| Author: | Chan, Lai Meng |
| Title: | A study of the impact of student cyberloafing on instructor’s job satisfaction in the higher education setting — the role of work meaningfulness, perceived seriousness of cyberloafing, and work engagement |
| Advisors: | Xu, Xin (MM) |
| Degree: | D.B.A. |
| Year: | 2023 |
| Subject: | Teachers -- Job satisfaction Universities and colleges -- Faculty -- Job satisfaction College teaching Motivation in education Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations |
| Department: | Faculty of Business |
| Pages: | vi, 83 pages : color illustrations |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | Cyberloafing is among the problematic tech-trends in the contemporary workplace and educational settings. My thesis focuses on the phenomenon of students’ cyberloafing behavior in the classroom and its impacts on instructors. Students’ cyberloafing behavior is the Internet and electronic device use for non-academic purposes during class time. Existing studies on cyberloafing in the learning environment mainly focused on the impacts of such behavior on students themselves and found the negative effects on students’ academic performance, class concentration, peer relations, etc. Limited research has focused on the impact of such behavior on instructors. Considering the specific roles of both instructors and students play in the classroom and the influences of their behaviors on each other in the learning environment, this study examines the impact of perceived intensity of students’ cyberloafing on instructors instead of students themselves in the higher education setting. Drawing upon the Engagement Theory (Kahn, 1990), the current study aims to examine how students’ cyberloafing and its seriousness will influence instructor work engagement, and subsequently job satisfaction. In particular, the perceived seriousness of student cyberloafing and work engagement are theorized to mediate the impact of student cyberloafing on instructor job satisfaction. Engagement is the highest achievable state of work performance and relates strongly to one’s dedication, motivation, and work performance. The seriousness of student cyberloafing naturally disengages the instructor from the work role and even withdraws and defeats the instructor from teaching performance. This kind of disengagement is closely linked to job involvement (Brown, 1996) and flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990), which in turn influences job satisfaction. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that work meaningfulness serves as a moderator in the association between student cyberloafing intensity and perceived seriousness of student cyberloafing. The results of the study show that student cyberloafing behaviors in class do positively impact the instructor’s perceived seriousness of student cyberloafing, which in turn negatively affects his/her engagement in teaching, and subsequently job satisfaction. Instructors' work meaningfulness positively moderates the impact of student cyberloafing behavior on instructors perceived seriousness of student cyberloafing behavior—i.e., strengthening this positive effect. Theoretical findings from this research include contributions made to the literature on student cyberloafing by 1) complementing the existing research by proposing and examining the impact of student cyberloafing on instructors’ psychological reactions; 2) theorizing and testing the moderating effect of instructor work meaningfulness on the relationship in 1). Regarding the practical implications, in the university’s interest efforts can be directed to help instructors strengthen their ability to cope with setbacks or disruptive behaviors, such as student cyberloafing in classroom management. I trust that the instructor’s belief in their job involvement will translate to a meaningful experience in their teaching work and further to a higher level of engagement. Engaged instructors will become productive and self-motivated individuals that are highly desirable in an organization—in this setting, the university. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6959.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 1.94 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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