Neurodidactic factors in the prediction of academic dropout in Andalusian university students

Abstract

Persistence and dropout are two sides of the same coin. Together with personal and social factors, associated with the quality of teaching provided by universities determine students' ability to persist in achieving their academic degree or, on the contrary, to drop out of university studies. Our working hypothesis is that the impact on improving the quality of teaching by considering neurodidactic factors, which are currently being researched and experimented with, can improve the overall persistence rate by reducing the dropout rate. In this preliminary study, we intend to make a first approach to the phenomenon of academic failure in Andalusian universities from the prediction and diagnosis of risk groups and the recommendation of preventive measures. Among the measures we proposed for prevention, we highligh those that have an impact on neurodidactic factors. Our work consisted of applying an instrument to diagnose the risk of dropping out of university studies to a sample of first-year university students in Andalusian universities. The instrument was applied at the beginning of the second semester. Out of the 976 students surveyed, we have established a risk group of 34 students. We will propose measures oriented towards the neurodidactics factors that predict dropout and call for the use of ICT in the implementation of preventive measures.

Multicausal analysis of the dropout of university students from teacher training studies in Andalusia

“…Thus, the absence of support during the transition to higher education, lack of or restricted access to university infrastructure, resources or services, students' difficulties in managing challenges during the first year, academic burnout, being a victim of bullying or cyberbullying, or negative emotional, cognitive and behavioral experiences affect student well-being (Blair, 2017;Wilcox and Nordstokke, 2019;Bernardo et al, 2020;Casanova et al, 2021) and act as predictors of dropout, while participation in class or institutional groups, positive relationships with teachers and friends, academic satisfaction or satisfaction with the degree they are taking (Cervero et al, 2017;Wilcox and Nordstokke, 2019;Behr et al, 2020;Casanova et al, 2021;Álvarez Ferrándiz et al, 2022) act as elements of institutional persistence. In fact, several authors consider that adaptation and social integration in the university context is an essential variable for predicting university dropout (Blair, 2017;Cervero et al, 2017;Hernández Rosell and Pérez Pérez, 2019;Casanova et al, 2021).…”