The Role of Student and Customer Social Identification on University Students’ Learning Approaches and Psychological Well-Being

Abstract

The current research measured students’ social identifications as university students and as university customers to predict their self-reported engagement in deep and surface learning, attitudes toward cheating, intent to continue their studies, and their psychological well-being (e.g., affect, self-esteem). Also measured were students’ perceptions of deep- and surface-learning norms. Overall, students identified more strongly as students than as customers. More relevant to hypothesized social-psychological processes, social identification as a university student positively predicted own deep-learning approach and intent to continue, but negatively predicted own surface-learning approach and favourable attitudes toward cheating. Enhanced university-student social identification was also associated with favourable psychological well-being. In contrast, social identification as a customer positively predicted own surface-learning approach and favourable attitudes toward cheating. It was only in the context of high deep-learning norms that university-customer social identification yielded some favourable learning and well-being outcomes. Conceptually, these results provide further support for the application of the social identity approach to educational contexts. In application, these results reveal that social identification as a student offers far better learning and psychological well-being outcomes than social identification as a customer. As such, if universities seek to embrace a transactional delivery of services and transform the student-as-customer metaphor into a reality, then they have the additional responsibility to ensure that there is a recognizable and acknowledged norm for deep learning.

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This session speaks to the SMP Vision and Purpose and will be of interest to all SMP academic, professional and honorary staff.