Abstract

ROMAN FUENTES, Juan Carlos; FRANCO GURRIA, Rafael Timoteo  and  ROMAN JULIAN, Rebeca. Diagnosis of Study Habits in New University Students as a Tool to Identify Opportunities for Improvement. RIDE. Rev. Iberoam. Investig. Desarro. Educ [online]. 2020, vol.11, n.21, e007.  Epub Mar 09, 2021. ISSN 2007-7467.  https://doi.org/10.23913/ride.v11i21.692.

In order to diagnose the habits that new university students declare when they develop academic activities, to identify opportunity areas that serve as a reference when undertaking processes of curriculum redesign and academic planning, this contribution investigates the practices that students usually perform on a daily basis when it comes to studying. The above through the application of a test that identifies habits that students have when they are enrolled in any of the five degrees (Administration, Accounting, Tourism Management, Computer Systems and Software Development) offered by the Facultad de Contaduría y Administración, Campus I (FCA, CI) of the Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas (Unach). The instrument used was adapted from that proposed by Huidobro, Gutiérrez and Condemarín (2000). Thus, in the end, it consisted of 39 items with dichotomous responses (Yes / No), through which eight dimensions were measured: physical environment, physiological state, time distribution, reading, study techniques, test preparation, concentration and attitude towards study. Through an electronic platform, the application was self-administered, and the entire population enrolled in the five degrees of each participating school year was covered: a total of 1630 students. In general, the results show that on average about 8 (7.9) out of every 10 students have difficulties to carry out activities related to reading, and 6 (5.9) out of 10 declare problems to distribute time. Likewise, globally, on average 23% of the participating students obtain acceptable weightings only in two of the eight dimensions explored (although by degree, this average presents important differences); 26% between three and four; 30% between five and six, and only 21% declare seven or eight dimensions acceptable. These results can be used as benchmarks to design in the future systematic and differentiated programs of academic intervention that allow the promotion and improvement of reading, the techniques of time distribution, the improvement of concentration and the creation of the physical conditions conducive to studying and even to design systematic training programs for teaching staff.

Keywords : education; higher education; university student; learning process.