Evaluation of path coefficients

PLS-SEM has the purpose of explaining hypothesised relationships between the latent variables of interest. After considering and confirming the reliability for each latent variable, the estimated path coefficients were calculated to establish the significance and strength of the different hypothesised relationships. A significance level of 5% (p < .05) was used as an indicator. The results are reported in table 4.26.

Table 4.26

Path Coefficients of the Structural Model of Postgraduates’ Intention To Stay Path

coefficient

95% Lower 95% Upper Significant CI p-value from t- test

AM -> Engage .38 .30 .46 Yes .00

Afit -> ITS .38 .26 .49 Yes .00

CareerP -> Engage .20 .12 .28 Yes .00

Engage -> ITS .12 -.02 .24 No .07

mssp -> Afit .32 .23 .41 Yes .00

mssp -> Engage .21 .12 .31 Yes .00

mssp -> ITS .02 -.09 .11 No .77

Notes. Engagement; ITS = Intention to stay; mssp = Social support

In the subsequent section the findings with regard to the various hypotheses are evaluated. Whether each hypothesis was supported is briefly discussed.

Hypothesis 1: Career preparation has a positive impact on postgraduate students’ level of engagement at university.

A positive relationship between Career preparation and Engagement was hypothesised and found to be statistically significant (p < .05). The null hypothesis was therefore rejected. These findings are in in agreement with those of other researchers (Rochester, 2017; Olwage, & Mostert, 2014; Skorikov, 2007). Career preparation, which consists of career planning (Rochester, 2017), career decision-making (Second et al., 2014), and career confidence (Skorikov, 2007) has a positive impact on students’ level of engagement. Therefore, the more students prepare for their career choice through planning, effective decision-making, and career confidence, the greater the chances are that they will stay at university.

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Hypothesis 2: Engagement has a positive impact on postgraduate’s intention to stay at university.

The hypothesised positive relationship between Engagement and Intention to stay was found to be not statistically significant (p > .05). This finding is not consistent with the findings of other researchers on the topic (Bonet & Walters, 2016; Sousa, 2015; Viljoen & Deacon, 2013). Nevertheless, it is important to consider the fact that p < .05 was used in this current study as a guideline, but a more moderate significant level of 10% (p < .10) can also be used (Hair et al., 2017). While the hypothesised relationship between Engagement and Intention to stay was not statistically significant at p < .05, it was significant at p < .10. Therefore, it was found that postgraduates’ engagement does have an impact on their intention to stay at university and complete their studies, but it is not a strong relationship. The relationship is not strong enough to conclude that engagement has a direct impact on a student’s intention to stay.

After careful consideration and adaptations to the structural model of postgraduates’ intention to stay, it became clear that if Academic fit were deleted, the relationship between Engagement and Intention to stay became significant. This indicates that both engagement and academic fit have a positive influence on postgraduates’ intention to stay at university, but academic fit has a stronger influence than engagement on postgraduate students’ intention to stay. Wilcox, Winn and Fyvie-Gauld (2005) argue that academic fit is a requirement for student engagement, and a lack of academic fit will prevent the student from being engaged in his or her studies. This relationship was not tested in the present study, but could be investigated in future research.

Hypothesis 3: Social support has a positive impact on postgraduate students’ engagement at university.

The hypothesised positive relationship between Social support and Engagement was found to be statistically significant (p < .05). The null hypothesis was therefore rejected. The conclusion derived from this study is consistent with similar studies on the topic (Hirschi et al., 2011; Palladino et al., 2005; Jayarathna, 2014), that there is indeed a positive relationship between social support and students’ engagement.

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Hypothesis 4: Social support has a positive impact on postgraduates’ academic fit at university.

The hypothesised positive relationship between Social support and Academic fit was found to be statistically significant (p < .05). The null hypothesis was thus rejected. This indicates that there is a positive relationship between postgraduate students’ social support and their academic fit, as found by Meikle (2008), Madill, Montgomerie, and Stewin (2000); Madill, Ciccocioppo, Stewin, Armour, and Montgomerie (2004).

Hypothesis 5 Social support has a positive impact on postgraduate students’ Intention to stay at university.

The hypothesised positive relationship between Social support and Intention to stay was found to be not statistically significant (p > .05). Therefore, the null hypothesis was not rejected. These findings are contrary to the findings of other studies. Various studies support the impact of social support on intention to stay among undergraduate students (House, 1981; Zajacova et al., 2005; DeBerard, Spielmans, & Julka, 2004; Gloria Castellanos, Lopez, & Rosales, 2005; De la Iglesia et al., 2014; Myers, 2009). The studies that considered the impact of social support on intention to stay among postgraduates are limited, but they also confirm the relationship (Khalifa et al., 2016). Notably, the analysis revealed that Engagement mediated the relationship between Social support and Intention to stay. Therefore, even though social support does not have a direct influence on postgraduate students’ intention to stay, evidence suggests that, if students are engaged, they may be more likely to stay at the institution.

Hypothesis 6: Academic fit has a positive impact on postgraduate students’ intention to stay at university.

The hypothesised positive relationship between Academic fit and Intention to stay was found to be statistically significant (p < .05). The null hypothesis was therefore rejected. This finding is in line with the those of other researchers who also support the importance of this relationship (Allen & Robbins, 2008; Holland, 1997, Schmitt et al., 2008).

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Hypothesis 7: Motivation has a positive impact on postgraduate students’ engagement at university.

The hypothesised positive relationship between Motivation and Engagement was found to be statistically significant (p < .05). The null hypothesis was thus rejected. Research shows that students who experience internal and external motivation experience higher levels of engagement (Newmann, 1992; Saeed & Zyngier, 2012; Xiong et al., 2015). Moreover, motivation is argued to be a pre-requisite for engagement (Saeed & Zyngier, 2012). It has therefore been confirmed that motivation has a positive impact on postgraduate students’ engagement in this study.

4.8 Conclusion

The overarching purpose of this chapter was to consider all the results after statistical analyses and to report the findings. The results displayed acceptable reliability and validity for the measurement model and supported the validation of the inner (structural) model. PLS-SEM was conducted to analyse and assess the quality and significance of the relevant paths between the endogenous and exogenous latent variables. Strong support was found for five of the seven hypotheses. In contrast with existing literature, no support was found for a direct relationship between social support and intention to stay at university, and the relationship between engagement and intention to stay. The results, implications, and limitations of the present study are discussed in the following chapter.

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