Publikationsdatenbank

Out of control?
How early experience in anatomy exams influence students’ academic self-efficacy (2022)

Art

Vortrag

Autoren

Prior, Alina (WE 1)

Estel, Tosca

Bahramsoltani, Mahtab (WE 1)

Forschungsprojekt

Akademische Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung bei Studierenden der Veterinärmedizin

Kongress

11th Meeting of the Young Generation of Veterinary Anatomists

Zürich, Switzerland, 20. – 22.07.2022

Quelle

Sprache

Englisch

Kontakt

Institut für Veterinär-Anatomie

Koserstr. 20
14195 Berlin
+49 30 838 75784
anatomie@vetmed.fu-berlin.de

Abstract / Zusammenfassung

Anatomy is one of the first courses in veterinary studies. It is characterized by a huge amount of subject matter and numerous oral exams. These early experiences in exams have a major impact on students’ academic self-efficacy and with that also on their level of stress and academic performance. One concept strongly associated with self-efficacy is the construct of locus of control (LOC). A more internal LOC is positive correlated with a higher self-efficacy. The aim of this explorative study was to evaluate the LOC perceived by veterinary students in oral exams. For this, ten guided interviews with veterinary students of the Freie Universität Berlin were conducted, transcribed and evaluated with qualitive content analysis in MAXQDA. Students reported frequently about the feeling to be at the examiner´s mercy. The uncertainty of the learning outcomes, the big volume of subject matter and non-transparent rating-scales lead to anxiety and a high level of stress in connection with oral exams. Despite this external manifestation of the LOC students are highly motivated and develop learning- and coping-strategies. These findings contradict previous studies about LOC in general, in which an external LOC leads to a lack of motivation and a decrease of coping strategies. This discrepancy seems to be a part of the reason for the high level of stress in veterinary students. In conclusion, lecturers should follow the concept of constructive alignment to provide transparency and improve students’ self-efficacy. This would comply with anatomy’s responsibility as one of the first subjects of veterinary studies. To validate the results of this study a quantitative investigation will be performed in a next step.