Sources contributing to engineering students' academic well-being: An exploration using the Q methodology

Abstract

Background: Recent literature has identified students' academic well-being as an indicator of their persistence in their current study and competence development. While prior literature has focused on measuring students' academic well-being from psychological and mental health perspectives, limited studies have explored the ways in which the learning environment provides diverse sources (e.g., supervision and peer support) to support students' academic well-being. Purpose: This study aims to explore sources that foster students' academic well-being from the perspective of two different student groups, namely first-year engineering students and senior engineering students, in a PBL (project-based learning) environment. Method: The Q methodology was applied, connecting both qualitative and quantitative research characteristics. Two student groups, including 23 first-year engineering students and 19 senior engineering students, participated in this study to illustrate various viewpoints of different student groups and offer prospects for analyzing data from a new comparative angle via second-order factor analysis. Results: In the first-year engineering student group, three viewpoints were identified, namely the emphasis on enjoyment through study–life balance, personal values and aspirations, and academic agency. The senior engineering student group focused on internal sources related to professional development, including two viewpoints pertaining to their goal-oriented academic development and enactment of agency through self-management. Practical suggestions are proposed to optimize engineering curriculum design to better support students' academic well-being.