Effect of University Social Capital on Working Students’ Dropout Intentions: Insights from Estonia
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
3. Materials and Methods
3.1. Method
3.2. Data
3.3. Characteristics of the Sample
4. Results
4.1. Results of Exploratory Factor Analysis
4.2. Results of Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structured Equation Modeling
5. Discussion
6. Conclusions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Variables | Frequency | Percent |
---|---|---|
Gender: | ||
Female | 1463 | 76.9 |
Male | 439 | 23.1 |
Age: | ||
Up to 21 years | 351 | 18.5 |
22 to <25 years | 463 | 24.3 |
25 to <30 years | 405 | 21.3 |
30 years or over | 683 | 35.9 |
Parents education: | ||
Low education background (ISCED 0–2) | 118 | 6.2 |
Medium education level of parents (ISCED 3–4) | 488 | 25.7 |
High education level of parents (ISCED 5–8) | 1232 | 64.8 |
No answer | 38 | 2.0 |
Don’t know | 26 | 1.4 |
Qualification: | ||
Bachelor | 1098 | 57.7 |
Master | 697 | 36.6 |
Long national degree | 107 | 5.6 |
Field of study: | ||
Education | 212 | 11.1 |
Arts and humanities | 316 | 16.6 |
Social sciences, journalism and information | 253 | 13.3 |
Business, administration and law | 367 | 19.3 |
Natural sciences, mathematics and statistics | 122 | 6.4 |
ICTs | 151 | 7.9 |
Engineering, manufacturing and construction | 95 | 5.0 |
Agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and veterinary | 15 | 0.8 |
Health and welfare | 293 | 15.4 |
Services | 75 | 3.9 |
No answer | 3 | 0.2 |
N | 1902 | 100 |
Item Coding | Items Used for Operationalization | Mean | Standard Deviation | Factor Loading | Cronbach’s Alpha | Composite Reliability | Average Variance Extracted | Maximum Shared Squared |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Teacher–student relationship | 0.837 | 0.840 | 0.510 | 0.180 | ||||
Feedback_Teacher | Lecturers give helpful feedback | 2.299 | 1.0502 | 0.769 | ||||
Motivating_Teacher | Lecturers motivate to do best work | 2.559 | 1.0372 | 0.782 | ||||
Clarity_Instruction | Lecturers extremely good at explaining things | 2.365 | 0.8505 | 0.744 | ||||
Rapport_Teacher | Get along well with lecturers | 1.823 | 0.8094 | 0.733 | ||||
Engagement_Teacher | Lecturers interested in what students has to say | 2.267 | 0.9955 | .763 | ||||
Peer network | 0.827 | 0.830 | 0.720 | 0.120 | ||||
Collegiality_Peer | Know a lot of fellow students to discuss subject-related questions | 2.262 | 1.1398 | 0.894 | ||||
Networking_Peer | Contact with many students in study program | 2.391 | 1.2030 | 0.908 | ||||
Support service satisfaction | 0.762 | 0.780 | 0.540 | 0.160 | ||||
Work_Study_Bal | Satisfaction with support to balance my studies and paid job | 3.679 | 1.5139 | 0.865 | ||||
Family_Study_Bal | Satisfaction with support to balance my studies and family | 4.044 | 1.6595 | 0.868 | ||||
Career_Prep | Satisfaction with support in the preparation for my (future) work life | 3.368 | 1.4783 | 0.650 | ||||
Employability trust | 0.656 | 0.660 | 0.490 | 0.180 | ||||
Employability_Nat | How well the study program prepares for the national labor market | 2.485 | 1.3683 | 0.835 | ||||
Employability_Intl | How well the study program prepares for the international labor market | 3.379 | 1.5663 | 0.824 | ||||
Dropout intentions | 0.630 | 0.650 | 0.480 | 0.080 | ||||
Dropping_Risk1 | I am seriously thinking about changing my current main study program | 4.492 | 0.9831 | 0.834 | ||||
Dropping_Risk2 | I am seriously thinking of completely abandoning my higher education studies | 4.622 | 0.8731 | 0.852 |
TSR | SS | PN | ET | DI | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
TSR | 0.716 | ||||
SS | 0.400 | 0.735 | |||
PN | 0.352 | 0.201 | 0.846 | ||
ET | 0.418 | 0.357 | 0.235 | 0.703 | |
DI | −0.277 | −0.078 | −0.218 | −0.263 | 0.695 |
Path | Estimate | Standard Error | Critical Ratio | p | Remarks | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Teacher student relationship | <--- | University social capital | 0.758 | 0.079 | 11.099 | *** | Hypothesis 1 supported |
Support service satisfaction | <--- | University social capital | 0.512 | 0.072 | 11.214 | *** | Hypothesis 3 supported |
Peer network | <--- | University social capital | 0.448 | 0.075 | 10.163 | *** | Hypothesis 2 supported |
Employability trust | <--- | University social capital | 0.586 | 0.103 | 11.099 | *** | Hypothesis 4 supported |
Dropout intentions | <--- | University social capital | −0.361 | 0.057 | −8.767 | *** | Hypothesis 5 supported |
Employability trust | <--- | Teacher student relationship | 0.3 | 0.054 | 8.114 | *** | Hypothesis 6 supported |
Employability trust | <--- | Support service satisfaction | 0.22 | 0.043 | 6.291 | *** | Hypothesis 8 supported |
Employability trust | <--- | Peer network | 0.085 | 0.035 | 2.737 | 0.006 | Hypothesis 7 supported |
Dropout intentions | <--- | Employability trust | −0.186 | 0.03 | −4.556 | *** | Hypothesis 9 supported |
Dropout intentions | <--- | Teacher student relationship | −0.191 | 0.041 | −5.008 | *** | Hypothesis 10 supported |
Dropout intentions | <--- | Support service satisfaction | 0.091 | 0.031 | 2.552 | 0.011 | Hypothesis 12 not supported |
Dropout intentions | <--- | Peer network | −0.125 | 0.026 | −3.875 | *** | Hypothesis 11 supported |
Path | Total Effects | Direct Effects | Indirect Effects | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|
TSR > ET > DI | −0.262 ** | −0.203 ** | −0.059 * | Hypothesis 13 supported |
SS > ET > DI | 0.044 | 0.080 ** | −0.036 ** | Hypothesis 15 supported |
PN > ET > DI | −0.115 ** | −0.102 ** | −0.013 ** | Hypothesis 14 supported |
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Toyon, M.A.S. Effect of University Social Capital on Working Students’ Dropout Intentions: Insights from Estonia. Eur. J. Investig. Health Psychol. Educ. 2024, 14, 2417-2434. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe14080160
Toyon MAS. Effect of University Social Capital on Working Students’ Dropout Intentions: Insights from Estonia. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education. 2024; 14(8):2417-2434. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe14080160
Chicago/Turabian StyleToyon, Mohammad Abu Sayed. 2024. "Effect of University Social Capital on Working Students’ Dropout Intentions: Insights from Estonia" European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education 14, no. 8: 2417-2434. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe14080160