Students in Hungarian Higher Education and Their Perception of Dificulties During Their Studies

Anett Hrabéczy

doi:10.37441/cejer/2021/3/3/9990

Abstract

Our research aims to examine the recruitment of students who experience difficulties with learning during their higher education studies and the motives behind their career choices, as well as the correlation of these factors with student persistence. The topicality of the problem stems from the diversity of students as a result of the expansion of higher education, as well as the increasing proportion of reading comprehension and other learning difficulties that can hinder individuals' progress in the labour market. Previous research has linked problems in learning in higher education to underdeveloped skills. However, we hypothesize that the occurrence of difficulties during students' studies and careers is determined by career choices, which are influenced by social background. While in higher education the social status differences of the family background already seem to disappear, the origin also affects the higher education career. To test the viability of this assumption, statistical methods were used to analyze the CHERD-Hungary database PERSIST -2019. In the case of difficulties and low persistence, we found a relationship with the career choice patterns of the students studied, especially with family factors influencing career choice and students' interest in their current education. One of our most important findings is that students who experience difficulties during learning can be divided into two groups. One group is characterized by low social status indicators, participating in low prestige and high risk fields of education, and there are specific cultural disadvantages in the background of their difficulties. The other group includes students who come from a higher-status family and concentrate on higher-risk but more prestigious courses, characterized by above-average selectivity and a higher risk of dropping out.

Highlights

The expansion of higher education has resulted in the opening of universities to a wide range of nontraditional students, and the student body has diversified on the basis of social status as well as skills and competencies (Kozma, 2004; Attewell et al, 2007; Harper et al, 2009; Lombardi et al, 2013; Pusztai et al, 2014; Pusztai, 2015; Ndlovu, 2019)
As risk factors we considered problems that students identified as difficulties in their higher education studies, regardless of how closely they were related to learning activities in a narrower sense
We investigated the students who report learning difficulties during their higher education studies based on the CHERD-Hungarian Research Center database PERSIST 2019 and compared them with those who do not experience such difficulties during their studies

Summary

Introduction

The expansion of higher education has resulted in the opening of universities to a wide range of nontraditional students, and the student body has diversified on the basis of social status as well as skills and competencies (Kozma, 2004; Attewell et al, 2007; Harper et al, 2009; Lombardi et al, 2013; Pusztai et al, 2014; Pusztai, 2015; Ndlovu, 2019). Prior education and learning ability this student body is very heterogeneous, a phenomenon that has changed the dropout rates of higher education (Varga, 2010; Pusztai, 2011; Fenyves et al, 2017; Molnár et al, 2019; Hódi et al, 2019). It can be assumed that students in higher education may face difficulties that may have remained hidden until the beginning of their higher education studies due to differences in the quantity and quality of the curriculum and Hrabéczy, A

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