Francisco De Carvalho
About me
DOCTORAL STUDENT
Works for E-mail: frdc@kth.se
Researcher ID
Research
Student Experience in Higher Education: A Study on How Institutional Environments Affect Student Learning and Development in the Mozambican Context
The effects of institutional environments within universities on students’ learning and development can manifest in various ways. However, there are aspects of university environments that can be double-edged: they can facilitate smooth development and promote quality learning or they may contribute to low motivation and interest in study and thereby increase the tendency for students to drop out and be dissatisfied with their overall experience at university. Knowing how these elements interact with each other and the contradictory effects they may engender can provide valuable insights into higher education policy and ways to control and reduce the negative effects caused by institutional practices and behaviours on student learning. Learning in higher education is the result of the influence of a wide range of factors. However, this thesis focuses on environmental factors or social and academic contexts. Particularly, this thesis focuses on students’ perspectives on various aspects that influence their experience and perceptions of their interactions with teachers outside the classroom, participation in class discussion and interactions in the classroom. All these aspects can be even harder when considering the experience of first-year students whose development and learning are associated with low engagement with effective educational practices, coupled with difficulties in managing the academic requirements of being a university student. The indirect effect of academic development on student learning through a change in a teaching approach that promotes student learning may constitute a synergy in a context where ҅good teaching҅ is not well understood and promoted, not to mention the results show that teachers in the Mozambican context are battling with their own environmental conditions to be effective university teachers.