Abstract
Academic expectations play a significant role in the quality of student adaptation and academic success. Previous research suggests that expectations are a multidimensional construct, making it crucial to test the measures used for this important characteristic. Because assessment of student adaptation to higher education comprises a multitude of personal and contextual variables, including expectations, shortened versions of assessment instruments are critical. In this article, confirmatory factor analysis was used to obtain a short version of the Academic Perceptions Questionnaire–Expectations (APQ-E). Participants were 3,017 first-year Portuguese college students. The results support the use of a shorter version of 24 items, distributed over six dimensions, with good reliability and validity.
Highlights
In explaining student academic adaptation to higher education (HE), research in the field has highlighted a wide range of personal and institutional variables among which expectations play a significant role (Balloo, Pauli, & Worrell, 2017; Fernández, Araújo, Vacas, Almeida, & Gonzalez, 2017; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005)
After removing 18 items, the shortened model showed an adequate fit, both according to Tucker–Lewis index (TLI) and comparative fit index (CFI), and a root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) value close to .05, in both samples (Table 1)
Three alternative models were tested: two in which those factors were merged into a single factor (PSDTFE and Personal and Social Development–Political Engagement and Citizenship (PSD-PEC)) and a third merging the three dimensions into a single factor (PSD-TFE-PEC)
Summary
In explaining student academic adaptation to higher education (HE), research in the field has highlighted a wide range of personal and institutional variables among which expectations play a significant role (Balloo, Pauli, & Worrell, 2017; Fernández, Araújo, Vacas, Almeida, & Gonzalez, 2017; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). As students enter college with different expectations (Schilling & Schilling, 1999), identifying what these expectations are allows teachers to orient their classes to meet student learning needs (Miller, Kuh, Paine, & Associates, 2005) such as helping them to become “intentional learners” (McCarthy & Kuh, 2006) This attention is more and more important when students enter university with different academic competencies and motivations, as well as different vocational or career projects, or when they are first-generation students with a lack of sufficient and objective information concerning campus life (Braxton et al, 1995; Briggs, Clark, & Hall, 2012). The gap between initial expectations and the actual experience can lead to dissatisfaction, disengagement, and poor performance in academic life (Jackson et al, 2000)
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