Student Engagement
Jimmy Kijai (Graduate Psychology and Counseling) and LeRoy Ruhupatty (Accounting, Economics & Finance)
Student engagement and its relationship to development of values, religious commitment and community services at selected Adventist colleges/universities in the Southern Asia Pacific region
The impact of the college experience has been well documented (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005; Astins, 1997; Morro & Ackerman, 2012; Boyer, 1987). In Christian colleges, the college experiences appear to influence faith development, closeness with God and spiritual maturity (Birkholz, 1994; Ma, 2003), leadership skills, team spirit, career preparation, political and social awareness (LECNA, 2005; Kijai et al, 2014). Most of these studies were done in North America. Little is known about college experience outside North America, particularly in Adventist college/universities. Understanding student engagement and its influence on values, religious commitment and community services may be crucial to college student life programming. The purpose of this study will be to examine (a) level of student engagement, and (b) the relationship between student engagement and values, religious commitment and community services at five Adventist colleges/university in the Southern Asia Pacific region. A sequential mixed method research design will be used. Phase I will use online survey research methodology while Phase II will use focus groups to gain better understanding of the dynamics of the relationship between student engagement and values, religious commitment and community services. Approval and endorsement for this study will be obtained prior to study implementation. Quantitative data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics, analysis of variances, and structural equation modelling. Qualitative data obtained through focus groups will be analyzed using content analysis and constant comparative analysis methods.