The Effect of Admission Year and Effort-Reward Imbalance Model on Engagement

Abstract

Engagement has not been widely studied in the field of medical education. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between admission year and engagement, assuming that characteristics of admission cohorts might be different depending on year. Association between effort-reward imbalance (ERI) model and engagement was also reinvestigated. Data were collected from 164 students in The Catholic University of Korea, College of Medicine. Ninety-nine (18.97%) students in 2017 and 65 (12.38%) students in 2018 answered an online questionnaire measuring demographic variables, ERI, over-commitment (OC), negative affect, and engagement. Participants’ admission years were determined based on years in school they responded. Affiliation and year in school were removed because of their high correlation with admission year. Categorical regression analysis was performed. Admission year, binary ERI, and OC were significant explanatory variables in this categorical regression model (R² = .312, Adjusted R² = .255, F = 5.444, p = .000). Admission year, binary ERI, and OC accounted for 13.4%, 27.9%, and 9.4% of the importance in this model, respectively. Quantification plots for admission year and binary ERI showed that engagement was the highest in 2018 admission cohort but the lowest in 2013 admission cohort; being reciprocally rewarded for efforts was associated with higher scores of engagement. A certain admission cohort can be more engaged or less engaged in learning. This study also confirms that receiving proper rewards for efforts could be related to increase in engagement.