The Effects of High-Impact Educational Practices on Academic Outcomes and Key Competencies of University Students: The Mediation Effect of Learning Participation

Objectives The purposes of this study is to utilize the data as a basis for policy decisions aimed at improving educational programs by verifying how significantly participation in high-impact educational practices by university students contributes to enhancing academic outcomes and key competencies, as well as determining the role of learning participation in theses relationships. Methods To achieve this purpose, I conducted simple regression analysis to analyze the effect of participation in high-impact educational practices on academic outcomes and key competencies using data from 619 university students enrolled in a university located in Gwangju who participated in both the 2022 K-NSSE and the 2023 H University Key Competency Assessment. Additionally, I conducted mediation regression analysis to examine the mediating effect of learning participation. Results Participation in high-impact educational practices was found to have a positive effect on academic self-efficacy, career maturity, and university immersion, excluding learning motivation in academic outcomes. It also showed positive effects on the improvement of all six key competencies. Furthermore, in the relationship between participation in high-impact educational practices and academic outcomes, as well as key competencies, learning participation was found to have a mediating effect in al relationships. Particularly, meaningful learning experiences and self-direction learning among learning participation showed complete mediating effects on the improvement of some key competencies. Conclusions This study is considered to serve as foundational data for devising measures to enhance academic outcomes and key competencies through high-impact educational practices at universities, thereby increasing educational effectiveness. It is anticipated that this will aid in strengthening competency-based educational curricula at universities.