Who is a Successful Student from the Perspective of University Teachers in Two Departments?

Author: ANDERSSON E.

Source: Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, Volume 47, Number 5, NOVEMBER 2003 , pp. 543-559(17)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

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Abstract:

The meaning of study success is crucial when investigating the validity of the admission system to higher education. A common measure of study success is grades. However, grades might be a measure of different kinds of success in different education programmes due to disciplinary differences. This article presents the results of a study carried out in the Departments of Business Administration and Social Welfare at a Swedish university. University teachers were interviewed about their views on study success in their freshmen and senior students of today and in the future. The results indicate that the teachers in the Department of Business Administration tend to choose cognitive criteria whereas the teachers in the Department of Social Welfare tend to choose non-cognitive criteria and criteria classified as both cognitive and non-cognitive, when asked about their present students. Regarding the success of future students, the tendency is similar but the differences between the two groups of teachers are smaller.

Keywords: admission system; higher education; students; study success

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Department of Educational Measurement, Umea ring University, S-901 87 Umea ring , Sweden University, S-901 87 Umea ring , Sweden">