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Readiness and expectations questionnaire: a cross-cultural measurement instrument for first-year university students

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Abstract

The readiness and expectations questionnaire (REQ) assesses first-year students’ expectations and preparedness for their first year in university. This measurement instrument is useful for educational policy and curriculum development; it can also be used to predict the outcomes of the first year of college. This instrument was initially developed to compare students enrolled in programs in the Netherlands and New Zealand, with predominant populations of domestic students. However, the Bologna process and globalisation trends also have increased the availability of international degree programmes. This raised the question whether the REQ can be used to compare groups of international students. Therefore, this article aims to assess the cross-cultural measurement equivalence of the REQ in international bachelor degree programmes in economics and business in a Dutch university, taught in English. The results indicate that not all aspects of the instrument achieve measurement equivalence, but most of its scales, with some adaptations, can evaluate students’ expectations and preparedness and thus encourage a better match between student and institution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, University of Groningen, Landleven 1, 9747 AD, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Ellen Jansen & Cor Suhre

  2. Department of Sociology, Tilburg University, Warandelaan 2, 5037 AB, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    Stéfanie André

Authors
  1. Ellen Jansen
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  2. Stéfanie André
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  3. Cor Suhre
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ellen Jansen.

Appendix

Appendix

1.1 Questionnaire items

1.1.1 Expectations of induction

  • V26: University teachers will explain how to write essays.

  • V27: University teachers will teach me how to take lecture notes.

  • V33: I will be taught how to work well in group projects.

  • V34: I will be taught how to find and select information for assignments.

  • Expectations of research

  • V201: I will be actively involved in research activities.

  • V202: I will learn a lot about research done by my teachers.

  • V54: I will have to do a lot of independent research tasks.

  • V203: I will often be exposed to research in classes and readings.

  • Expectations of similarity

  • V25: The teaching at university is very much like the teaching in my previous education.

  • V32n: Making a test will be very similar to making tests in my previous education.

  • V39: Essays at university are very much like writing projects in my previous education.

  • V41: I will be told each week what to do.

  • V44: Teachers will explain what they expect of assignments, just like in my previous education.

  • Expectations of time management

  • V29n: I will have to keep up with a lot of reading.

  • V30n: I will have to work independently most of the time.

  • V37n: I will have to plan my time to keep up with tests and assignments.

  • Readiness information processing

  • V75: I find it easy to listen and make notes at the same time.

  • V92n: I am confident in identifying the main ideas or main points in a text.

  • V99: I am confident writing a summary from the main points in a text or book.

  • V109: I find it easy to write a summary for a text.

  • V111: I have been taught how to identify the main ideas or main points in a text.

  • Readiness collaborative learning (working in groups)

  • V82: I have been taught how to work in small groups.

  • V88n: I am good at working effectively in groups.

  • V100: I am confident working in small groups.

  • V101: Before coming to university I worked a lot in groups.

  • V106: I am confident in discussing in small groups.

  • V110: I am confident working with other people in a group.

  • Readiness time management

  • V74: I am good at planning and organising my study.

  • V77: My previous experiences prepared me well to keep up with lots of readings.

  • V84: Prior to coming to university/at high school I found it easy to keep up with tasks/assignments.

  • V85: I am good at working independently.

  • V107: I have been taught how to best organise or plan my study.

  • Readiness writing

  • V76: I can independently write a short report.

  • V79: I have been taught how to write essays.

  • V90: I am confident at writing essays.

  • V105: I have been taught how to write short reports.

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Jansen, E., André, S. & Suhre, C. Readiness and expectations questionnaire: a cross-cultural measurement instrument for first-year university students. Educ Asse Eval Acc 25, 115–130 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-013-9161-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-013-9161-2

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