Do Research Self-Efficacy and Research Outcome Expectation of Cambodian Faculty Explain Their Research Interest?

Transcription

1 Do Research Self-Efficacy and Research Outcome Expectation of Cambodian Faculty Explain Their Research Interest? Another Evidence Supporting Social-Cognitive Theory PHYROM EAM Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation Hiroshima University 1

2 Quick outlines of the presentation 1. Research at Cambodian universities 2. Conceptual framework 3. Key research hypotheses 4. Data and data analysis 5. Main results 6. Discussions 7. Limitations 8. Conclusion References 2

3 1. Research at Cambodian universities Academic research has been a missing function of Cambodian higher education sector => low research engagement and productivity Promoting research culture and capacity is quite a recent endeavor: o July 2010: Issuing the policy on research for education sector o July 2011: Releasing the action plan for research development at HEIs o Key activities: Developing national scientific journal, offering funding to certain universities, providing research training, and enhancing graduate programs Two previously-assumed macro-level factors leading to poor research implementation and development: structural & cultural factors (see, for example, Chen et al., 2007; Kwok et al., 2010; Tan & Kuar, 2013) A current thinking: Cambodian academics will have higher interest in research activities if they acquire high level of research competence and adequately incentivized. 3

4 2. Conceptual Framework Research question: Do research self-efficacy and research outcome expectation explain the level of interest in research of Cambodian academics? Theory: The Social-Cognitive Theory partially argues that faculty who believe that they have ability and skills to accomplish research activities effectively (i.e. research self-efficacy) and those who anticipate worthy (either intrinsic or extrinsic) rewards from engaging in those research works (i.e. research outcome expectation) are more likely to hold persistent interest in research activities (Bieschke et al., 1998; Lent et al., 1994) Key Literature: Positive relationship between research self-efficacy and research interest (e.g. Gelso et al., 1996; Lambie & Vaccaro, 2011; Rezaei & Zamani-Miandashti, 2013) Positive relationship between research outcome expectation and research interest (e.g. Bard et al., 2000; Bieschke et al., 1998) 4

5 3. Key research hypotheses H1: Research self-efficacy is directly and positively related to research interest. H2: Research outcome expectation is directly and positively related to research interest. H3: The interaction effect between research self-efficacy and research outcome expectation on research interest is statistically significant. *** Personal and professional variables (i.e. gender, terminal degree, research experience, age and research experience) were treated as controlled variables. 5

6 4. Data and data analysis See Appendix A for the detailed description of demographic variables: 453 faculty members from 10 universities Questionnaire survey (piloted tested prior to actual data collection) Scale items [Research self-efficacy (alpha =.933), research outcome expectation (alpha =.794), research interest (alpha =.926)] were adapted from previous literature (see Appendix A) and adjusted to fit Cambodian contexts. Data analyses were conducted in four steps: Step 1 = Personal and professional variables (Model 1) Step 2 = Model 1 Controlled + Research self-efficacy (Model 2) Step 3 = Model 2 Controlled + Research outcome expectation Step 4 = Model 3 Controlled + Research self-efficacy* Research outcome expectation 6

7 5. Main results Male faculty, faculty holding Ph.D and faculty with some research experiences seemed to obtain higher research interest than did their counterparts (R 2 =.053). The statistics (ββ =.56, pp <.001) indicated that research self-efficacy was a significant predictor of research interest. The value of R 2 Change (31%) suggested that research self-efficacy was a strong predictor. Research outcome expectation also significantly predicted research interest ββ =.13, pp <.05 but was not as explanatory of research interest as research was research self-efficacy (R 2 Change =.007). The moderation effect (by interaction) between research self-efficacy and research outcome expectation on research interest was not statistically significant. Total explained variation in research interest: (R 2 =.372; Adjusted R 2 =.362) (See Appendix C and D for more details) 7

8 6. Discussions and implication The current findings support the theoretical relationship between research self-efficacy and research outcome expectation and research interest and are consistent with previous studies (e.g. Biescheke et al., 1998; Kanh & Scott, 1998; Lambie & Vaccaro, 2011) However, the study found that research self-efficacy was a better predictor of research interest than was research outcome expectation, which was contradicted with the study by Bard et al. (2000). Two questions to pose: Are research self-efficacy and research outcome expectation (research motivation) important aspects to promote research culture and capacity in Cambodian context? Should the policy focus on building faculty s research skills and competence or incentivizing them? 8

9 7. Limitations Further studies with a larger sample size from different disciplines are need if it is to make generalization over the whole Cambodian context of higher education. Focusing only on individual level characteristics Analysis done at the single level 9

10 8. Conclusion Research competence and knowledge (as reflected by research self-efficacy) is a very crucial aspect to handle in order to promote research culture and capacity of Cambodian academics. Motivating or incentivizing faculty to engage more actively in research should also be an important feature to systematize at the institutional level. Yet, perhaps, for the current setting, building faculty research knowledge and skills in conducting academic research is more critical. 10

11 References Bard, C. C., Bieschke, K. J., Herbert, T. J., & Eberz, A. B. (2000). Predicting research interest among rehabilitation counseling students and faculty. RCB, 44(1), Bieschke, J. K., Herbert, T, J., & Bard, C. (1998). Using a social cognitive model to explain research productivity among rehabilitation counselor education faculty. Rehabilitation Educaiton, 12(1), 1 6. Chen, C., Sok, P., & Sok, K. (2007). Benchmarking potential factors leading to education quality: A study of Cambodian higher education. Quality Assurance in Education, 15(2), Gelso, C. J., Mallinckrodt, B., & Judge, A. B. (1996). Research training environment, attitudes towards research, and research self-efficacy: The revised Research Training Environment Scale. The Counseling Psychologist, 24, Kanh, J. H., & Scott, N. A. (1997). Predictors of research productivity and science-related career goals among counseling psychology graduate students. The Counseling Psychologist, 25, Kwok, K. W., Chan, S., Heng, C., Kim, S., Neth, B., & Thon, V. (2010). Scoping study: Research capacities of Cambodia's universities. Phnom Penh: CDRI. Lambie, W. G., & Vaccaro, N. (2011). Doctoral counselor education students levels o research self-efficacy, perceptions of the research training environment, and interest in research. Counselor Education & Supervision, 50, Lent, W. R., Brown, D. S. & Hackett, G. (1994). Towards a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest, choice, and performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport [MoEYS]. (2011). Master Plan for Research Development in the Education Sector Phnom Penh: MoEYS. Rezaei, M., & Zamani-Miandashti, N. (2013). The relationship between research self-efficacy, research anxiety and attitude towards research: A study of agricultural graduate students. Journal of Educational and Instructional Studies in the World, 3(4), Tan, C., & Kaur, S. (2012). Partnering and alliances in higher education [Monograph]. Higher Education Research Monograph, 17, Vaccaro, N. (2009). The Relationship between Research Self-Efficacy, Perceptions of the Research Training Environment and Interest in Research in Counselor Education Doctoral Students: An Ex-Post-Facto, Cross-Sectional Correlational Investigation. PhD dissertation. University of Central Florida. 11

12 Thank You! 12