Abstract

LOPEZ BRAVO, Ilse M.; VIVANCO SKARNEO, Zulema  and  MANDIOLA CERDA, Enrique. Students perceptions about their first year at the university: University of Chile. Faculty of Medicine. Educ. méd. [online]. 2006, vol.9, n.3, pp.31-37. ISSN 1575-1813.

A study was designed with the aim of describing the perception of students from the eight schools in the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Chile, at the end of their first academic year, with respect to the following: adjustment to university life, emotional environment, quality of teaching, physical environment and fulfillment of expectations. Material and method: An instrument comprising 66 Likert-type statements was designed and validated by experts. A score was given for each response. For the analysis, the total scale was divided into four categories. Results: 496 students responded. Only 23% felt they had achieved "adjustment to university life". Among the factors affecting this were the amount of subject material, the time commitment and the lack of practical guidance regarding study techniques. 80% considered the "emotional environment" to be "good" and 75% regarded the "quality of teaching" as average. A high proportion felt teachers were only interested in teaching the content, while others were regarded as lacking motivation to teach. Students prefer lectures and participatory activities, classroom-based group work and learning through laboratory work and study guides. The evaluation questions were perceived as "unrelated to the taught content". It is necessary to review the attitudes of certain teachers who make students feel they have to behave in a particular way so as to be accepted. They often feel disqualified. Teachers are perceived as being "very distant" and "less human than expected".

Keywords : perception; first year university; students; transition; medical school.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )