A JOURNEY TO MEASURE STUDENT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT BENEFITS: EVIDENCE FROM AUSTRALIA

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Ellen Chung ◽  
Hamish B Coates
Keyword(s):  
Community Engagement ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Factor Loading ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
Student Community ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Learning ◽  
Final Questionnaire ◽  
Civic Skills ◽  
Career Skills

Community engagement is a phenomenon that has received increasing attention among institutions of higher learning in recent years, and students engaging with communities are generally seen as beneficial. Given this, surprisingly little is known about this form of engagement in Australian higher education, let alone methods to measure its benefits on students. This study discussed the development of the Student Community Engagement Benefits Questionnaire (SCEBS), a questionnaire that measures the perceptions of community engagement benefits among undergraduate students in Australia. The final questionnaire has 32 items allocated to four benefit scales: (1) Career skills, (2) Diversity skills, (3) Interpersonal skills, (4) Civic skills. Most benefit items had a factor loading of atleast 0.40 with its own scale. The results of the factor analysis revealed that the four scales accounted for 53% of the total variance. The alpha reliability coefficient for the four scales ranged from 0.79 to 0.91. Based on these findings, the Student Community Engagement Benefits Scale (SCEBS) is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used in the field of education. Undergraduate students also reported statistically significant changes in the four dimensions after participating in community engagement activities.

scholarly journals Student Community Engagement: Insight from Australia

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Ellen Chung ◽  
Hamish Coates
Keyword(s):  
Community Engagement ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
Community Needs ◽  
Student Community ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Characteristics Analysis ◽  
Civic Skills ◽  
Contextual Characteristics ◽  
Career Skills ◽  
Australian Universities

Student community engagement is a form of experiential education where students engage in activities that address community needs. This form of learning emphasizes collaboration between students, faculty, and thecommunity partner. By using Student Community Engagement Benefits Questionnaire, data was collected from 151 students in four Australian universities. This study has identified the various community engagement activities they participated either in Australia or overseas; whether voluntary or compulsory. Analysis of variance and paired sample t-test showed that there was a statistically significant gain in Career, Diversity, Interpersonal and Civic skills among the respondents after the community engagement activities. By incorporating three demographic and contextual characteristics, analysis of covariance showed that the changes after community engagement in these four skills were not significant between the two types of projects (compulsory and voluntary projects). When data was analysed by age group of respondents, there was a significant difference after community engagement only in Civic skills. Analysis by community engagement durations also showed that there was a significant difference in Career skills, Interpersonal Skills and Civic skills. This paper sheds light on what students learn from community engagement in the context of Australian higher education.

eService-Learning

2020 ◽  
pp. 116-142
Author(s):  
Mandi M. Laurie
Keyword(s):  
Distance Learning ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Community Engagement ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Graduate Level ◽  
Online Student ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Learning ◽  
Similar Content ◽  
Service Learning Pedagogy

The service-learning pedagogy has flourished in popularity and student outcomes, and with the online student population expanding, institutions of higher learning must develop programs with similar content across both face-to-face and distance-learning applications. Institutions are using eService-Learning (eS-L) programs to address this divide. Commonly reported service-learning outcomes include student's sense of belonging and community engagement, and this chapter aims to present a case with similar outcomes for graduate-level students enrolled in a distance learning course with a substantive service-learning component.

Grounding Institutions of Higher Learning as Learning Organizations for Developing Intellectual-Knowledge Society

2019 ◽  
pp. 25-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ndwakhulu Stephen Tshishonga
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Community Engagement ◽  
Learning Organization ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Organizations ◽  
Knowledge Society ◽  
Dynamic Environment ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Learning ◽  
Intellectual Knowledge

This chapter explores the complex and dynamic environment in which institutions of higher learning (HEIs) have to operate and the imperative for them to transform themselves into learning organizations. This chapter is underpinned by the concept of learning organizations as its theoretical exposition to gauge the capacity of universities to learn and transform themselves. The chapter argues that institutions of higher learning are strategically poisoned to transform themselves as learning organizations. Thus, learning organization-based HEIs could be advanced by transmitting knowledge through teaching and learning, knowledge production through research and managing, and disseminating knowledge through community engagement or service learning. These responsibilities form part of the integral and core business of the HEIs, especially of the universities.

scholarly journals Effective Leadership and Readership as an Indicator for Academic Excellence in Nigeria Institutions of Higher Learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 04 (08) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adigwe , A.I ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Effective Leadership ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
National Development ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Academic Excellence ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Learning

Higher Education, no doubt, has been universally acclaimed as the bedrock for national development and effective Leadership as the drivers of academic excellence in the Institutions of higher learning in Nigeria. Qualitative teaching and learning remains the engine room that derives good governance and propels leadership positions. Leadership, however, cannot exist without Readership. The two are relatively interwoven. Leadership and readership has over the years become critical issues in organizational theory and practice. Thus, leadership and readership need to be taken up as a cause to be promoted in pursuit of academic excellence in the Institutions of higher learning in Nigeria. Reading is a great investment in one’s personal development and, by extension, in achieving desired academic excellence. In this research, concrete effort is made to clarify the key concept of Leadership and Readership as drivers of academic excellence in the Institutions of higher learning in Nigeria, especially in the Polytechnic System. The research equally investigates both internal and external factors militating against academic excellence in Nigeria citadel of learning and finally makes recommendations, among which is training and retraining of employees, discouragements of unnecessary political interferences in appointments into academic leadership positions, Staff recruitments, admission of undergraduate students and effective monitoring policy of civil service rules.

scholarly journals INFLUENCE OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE ON CONTRACEPTIVE USE AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 965-970
Author(s):  
Obrenyi Eldah Ochieng ◽  
John Arudo
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Condom Use ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Contraceptive Use ◽  
Addictive Behavior ◽  
Hiv And Aids ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Peer Educators ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Learning ◽  
Contraceptive Utilization

Studies have shown a relationship betweendrinking and ineffective contraception and condom use. The rate of binge drinking and ineffective contraception or ineffective condom use among college women was proved to be high. This article examined the influence of addictive behavior on utilization of contraceptives among undergraduate students. Addictive factors that were compared with utilization included attending club and parties, alcohol consumption, and smoking. The data used in analysis was based on stratified probability sample of 453 respondents interviewed in 2017 from Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST). Quantitative and qualitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study revealed that there was a statistical significant relationship between respondent who frequently attended clubs and parties and contraceptives utilization (OR=0.48 95%CI 0.27-0.84, p=0.01). However, patronizing clubs and parties frequently reduced the probability of using contraceptives by 48% compared to those who did not frequent clubs or parties. Also, alcohol consumption was significantly associated with contraceptives utilization (OR=0.33: 95%CI 0.18-0.59, p=0.00). This result also revealed that respondents who consumed alcohol were 0.33 times less likely to use contraceptives than those who did not indulge in alcohol. Smoking was not statistically significantly associate with contraceptive utilization (p=0.85). The article recommends that HIV and AIDS peer educators should be tasked with educating on sexual and reproductive health and the importance of implementing specific programs in institutions of higher learning to limit the risks of addiction and partying, not only in terms of alcohol abuse, but also addictive behavior such as smoking.

Assessing and Implementing a Sustainable Holistic Planning System

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik C. Backus ◽  
Stephen Bird
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Planning System ◽  
Planning Systems ◽  
Pedagogical Tool ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Learning ◽  
Smart Community ◽  
Lake Placid

In 2019, the New York Olympic Region received the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Communities Certification (gold) for a rural multi-jurisdictional region comprised of Lake Placid Village, North Elba Town, the Olympic Regional Development Authority, and the Lake Placid School System. Much of the work involved in this initiative was executed by 14 undergraduate students and two faculty members from Clarkson University working in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council, and four local jurisdictions. The endeavor was successful and unique in several facets. First, it provided an experiential project-based education in the application of a sustainable holistic planning system, LEED for Communities/Cities. Second, it demonstrates the value of a university collaboration with a rural region and its communities. Third, it developed the first rural regional model for smart community planning that integrated multiple jurisdictions and stakeholders. Finally, it provides a replicable template for implementation and operation by other communities with institutions of higher learning. A variety of challenges remain, however, for emerging sustainable holistic planning systems in metrics development, civic and stakeholder engagement, determination of efficacy, and implementation optimization. Readers will emerge with an improved understanding of sustainable holistic planning systems, knowledge of multi-jurisdictional planning concerns in sustainability metrics, and insight into implementation of these systems as a pedagogical tool and partnership mechanism.

scholarly journals Suicide among Undergraduate Students in Southeast Nigeria: An Empirical Evaluation of Durkheim’s Classifications of Suicide

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 35-50
Author(s):  
Samuel O. Okafor
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Family Income ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Empirical Evaluation ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Learning ◽  
The Social ◽  
Parametric Statistics ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Altruistic Suicide

The Durkheimian sociological doctrine of suicide is classified into regulation/integration, high and low social currents, with four resultant suicide types such as egoistic, altruistic, anomic and fatalistic suicide. Across Nigeria and social classes, suicide types and circumstances according to the above classifications have become worrisome, warranting empirical investigation into the social wellbeing and suicide potentials in the social realm of Nigerian socio-economic and political landscape. As such, this study investigated the suicide tendency among undergraduate students in some selected institutions of higher learning in south-eastern Nigeria. The study adopted a survey design using a sample size of 2,200 students (17+). The study adopted parametric statistics for the test of the relationship of variables. In the overall findings, altruistic suicide tendency is high (60%), this is followed by anomic suicide tendency (47%), egoistic suicide tendency (46%) and fatalistic suicide tendency (41%). From the regression model (p< .05), altruistic suicide tendency was found to be predicted by family income and strong ties with family activities. Equally, anomic suicide tendency can be predicted by how many years the students have been in the school. Egoistic suicide tendency was found to be positively correlated with family income and source of sponsorship while fatalistic suicide tendency was found to be positively correlated with only family income.

The Role of Moral Education on the Dress Code in the Higher Learning Institution

Sains Insani ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-14
Author(s):  
Ira Meilita Ibrahim ◽  
Taufik A. Latif ◽  
Afi Roshezry Abu Bakar ◽  
Muthualagan Thangavelu
Keyword(s):  
Moral Education ◽  
Private University ◽  
Public University ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Private Institutions ◽  
Dress Code ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Learning ◽  
The World ◽  
Definition Of

The advancement of European dress to the rest of the world was linked to the definition of civilization as “a stage of social development considered to be more advanced” and “polite and good-mannered”. The widespread of their fashion style in the 19th and 20th centuries influenced the way the rest of the world attire. The fashion trend and dressing style thus change the purpose of dressing through time. The dressing style in campuses especially in private institutions of higher learning is under particular scrutiny, as it is often said to be inappropriate for a learning environment. This study looked at the importance of moral education, and its role in implementing the dress code for students among university students especially between two types of university i.e. public university and private university. It looked on the dressing style of students, both male and female, and the factors that lead to their dressing pattern which is common among students. This study also advocated the students’ understanding of the content of dress codes in their learning institution and the role played by moral education in regard to dress code. The overall study highlighted students’ perception towards the implementation of the dress code and punishment in their learning institution. The methodologies used to carry out this study are questionnaires and interviews. This study will therefore ascertain the important of dress code among students at higher learning institution and the role of moral education in cultivating values in order to dress properly or decently. Key Words: moral education, dress code, higher learning institution, civilization.

Gender and belief factors on attitude towards Social and Environmental Accounting (SEA)

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Salina Abdullah ◽  
Ern Chen Loo
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Environmental Accounting ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Business And Society ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
Sustain Ability ◽  
The Relationship

Research on social and environmental accounting (SEA) has mainly concentrated on disclosure of SEA by corporate bodies, where investigations on ones attitude towards SEA are rarely discussed. SEA is a medium that develops relationships between business and society, community and nature. In addition, SEA involves a concept of sustain ability; where natural resources need to be sustained for the needs of future generations (Alhabshi et al., 2003). SEA also tries to recognise the role of accounting in sustainable development and the use of environmental resources. There are arguments that the young generations today are not fully aware of preserving these natural resources as well as handling social and environmental issues wisely. This perhaps link closely to their belief and cultural background. Hence, this paper examines the influence of gender and belief factors on the undergraduate students’ attitude towards SEA. Four dimensions of belief (fixed ability, quick learning, simple knowledge and certain knowledge) proposed by Schommer (2005) were adapted to analyse how belief factors have influence on their attitude towards SEA. An independent sample t-test was used to examine the relationship between gender and students’ attitude towards SEA. Spearmen’s correlation was employed to show the relationship between belief and attitude towards SEA. The results revealed that gender differences did not show influences on their attitude towards SEA. It was found that there is a significant relationship between belief and students’ attitude towards SEA. Students who believe on the importance of SEA tend to report positive attitude towards SEA. Perhaps findings of this study may provide some information on the SEA education and further be incorporated in the syllabus.

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