The Characteristics of Student Assistants Improving Student's Learning Outcomes in a Community-based Learning Program in Higher Education

Abstract

Community-based learning programs have demonstrated efficacy in improving students' motivation and skill development. However, these programs also have learning environments that are difficult to manage, and their improvement of educational outcomes occurs through a small number of instructors who adopt these programs. With the purpose of making theoretical suggestions about the roles of student assistants in the process of improving learning outcomes, this study examines a case in which a community-based program used student assistants to promote the program. Questionnaires were distributed to 267 students and 18 student assistants who participated in the community-based program at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto. The results showed that the students with high performance acquired student assistants' supports such as flexible support, coaching, and support for continuous learning. The results also showed that student assistants of the high performance group had greater initiative toward their own interests and were more engaged in acquiring knowledge outside their major discipline. These results indicate that community-based learning benefits from the use of student assistants and from assistants who show strong initiative toward learning within and outside their own educational interests.