Scientific Empirical Study on Analyzing Learning Outcomes of Cadres in College Student Association Using Hierarchical Linear Regression Model

Abstract

We investigated the relationship between the personal backgrounds, learning experiences, and learning outcomes of college students serving as student association cadres by applying the indicators of the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) in the United States. The participants of this study were students at the university student associations in Taiwan, and the sampling was carried out through purposeful sampling. We distributed 1850 questionnaires, and 1761 valid questionnaires were received with a recovery rate of 95%. The self-assessed learning outcomes of the student association cadres were good. Among them, “integration and speculation of cognition” was the highest, followed by “integration and application of knowledge”, “inner self-development”, “interpersonal interaction ability”, “practice ability”, and “social care and civic literacy”. The self-assessment of the student association cadres in their learning experience was also positive. Among them, “experience in engagement” was the highest, followed by “experience in management”, “experience in handling activities”, and “experience in training courses”; while “experience in participating in activities” was the lowest. Through a hierarchical linear regression analysis of the American CAS learning outcome indicator, the student association cadres’ personal background and learning experience had significant explanatory power. The R-squared value of each aspect ranged from 39.6% to 61.1%. It was obvious that the American CAS indicator could be used to examine the learning outcomes of higher education student associations in Taiwan. The results confirm that studying student associations could become an essential approach for cultivating students’ learning outcomes and become an essential reference for Taiwan’s universities and colleges to promote community education.

Keywords

• student association cadres
• student associations learning experience
• learning outcomes