Abstract:

There are many reasons why high school students choose to continue their studies at university. Their motivation is usually further personal and career growth, the acquired title, a new experience and a desire for fun, new experiences, or new relationships. In the current study, the authors focus on the factors that arouse the academic interest of high school students in studying at university. For this purpose, the authors created a questionnaire that measured the views of high school students. The questionnaire distinguished 8 items of importance of different areas from important factors for choosing a school to the time that students want to spend studying at university. The questionnaire was distributed online to 87 students at public secondary schools in Slovakia. To compare the mix of opinions, the authors divided the research group into two groups based on academic results in high school. Four different research groups were examined because the results of the research were also evaluated based on gender. Research findings showed that the two groups, divided based on high or low academic performance in high school, expressed differing views, although the findings also show compatibility between the meanings given to gender. Considerations of high school students with low academic achievements in high school attribute greater importance to compatibility between students' grades and school requirements, low tuition, ease of access, and friends who attended the school. High school students with high academic achievements in high school attribute greater importance to schools that offer interesting professions, a good education, partner´s approach of teachers to students, the school provides and graduates of this school are in high demand in the labour market. Both groups stated up their importance attribute to also active student life and to the fact that studies are not hard. The findings of this research were discussed as well. We consider research into current factors that arouse the academic interest of high school students in university studies to be beneficial precisely because of the rapid changes and trends in education that have occurred in connection with Covid 19, and to which the young generation responds most quickly.

Keywords:

Academic interest, online school atmosphere, internet, evaluation of factors, high school students.