Increasing students’ motivation in higher education by designing a specific curriculum has always been a challenging but very complex process. The Department of Business, Finance and Marketing (BFM) of The Hague University of Applied Sciences (THUAS) initiated a redesign of the curricula with the major goals of increasing flexibility of learning opportunities and offering students a more motivating, inspiring and richer diversity of learning experiences. In the literature of learning in higher education this has often been labeled as ‘offering extracurricular learning opportunities’. The redesign of the curriculum implies that the new one will result in an enhancement of the flexibility of the curriculum, by offering learning opportunities beyond the borders of specific programs like marketing, finance or entrepreneurship and retail management. The richness and diversity should create flexible platforms, offering students the possibility to enrich their career choices to design their own personalised career path, hopefully maximizing the possibilities for their talent development. However, very little is known about the relationship between the students’ satisfaction with extracurricular learning opportunities, aiming at the personalisation of students’ career choices, and their motivation. In this chapter we describe our research into this relationship between student motivation and learning environments. Designing a network curriculum by increasing the possibility of extracurricular learning opportunities in higher education could have a positive impact on students’ motivation when it is combined with activities to increase goal students’ commitment. This depends on teachers’ qualities to communicate the valence and instrumentality of the learning possibilities offered for the prospective work environment. This is a complex issue however. Teachers from different educational programs, even in the same domain, have a different orientation on existing learning opportunities within one specific program. Excellent coaching skills by tutors are important. These coaching skills are necessary to support students in the process of envisioning extracurricular learning opportunities when important career choices have to be made.
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A decline in both student well-being and engagement were reported during the COVID-pandemic. Stressors and internal energy sources can co-exist or be both absent, which might cohere with different student needs. This study aimed to develop student profiles on emotional exhaustion and engagement, as well as examine how profiles relate to student participation, academic performance, and overall well-being. Survey-data from 1,460 Dutch higher education students were analyzed and resulted in a quadrant model containing four student profiles on engagement and emotional exhaustion scores. Semi-structured interviews with 13 students and 10 teaching staff members were conducted to validate and further describe the student profiles. The majority of the survey participants were disengaged-exhausted (48%) followed by engaged-exhausted students (29%). Overall, the engagedenergized students performed best academically and had the highest levels of well-being and participation, although engaged-exhausted students were more active in extracurricular activities. The engaged exhausted students also experienced the most pressure to succeed. The qualitative validation of the student profiles demonstrates that students and teachers recognize and associate the profiles with themselves or other students. Changes in the profiles are attributed to internal and external factors, suggesting that they are not fixed but can be influenced by various factors. The practical relevance of the quadrant model is acknowledged by students and teachers and they shared experiences and tips, with potential applications in recognizing students’ well-being and providing appropriate support. This study enriches our grasp of student engagement and well-being in higher education, providing valuable insights for educational practices.
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Basic motor competencies (BMC) are a prerequisite for children to be physically active, participate in sports and thus develop a healthy, active lifestyle. The present study provides a broad screening of BMC and associations with age, sex, body mass index (BMI) and extracurricular physical activity (PA) in 10 different European countries. The different country and regional contexts within Europe will offer a novel view on already established BMC associations. The cross-sectional study was conducted in 11 regions in 10 European countries in 2018. The motor competence areas, object movement (OM) and self-movement (SM), were assessed using the MOBAK-1-2 test instrument in 3758 first and second graders (age: M = 6.86 ± 0.60 years; 50% girls) during Physical Education classes. Children were questioned about their extracurricular PA and age. Their body weight and height were measured in order to calculate BMI. Statistical analyses included variances and correlations. The results showed significant differences in BMC levels between countries (OM: F = 18.74, p < 0.001, η 2 = 0.048; SM: F = 73.10, p < 0.001, η 2 = 0.163) whereas associations between BMC and correlates were similar. Boys performed significantly better in OM while girls performed better in SM. Age was consistently positively related to OM and SM with older children reaching higher levels of BMC than younger ones. While participation rates for extracurricular PA differed widely, participation in ball sports was correlated with OM and SM. Participation in individual sports showed a significant association with SM. In summary, BMC levels of children seem to depend on where they live and are strongly related to their participation in extracurricular PA. Therefore, education and health policies, in order to enhance motor competence development and PA participation, are recommended. Further research on country-specific Physical Education frameworks and their influence on BMC will provide more insights into structural factors and cultural characteristics of BMC development. On a school level, support tools and educational materials for teachers about BMC may enable children to achieve a basic level of motor competencies through Physical Education, contributing to lifelong participation in PA.
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