Measuring the mediating role of quality education for ensuring employability skills: An analysis of higher education student perception in Bangladesh

Mediating effect of quality education The research also aimed to determine whether students perceive Quality Education (QE) as a mediating factor for ensuring Employability Skills of Students (ES) necessary to enter the workforce. This is significant as no prior literature discusses the mediating role of QE despite numerous pieces of evidence backing these claims [39–41]. Moreover, only those constructs that could support a direct relationship with QE also supported the mediated effect of QE. The current study underlines a significant finding surrounding the mediating effect of QE, as per the survey conducted on 154 students. Physical Aspects (PA) is significantly supportive of the mediating effect of quality education for ensuring Employability Skills of Students (ES). While no prior literature within the scope of this study has argued or proven any significant relationship between PA and its effects on ES, HEI facilities have been extensively researched as a direct contributing factor to ensuring the ES of students [65–67]. This was mainly observed in the answers of respondents, as they overwhelmingly agreed that “My university offers the facilities of my choice” (44.9%) and “My university offers various support services” (46.2%) [67]. Even opined that "the availability of educational facilities determines how productive a lecturer will be in transforming the students into a qualified output that will continue with the national development of the country and nation at large". Thus, the hypothesis (H5) “Student perception of Quality education and the

mediating relationship between physical aspects and employability skills of higher education students” has been proven. Unfortunately, the findings do not support the mediating relationship of Quality Education (QE) to ensure Employability Skills (ES) for Course Structure (CS) and Institutional Policy (POL). This is unsurprising as CS and POL failed to support a direct effect relationship with ES. As mentioned, contextual differences and the students’ experience may have influenced the conflicting answers to the practical situation. Most respondents were optimistic that QE might mediate CS, as they agreed to the items "The courses that I have taken are set to meet industry requirements" (50.6%), "My courses help me to foster communication skills and teamwork" (50.6%), and "The knowledge I am gaining is flexible across industries" (57.1%). [68] corroborated similar findings as a vital link was established between course content (Course Structure) and vocational requirements (Employability Skills) since students were motivated by the vocational nature and saw future success in the employment market, how- ever, was doubtful of its benefit in assessing the practical relationship between them. Thus, the hypothesis (H6), "Student perception of Quality education and the mediating relationship between course structure and employability skills of higher education students", has not been proven. Moreover, respondents were also optimistic that QE would mediate POL by agreeing to the items "My university gives opportunities to students to work as assistants" (46.8%), "My uni-

versity gives me training on real-world work experiences" (44.9%) and "My university provides me with knowledge that will be effective in my work life" (43.6%). [69] reiterated positive find- ings when implementing revised policies for HEIs in the European context, thus suggesting that the context of Bangladesh cannot connect with unrealistic student perceptions. Thus, the hypothesis (H7), "Student perception of Quality education and the mediating relationship between institutional policy and employability skills", has not been proven. Limitations of the study While the paper forwards a significant contribution towards understanding the quality of edu- cation of private university students in Bangladesh, certain limitations still need to be addressed. This study used a cross-sectional approach. A longitudinal approach, wherein the PLOS ONE Measuring the mediating role of quality education for ensuring employability skills PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0310815 October 7, 2024 13 / 18