Responsible Transformation of Education Through Engineering Students’ Perceptions of Well-Being

Abstract

Higher education institutions are committed to continuous enhancement of educational programs to ensure alignment with student needs and expectations. Nevertheless, there remains an insufficient grasp of students’ perceptions of wellbeing dimensions, limiting institutions’ ability to create responsible supportive environments. The study aims to offer deeper understanding of engineering student’s perspectives on the relevance and impact of key components influencing their well-being. Based on literature review insights and the identified research gap, the OECD Better Life Index dimensions were applied at the micro-level to examine students’ perceptions. The study included 276 first-year undergraduate engineering students enrolled at the Faculty of Organizational Sciences. Descriptive statistics were used to assess the perceived importance of individual dimensions, while the Mann-Whitney test identified potential gender related differences and correlation analysis explored relationships among dimensions. The analysis highlighted that personal and professional advancement are seen as having significant importance, while there is high unawareness on importance of civic engagement and social responsibility. The findings highlight both what students seek and the areas where higher education institutions need to respond by helping students understand the importance of less prioritized dimensions and offering them engaging opportunities. This study makes a meaningful contribution by clarifying how young people perceive various well-being dimensions and aligning these insights with strategic approaches that higher education institutions can implement, therefore offering practical guidance and recommendation for fostering higher student engagement