered experiences with a service-learning intervention in Kenya and Uganda

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