Comparison of human agency and its components among Farhangiān and State University students

Nowadays, the process of development of people aged 18 to 25, especially among University students, has become an individual project due to the reduced institutional support, and requires a human agency. On the other hand, the  development of human agency among the teacher training students is of most importance, compared to other students, due to the complexity of the teaching job. The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the level of agency and its components among the students of Farhangiān University (FU) and the State University (SU). This study was conducted with a cross-sectional survey method on a sample of 700 undergraduate students. To collect data, Multi-Measure Agentic Personality Scale of Cote (1997) was used. Univariate analysis of variance yielded a complex pattern of findings about the degree of students’ agency, in which the level of agency was a function of the interaction between the type of University, gender, and age. Multivariate analysis of variance showed that there is interaction between the type of University and the age of students in determining the components of internal locus of control and self-efficacy. Findings showed that, at the entrance to the FU, the level of agency of both genders was high and in males was higher than females, however, in the long run, the level of agency in both gender is reduced and get closer together, and this was the opposite in the SU. Findings also showed that the components of the internal locus of control and self-efficacy of teacher training students at the beginning of entering the FU were more than SU students, but over time, the level of both components decreased in the FU, and increased in SU. From the comparison of the trend of changes in the level of agency and its components in students based on demographic variables, it was concluded that the presence in the University does not have a considerable impact on the level of agency and its components; and FU limits the agency and some of its components among the students.