SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Psychology in Education
A Multi-System Psychological Capital Model for Higher Education Academics: Meta-Ethnographic Research
Provisionally accepted
- 1Putra Malaysia University, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
- 2Universiti Putra Malaysia Fakulti Pengajian Pendidikan, Serdang, Malaysia
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Academics in higher education face immense, systemic stressors that challenge their well-being. Current research on Psychological Capital (PsyCap) often treats it as a static, individual trait, overlooking the profound influence of the academic environment. This study addresses this gap by conducting a meta-ethnography of 19 qualitative and mixed-methods studies (2020–2024) from diverse international contexts to explore how academic PsyCap (hope, efficacy, optimism, resilience) is developed and eroded. Using a Multi-System Resilience Model (MSMR) and the Process–Person– Context–Time (PPCT) framework, the analysis reveals that PsyCap is not a static trait but a dynamic ecological process. Findings show that while resources such as mastery experience and collegial support (microsystem) build PsyCap, it is actively depleted by institutional pressures, often manifesting as "cruel optimism." This creates a paradox in which individuals are forced to be "resilient by themselves" against systemic failures. Interventions must therefore shift from individual coping to systemic, institutional reform.
Keywords: Academic Staff, higher education, Meta-ethnography, Multi-system resilience model (MSMR), Psychological capital (PsyCap)
Received: 24 Nov 2025; Accepted: 26 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Wang and Che Amat. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Muhammad Asyraf Che Amat
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