DIGITALREVALIDATION OF THE ACADEMIC QUALITY OF LIFE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS ATTENDING PORTUGUESE POLYTECHNIC HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
1 Escola Superior de Saúde, Instituto Politécnico de Viseu (PORTUGAL)
2 Escola Superior Agrária, Instituto Politécnico de Viseu (PORTUGAL)
3 Escola Superior de Tecnologia e Gestão, Instituto Politécnico de Viseu (PORTUGAL)
2 Escola Superior Agrária, Instituto Politécnico de Viseu (PORTUGAL)
3 Escola Superior de Tecnologia e Gestão, Instituto Politécnico de Viseu (PORTUGAL)
About this paper:
Appears in: EDULEARN19 Proceedings
Publication year: 2019
Pages: 4030-4040
ISBN: 978-84-09-12031-4
ISSN: 2340-1117
doi: 10.21125/edulearn.2019.1026
Publication year: 2019
Pages: 4030-4040
ISBN: 978-84-09-12031-4
ISSN: 2340-1117
doi: 10.21125/edulearn.2019.1026
Conference name: 11th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies
Dates: 1-3 July, 2019
Location: Palma, Spain
Dates: 1-3 July, 2019
Location: Palma, Spain
Abstract:
Introduction:School dropout is a serious problem that has been affecting the different educational systems. It jeopardizes the quality of the institutions and of the very teaching system. This situation is getting worse and may be related to the students’ Quality of Academic Life
Objectives:
To Test the factorial structure of the Academic Quality of Life Scale for Portuguese higher education students
Method:
A quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive and correlational study was carried out. A socio-demographic characterization questionnaire for students and Almeida, Soares and Ferreira’s Academic Experiences Questionnaire (QVA-R) (2002) were the instruments used to collect data. The sample consisted of 891 students. 68.2% of them were female students. The age of the participants ranged between 17 and 40 year and corresponds to a mean age of 19.68 years (± 2.34 years).
Findings:
Almeida, Soares and Ferreira’s Academic Experiences Questionnaire (QVA-R) (2002), once its validation was concluded, included 35 items. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated the validity of its structure in the five following dimensions: Personal (F. 1 = 9 items)-; Study (F. 2 = 7 items); Interpersonal (F. 3 = 8 items); Career (F. 4 = 8 items); Institutional (F. 5 = 3 items);
Statistics regarding the quality of students’ academic life shows an average index of 60.46%; ± 10.02SD. The highest index values are found in the institutional dimension.
Female students exhibit the highest index values in dimensions such as the Quality of Personal Life dimension, Profession/Career dimension, Study dimension, Institutional dimension and Overall Quality of Life dimension. Male students reveal higher index values in the Quality of Life dimension, Interpersonal and Career dimensions.
Conclusions:
The results of the study support the psychometric adequacy of Almeida, Soares and Ferreira’s Academic Experiences Questionnaire (QVA-R) (2002) for the Portuguese population. They also prove that it can be used in experiments covering this field. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis suggests the validity of its structure in 5 factors.