Alexandra Maria Dantas de Castro Araújo

O impacto das expectativas na adaptação acadêmica dos estudantes no Ensino Superior

Los desafios que enfrentan los jovenes que resultan del ingreso a la educacion superior han sido objeto de numerosas investigaciones, destacando la convergencia de variables personales y contextuales en este proceso de transicion y adaptacion a la educacion superior. El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo investigar como las expectativas afectan la calidad de las experiencias de adaptacion de los estudiantes que inician la educacion superior. Participaron 182 estudiantes brasilenos (M=26,2; DP=8,76), siendo 146 mujeres y 36 hombres, que respondieron dos cuestionarios direccionados a las expectativas y experiencias academicas. Los resultados indicaron que las expectativas iniciales de los estudiantes ingresantes se correlacionaron con la calidad de sus experiencias academicas. En particular, las expectativas de participacion en las relaciones con los companeros, en el proyecto de la carrera y en las actividades curriculares del curso fueron relacionadas con la adaptacion academica de los estudiantes.

Dilemmas of girls and women in engineering: a study in Portugal

The reason that girls and women withdraw from science and technology education and careers has been a universal concern in the social sciences. This study investigated how gendered constructions of identity are translated into the barriers and fears that female students and professional women experience in decision-making about their careers. We conducted interviews with 63 girls and 39 women in academic and professional engineering careers, focusing on their interpersonal relationships with boys and men in their school and occupational engineering settings, respectively. Participant discourse highlighted the difficulties women face when managing the antagonistic discourses of femininity and masculinity in a social environment in which they are frequently forced to submit to hegemonic masculinity. The consequences of women’s differing discourses about the “masculine world” and the “feminine world” are discussed, and some strategies for creating more equalitarian relational environments in school and work settings are discussed.

The Mediating Effects of Approaches to Learning on the Academic Success of First-Year College Students

ABSTRACT Students’ personal predictors of academic success are particularly relevant for first-year college students, given the specific challenges that these students face when entering higher education (HE). Academic success in HE has been related to multiple factors, including the students’ approaches to learning (SAL), satisfaction (linked to commitment and persistence), study time (effort), and prior academic achievement. This study analyzes the combined effect of these predictors on perceived academic success. Data from 247 students was collected using the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students and other specific measures to assess presage and process variables of academic success. Although academic success is multidimensional and difficult to explain, factors such as prior academic achievement, satisfaction with the course, SAL, and study time contribute to explain perceived academic success in first-year college students.

Predictors of students’ adjustment during transition to university in spain

BACKGROUND Adjustment to university is a major life transition that not all emerging adults manage successfully. The Student University Adjustment Questionnaire is the instrument most commonly used to evaluate this multidimensional construct. Research in Spain on the predisposing factors for successful adjustment to university in emerging adults is scarce relative to the large number of studies carried out in North America. The objective of the present study was to analyze the association between students’ gender, family background, pre-university achievement and adjustment to university. METHOD Participants were 300 Spanish first-year students (198 women and 102 men) of mean age 18.02 years. RESULTS Pre-university achievement was the only significant predictor of academic, social and institutional adjustment. Gender directly affected personal-emotional adjustment and indirectly affected academic adjustment mediated by entry grade. CONCLUSIONS Students’ entry characteristics predict adjustment to university in the first year. These findings have important theoretical and practical implications.

Intervention Program on Adolescent's Creativity Representations and Academic Motivation

Creativity and its promotion are widespread concerns in education. However, few efforts have been made to implement intervention programs designed to promote creativity and other related aspects (e.g., academic motivation). The Future Problem Solving Program International (FPSPI), aimed for training creativity representations and creative problem solving skills in young people, has been one of the most implemented programs. This interventions materials and activities were adapted for Portuguese students, and a longitudinal study was conducted. The program was implemented during four months, in weekly sessions, by thirteen teachers. Teachers received previous training for the program and during the programs implementation. Intervention participants included 77 Basic and Secondary Education students, and control participants included 78 equivalent students. Pretest-posttest measures of academic motivation and creativity representations were collected. Results suggest a significant increase, in the intervention group, in motivation and the appropriate representations of creativity. Practical implications and future research perspectives are presented.

Análise fatorial confirmatória da prova de avaliação de competência social face à carreira

Social competence is concerned to how people perceive and act in a variety of social situations. This study evaluates the psychometric characteristics of the Perceived Social Competence Scale (PSC-Car). Participants were 572 Portuguese adolescents (M=13.28 years; SD=.59) who are in the 8th grade. Results of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis suggest a factorial solution consisting of eight factors. The global indices of fitness of the model are quite robust, proving that it is a good solution in the adjustment of empirical data (X2/df=4.097, CFI=.895, GFI=.851, RMSEA=.079). The results stimulate the development of new researches and interventions that approach social skills in order to develop socially intelligent behaviors for career adaptation, advancement and success of young people.

Teaching practices for creativity at university: a study in Portugal and Brazil

Creativity is nowadays seen as an essential feature in higher education. Nevertheless, there is a discrepancy between the need for creativity and what higher education classrooms provide. This study assessed the perceptions of 1599 higher education students from two countries (1059 Brazilian and 540 Portuguese students), from two academic domains (Sciences and Technologies - ScT Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities - SScAH Portuguese students showed opposite patterns of results. Some hypothetical explanations are discussed and future directions for research are presented.

Paixão pelo trabalho e competências de gestão interpessoal : validação de escalas para a sua avaliação junto de gestores empresariais

This study presents the validation of the Passion Toward Work Scale (PTWS; Vallerand & Houlfort, 2003) and of the Political Skill Inventory (PSI; Ferris, Treadway, Kolodinsky, Hochwarter, Kacmar, Douglas, & Frink, 2005) for Portuguese business managers. The PTWS consists of 14 items, distributed in two dimensions: obsessive passion and harmonious passion. The PSI consists of 18 items and it includes four dimensions: social astuteness, interpersonal influence, networking ability, and apparent sincerity. There were 131 Portuguese managers participating in the study, from the North, Center and South of Portugal, and from various activity domains, age cohorts, and both genders. Findings suggest that both measures present high levels of precision and that the constructs originally defined by the authors are replicated in the dimensional structure for the Portuguese sample. A statistically significant and positive relation was also found between harmonious passion, assessed with the PTWS, and interpersonal management skills, measured with the PSI.

El impacto de las expectativas sobre la adaptación académica de los estudiantes en la Educación Superior

Los desafios que enfrentan los jovenes que resultan del ingreso a la educacion superior han sido objeto de numerosas investigaciones, destacando la convergencia de variables personales y contextuales en este proceso de transicion y adaptacion a la educacion superior. El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo investigar como las expectativas afectan la calidad de las experiencias de adaptacion de los estudiantes que inician la educacion superior. Participaron 182 estudiantes brasilenos (M=26,2; DP=8,76), siendo 146 mujeres y 36 hombres, que respondieron dos cuestionarios direccionados a las expectativas y experiencias academicas. Los resultados indicaron que las expectativas iniciales de los estudiantes ingresantes se correlacionaron con la calidad de sus experiencias academicas. En particular, las expectativas de participacion en las relaciones con los companeros, en el proyecto de la carrera y en las actividades curriculares del curso fueron relacionadas con la adaptacion academica de los estudiantes.

The impact of expectations on the students' academic adaptation in Higher Education

Los desafios que enfrentan los jovenes que resultan del ingreso a la educacion superior han sido objeto de numerosas investigaciones, destacando la convergencia de variables personales y contextuales en este proceso de transicion y adaptacion a la educacion superior. El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo investigar como las expectativas afectan la calidad de las experiencias de adaptacion de los estudiantes que inician la educacion superior. Participaron 182 estudiantes brasilenos (M=26,2; DP=8,76), siendo 146 mujeres y 36 hombres, que respondieron dos cuestionarios direccionados a las expectativas y experiencias academicas. Los resultados indicaron que las expectativas iniciales de los estudiantes ingresantes se correlacionaron con la calidad de sus experiencias academicas. En particular, las expectativas de participacion en las relaciones con los companeros, en el proyecto de la carrera y en las actividades curriculares del curso fueron relacionadas con la adaptacion academica de los estudiantes.