Formative self-efficacy and involvement in the learning processes of Portuguese students older than 23 years

Autoeficácia formativa e envolvimento nos processos de aprendizagem de estudantes portugueses maiores de 23 anos

Abstract

The approval of the special access to Higher Education policy for mature students, over 23 years old, is a main challenge faced by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), that is, the need to construct educational responses taking into account the heterogeneity of its audience. The present exploratory study aims to portray the self-perception of these students about their formative self-efficacy and their academic involvement, according to the age of admission, and explore the relationship between these self-perceptions, their dimensions and the age of entry into Higher Education. Data were collected from 55 students from two private HEIs, through a questionnaire survey. Its results were treated by descriptive and linear regression analysis and show that it is possible to differentiate two groups of students according to their age, up to the age of 26 and over, the latter being characterized by greater academic involvement and greater self-perception of formative effectiveness. The discussion of these results, in light of the theoretical frameworks for the development of adulthood, is of particular relevance for the promotion of equity of access and entry into Higher Education.

Keywords: Higher Education; Formative self-efficacy; Academic involvement