Zur prädiktiven Validität von Self-Assessments für die Studienzufriedenheit
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Philipps-Universität Marburg
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Abstract
Internet-based self-assessments are currently enjoying increasing acceptance in Germany's higher education system. They are intended to enable prospective students to assess their individual suitability for a course of study more profoundly, contribute to their orientation and decision-finding, and thus increase the fit between student and major subject. Via this mechanism self-assessments are assumed to have a positive impact on various criteria of academic success.
Several studies on the validity of self-assessment criteria have already demonstrated a rela-tionship between an individual's performance in the self-assessment – measured prior to or shortly after beginning studies – and the examination results he or she later achieves (e.g. Hartweg, 2010; Zimmerhofer, 2008). For subjective criteria of academic success, such as the satisfaction with the course of studies, however, there are hardly any empirical results, in addition to a lack of longitudinal studies. Thus, the main objective of the present thesis is to investigate the predictive validity of internet-based self-assessments for students' satisfaction with their studies in a longitudinal design. For this purpose the extent to which test scores can predict satisfaction in the later course of the study will be analyzed.
The research project was conducted in the course of three papers based on the Marburg Self-Assessments for Biology and Economics and by means of regression analysis. The first paper presents the psychometric analysis and initial validation of a newly developed instrument for students' organizational skills. The second paper examines the predictive validity of various cognitive and non-cognitive self-assessment components and tests comparatively which self-assessment components can predict examination results and satisfaction with the course of study. The third paper focuses on the analysis of predictive validity of study expectations, measured by means of a specially designed questionnaire for the satisfaction with the course of study.
The results of the first paper show significant correlations between the scales for students' organizational skills and satisfaction with the course of study in the first semester (N = 205 students of Biology and Economics). The results of the second paper, which are based on the self-assessment for Economics (N = 102), demonstrate incremental validity of several self-assessment components beyond the score of the university entrance examination. While cog-nitive skills correlate with the average grades in the second semester, prior knowledge and non-cognitive variables prove to be relevant predictors for the satisfaction with the major course of study. In the third paper (N = 85 Biology students) the dimension of general sci-ence – i.e., the correct assumption that one will deal not only with biology but also with mathematics, chemistry and physics in the course of studies – contributes significantly to the prediction of satisfaction with the course of study.
In summary, the present thesis is able to provide significant evidence concerning the validity of self-assessments for students' satisfaction with their courses of study. For optimal predic-tion of objective and subjective academic success criteria through self-assessments beyond the score of the university entrance examination, a combination of skill-based, knowledge-based and personality-related predictors should be assessed. Furthermore, universities should offer to assess prospective students' organizational skills and align their expectations with critical aspects of the course of study. Implications for future research are discussed.
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Dates
Created: 2012Issued: 2013-02-21Updated: 2013-02-21
Faculty
Fachbereich Psychologie
Publisher
Philipps-Universität Marburg
Language
ger
Data types
DoctoralThesis
Keywords
StudienzufriedenheitOnline-Self-AssessmentStudent satisfactionOnline-self-assessmentProspective validityPrognosevalidität
DFG-subjects
ZufriedenheitValidität
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150
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Hasenberg, Svea: Zur prädiktiven Validität von Self-Assessments für die Studienzufriedenheit. : Philipps-Universität Marburg 2013-02-21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17192/z2013.0050.
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This item has been published with the following license: In Copyright