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Understanding student learning in context: relationships between university students’ social identity, approaches to learning, and academic performance

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Abstract

This research focuses on understanding how socio-psychological dimensions such as student social identity and student perceptions of their learning community affect learning at university. To do this, it integrates ideas from phenomenographic research into student learning with ideas from research on social identity. In two studies (N = 110, and N = 97) the relationships between student social identity, perceptions of the learning community, approaches to learning, and academic performance were explored. Our findings suggest that a strong student social identity is associated with a deep approach to learning, which in turn is linked to higher academic performance. Also, perceptions of learning community mediate the relationship between student social identity and deep approaches to learning. Significantly, a surface approach turns out not to be associated with student social identity or perceptions of the learning community, but it is negatively related to academic performance. Our research argues for the value of an integration of complementary frameworks, emphasising social and psychological aspects of the learning experience that can be used to improve our understanding of how and why students vary in the quality of their learning.

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Acknowledgement

The authors are pleased to acknowledge the financial support of the Australian Research Council through grant DP0988334. We are also grateful to our colleagues and the students of ‘Gh Asachi’ Technical University, and ‘AI Cuza’ University, Iaşi, Romania for their assistance in conducting the study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Teaching and Learning, Carslaw Building (F07), The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Ana-Maria Bliuc & Robert A. Ellis

  2. CoCo, Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Peter Goodyear

  3. Faculty of Psychology, “A.I. Cuza” University of Iasi, Iasi, Romania

    Daniela Muntele Hendres

Authors
  1. Ana-Maria Bliuc
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  2. Robert A. Ellis
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  3. Peter Goodyear
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  4. Daniela Muntele Hendres
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ana-Maria Bliuc.

Additional information

Ana-Maria Bliuc

Current themes of research:

Student social identity. Student learning in higher education. Blended learning.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Bluic, A.-M., Ellis, R., & Goodyear, P. (in press). The role of social identification as a university student in learning: relationships between students’ social identity, approaches to learning, and academic achievement. Educational Psychology.

Bluic, A.-M., Ellis, R. A., Goodyear, P., & Piggott, L. (2011). A blended learning approach to foreign policy: student experiences of learning through face-to-face and online discussions. Computers and Education, 56(3), 856–864.

Bluic, A.-M., Ellis, R. A., Goodyear, P., & Piggot, L. (2010). Learning through face-to-face and online discussions: associations between students’ conceptions, approaches and academic performance in political science. British Journal of Educational Technology, 41 215–225.

Rob Ellis

Current themes of research:

The role of technology in student learning. Learning through inquiry in higher education.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Ellis, R. & Goodyear, P. (2010). Students’ experiences of e-learning in higher education: the ecology of sustainable innovation. New York: Routledge.

Ellis, R.A., Ginns, P., & Piggott, L. (2009) eLearning in higher education: some key aspects and their relationship to approaches to study. Higher Education Research and Development, 28, 3, 303–318.

Ellis, R, Goodyear, P, Calvo, R, & Prosser, M. (2008). Engineering students’ conceptions of and approaches to learning through discussions in face-to-face and online contexts. Learning and Instruction, 18(3), 267–282.

Peter Goodyear

Current themes of research:

Learning technologies and new media. Learning, cognition and motivation.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Goodyear, P & Retalis, S. (2010). Technology-enhanced learning: design patterns and pattern languages. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

Ellis, R. & Goodyear, P. (2010). Students’ experiences of e-learning in higher education: the ecology of sustainable innovation. New York: Routledge.

Goodyear, P, & Ellis, R. (2008). University students’ approaches to learning: rethinking the place of technology. Distance Education, 29(2), 141–152.

Ellis, R, Goodyear, P, Calvo, R, & Prosser, M. (2008). Engineering students’ conceptions of and approaches to learning through discussions in face-to-face and online contexts. Learning and Instruction, 18(3), 267–282

Daniela Muntele Hendres

Current themes of research:

Student social identity, teaching and learning in higher education.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Bliuc, A.-M., Ellis, R., Goodyear, P., & Muntele Hendres, D. (in press). The role of social identification as a university student in learning: relationships between students’ social identity, approaches to learning, and academic achievement, Educational Psychology.

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Bliuc, AM., Ellis, R.A., Goodyear, P. et al. Understanding student learning in context: relationships between university students’ social identity, approaches to learning, and academic performance. Eur J Psychol Educ 26, 417–433 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-011-0065-6

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