The purpose of this study was to investigate the primary characteristics of engineering college students’ involvement in out-of-class activities (OA) at one private college in China through the use of the translated and culturally adapted Chinese version of the Postsecondary Student Engagement Survey (PosSES 2.1). This study provides the statistical analyses of the survey data completed by 283 senior engineering students on their perceptions about their levels of involvement related to positive/negative outcomes students perceive and affective engagement. Data results showed all levels of involvement have a significant influence on positive outcomes. Besides, active involvement degree, hours, and types of OA have significant differences in engineering students’ affective engagement. Only the number of OA in which students were involved has a significant influence on negative outcomes and had no difference for affective engagement. Moreover, results reported a strong correlation between affective engagement and positive outcomes. These findings confirmed the importance of participation in OA and indicated paying attention to the quality of OA involvement other than the quantity was essential for colleges and universities, educators and policymakers, and engineering undergraduates. Furthermore, this study provides descriptive statistics on participants’ reported data on identifying incentives for and barriers to out-of-class involvement. To date, existing Chinese literature has primarily focused on student engagement and learning outcomes. However, this study provides evidence that OA involvement is a practical pathway to Chinese engineering college students’ development and makes affective engagement a significant contributor to student engagement measures in engineering education. Significantly, the PosSES 2.1 (Chinese version) that measures different facets of engineering students’ out-of-class engagement meets the urgent need of Chinese higher education to investigate and understand the status quo of engineering students’ OA involvement. Additionally, this study provides new insight for educators and policymakers to analyze the reasons for problematic out-of-class involvement that could help them design meaningful OA and create new approaches to mitigate the crisis of engineering undergraduates’ low retention rate and persistence. Future researchers should consider exploring more complex dimensions and broaden the research perspective in this area.
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
Problem Statement 3
Purpose of the Study 3
Theoretical Framework 4
Astin’s (1984) Involvement Theory 4
Finn’s (1989) Participation-Identification Model 4
Research Questions 5
Hypothesis Statements 5
Significance of the Study 6
Operational Definitions 7
Student Engagement 7
Affective Engagement 7
Out-of-Class Activities 7
Curricular Activities 8
Co-Curricular Activities 8
Extracurricular Activities 8
First Classroom 8
Second Classroom 8
Outcomes 8
Conclusion 9
Chapter 2 Literature Review 10
Theoretical Framework 10
Astin’s (1984) Involvement Theory 10
Finn’s (1989) Participation-Identification Model 11
A Brief Overview of Engineering Students’ Crisis 12
Student Engagement 13
Defining Student Engagement 13
Components of Student Engagement 14
Why Engagement Matters 16
Affective Engagement and Outcomes 17
Overview of Out-of-Class Activities 19
Out-of-Class Activities in the United States 19
Out-of-Class Activities in China 20
Categories of Out-of-Class Activities 21
The Role of Out-of-Class Activities in Higher Education 24
The Factors Related to Students’ Out-of-Class Engagement 24
Outcomes Associated With Out-of-Class Involvement 26
Types of Out-of-Class Activities and Outcomes 29
Levels of Out-of-Class Involvement and Outcomes 30
Implications for Out-of-Class Activities Development in Chinese Higher Education 31
Problematic Issues 32
Discouraging Learning Engagement 32
Inactive Extracurricular Participation 34
Neglected Liberal Education 35
Inadequate Soft Skills for Employment 36
Conclusion 37
Chapter 3 Methodology 39
Research Purpose and Research Questions 39
Overview of Survey Methodology 40
Research Design 42
Instrumentation 42
Translating and Validating of PosSES 45
Procedure and Participants 52
Data Collection Procedures 52
Participants 53
Data Analysis 55
Ethical Issues 56
Summary 57
Chapter 4 Results 58
Descriptive Analysis 58
Results of Research Questions 61
Research Question 1: Nature of Perceptions 61
Research Question 2: Correlation Between Outcomes and Affective Engagement 76
Research Question 3: Incentives for Students’ OA Involvement 76
Research Question 4: Barriers for Students’ OA Involvement 80
Summary 83
Chapter 5 Discussion 84
Research Questions 84
Research Question 1 84
Methodology Review 85
Summary and Discussion of Findings 85
Research Question 1 85
Research Question 2 91
Research Question 3 91
Research Question 4 92
Study Strengths 93
Implications for the Field 94
Implications for Colleges and Universities 95
Implications for Educators and Policymakers 97
Implications for Engineering Undergraduates 99
Limitations 101
Future Directions of Study 102
Summary 103
References 105
Appendix 120
Problem Statement 3
Purpose of the Study 3
Theoretical Framework 4
Astin’s (1984) Involvement Theory 4
Finn’s (1989) Participation-Identification Model 4
Research Questions 5
Hypothesis Statements 5
Significance of the Study 6
Operational Definitions 7
Student Engagement 7
Affective Engagement 7
Out-of-Class Activities 7
Curricular Activities 8
Co-Curricular Activities 8
Extracurricular Activities 8
First Classroom 8
Second Classroom 8
Outcomes 8
Conclusion 9
Chapter 2 Literature Review 10
Theoretical Framework 10
Astin’s (1984) Involvement Theory 10
Finn’s (1989) Participation-Identification Model 11
A Brief Overview of Engineering Students’ Crisis 12
Student Engagement 13
Defining Student Engagement 13
Components of Student Engagement 14
Why Engagement Matters 16
Affective Engagement and Outcomes 17
Overview of Out-of-Class Activities 19
Out-of-Class Activities in the United States 19
Out-of-Class Activities in China 20
Categories of Out-of-Class Activities 21
The Role of Out-of-Class Activities in Higher Education 24
The Factors Related to Students’ Out-of-Class Engagement 24
Outcomes Associated With Out-of-Class Involvement 26
Types of Out-of-Class Activities and Outcomes 29
Levels of Out-of-Class Involvement and Outcomes 30
Implications for Out-of-Class Activities Development in Chinese Higher Education 31
Problematic Issues 32
Discouraging Learning Engagement 32
Inactive Extracurricular Participation 34
Neglected Liberal Education 35
Inadequate Soft Skills for Employment 36
Conclusion 37
Chapter 3 Methodology 39
Research Purpose and Research Questions 39
Overview of Survey Methodology 40
Research Design 42
Instrumentation 42
Translating and Validating of PosSES 45
Procedure and Participants 52
Data Collection Procedures 52
Participants 53
Data Analysis 55
Ethical Issues 56
Summary 57
Chapter 4 Results 58
Descriptive Analysis 58
Results of Research Questions 61
Research Question 1: Nature of Perceptions 61
Research Question 2: Correlation Between Outcomes and Affective Engagement 76
Research Question 3: Incentives for Students’ OA Involvement 76
Research Question 4: Barriers for Students’ OA Involvement 80
Summary 83
Chapter 5 Discussion 84
Research Questions 84
Research Question 1 84
Methodology Review 85
Summary and Discussion of Findings 85
Research Question 1 85
Research Question 2 91
Research Question 3 91
Research Question 4 92
Study Strengths 93
Implications for the Field 94
Implications for Colleges and Universities 95
Implications for Educators and Policymakers 97
Implications for Engineering Undergraduates 99
Limitations 101
Future Directions of Study 102
Summary 103
References 105
Appendix 120
Li Wanlu is a female scholar with a Ph.D. in Education. She currently serves as a lecturer at Shanghai Normal University Tianhua College. Her research focuses on leadership in higher education and
digitalization in higher education. She has published articles on highereducation leadership, student development and management, and the application of artificial intelligence technology. In 2021, she was honored with the title of Shanghai Higher Education Counselor of the Year.