darren peters
TRANSCRIPT
Macquarie University Australia’s number 1 modern university
• Theoretical framing of presentation
• Health & wellbeing
• Taxonomy of human goals
• Student experience
• Factors affecting engagement
• What works
Presentation Flow
What is the question being addressed?
This presentation is about non high
school leavers and mature age
students.
I have been asked to frame this
address in a holistic manner.
From a theoretical perspective this
means, to me at least, the search for
the Holy Grail of health and welfare.
Is there a Unified theory of, and
practice for, human development?
What factors and interventions enable
non high school leavers and mature
age students to ‘thrive’ at University.
Non School Leavers & Mature Age Students
• Account for between 40-45% of
MQ domestic undergraduates
• 28% aged 19 years and 24%
aged 21-25 years.
• Only 23% are +26years
• Majority study part time mode
• Female skew 63%
• 65% live in Sydney’s west, north,
north west
• 75% working full or part time
Why study?
F/T 20yrs
• Getting it right (now)
F/T 21-25 years
• Finding my place
F/T 26+ years
• Its time for me
P/T all ages
• Having what I really want
Meaning, achievement
& identity
“These students are strategic
about the time they spend at
university, want support
balancing their responsibilities
in life with their university
study and want effective and
supportive links with their
peers in the area of study”
Angela Voerman
Manager Student Engagement
Definition of Health
“Health is a state of complete physical,
mental and social wellbeing and not
merely the absence of disease or
infirmity”.
(World Health Organization, 1948)
My take on this definition relates to its
multi-dimensionality (e.g., bio-socio-
psycho), striving for complete
wellbeing (e.g., holistic) and the use of
the word ‘state’ which is time based.
“Activities that increase engagement and
meaning may have the strongest impact on
an individual’s wellbeing”
(Schueller & Seligman, 2010, pp 260, DOI:
10.1080/17439761003794130)
“We want to make the world seem an orderly
place, but the frequency of truly unexpected
events should tell us that we do not really
know what causes things”
Quote from Butler-Bowdon (2013, pp. 294)
citing work by Taleb (2007) specifically ‘The
Black Swan.’
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Some Applicable Theories
Theory Concept Context
Health Model (s) Health literacy is important.
Primary health care services
improve health.
Universities offer and/or facilitate
health understanding and
primary health care services.
Social Identity Theory People identify with and attach to
role’s, groups & organisation (s).
I am an Arts student. I am a
member of the Law Society.
Sense of Community People have a need to relate and
belong.
A sense of community on a Unit,
Dept, Building, Precinct and
whole of University basis.
Urban Design Theory Design influences wellbeing and
engagement.
Green space enables improved
mental and physical health.
Design influences cognitive,
emotional and behavioral
engagement and due to this
wellbeing.
Attachment Theories. Connecting people by purpose
and place.
Meaning
Person and environment ‘fit’.
I ‘like’…… someone (something)
Goals in general
• Goals are tools to direct people to
engage and are underpinned by needs
and/or desires.
• Attention (or non attention) towards a
goal influences human behaviour.
• Implicit learning, evaluative
conditioning and unconscious
thought (priming) is goal dependent
(Dijksterhuis & Aarts, 2010)
• Setting and achieving goals is a
predictor of higher life satisfaction,
higher self esteem and lower
depressive symptoms (King, 2008;
Schueller & Seligman, 2010).
Taxonomy of Human Goals • A review of personal goals was
conducted on a small but diverse
sample (n = 173) by Chulef, Read &
Walsh (2001).
• Goals (n = 135) were able to be
clustered into three broad
categories:
- Family, Marriage, Romance, Sex
- Interpersonal goals defined as
interacting with people in general
- Intrapersonal goals, e.g., career &
education, achievement, idealism
• Results indicate the possibility of
stable sets of goals across diverse
groups of people.
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Student Experience Domains Domain Element (s)
Academic L&T, curriculum, programs, assessment, learning outcomes, information, advising, online systems
Para-academic L&T support/facilities, learning support, Library, Numeracy centre, MQAS, iLearn Help
Student support & welfare
Wellbeing services, advocacy, student representation, accommodation
Amenity, extra-curricular & social
Transport, F&B, retail, childcare, sport & rec, clubs & societies, social events
Administration Enrolment, assistance, advice, AskMQ
Solomonides & Peters, 2013
Contextual Basis
• The student experience is multi-faceted
being inextricably linked to teaching
and non teaching activities.
• It involves both tangible and intangible
factors such as access and suitability of
facilities or institutional habitus and
perception of teaching.
• The student lifecycle is such that
evaluation can take place at pre-study,
undergraduate, postgraduate and
alumnus levels.
• There is no one survey or tool that
measures the student experience.
(Solomonidis & Peters, 2013)
Engagement (a) • Definitions of engagement differ by domain.
• In education it usually refers to the time and
effort a student puts into their study and
other related activities plus what the
institution does to enhance their learning,
support and participation (refer Wolf-Wendel,
Ward & Kinzie, 2009).
• According to Zepke & Leach (2010)
engagement can be framed by research
perspective
- motivation and agency
- transactional engagement
- Institution support
- active citizenship
Engagement (b)
Places to Meet
Central & location
specific hubs
People attach through location
specific communities,
services and social experiences
Reasons to Meet
Regulated & self determined
reasons to meet
People engage through purposeful
Faculty, Student Groups, Colleges,
Programs, Services, Events & Activities
Connectivity
Safe, accessible, physical &
virtual connectivity
People connect by pathways, space &
communication mediums
Stage 1: Readiness
Factors Process Outcome
Readiness
Decision
Interest
Proximity & access
Institution profile
Transition
Administrative literacy
Academic readiness
Psychosocial adjustment
Stage 2: Engagement
•Achievement motivation & conscientiousness
•Study & course attendance & load
•Usage learning mgt systems & support (all forms)
•Group learning opportunity & involvement
Participation
(low/high)
•Grade expectation based upon past
•Regular performance feedback
•Current assessment results
Performance self efficacy
(low/high)
•Emotional regulation
•Procrastination
•Focus & commitment
•Time mgt & life skills
Self regulation
(low/high)
•Quality of life (coherence, resources, competence)
•Mental health (positive, resilient, relate & belong)
•Physical health (general indicators)
General wellness (low/high)
My emerging view
Becoming a student
Being a healthy student
Transitioning
What really counts are the steps
taken to enable a student to
understand & attain these key
role transformations.