Performance, academic context and self-reported health in psychology students before and after of the EHEA

[EN] The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) has involved a number of structural and methodological changes whose results on academic performance and student health have not been sufficiently studied. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the performance, perceived context and self-reported health of a sample of undergraduate and graduate Psychology students to see how these variables relate to and influence their academic achievement and welfare. Methodology. The sample consisted of 811 students (487 pre-Bologna system and 324 bacherlor ́s degree). For the evaluation of the indicated variables, the following instruments were used: the Academic Context questionnaire, to evaluate the educational environment; the GHQ-28 questionnaire to evaluate the self-reported health; and the CHAS (Cuestionario de Hábitos de Sueño, in Spanish, Sleeping Habits Questionnaire), in addition, the academic performance was collected. Results. EHEA students perform better than students pre-Bologna, although the difference is not very high. They are also more dissatisfied with the results obtained, they have worse psychological health, worse quality of sleep, greater anxiety and insomnia, greater social dysfunction, in addition, they need more medical leave due to stress and anxiety. Conclusions. Adaptation to the EHEA does not seem to achieve its objectives of improving the quality of education and having a negative impact on the health and physical and psychological well-being of students.[ES] El Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior (EEES) ha implicado una serie de modificaciones a nivel estructural y metodológico cuyos resultados sobre el rendimiento académico y la salud de los estudiantes no se han estudiado suficientemente. El objetivo de este trabajo es evaluar el rendimiento, el contexto percibido y la salud auto informada de una muestra de estudiantes de Psicología de licenciatura y grado, para ver cómo se relacionan estas variables e influyen en sus resultados académicos y bienestar. Metodología. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 811 estudiantes (487 de licenciatura y 324 de grado). Para la evaluación de las variables indicadas se utilizaron los siguientes instrumentos: cuestionario de Contexto Académico, el cuestionario GHQ-28 para evaluar la salud percibida, y el Cuestionario de hábitos de sueño CHAS, además se recabó el rendimiento académico. Resultados. Los estudiantes del EEES obtienen un mejor rendimiento que los de licenciatura, aunque la diferencia no es muy elevada. Así mismo muestran estar más insatisfechos con los resultados obtenidos, tienen peor salud psicológica, peor calidad de sueño, mayor ansiedad e insomnio, mayor disfunción social y más bajas médicas por estrés y ansiedad. Conclusiones. La adaptación al EEES parece que no cumple con sus objetivos de mejora de la calidad de la enseñanza además de tener un impacto negativo en la salud y bienestar físico y psicológico de los estudiantes.López-Núñez, M.; Rubio-Valdehita, S.; Díaz Ramiro, E. (2018). Rendimiento, contexto académico y salud percibida en estudiantes de psicología antes y después del EEES. 211-226. doi:10.4995/redu.2018.8961SWORD21122

Differentiation between Normal Cognition and Subjective Cognitive Decline in Older Adults Using Discrepancy Scores Derived from Neuropsychological Tests

Several studies have reported subtle differences in cognition between individuals with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) compared to those with normal cognition. This study aimed to (i) identify these differences using discrepancy scores (e.g., categorial–phonemic verbal fluency performance) derived from neuropsychological tests in three cognitive domains (memory: Wechsler’s Word List and Digits; executive functions: Stroop and verbal fluency; and language: BNT and ECCO_Senior) and (ii) determine which discrepancy scores are significant for classification. Seventy-five older adults were included: 32 who were labeled SCD+ (age 71.50 ± 5.29), meeting Jessen et al.’s criteria, and 43 in the normal cognition group (SCD−; age 69.81 ± 4.62). Both groups completed a protocol including screening and the specified neuropsychological tests. No differences were found between the groups in their age, education, episodic memory, global cognitive state, or mood. Significant differences between the groups were observed regarding the discrepancy scores derived from BNT (naming) and ECCO_Senior (sentence comprehension). These scores accurately classified participants (71.6%), with ECCO_Senior having a primary role. ROC curves indicated a poor-to-fair model quality or diagnostic accuracy (AUC_BNT = 0.690; AUC_ECCO = 0.722). In conclusion, discrepancy scores in the language domain are important for distinguishing between individuals with SCD and normal cognition, complementing previous findings in this domain. However, given their relatively poor diagnostic accuracy, they should be used with caution as part of a more detailed neuro-psychological assessment

Hängen die ECTS-Punkte von Lehrveranstaltungen mit dem studentischen Workload zusammen?

Dieser Beitrag untersucht erstmalig für eine Schweizer Universität auf Basis prozessproduzierter Daten aus Lehrveranstaltungsevaluationen den studentischen Workload. Die Messung des Workloads auf Ebene der Lehrveranstaltungen ermöglicht es folgende – für die Studiengangsplanung relevante – Fragen zu beantworten: Entsprechen die den Lehrveranstaltungen zugeordneten ECTS-Punkte dem tatsächlich geleisteten Arbeitspensum? Verändern sich über die Zeit hinweg die Disparitäten von vorgegebenen Arbeitsbelastungen und den geleisteten Arbeitspensen? Wovon hängen aus Sicht der Studierenden die subjektiven Einschätzungen ihres Workloads ab? Wir konnten nachweisen, dass es lediglich einen schwachen Zusammenhang zwischen ECTS-Punkten und studentischen Arbeitspensen gibt. Weiterhin konnten wir zeigen, dass der studentische Workload im Zeitverlauf kaum schwankt und deutlich hinter den institutionellen Vorgaben zurückbleibt. Schliesslich ist ersichtlich, dass die subjektive Wahrnehmung der Arbeitsbelastung mit dem Umfang und Schwierigkeitsgrad der Lehrveranstaltung korreliert. Insgesamt ist die Vergleichbarkeit von ECTS-Punkten über Lehrveranstaltungen stark anzuzweifeln