Considerable scholarly attention has been devoted to how gender, race and various other demographic factors shape the odds of majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs. Such work has identified sizable disparities in access to STEM fields across various dimensions. In turn, these empirical findings have informed…

First-in-family (FiF) students experience significant barriers to university participation and are less likely to seek mental health help. This can contribute to increased dropouts when compared to non-FiF students. Using a mixed methods approach, we aimed to ascertain sources of mental health support and underlying factors for the preferences…

Recent interest in academic well-being has promoted universities to take proactive measures that support students in navigating the challenges of university life, in all its complexity. Drawing on systems theory, this study explored the sources of engineering students' academic well-being at one university in Qatar. Q methodology was applied to…

While extensive research has been conducted on social entrepreneurship education and its potential to enhance university students' social entrepreneurial intentions, questions persist in relation to whether social entrepreneurial competence plays a relevant role in this context. This paper presents the findings from a Chinese study that aims to…

This study aimed to explore the factors that contribute to the high level of competitiveness among students in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The expectancy value theory has suggested that the fear of failure (FOF) and a highly perceived value for achievement (expectancy value belief (EVB)) are the key drivers of competitiveness. To examine…

Although philosophers have long claimed that reading fiction has the potential to improve imaginative capacities, empirical evidence on this topic is limited. We report an experiment that aims to conceptually replicate and extend previous work by Djikic and colleagues by testing whether reading literary fiction reduces the need for closure, and by…

Modafinil is a prescription-only drug in most countries. It is mainly used to treat narcolepsy and sleep disorders, but it is also used, without a prescription, as a cognitive enhancer by [approximately 10% of UK University students. Previous research has focused on the prevalence of, and motivations for, these behaviours. Here we focused…

"Designing an effective educational toy" is a research project that emerged from a teaching and learning course designed to facilitate creative engagement both inside and outside the classroom at Wenzhou-Kean University in China. This research study examines the incorporation of design thinking concepts in the development of an…

Students' engagement and interactions within higher education are limited to domains of sports, cultural events, and extracurricular activities. However, it is important to cultivate an all-rounded enriching experience for them within their university life. Furthermore, due to limited classroom communication with both their classmates and…

Who is caring for and supporting our students at university and how is the care and support demonstrated? Students come to university with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and needs and many will require pastoral care at some time during their study. Tutors often find themselves caring for students and this paper focuses on the experiences of…

This article presents the artistic process employed by a group of young women in an academic setting at the Central University of Ecuador, as they wrote four documentary plays. These students, belonging to the first generation to have access to a dramaturgy class in a public university in the country, utilized an innovative to develop their…

Volunteering requires a high level of commitment to community development, especially from young people. The first study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of university students of education regarding volunteering and the second study, analysing the differences in students' knowledge regarding interest in volunteering. The…

Numerous researchers have over recent years tried to study which factors were more paramount in citizenship development. An interesting development within this approach has been made by deliberative democracy which has often been considered to have the capacity to boost civic virtue. Some research also reveals that the tendency to deliberate about…

Despite efforts to foster a more equitable gender representation, Australia's higher education sector and workforce continue to be highly segregated. This article focusses on the gendered experiences of first-in-family (FIF) students--many who are from low-socioeconomic communities--transitioning to Australian universities. In terms of the…

This dissertation consists of three chapters that study individual investment in human capital and the incidence of economic shocks. I use administrative data to answer these questions, developing and applying structural methods to analyze individual choices in combination with a careful consideration of research design. Chapter 1 studies the…