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.