Measurement and Validation of Subjective Well-Being and Student Engagement in an Indian Context

Abstract

Purpose: - The paper sets out to investigate an empirical attempt to validate the relationship between subjective wellbeing (SWB) and Students Engagement (SE) in Indian context.

Design/methodology/approach : A web based survey was administered in three (3) postgraduate management institutes and 112 valid responses were captured through questionnaires, SPSS version 23.0 and Smart PLS version 3.0 were used for data Analysis, EFA (Exploratory Factor Analysis) and CFA (Confirmatory factor analysis was used to confirm the hypothesized factor structure of subjective wellbeing (SWB), Students wellbeing (SE).

Findings :The result of the study indicates that subjective well-being of students are more influenced by their negative emotions then positive one.The study directs our attention towards student psychological needs which are very important to monitor their SWB level. Students who are weak in academic matters, sometime suffered with negative thoughts that may hamper their performance and achievements.

Research limitations/implications: The present research is limited to only three institutes with low sample size. Future research could be extended to more institutes with large sample size and different disciplines such as medical, engineering and law. The present research only established one variable with relation to SWB i.e. student engagement, thus other variables such as personality, happiness, health, family could also be tested.

Practical implications: The paper focuses on holistic development of student’s needs and open up the truth that constant engagement via behavioral, emotional and cognitive component of the student’s engagement process is must for the development of the student in education setting.

Social implications: -The present study carries implications for practitioners as it provides them useful insights related to how they should focus on student engagement.

Originality/value: -The present study is one of the few works and first one that exclusively examines and validates an instrument which can be used by educators to measure WB and SE.