TY - JOUR
T1 - Asset or liability
T2 - exploring undergraduates’ perceptions of faculty-mentored research in Ghana
AU - Serbeh, Richard
AU - Forkuor, David
AU - Osei-Wusu Adjei, Prince
AU - Abass, Kabila
AU - Opoku, Foster
AU - Andoh, Bright
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Society for Research into Higher Education.
PY - 2025
Y1 - 2025
N2 - This paper explores students’ perceptions of faculty-mentored research by drawing on the experiences of final year undergraduates sampled from a public university in Ghana. Embedded in a qualitative approach, the paper employs the cognitive interest and expectancy value theories, which model interests and satisfaction as predictors of affection and/or disaffection for an activity respectively. From these theoretical viewpoints, the paper argues that the interest and utility derived from faculty-mentored research explain students’ perceptions of this writing activity. Following this premise, students’ perceptions of faculty-mentored research defy a single characterisation. The students’ perceptions of this writing activity straddle two polar perspectives. From one end of the polarity, the students perceived faculty-mentored research as an asset. As an asset, this writing activity facilitated the development and acquisition of skills and competencies relevant to career and academic progression. Besides, faculty-mentored research broadened participants’ understanding of social processes and phenomena. However, from the opposing end of the spectrum, faculty-mentored research is perceived as a liability since it exposed students to challenges that affect overall performance and well-being. The paper highlights how interests and perceived benefits affect students’ subjective views on the place of faculty-mentored research in undergraduate education. The emergence of these divergent perceptions amplifies the call for freedom in the choice of faculty-mentored research as a component of the undergraduate course structure.
AB - This paper explores students’ perceptions of faculty-mentored research by drawing on the experiences of final year undergraduates sampled from a public university in Ghana. Embedded in a qualitative approach, the paper employs the cognitive interest and expectancy value theories, which model interests and satisfaction as predictors of affection and/or disaffection for an activity respectively. From these theoretical viewpoints, the paper argues that the interest and utility derived from faculty-mentored research explain students’ perceptions of this writing activity. Following this premise, students’ perceptions of faculty-mentored research defy a single characterisation. The students’ perceptions of this writing activity straddle two polar perspectives. From one end of the polarity, the students perceived faculty-mentored research as an asset. As an asset, this writing activity facilitated the development and acquisition of skills and competencies relevant to career and academic progression. Besides, faculty-mentored research broadened participants’ understanding of social processes and phenomena. However, from the opposing end of the spectrum, faculty-mentored research is perceived as a liability since it exposed students to challenges that affect overall performance and well-being. The paper highlights how interests and perceived benefits affect students’ subjective views on the place of faculty-mentored research in undergraduate education. The emergence of these divergent perceptions amplifies the call for freedom in the choice of faculty-mentored research as a component of the undergraduate course structure.
KW - asset
KW - faculty-mentored research
KW - liability
KW - Perceptions
KW - undergraduate dissertation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85188468260&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/03075079.2024.2329744
DO - 10.1080/03075079.2024.2329744
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85188468260
SN - 0307-5079
VL - 50
SP - 80
EP - 92
JO - Studies in Higher Education
JF - Studies in Higher Education
IS - 1
ER -