Student engagement in learning has well-recognized positive effects on both academic and non-academic aspects of development. However, there has been limited research on the factors that shape it. This study examined the influence of peers’ academic norms, educational aspirations, and effort socialization on students’ academic engagement, placing self-efficacy and outcome expectations as mediators. Grounded in Bandura’s social cognitive theory, data were collected cross-sectionally from 596 high school students (male = 315) in Ethiopia. The results of the path analysis demonstrated a good model-data fit. Peers’ academic norms, educational aspirations, and effort socialization positively predicted academic engagement. Bootstrap analysis with 5000 samples revealed that academic self-efficacy (β = 0.022, BC 95% CI = [0.008, 0.041], p < 0.01) and outcome expectations (β = 0.053, BC 95% CI = [0.028, 0.086], p < 0.001) partially mediated the relationship between peer educational aspirations and students’ academic engagement. The partial mediated effects of peers’ academic norms on academic engagement via self-efficacy (β = 0.030, BC 95% CI = [0.014, 0.054], p < 0.001) and outcome expectations (β = 0.037, BC 95% CI = [0.014, 0.062], p < 0.01) were also significant. Additionally, peer effort socialization showed significant positive indirect effects on academic engagement, mediated by academic self-efficacy (β = 0.024, BC 95% CI = [0.009, 0.044], p < 0.01) and outcome expectations (β = 0.078, BC 95% CI = [0.050, 0.112], p < 0.001). Overall, the mediation analysis revealed that outcome expectations and self-efficacy partially mediated the link between academic engagement and the peer context, highlighting the importance of these mediators in enhancing student engagement.

Education is a pillar of the socio-economic development of a nation. Higher education (HE) is an engine for national development through producing the required skilled manpower, technology, innovations, research, and training services. The purpose of this study is to highlight the functioning, challenges, and emerging initiatives in public universities in Ethiopia. It employs a narrative review method for the synthesis of the findings. A total of 2004 published articles were searched using Boolean syntax from Scopus, ProQuest, ScienceDirect, and Web of Sciences databases, and 40 articles were maintained for analysis. Thus, the Ministry of Education (MoE) oversees the overall system of higher education. Public universities have shown relatively rapid expansion in the last three decades compared to the 1950s, followed by an increase in gross enrollment rate (GER). However, concerns were raised about the sustainability of these changes due to low investment in the educational sector. Various reforms have been introduced into the higher education system like differentiation, curriculum changes, national comprehensive exit exams for undergraduates, and admission tests for postgraduate programs. The higher education system is struggling with persistent challenges such as quality concerns, inadequate educational inputs, rigid structure, poor working environments, unemployment, and professional skill gaps. Due emphasis should be given to strengthening leadership, supplying adequate educational resources, sustainable financing, staff development, improving service delivery, and quality education.

Introduction: Social media addiction (SMA) and internet addiction (IA) are increasingly prevalent, impacting mental health (MH) globally. This study investigates the mediating roles of mindfulness and social capital (SC) in the relationship between SMA, IA, and MH among Ethiopian high school and university students, contributing to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 of good health and well-being. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 1160 university and 1473 high school students in Dessie, Ethiopia. Participants completed validated questionnaires assessing SMA, IA, mindfulness, SC, and MH. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with a multi- mediation Model (SMM) was used to examine the hypothesized relationships. Results: SEM revealed that both SMA and IA had a direct negative effect on mindfulness, SC, and MH in in both high school and university students. Notably, mindfulness and SC significantly and positively predicted MH, indicating their protective role against the negative effects of SMA and IA. Furthermore, both mindfulness or SC fully or partially mediated the relationship between SMA, IA, and MH, highlighting their crucial role in explaining the association. Conclusions: This study provides evidence for the crucial roles of mindfulness and SC in buffering the negative effects of SMA and IA on MH among Ethiopian students. The findings highlight the need for educational and health interventions that foster mindfulness and SC to enhance student mental health and promote a healthy digital environment. These results offer valuable insights for educators, health professionals, and policymakers in Ethiopia and other developing countries facing similar challenges.

This study aims to explore the importance of basic psychological needs satisfaction (BPNS) and mindfulness of university students in their career adaptability (CA), career self-efficacy (CSE), and future career choice (CC). The sample consisted of 1026 undergraduate students, of which 495 (48.2%) were female and 531 (51.8%) male, from three public universities in the Amhara Region, Ethiopia. The assessments, such as the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form, the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire Short Form, the Career Adapt-Ability Short Form Five Scale, the Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction Scale, and the Career Choice scale instruments were used. Findings from a parallel mediation model showed that both CA and CSE had a direct positive effect on the BPNS of university students. Additionally, this study found that both BPNS and mindfulness had a substantial and positive direct effect on the students’ CC. Importantly, we found that both CA and CSE significantly and indirectly predicted the future CC through BPNS and mindfulness. In addition, BPNS and mindfulness also partially mediate the relationship between CA, CSE, and the students’ future CC. Importantly, we found that mindfulness and BPNS fully and partially mediated the relationship between CA, CSE, and CC. These results support the notion that both psychological constructs (BPNS and mindfulness) play a crucial role in explaining the relationship between CA, CSE, and CC. By enhancing students’ BPNS and mindfulness, institutions can empower students to make informed decisions about their future career paths, ultimately nurturing their personal and professional growth.

The literature on STEM education and career choice demonstrates multiple gaps, including the underrepresentation of the targeted population, limited attention to peer influence, inadequate cross-cultural evidence, the need to validate theoretical models across different socioeconomic and cultural contexts, and the growing demand for context-specific evidence to inform interventions addressing youths’ low preference for STEM fields. To address these concerns, this study examined the direct and mediated relationships between peer context and engineering choice intentions among 487 randomly selected 12th-grade Ethiopian students. Structural equation modeling with maximum likelihood showed: (a) an excellent model-data fit, explaining a significant amount of variance in the outcome variable; (b) direct, partially mediated (via outcome expectations), and fully mediated (via self-efficacy) links of peer engineering socialization to engineering choice intentions; and (c) serial mediation effects through pathways where peer socialization enhances self-efficacy and outcome expectations, subsequently increasing interests, and ultimately shaping engineering choice intentions. The study demonstrated that peer context is a crucial factor in shaping students’ choice intentions. Further research directions and practical implications to foster engineering interests and choice intentions are discussed.