The aim of this study was to investigate how a sense of justice, university identification and student engagement emerge within the educational context and the reciprocal relationships among these constructs.Two correlational studies were conducted: (1) a pilot study aimed at validating the constructs of justice (distributive, procedural, and interactional aspects), social identification and student engagement (rule-abiding and extra-role aspects), within the university context (N = 280); (2) a study exploring the robustness of and the relationships between those constructs (N = 429). The results confirmed the presence of a four-factor solution involving a sense of overall justice (comprising distributive, procedural and interactional aspects), social identification, and two types of student engagement (rule-abiding and extra-role behaviours).Asense of justicewas found to be related to students’ rule-abiding behaviour and, at the same time, it was related to students’ extra-role behaviour, only for closely identified students. In other words, student identification with the university moderated the relationship between sense of justice and extra-role behaviours. Our results showed the important role of sense justice in promoting student engagement (in both aspects of rule-abiding and extra-role behaviour), providing useful insights for the management of the university level educational system towards a better involvement of students in the attainment of higher academic performances and institutional commitment.

Engagement in the university context: exploring the role of a sense of justice and social identification

Di Battista, Silvia;
2014-01-01

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate how a sense of justice, university identification and student engagement emerge within the educational context and the reciprocal relationships among these constructs.Two correlational studies were conducted: (1) a pilot study aimed at validating the constructs of justice (distributive, procedural, and interactional aspects), social identification and student engagement (rule-abiding and extra-role aspects), within the university context (N = 280); (2) a study exploring the robustness of and the relationships between those constructs (N = 429). The results confirmed the presence of a four-factor solution involving a sense of overall justice (comprising distributive, procedural and interactional aspects), social identification, and two types of student engagement (rule-abiding and extra-role behaviours).Asense of justicewas found to be related to students’ rule-abiding behaviour and, at the same time, it was related to students’ extra-role behaviour, only for closely identified students. In other words, student identification with the university moderated the relationship between sense of justice and extra-role behaviours. Our results showed the important role of sense justice in promoting student engagement (in both aspects of rule-abiding and extra-role behaviour), providing useful insights for the management of the university level educational system towards a better involvement of students in the attainment of higher academic performances and institutional commitment.
2014
higher education
sense of justice
social identification
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12606/14398
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