Students’ personal predictors of academic success are particularly relevant for first-year college students, given the specific challenges that these students face when entering higher education (HE). Academic success in HE has been related to multiple factors, including the students’ approaches to learning (SAL), satisfaction (linked to commitment and persistence), study time (effort), and prior academic achievement. This study analyzes the combined effect of these predictors on perceived academic success. Data from 247 students was collected using the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students and other specific measures to assess presage and process variables of academic success. Although academic success is multidimensional and difficult to explain, factors such as prior academic achievement, satisfaction with the course, SAL, and study time contribute to explain perceived academic success in first-year college students.

This article explores non-traditional student and graduate views of the university in Ireland and Portugal as it relates to their expectations of, and experiences in, the labour market. The research is based on in-depth biographical interviews with 61 non-traditional students and graduates conducted longitudinally (85 interviews in total). The article contextualises the research in relation to the expansion of higher education internationally as well as national and EU policies aimed at supporting a ‘knowledge-based economy’. It offers an overview of the meaning of precarity. It then outlines key empirical findings from the research related to student expectations of their degree and their post-graduation experience in the labour market. In particular, it explores the phenomenon of precarity amongst graduates how this is experienced and handled in various ways. Using a critical and egalitarian lens the overall aim of the research is to widen the focus of widening participation debates and explore how educational and institutional initiatives impact, or not, on wider social and employment inequalities.

La Escala de Motivación Situacional (sims) busca evaluar la motivación experimentada en el desempeño de una tarea específica. El objetivo de esta investigación fue el de validar la versión portuguesa, con una muestra de 409 estudiantes, al intentar reproducir su estructura factorial. Los resultados demuestran una consistencia interna adecuada respecto a las subescalas. La validez del constructo fue evaluado con Análisis Factorial Confirmatorio. Los valores de contribución de cada factor y los índices de ajuste señalan la necesidad de eliminar de dos ítems, que, por su turno, van de encuentro a resultados de otros estudios de validación. En general, los resultados indican que la sims está compuesta por cuatro factores consistentes y demuestran su calidad psicométrica. La escala parece ser una buena medida de autorrelato para evaluar la motivación intrínseca, regulación identificada, regulación externa, y desmotivación situacional, pudiendo ser utilizada en la evaluación del constructo en el contexto académico portugués

The terms on which the integration of new generations of immigrants into Portuguese and Spanish societies happens will have a decisive influence in the future of both countries. Therefore, promoting their health, well-being, and psychosocial adaptation is a matter of strategic interest. This paper analyses psychosocial factors associated with well-being and psychological adjustment on a sample of 108 adolescents (55 males and 53 females), children of immigrants from Huelva (Spain) and Algarve (Portugal), aged between 10 and 17 years. Adolescents were assessed for demographic characteristics and perceived well-being. We used the "KIDSCREEN-5", a self-report questionnaire that yields detailed profile information for children aged 8 to 18 years for the following ten dimensions: Physical well-being, Psychological well-being, Moods and emotions, Self-perception, Autonomy, Parental relationships and home life, Financial resources, Social support and peers, School environment, and Social acceptance (Bullying). Overall, significant differences were found between the Spanish and Portuguese samples on physical well-being, psychological well-being, mood, financial resources and social acceptance (bullying). Boys perceived themselves as having a better physical well-being than girls. Mothers' educational level was associated with psychological well-being and mood. Also, results suggested that residence location and other socio-demographical variables were not associated with the adolescents' well-being and psychological adjustment.

RESUMO: Neste artigo pretendemos refletir criticamente sobre os significados da empregabilidade e o papel que o ensino superior (ES) poderá ter na sua promoção. Analisamos dados de um projeto europeu considerando as perceções de estudantes e graduados, empregadores e acadêmicos. Os resultados mostram que estudantes, graduados e empregadores internalizaram uma visão dominante de empregabilidade (contrariamente aos acadêmicos) que implica considerar o ES como responsável pela empregabilidade. Indicam, também, que para os acadêmicos é crucial a ideia de que as instituições de ES não devem estar ao serviço do mercado de trabalho, mas sim das sociedades. Os grupos inquiridos estão de acordo em que apoiar os estudantes na transição para o emprego é um objetivo instrumental importante.