Study success

Study motivation is of central significance for different areas of study success, such as dropout, student satisfaction or average grade. Study motivation is a construct that cannot be measured directly but can only be assessed indirectly. The situated expectancy-value theory (SEVT), for example, suggests that study motivation develops through a combination of subjective expectations of success and subjective value beliefs of students. 

  

As part of the SEVT, we investigate how expectations and values differ in different fields of study. In comparison to other fields of study, students of the humanities, for example, perceive the professional and social relevance of their own studies to be significantly lower (Breetzke et al., 2023; Breetzke et al., 2024). 

  

Following that, we have also investigated the opportunities to strengthen the perception of the professional and social relevance of students of the humanities [##Link zu WERT-Seite##]. In the process we have synthesized especially promising measures from research and practice (Breetzke & Bohndick, 2024a; Breetzke & Bohndick, 2024b). At the same time, we have analyzed the effectiveness of different university events and their design characteristics (Bohndick & Breetzke, 2024). 

  

The findings on study motivation offer different transfer potential. They can, for example, help to discover motivational problems of students from different fields of study. Based on this, concrete ideas and approaches can be developed to counteract these problems in teaching through interventions or adjustments of the curriculum (Breetzke, 2024). Ultimately, this can help to increase the success of students. At the same time, in collaboration with different cooperation partners (e.g. the University Career-Service), specific approaches are being investigated, that can be further developed based on the results. 

Selected Publications: 

 

• Breetzke, J., Özbagci, D. & Bohndick, C. (2023). “Why are we learning this?!”—Investigating students’ subjective study values across different disciplines. Higher Education, 87(5), 1489–1507. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-023-01075-z 
• Breetzke, J. & Bohndick, C. (2024a). Relevanz, Nutzen und Wert des Studiums – Neue Perspektiven aus Forschung und Praxis. Waxmann. https://doi.org/10.31244/9783830998440  
• Breetzke, J., Özbagci, D. & Bohndick, C. (2024). Entwicklung und Validierung der WERT-Skalen: Ein Messinstrument zur Erfassung der wahrgenommenen beruflichen und gesellschaftlichen Relevanz des Studiums. Zeitschrift für pädagogische Psychologie. 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1024/1010-0652/a000389  
• Breetzke J., & Bohndick C. (2024b). Ist mein Studium relevant? Wie Studierende den beruflichen und gesellschaftlichen Wert ihres Studiums wahrnehmen und wie Hochschulen ihn steigern können. career service papers, 21, 33–46.  https://dspace.ub.uni-siegen.de/bitstream/ubsi/2702/1/csp_21_2024.pdf  
• Breetzke, J. (2024). Disciplinary differences in students’ motivation – Investigating expectancies and values, their correlation to academic success, and longitudinal trajectories. (Dissertation, Universität Hamburg). 
• Bohndick, C., & Breetzke, J. (2024). WERT: Wirkung von Maßnahmen zur Erhöhung der Einschätzung beruflicher und gesellschaftlicher Relevanz in geisteswissenschaftlichen Studiengängen. (Abschlussbericht, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung). 

By fit we mean the compatibility between students and their university. We draw from person-environment-fit theory, but also look at similar constructs, such as social and academic integration or social inclusion. We investigate predictors of fit as well as popular measuring instruments. We use different methods from structural equation modeling to response surface analysis.  

Selected publications: 

  

• Bohndick, C., Rosman, T., Kohlmeyer, S., & Buhl, H. M. (2018). The interplay between subjective abilities and subjective demands and its relationship with academic success. An application of the person–environment fit theory. Higher Education, 75(5), 839-854. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-017-0173-6  

 

• Bohndick, C., Breetzke, J., & Rosman, T. (2024). Asking students about their fit with the university: A response surface analysis of demands-abilities fit. Active Learning in Higher Education, 25(2), 258-271. https://doi.org/10.1177/14697874221124306 

 

• Bohndick, C. & Bonanati, S.. Wählen Studierende die Lehrveranstaltungen, die zu ihren Bedarfen passen? Eine Untersuchung von Besuchsplanung und tatsächlichem Besuch. die hochschullehre, 8. https://doi.org/10.3278/HSL2231W 

 

• Bohndick, C. (2023). Forschung zu akademischer Integration und akademischer Passung als Perspektive für die Wissenschaftsdidaktik. In G. Reinmann & R. Rhein (Hrsg.), Wissenschaftsdidaktik III (Wissenschaftsdidaktik, Bd. 3, S. 13–32). Bielefeld, Germany: transcript Verlag. https://doi.org/10.14361/9783839462966-002 

In light of the significant diversity of students, we also look at different individual, social and organizational diversity factors and their link to study success and predictors of study success in our research. The goal is always to determine challenges and chances and find opportunities for transfer into teaching. 

Selected Publications: 

 

• Bohndick, C., Bosse, E., Jänsch, V. K. & Barnat, M. (2021). How Different Diversity Factors Affect the Perception of First-Year Requirements in Higher Education. Frontline Learning Research, 9(2), 78–95. https://doi.org/10.14786/flr.v9i2.667 
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  Özbağcı, D., Breetzke, J. & Bohndick, C. (2023). How do social and academic integration develop over time? Longitudinal analyses of differences based on students’ sociodemographic background. European Journal of Higher Education, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/21568235.2023.2279133 

 

Employability and citizenship are two central goals for students and universities. We understand employability as skills and characteristics that lead to subjective and objective career success. Citizenship, on the other hand, looks at knowledge, values and attitudes, which are necessary to participate as a citizen in a democratic society. In this context we investigate, among other things, how participation in career-service events impact students’ employability or which interventions to increase employability and citizenship exist in higher education settings.  

Selected publications: 

 

• Eimer, A., & Bohndick, C. (2022). Teilnahme an Career-Service-Veranstaltungen und selbsteingeschätzte Employability von Studierenden an einer deutschen Universität. ZeHf–Zeitschrift für empirische Hochschulforschung, 5(2), 104-121. 

 

• Breetzke J., & Bohndick C. (2024b). Ist mein Studium relevant? Wie Studierende den beruflichen und gesellschaftlichen Wert ihres Studiums wahrnehmen und wie Hochschulen ihn steigern können. career service papers, 21, 33–46.  https://dspace.ub.uni-siegen.de/bitstream/ubsi/2702/1/csp_21_2024.pdf 

 

As study satisfaction we understand the subjective judgment of students in regards to their general university studies. Hereby we investigate the influence of different predictors, such as interdisciplinary competencies, on study satisfaction. Furthermore, we look at measures of study satisfaction in empirical studies.  

Selected publication:

• Kegel, L. S., Bohndick, C., Breetzke, J., Janke, S., Scheunemann, A., Wenker, T. (2024). Scale for Measuring Study Satisfaction in Higher Education. Zusammenstellung sozialwissenschaftlicher Items und Skalen (ZIS).  

International students are confronted with many challenges, for example language barriers, culture shocks and differences in the educational system, that could influence their study success. The center of our research at the HUL are the social interactions of international students. We investigate how international students find contacts, how they establish relations with teachers and fellow students and how they integrate in the university community.  

With a systematic literature review we identify three factors that influence international students’ social interaction, that are person (e.g. personality and skills), environment (e.g. advising or support) and fit (e.g. culture shock). We also investigate the effects of social interaction on sense of belonging and mental health of international students.  

We are also researching the future career plans of international students by taking a close look at their decision-making processes. We are currently working on understanding the cognitive biases that influence international students' decisions and are developing an intervention program to overcome faulty reasoning during the decision-making process.   

The significance of our research and its transfer potential is multi-layered: our findings not only contribute to improving the study and living conditions of international students but also promote a more inclusive and international academic environment. It is particularly important to emphasize that successful social interactions and informed decision-making processes are crucial factors for the general well-being and study success of international students. These findings could also be transferred to similar contexts to improve the integration and support of international students worldwide.   

 

Selected publication: 

• Li, Z. & Bohndick, C. (2024). Interaktionen internationaler Studierender außerhalb von Lehrveranstaltungen: Ein systematisches Review von Einflussfaktoren und Auswirkung auf Studienerfolg. Derzeit in Vorbereitung. 

 

Universities play a central role in fostering the study success of their students. Through a multitude of measures, interventions and offers universities can, for example, contribute to the motivation or integration of its students and ensure their study success. 

In this topic area we, for example, collected university measures, that increase the students’ perception of their professional and social relevance, and can therefore contribute to the improvement of study success (Breetzke & Bohndick, 2024a; Breetzke et al., 2024b).  The measures range from short interventions, directly applicable to teaching, to offers from the university Career-Services and innovative modes of teaching and to comprehensive changes in the curriculum. Furthermore, we look at special groups of students and are collecting measures that are explicitly addressed to first generation students. 

Selected publications:

 

• Breetzke, J. & Bohndick, C. (2024a). Relevanz, Nutzen und Wert des Studiums – Neue Perspektiven aus Forschung und Praxis. Waxmann. https://doi.org/10.31244/9783830998440  
• Breetzke J., & Bohndick C. (2024b). Ist mein Studium relevant? Wie Studierende den beruflichen und gesellschaftlichen Wert ihres Studiums wahrnehmen und wie Hochschulen ihn steigern können. career service papers, 21, 33–46.  https://dspace.ub.uni-siegen.de/bitstream/ubsi/2702/1/csp_21_2024.pdf