Difficulties in academic adaptation and intention to drop out of students in the first-year of Higher Education

Abstract

Higher Education is a defining moment in the lives of students, characterized by numerous changes in different areas of life. Considering the richness of the Higher Education context in terms of the challenges and opportunities it poses to students, the first weeks of university attendance are particularly relevant. Although most students experience this phase with enthusiasm and satisfaction, some students experience more difficulties in their academic adaptation, which can contribute to situations of academic failure and pondering about dropping out of training. This paper presents a study with 611 students from the first year of Higher Education at a public university in the north of Portugal, from courses in different scientific areas. Through a hierarchical regression analysis, we analysed, at first, the impact of the variables mean access to Higher Education, age, gender, employment status, educational qualifications of the mother and father, and, at a second moment, the impact of difficulties on adaptation to Higher Education, attendance of the first-choice course and first-choice university with the intention of dropping out of students in the first year of Higher Education. The results suggest a different impact of the independent variables, when considering the general sample of students and these grouped by scientific areas of their courses. Based on the results, forms of institutional support are suggested to mitigate the risks of failure and dropout of students in the first year of Higher Education.