Perceived fit of students is one of the most prominent predictors of study success in higher education, but when assessed directly, it provides lots of room for interpretation for the respondents. This is also true for perceived demands-abilities fit (e.g. how do one's abilities fit with study demands), which has particularly high associations…

Understanding why students drop out from university has received much research attention. While the influence of students' individual characteristics is well understood, the role of universities, however, has rather been neglected. This study draws attention to the effect of study conditions on individual dropout intention. On focus is the…

Research and practice have recognized the importance of informal learning--a specific type of active learning--for higher education contexts. University students learn not only in formally organized courses, but also in a self-directed and intentional way from fellow students, through trial and error, and by reflection. However, there has been a…

Students' development of intercultural competence during stays abroad has been subject to numerous studies due to the vital importance of intercultural interaction in the globalised world. In the present cross-sectional study, we provide and test a theoretical frame connecting self-efficacy theory of learning and intercultural learning, examining…

Teacher collaboration is considered an important determinant when implementing differentiated instructional practices. However, most research has extensively explored such constructs using global measures, while overlooking the fact that teacher collaboration is a multidimensional construct. Against this background, this study aimed to explore the…

The present study investigates the effect of pre-service teachers' cognitive abilities and personality traits on graduation and teacher self-efficacy using data from the German National Education Panel Study (N = 5 520). Applying latent profile analysis, we found four different profiles of pre-service teachers based on high school grade point…

Learning strategies are important factors for students' academic success. Motivation and self-efficacy influence the choice and the use of specific learning strategies (Entwistle & Ramsden, 1983). In this study, we want to assess how these three factors and their interaction are determined by the cultural setting (eastern vs. western culture).…

As stress in students has increased in the last years, factors predicting stress need to be investigated. The aim of the present study was to replicate previous findings using the demand-control model and to examine the role of emotional distress in a transactional model (inspired by Lazarus' transactional stress model). "Stress, mental…

Engaging in service learning has been linked to multiple positive outcomes in students, such as an increase in self-efficacy. Effects have been found on both general and domain-specific self-efficacy. Research on service learning has indicated that feedback and gender had an impact on the increase in self-efficacy, though findings are mixed. The…

Digital text has become the dominant medium for participation in higher education. Yet little is known about the consequences from the shift to digital text usage on the academic reading practices of specific groups of students. Using a unique data set of higher education students, we analyse differences in digital reading skills, practices,…

Although digital media are in general very common, their role in academic settings and their relevance for academic achievement are not satisfactorily explored. A research gap that is particularly apparent during the corona crisis in 2020 when university processes in many countries are suddenly almost completely digitalised. Research suggests a…

The development of novel and useful ideas is a process that can be described in multiple steps, including information gathering, generating ideas and evaluating ideas. We evaluated a university course that was developed based on design thinking principles which employ similar steps. Our results show that the course was not effective in enhancing…

Several studies have shown that narratives can influence readers' beliefs about themselves. In the present study, our goal was to investigate whether stories portraying a strong protagonist can positively influence recipients' beliefs of being in control of events in their own lives (self-related control beliefs). Experiment 1 showed that…

Approximately one million international students were enrolled at U.S. universities in the academic year 2015-2016, and the number has been steadily rising since. Although these students aim to increase intercultural communication skills, international knowledge, and critical thinking skills, some international students experience difficulty…

The presence of a calling and career development are assumed to be closely related. However, the nature of and reason for this relationship have not been thoroughly investigated. We hypothesized the existence of reciprocal effects between calling and three dimensions of career preparation and assessed the change of the presence of a calling,…