Academic engagement in Peruvian nursing students upon returning to face-to-face classes

Abstract

Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the mental health of students was affected due to social isolation and the repercussions of this context. In this sense, it becomes important to analyze and reflect on the current situation of academic engagement, a determining factor of their academic performance. Objective: Analyze the academic engagement of Peruvian Nursing students upon their return to face-to-face classes. Methods: The approach was quantitative, a non-experimental design, and the type, descriptive, and transectional. The academic engagement of 200 students in the Nursing career was evaluated through the application of the UWES-S Scale, an instrument with adequate levels of validity based on the content and reliability. Results: It was found that the academic engagement of 57 % of the students was high, 34.5 % was moderate and 8.5 % was low. Likewise, the dimensions that had a better assessment were dedication and absorption, which were located at the high level, while the vigor dimension had a lower assessment, since the moderate level predominated. On the other hand, it was determined that the academic engagement of the students was significantly associated with some sociodemographic variables such as gender and age group to which they belonged (p<0.05). Conclusion: The students of the Nursing career were characterized by presenting high levels of academic engagement upon return to faceto-face classes, for which universities must encourage the promotion of cognitive, affective, and attitudinal dimensions of students to strengthen said commitment.