Crafting the university experience. Application of job crafting theory to train students through behavioral change.

Purpose. In two studies we investigated (1) the role of study crafting behaviors in building resources and challenges at the origin of study engagement (2) whether interventions focused on behavioral change techniques are effective to sustain student’s proactive behaviors during the university experience. We hypothesized that (1) students make self-initiated changes to the levels of their demands/resources to better align these with their own abilities, which reflect in different levels of demands/resources; (2) a tailored intervention focused on reflection and goal setting would have been effective to sustain students’ crafting behaviors. Design/Methodology. In study 1, 245 students from two universities in Italy self-reported data on study demands/resources, engagement, and crafting behaviors. In study 2, 25 students took part to a crafting intervention, completing -pre -post questionnaires with the same measures of study 1. Results. Results from study 1 showed that students engaging in promotion-focused behaviors report higher cognitive focus, students’ and professors’ support. Results from study 2 showed that the intervention was effective to sustain students’ crafting behaviors. Limitations. All study variables were assessed via self-report. Originality/Value. This research investigates whether and how students craft their study resources/demands and whether a crafting intervention among students can be effective to support their proactive self-management of demands and resources.