3.1. Analysis of Personal Background Variables
The background information of the student club committee members interviewed in this study was analyzed in two parts.
Gender, school attributes, education system, department studied in, and grade level.
Regarding gender, male respondents accounted for a slightly larger proportion at 51.1% (899). Most respondents were from private schools, accounting for 54.9% (966). Regarding the educational system, the respondents primarily studied at general universities, accounting for 62.0% (1092). Student distribution, according to the department studied in, showed that most respondents attended polytechnics 26.1% (459), followed by business, management, and law 22.7% (399). Regarding grade level, most committee member participants were sophomores, accounting for 54.7% (963). Detailed data are shown in
Table 3.
- 2.
Club attribute, number of club committee members, length of time in the club, current position, pre-college club experience, average time spent in the club per week, and position experience in activities.
Most respondents were members of self-governing clubs, accounting for 23.4% (412). The data also showed that most clubs to which the respondents belong had 11 or more committee members, accounting for 46.3% (815), almost half of the respondents. The survey results show that over 80% of the respondents were club members for less than two years, most of whom have been involved for more than one year and less than two years, accounting for 43.8% (772). Most of the respondents were club leaders, accounting for 33.3% (587). Most of the club committee members had club experience prior to joining the club, accounting for 72.7% (1281). Most of the club committee members spent less than 10 h per week, with 33.3% (586) spending more than six hours and less than 10 h in the club. Detailed data are shown in
Table 4.
3.2. Analysis of the Research Subject’s Current Situation
The following dimensions are analyzed to understand student club committee members’ perceptions of the club learning experience and outcome variables.
Regarding learning experience, this study’s research data on the various factors affecting the learning experience of student club committee members indicate that: “Organizational operation experience” (M = 4.98), “activity organization experience” (M = 4.91), “club involvement experience” (M = 5.09), “experience in attending training courses” (M = 4.91), “experience in participating in activities” (4.62). The perceptions of committee members in terms of learning experience were good, with “club involvement experience” being the best, followed by “organizational operation experience”, “activity organization experience”, and “experience in attending training courses”. In contrast, the perception of “experience in participating in activities” was low. Further exploration showed that the respondents generally believed they could learn relevant skills and knowledge by participating in clubs, and club-related issues, such as activity organization and labor division, due to their experience as committee members.
- 2.
Club learning outcomes
Regarding learning experience, this study’s research data on the various factors affecting learning outcomes of student club committee members indicate that: “Knowledge integration and application” (M = 5.18), “intrinsic self-development” (M = 5.16), “interpersonal interaction skills” (M = 5.12), “cognitive integration and critical thinking” (M = 5.23), “social care and civic literacy” (4.47), and “practical skills” (M = 5.03). According to the above results, the perceptions of student club leaders regarding learning outcomes were good, with “cognitive integration and critical thinking” being the best, followed by “knowledge integration and application”, “intrinsic self-development”, “interpersonal interaction skills”, and “practical skills”. In contrast, “social care and civic literacy” was low. An in-depth study showed that the respondents generally believed that the most rewarding aspect of their learning in clubs was that they could apply the knowledge and skills they have learned in clubs in their daily lives, think from the other’s perspective, and gain the ability to promote interpersonal interaction. However, the data from the respondents also indicated that the ability to gain an international perspective was less likely to be acquired in clubs. The reason is that many university and college club activities in Taiwan are primarily based in the domestic field, where members are less likely to be in contact with people from outside the country. Such findings echo those of Literature [
13].
3.3. Relevance of the Club Learning Experience to the Club Respondents’ Learning Outcomes
This study used multiple regression analysis to understand the relevance of personal background variables to the learning experience of student club committee members. We examined the relevance of personal background variables to the five factors of learning experiences.
Our findings indicate that the respondents’ background variables were significantly related to the club learning experience, particularly regarding the five factors of club earning experience. The explanatory power was 26.7% for “organizational operation experience”, 13.4% for “activity organization experience”, 16.3% for “experience in attending training courses”, and 9.6% for “experience in participating in activities”. We further analyzed which of the personal background variables were significantly associated with the various factors of the club learning experience and found that:
The personal background variables of “school attribute”, “department studied in”, “grade”, “years of experience”, “club position”, and “average time spent in the club per week” were significantly associated with the “organizational operation experience”.
The personal background variables of “school attribute”, “grade”, “club position”, and “average time spent in the club per week” were significantly associated with the “activity organization experience”.
The personal background variables of “school attribute” and “department studied in” were significantly associated with the “club involvement experience”.
The personal background variables of “school attribute”, “years of experience”, “club position”, and “average time spent in the club per week” were significantly associated with the “experience in attending training courses”.
The personal background variables of “gender”, “school attribute”, “years of experience”, “club position”, and “average time spent in the club per week” were significantly associated with the “experience in participating in activities”.
Overall, club learning experiences were primarily influenced by “average time spent in the club per week”, followed by “club position”, “years of experience”, and “grade”. This study’s findings suggest that although the personal backgrounds were diversified, with differences in school attributes and education system if students accumulate “years of experience” as a club committee member or even a “club leader” and devote more time to their clubs, they will acquire better learning experiences. Our findings validate the arguments of regarding engagement theory [
23,
24,
25,
26].
- 2.
Relevance of learning experience to learning outcomes of student club committee members
According to this study’s research data, the relevance of “club learning experience” to the respondents’ “club learning outcomes” was significant. The r value of “organizational operation experience” to “club learning outcomes” ranged from 0.376 to 0.634. The r value of “Activity organization experience” to “club learning outcomes” ranged from 0.527 to 0.624. The r value of “Club involvement experience” to “club learning outcomes” ranged from 0.477 to 0.731. The r value of “Experience attending training courses” to “club learning outcomes” ranged from 0.480 to 0.602. The r value of “Experience participating in activities” to “club learning outcomes” ranged from 0.390 to 0.471. Detailed data are shown in
Table 5.
After investigating the relevance intensity of respondents’ club learning experiences and club learning outcomes, the following results are presented based on the magnitude and corresponding significance of the correlation coefficients suggested by Chiou [
27]:
The “organizational operation experience” was of low relevance to the club learning outcomes.
The “activity organization experience” was moderately relevant to the club learning outcomes.
Regarding the relevance of “club involvement experience” to the six factors of club learning outcomes, it was highly relevant to “knowledge integration and application” and “intrinsic self-development” and moderately relevant to “interpersonal interaction skills”, “cognitive integration and critical thinking”, “social care and civic literacy”, and “practical skills”.
The “experience in attending training courses” was moderately relevant to the club learning outcomes.
Regarding the relevance of “experience in participating in activities” to the six factors of club learning outcomes, it was moderately relevant to “knowledge integration and application”, “intrinsic self-development”, “interpersonal interaction skills”, “social care and civic literacy”, and “practical skills”, and was of low relevance to “cognitive integration and critical thinking”.
Overall, the relevance of learning experiences to learning outcomes was significant (p = 0.01). This indicates that higher learning experiences positively affected the demonstration of learning outcomes. Such findings echo those of [
28,
29].
- 3.
Linear hierarchical regression analysis of the personal background, learning experience, and learning outcomes
This study conducted a hierarchical regression analysis with personal background and learning experience as predictive variables and learning outcomes as criterion variables. This study’s results show that the six factors of personal background variables and learning experience of student club committee members were significant and explanatory in terms of learning outcomes, with “intrinsic self-development” being the highest, followed by “knowledge integration and application”, “interpersonal interaction skills”, “cognitive integration and critical thinking” and “practical skills”. In contrast, “social care and civic literacy” was the lowest.
The major conclusions from the results of the linear hierarchical regression analysis are stated as follows:
Student club committee members in public schools were positively relevant to “knowledge integration and application”, “intrinsic self-development”, and “interpersonal interaction skills”, and negative for “social care and civic literacy”.
Student club committee members were positively relevant to “intrinsic self-development”.
Student club committee members studying at the School of Medicine were positively relevant to “intrinsic self-development”, “interpersonal interaction skills”, and “practical skills”.
Student club committee members with more “years of experience” were positively relevant to “cognitive integration and critical thinking”.
Student club committee members who are club leaders were negatively relevant to “knowledge integration and application”, “intrinsic self-development”, and “interpersonal interaction skills”.
“Gender”, “grade”, “pre-college club experience”, and “average time spent in the club per week” of student club committee members had no significant impact on the self-assessment of their learning outcomes.
Learning outcomes were most influenced by “club involvement experience”, followed by “activity organization experience”, “experience in attending training courses”, “organizational operation experience”, and “experience in participating in activities”. Learning experiences had a significant and positive impact on learning outcomes.
These findings echo Wang and Hsu’s study, which found that students believe they gain the least from their school experience concerning humanistic literacy [
30,
31]. The US CAS highlights the importance of humanitarianism and civic engagement by emphasizing the ability to recognize multicultural and international perspectives as an essential learning outcome [
13,
32,
33,
34]. The data showed that personal background of student club committee members in public schools was positively related to “knowledge integration and application”, “intrinsic self-development”, and “interpersonal interaction skills” and negatively related to “social care and civic literacy”. The personal background of student club committee members in general schools was positively related to “intrinsic self-development”. The personal background of student club committee members with more years of experience was positively related to “cognitive integration and critical thinking”. The personal background of the student club leaders was negatively related to “knowledge integration and application”, “intrinsic self-development”, and “interpersonal interaction skills”, likely because their years of experience as leaders were not enough for the self-assessment of their learning outcomes. “Gender”, “grade”, “pre-college club experience”, and “average time spent in the club per week” did not affect the student club committee members’ learning perceptions of learning outcomes. Overall, the learning experience of student club committee members significantly positively impacted learning outcomes.
The regression analyses of personal background, learning experience, and learning outcomes are shown in
Table 6.
The significant results of the linear hierarchical regression analysis are presented below: The explanatory power of the personal background variables for the learning outcomes were 10.5–15.4%, after adding the factor of learning experience, the overall model reached significance, with explanatory power of 39.6–61.1%. The explanatory power of the personal background variables for the “knowledge integration and application” ability was 15.4%; after adding the factor of learning experience, the overall model reached significance, with an explanatory power of 59.3%. The explanatory power of the personal background variables for the “intrinsic self-development skills” ability was 14.4%; after adding the factor of learning experience, the overall model reached significance, with an explanatory power of 61.1%. The explanatory power of the personal background variables for the “interpersonal interaction skills” ability was 15.4%; after adding the factor of learning experience, the overall model reached significance, with an explanatory power of 52.2%. The explanatory power of the personal background variables for the “cognitive integration and critical thinking” ability was 10.5%; after adding the factor of learning experience, the overall model reached significance, with an explanatory power of 42.8%. The explanatory power of the personal background variables for the “social care and civic literacy” ability was 11.9%; after adding the factor of learning experience, the overall model reached significance, with an explanatory power of 39.6%. The explanatory power of the personal background variables for the “practical skills” was 15.4%; after adding the factor of learning experience, the overall model reached significance, with an explanatory power of 59.3%.