Nöjd, klar och duktig Studenter på fem utbildningar om studieframgång

Sammanfattning: This thesis addresses the significance of the concept of study success in higher education from the perspective of students at five university programs; Business Administration and Economics, Engineering Physics, Medical Education, Social Work and Teacher Education for Upper Secondary Level. The thesis is based on data from three studies conducted between, spring 1993 and autumn 1996. A questionnaire was distributed to all the students enrolled in autumn 1992 to the five programs, regarding students' paths to the university, how they perceived their university studies, and their plans for the future. Fifty-nine of the students were then selected from the five university programs and interviewed on two different occasions. The first interview, conducted mainly during the autumn term of 1993, focused on the respondent's path to the university studies and on different aspects of their lives as students. For a majority of the students, the second interview was conducted about one year later. This interview focused on how the students perceived study success: what was considered to be a good study result, and the characteristics of successful and unsuccessful students. The students were also asked to describe an occasion when they felt successful and unsuccessful, respectively. The results indicate that there is little congruence between the students' perception of study success and that expressed in many public reforms and policies in Sweden. Furthermore, there are both similarities and differences in students' views across the programs. The students at the five programs seemed to relate study success mainly to aspects of Achievement, Process/Strategy, and Comprehension, while aspects related to Personal Growth or Future/Occupation were rarely mentioned. When comparing students' views in the five university programs, the results indicate that an Achievement oriented view dominated among the students in Business Administration and Economics, and Engineering Physics. The students in Engineering Physics and Social Work were more oriented towards Process or Strategy aspects of study success than the students in the other programs. Personal Growth was emphasised as an important aspect only by the Social Work students. Furthermore, students in Social Work and Medical Education were more oriented towards Comprehension than the others. The students in Medical Education and Teacher Education related study success to Future/Occupation to a higher degree that the others. The views on study success seem mainly to be related to aspects in the learning environment, in particular the way the university studies are organised, the examination and grading system, and the contact with the profession. Different recruitment patterns, and the impact of upper secondary education may also be of importance. Influences from the students' prior experiences and their life outside their studies cannot be excluded. Furthermore, the results indicate gender differences. The women seem to view study success in terms of Comprehension, while the men are more oriented towards Achievement. An additional analysis within the categories indicated that the male students seemed to be more self-confident and self-reliant while the female students expressed a more pessimistic view. Furthermore, while the male students view an unsuccessful student only in relation to the individual in question, the female students' view involved the negative consequences of the student's behaviour for other people.