Learning approaches and high-impact educational practices at university: a proposal for a reduced scale of the student process questionnaire

Abstract

.Research on the relationship between learning approaches and variables such as the perceived impact of some university activities is limited. The present study proposes a reduced Student Process Questionnaire (SPQ) to relate learning approaches to high-impact educational practices (HIEPs). The sample consisted of 893 first and final-year university students of different degrees. As expected, the subscales correlate academic self-concept and self-efficacy positively with the deep approach, and negatively with the surface approach. The results show that students who maintain a deep learning approach obtain a more significant impact on their personal and professional development by HIEPs (especially conferences, workshops and service-learning activities). Women have a lower surface approach and social and humanities students have higher levels of the deep approach.