Learning-Informed Agency among Women and Its Impact on Household Well-Being

Learning-Informed Agency among Women and Its Impact on Household Well-Being

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.70211/wesw.v3i1.218

Keywords:

Learning-Informed Agency, Household Well-Being, Family Resilience

Abstract

Household well-being is increasingly recognized as a multidimensional construct shaped not only by material resources but also by the capacity of household members to make informed and adaptive decisions. This study examines the impact of learning-informed agency among women on household well-being, conceptualizing agency as the ability to translate accumulated learning experiences into informed judgment and purposeful action. Using a quantitative cross-sectional design, data were collected from 312 adult women actively involved in household decision-making and analyzed using latent variable modeling techniques. The results indicate that learning-informed agency has a substantial and statistically significant positive effect on household well-being (β = 0.61, p < 0.001), explaining 37% of the variance in household well-being. Measurement model assessment confirmed satisfactory reliability and validity of the constructs. These findings demonstrate that women’s learning-informed agency is a central mechanism through which learning contributes to household stability, emotional security, and adaptive resilience. The study advances theoretical integration between learning, agency, and well-being, while offering policy-relevant insights for women-centered learning and family development interventions.

Author Biographies

Syarnubi, Universitas Raden Fatah Palembang

Department of Islamic Education

Septia Fahiroh, Universitas Raden Fatah Palembang

Department of Islamic Education

Diana J. Fox, Bridgewater State University

Department of Anthropology

References

S. Spagano, "The role of social cohesion in economic development and childhood psychological development: a comprehensive literature review," Rev. INFAD Psicol. Int. J. Dev. Educ. Psychol., vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 121-132, 2025. https://doi.org/10.17060/ijodaep.2025.n1.v1.2811.

S. Danish, T. Mahmood, A. Rehman, A. Usman, and F. Sadaf, "'Networks of opportunity': Unpacking the role of family, peers, and community in shaping economic mobility in low-income urban settings," Crit. Rev. Soc. Sci. Stud., vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 313-324, 2025. https://doi.org/10.59075/42d0c606.

N. V. Roman et al., "Strengthening Family Bonds: A Systematic Review of Factors and Interventions That Enhance Family Cohesion," Soc. Sci., vol. 14, no. 6, p. 371, 2025. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14060371.

D. Scanlon, A. MacPhail, and A. Calderón, "A rhizomatic exploration of a professional development non-linear approach to learning and teaching: Two teachers' learning journeys in 'becoming different'," Teach. Teach. Educ., vol. 115, p. 103730, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2022.103730.

N. Muller Mirza, "Learning and Crises in Human Development. A Sociocultural and Dialogical Approach," Integr. Psychol. Behav. Sci., vol. 59, no. 4, p. 92, Dec. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-025-09940-5.

A. R. Quisumbing, "From Bargaining Power to Empowerment: Measuring the Unmeasurable," Agric. Econ., vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 419-430, May 2025. https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.70022.

I. B. Idris et al., "Women's autonomy in healthcare decision making: a systematic review," BMC Womens Health, vol. 23, no. 1, p. 643, Dec. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-023-02792-4.

M. A. Al Mamun and M. M. Hoque, "The impact of paid employment on women's empowerment: A case study of female garment workers in Bangladesh," World Dev. Sustain., vol. 1, p. 100026, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wds.2022.100026.

A. Bandura, "The reconstrual of 'free will' from the agentic perspective of social cognitive theory," Are We Free, vol. 34, no. 8, pp. 86-127, 2008. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195189636.003.0006.

A. Bandura, "Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective," Annu. Rev. Psychol., vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 1-26, 2001. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.1.

T. Gale and T. Molla, "Social justice intents in policy: an analysis of capability for and through education," J. Educ. Policy, vol. 30, no. 6, pp. 810-830, Nov. 2015. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2014.987828.

V. Egdell and P. J. Robertson, "A critique of the Capability Approach's potential for application to career guidance," Int. J. Educ. Vocat. Guid., vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 447-463, Jul. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10775-020-09445-0.

M. Y. Zhao, "Harmony: towards a unified conceptual framework," J. Posit. Psychol., pp. 1-14, May 2025. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2025.2500564.

M. Riasnugrahani, T. Setiawan, E. de Jong, and B. Takwin, "A dual pathway for understanding the relation between wellbeing and resilience," Humanit. Soc. Sci. Commun., vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 1-15, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03440-4.

R. K. Pradhan and U. Kumar, Emotion, well-being, and resilience: Theoretical perspectives and practical applications, CRC Press, 2021. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=nWkQEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA2006&dq=multidimensional+well-being,+encompassing+not+only+material+sufficiency+but+also+emotional+security,+relational+harmony,+and+adaptive+resilience&ots=woyV67PZYi&sig=atnGfxn-sLgQGgvM8y2sFhuh5s0.

M. A. Humaedi et al., "Shifting collective values: the role of rural women and gotong royong in village fund policy," Humanit. Soc. Sci. Commun., vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 1-12, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04577-6.

M. Kazemitabar, S. P. Lajoie, and T. Doleck, "Examining the Relationship Between Socially-Shared Emotion Regulation and Building Team Coordination Mechanisms During a Hackathon," Educ. Inf. Technol., vol. 29, no. 5, pp. 6241-6272, Apr. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-12021-y.

M. Thapan, "Social Isolation, Uncertainty and Change: Women's Experience of Mobility and its Consequences," in Work, Family and Integration, vol. 6, in Migration, Minorities and Modernity, vol. 6. Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore, 2023, pp. 69-87. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-5581-7_3.

M. Lawson, R. Weston, M. Simon, and M. Baker, "Household crowding and income loss increases intimate partner violence during the pandemic among isolating families with young children in the United States," Child. Youth Serv. Rev., vol. 161, p. 107622, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2024.107622.

J. W. Creswell and J. D. Creswell, Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches, Sixth Edition. Sage Publications, 2023.

M. Al-Mutawtah, E. Campbell, H.-P. Kubis, and M. Erjavec, "Women's experiences of social support during pregnancy: a qualitative systematic review," BMC Pregnancy Childbirth, vol. 23, no. 1, p. 782, Nov. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-023-06089-0.

A. Maseda, T. Iturralde, S. Cooper, and G. Aparicio, "Mapping women's involvement in family firms: A review based on bibliographic coupling analysis," Int. J. Manag. Rev., vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 279-305, Apr. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12278.

B. Vogt and N. Wahlström, "A Reconceptualization of Schooling and Teaching: A Renewed Interest in Bildung‐Oriented Didaktik and Transactional Realism," Educ. Theory, vol. 75, no. 1, pp. 129-152, Feb. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1111/edth.12687.

A. G. Shahane, "Empowerment Through Education: The Role Of Education In Women's Empowerment And Social Mobility," Cah. MAGELLANES-NS, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 5220-5230, 2024.

A. Andriamahery and M. Qamruzzaman, "Do access to finance, technical know-how, and financial literacy offer women empowerment through women's entrepreneurial development?," Front. Psychol., vol. 12, p. 776844, 2022. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.776844.

G. Pari and R. Ali, "Breaking barriers and embracing change in Pakistan: Unpacking transformative potential of higher education for women's empowerment," in Women's Studies International Forum, Elsevier, 2025, p. 103143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103143.

R. Leproni and L. Azara, "'Women Must Not Be Left Behind': The UNESCO Path Towards Women's Empowerment," in Scars of War: Migration, Security and Sustainable Future, Emerald Publishing Limited, 2025, pp. 21-46. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0895-993520250000030004.

W. Ma, H. Zheng, D. Boansi, G. S. Horlu, and V. Owusu, "Types of employment and well-being of rural residents: A multinomial endogenous switching regression application," Econ. Model., vol. 147, p. 107047, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2025.107047.

M. Baltruszewicz, J. K. Steinberger, J. Paavola, D. Ivanova, L. I. Brand-Correa, and A. Owen, "Social outcomes of energy use in the United Kingdom: Household energy footprints and their links to well-being," Ecol. Econ., vol. 205, p. 107686, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2022.107686.

C. Sakyi-Nyarko, A. H. Ahmad, and C. J. Green, "The role of financial inclusion in improving household well-being," J. Int. Dev., vol. 34, no. 8, pp. 1606-1632, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3661.

J. E. Sanders, E. Carrothers, O. Gamble, D. Neeb, and M. K. Arundel, "The Cost of Caregiving: The Disproportionate and Invisible Impact of COVID-19 on Women," Affilia, p. 08861099251317493, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1177/08861099251317493.

V. Andelsman Alvarez, "'I am in charge of the whole family operation': gendered norms and negotiations in digital parenting in Denmark," Fem. Media Stud., pp. 1-20, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2025.2473394.

D. P. K. Sarma et al., "Measuring the Determinants of Women's Empowerment in Agricultural Index in Bangladesh: Application of the Structural Equation Modeling Modelling Approach," Front. Sustain. Food Syst., vol. 9, p. 1547804, 2025. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2025.1547804

Downloads

Published

2026-02-13

Similar Articles

1 2 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.

Loading...