Factors Contributing to Students Engagement: A Case Study at the Institute of Medicine at SUT

Abstract

       In higher education, much attention has been focused on the enhancement of the educational experience, allowing students to successfully develop and thus make the most of not only their potential, but also the numerous other benefits education has to offer. Being engaged both institutionally and academically plays a vital part in developing their potential and performance. Therefore, this paper studied the engagement level towards the academics at the Institute of medicine. Factors contributing to institutional engagement were also analyzed. The participants include 229 medical students. Each participant was asked to answer a general demographic questionnaire, the Institute engagement questionnaire, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale–Student version (UWES-S) questionnaire, and a questionnaire of all relevant factors. Student engagement was assessed through statistical analysis. These included percentage, mean, standard deviation, and stepwise multiple regression of the constituent factors. The Institute engagement level was 3.73. Factors that significantly pertained to the engagement level were teachers (p = 0.01*), staff (p = 0.01*), friends (p = 0.02*), and seniors peers (p = 0.03*), respectively. Academic engagement was found to vary by the level of study. Medical students in their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd years exhibited engagement levels of 4.94, 4.87, and 4.55, respectively. Given the group, students’ engagement toward the university was of a high level. The most important contributing factors were their relationship with teachers, staff, friends, and senior peers. However, the academic engagement level tended to decrease as study progressed. It was conjectured that this notable decrease resulted from increasing complexity in the program as specified by the curriculum. Positively engaged students better adapt to the academic context of higher education. Hence, they are much likely to succeed.