Panoramic Mapping of Student Development Interests Across Six Domains in Higher Education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46328/ijres.5799Keywords:
Career readiness, Higher education, Needs assessment, Student affairs, Student developmentAbstract
Student affairs planning often proceeds without direct evidence of students’ expressed development needs; this study provides a six-domain, demand-focused profile to ground decisions. Using a descriptive cross-sectional survey, 259 undergraduates from a Philippine higher education institution rated their interest in six development areas: self-development, study skills, time management, learning expectations about college, preparation for living and working, and support systems. Descriptive statistics profiled each domain; internal consistency reliability was examined; and group comparisons tested differences by sex. Interest was high across all areas, with the strongest ratings for learning-oriented domains (self-development, study skills, time management), while preparation for living and working and support systems also showed substantial interest. Comparisons indicated no practically meaningful differences by sex across domains, challenging assumptions about gender-differentiated programming and suggesting broadly shared priorities. The study contributes an institution-specific, six-domain profile that centers student voice, distinguishes learning-skills demand from support-services demand, and establishes a baseline for monitoring future cohorts. These results clarify where students most want development opportunities in this context and demonstrate the value of structured needs assessments for aligning student affairs initiatives with stated student interests.
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