Students’ experiences with graduate education in Brazil A confirmatory Factor Analysis Approach

Abstract

Assessing graduate student education is a complex task. After all, graduate education is the result of a complex process involving course experiences, teaching, engagement in learning, mastery of skills, the ability to work with others and satisfaction with what is learned. This paper reports the results of a study seeking to document underlying dimensions of student experiences with their graduate education programs in Brazil. Confirmatory factor analysis reveals that student experiences with graduate education underscore three interrelated constructs: Engagement in learning, Collaborative Learning, and Intellectual Growth. The survey instrument that informed this study can contribute to the self-assessment of Graduate Programs in Education by accreditation agencies as the Brazilian’s Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES). Assessing graduate student instruction is a complex task. After all, graduate education is the result of an intricate exercise involving course experiences, teaching, learning engagement, skill-building, collaboration, and learning satisfaction. This article presents the results of a study seeking to assist in the assessment of graduate education in Brazil through a survey about graduate education experiences. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), performed on 462 graduate students of various master’s and doctoral programs from six Brazilian universities, indicates that student experiences with graduate education underscore three interrelated processes: Engagement in Learning, Collaborative Learning, and Intellectual Growth. The survey that informs this study can contribute to the self-assessment of graduate programs in Education at different faculties and universities, while also facilitating regular graduate education assessment by accreditation agencies such as the Brazilian’s Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES).