Academic Engagement, Learning Interest, and Psychological Well-being of Undergraduates: The Role of Gender and Parentage

Academic Engagement, Learning Interest, and Psychological Well-being of Undergraduates: The Role of Gender and Parentage

Bolanle Oriola & Melanie Moen

Issue: Vol.6 No.10 Article 6 pp.2304 – 2323
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20256106 | Published online 17th September, 2025
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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ABSTRACT

This study examines the impact of undergraduates’ gender and parental background on their psychological well-being, learning interest, and academic engagement. This study adopted the cross-sectional quantitative research type of the non-experimental design and was underpinned by the Self-determination Theory (ST). The study’s population consisted of 230 undergraduates enrolled in degree programmes at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti in Nigeria. The data were collected using a Google Form-hosted tool tagged the “Students’ Academic Engagement, Learning Interest, Psychological Well-being and Parenting Questionnaire (SAELIPWPQ),” which had Cronbach alphas of 0.92, 0.85, and 0.70, respectively. SPSS V26 software was utilized to analyse the study’s data at a 5% significance level using descriptive statistics and Analysis of Variance. Findings indicate no significant difference between undergraduates parentage and their learning interest (F₍₂₂₉₎= 0.44; p = 0.72), academic engagement (F₍₂₂₉₎= 0.16; p = 0.92), and psychological well-being (F₍₂₂₉₎= 2.09; p = 0.10). Thefindings further reveal that students’ gender significantly influenced their academic engagement (t₍₂₂₈₎= 4.21; p=0.000), but not their learning interest (t₍₂₂₈₎= -0.76; p=0.45), nor psychological well-being (t₍₂₂₈₎= 0.42; p=0.67). The study concludes that the percentage of undergraduates does not have a significant influence on their academic engagement, learning interests, and psychological well-being while their gender significantly impacts their academic engagement. The study recommends that a congenial and enabling learning environment that fosters students’ academic engagement be provided in Nigerian universities and that positive gender dynamics, equality, and equity policies and practices be enshrined in universities’ teaching and learning operations, management, and culture.

Keywords: Academic Involvement, Interest In Learning, Parentage, Psychological Wellness, Undergraduates, Nigeria.

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ABOUT AUTHOR(S)

Dr. Bolanle Oriola is a social scientist in the field of sociology. She had her bachelor in Science, Masters and Ph.D. in Sociology in Nigerian University. Her area of specialization in her field is gender, family studies and development. she lectures and supervises students’ projects and thesis. She is presently a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Educational Psychology, Stellenbosch University in South Africa.

Prof. Melanie Moen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.

TO CITE ARTICLE

Oriola, Bolanle, and Melanie Moen.“ Academic Engagement, Learning Interest, and Psychological Well-being of Undergraduates: The Role of Gender and Parentage,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 6, no. 10 (2025): 2304 – 2323, https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20256106

© 2025 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).