出版社:Australian Institutes for Educational Research
摘要:Students often enter higher education academically unprepared and with unrealisticperceptions and expectations regarding academic competencies for their studies.However, preparedness and realistic perceptions are important factors for studentretention. With regard to a proposed model of five academic competencies (timemanagement, learning skills, technology proficiency, self-monitoring, and research skills),incoming students’ perceptions concerning academic staff support and students’ selfreportedconfidence at a German university were examined. Using quantitative data, aninitial exploratory study was conducted (N = 155), which revealed first-year students’perceptions of the role of academic staff in supporting their development, especially inresearch skills, as well as low self-reported confidence in this competence. Thus, a followup study (N = 717) was conducted to confirm these findings as well as to provide an indepthunderstanding of research skills. Understanding students’ perceptions is crucial ifhigher education institutions are to meet students’ needs and provide adequate supportservices in the challenging first year. Thus, in order to increase student retention, it issuggested that universities assist first-year students in developing academic competenciesthrough personalised competence-based programs and with the help of emergingresearch fields and educational technologies such as learning analytics and digital badges.