Academic expectations questionnaire: a proposal for a short version

h ps://doi.o g/10.1177/2158244018824496 SAGE Open Janua y-Ma ch 2019: 1 –10 © The Au ho (s) 2019 DOI: 10.1177/2158244018824496 jou nals.sagepub.com/home/sgo C ea i e Commons CC BY: This a icle is dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 License (h p://www.c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/) which pe mi s any use, ep oduc ion and dis ibu ion o he wo k wi hou u he pe mission p o ided he o iginal wo k is a ibu ed as speci ied on he SAGE and Open Access pages (h ps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-a -sage). Psychological Repo s In oduc ion In explaining s uden academic adap a ion o highe educa- ion (HE), esea ch in he ield has highligh ed a wide ange o pe sonal and ins i u ional a iables among which expec- a ions play a signi ican ole (Balloo, Pauli, & Wo ell, 2017; Fe nández, A aújo, Vacas, Almeida, & Gonzalez, 2017; Pasca ella & Te enzini, 2005). In combining cogni- ion and mo i a ion, academic expec a ions e lec s uden aspi a ions o wha hey in end o achie e in a ending HE, and how hey can o e come he challenges posed by he HE expe ience (K amme , Somme , & A endasy, 2016; Kuh, Gonyea, & Williams, 2005; Pasca ella & Te enzini, 2005). Fo By ne e al. (2012), hese “expec a ions e lec an indi- idual’s an icipa ion o u u e e en s and condi ions” (p. 136) and hey a e associa ed wi h mo i a ion o lea ning, academic success, and gene al academic sa is ac ion. S uden s end o be mo e sa is ied and o pe se e e o g adua e when hei expec a ions and he academic eali y hey encoun e a e ma ched (B ax on, Vespe , & Hossle , 1995; Pasca ella & Te enzini, 2005; Tin o, 1993). Posi i e and ealis ic expec a ions ein o ce he use o coping s a e- gies when aced wi h ini ial adap a ion di icul ies (K amme e al., 2016; Nes, E ans, & Sege s om, 2009; Neu ille, F enay, & Bou geois, 2007). When he ini ial expec a ions o s uden s a e oo high o un ealis ic, hey a e mo e likely o ail o ealize hem. In his si ua ion, s uden s expe ience us a ion and educe hei in es men in acqui ing new skills o deal wi h he challenges o HE (By ne & Flood, 2005; Jackson, Pance , & P a , 2000; K eig, 2013). As s u- den s en e college wi h di e en expec a ions (Schilling & Schilling, 1999), iden i ying wha hese expec a ions a e allows eache s o o ien hei classes o mee s uden lea n- ing needs (Mille , Kuh, Paine, & Associa es, 2005) such as helping hem o become “in en ional lea ne s” (McCa hy & Kuh, 2006). This a en ion is mo e and mo e impo an when s uden s en e uni e si y wi h di e en academic compe en- cies and mo i a ions, as well as di e en oca ional o ca ee p ojec s, o when hey a e i s -gene a ion s uden s wi h a lack o su icien and objec i e in o ma ion conce ning cam- pus li e (B ax on e al., 1995; B iggs, Cla k, & Hall, 2012). These s uden s a e o en somewha idealis ic in e ms o wha hey can accomplish and us a ion can eme ge in he i s weeks o college li e (C edé & Nieho s e , 2012). The gap be ween ini ial expec a ions and he ac ual expe ience can lead o dissa is ac ion, disengagemen , and poo pe o - mance in academic li e (Jackson e al., 2000). Resea ch on academic expec a ions poin s o i s mul i- dimensionali y, which is in line wi h he mul iple expe i- ences ha s uden s can ha e and de elop in HE (Bo ghi, Maina des, & Sil a, 2016; Diniz e al., 2018; Fe nández 824496SGOXXX10.1177/2158244018824496SAGE OpenCasano a e al. esea ch-a icle20192019 1Uni e si y o Minho, B aga, Po ugal 2ISPA—Ins i u o Uni e si á io, Lisbon, Po ugal Co esponding Au ho : Joana R. Casano a, Resea ch Cen e on Educa ion (CIEd), Ins i u e o Educa ion, Uni e si y o Minho, 4710-057 B aga, Po ugal. Email: [email p o ec ed] Academic Expec a ions Ques ionnai e: A P oposal o a Sho Ve sion Joana R. Casano a1, Leand o S. Almeida1, F ancisco Peixo o2, Rui-Bá olo Ribei o2, and João Ma ôco2 Abs ac Academic expec a ions play a signi ican ole in he quali y o s uden adap a ion and academic success. P e ious esea ch sugges s ha expec a ions a e a mul idimensional cons uc , making i c ucial o es he measu es used o his impo an cha ac e is ic. Because assessmen o s uden adap a ion o highe educa ion comp ises a mul i ude o pe sonal and con ex ual a iables, including expec a ions, sho ened e sions o assessmen ins umen s a e c i ical. In his a icle, con i ma o y ac o analysis was used o ob ain a sho e sion o he Academic Pe cep ions Ques ionnai e–Expec a ions (APQ-E). Pa icipan s we e 3,017 i s -yea Po uguese college s uden s. The esul s suppo he use o a sho e e sion o 24 i ems, dis ibu ed o e six dimensions, wi h good eliabili y and alidi y. Keywo ds expec a ions, highe educa ion, i s -yea s uden s, academic adjus men , assessmen 2 SAGE Open e al., 2017; Kuh e al., 2005; Ma inho-A aujo, Flei h, Almeida, Bisino o, & Rabelo, 2015; Pasca ella & Te enzini, 2005). Resea ch in his a ea sugges s a he e ogeneous se o academic expec a ions, namely, in e ms o employabil- i y a e aining, he quali y o he in as uc u e o he ins i u ion, he quali y o eaching and he eache s, oppo - uni ies o in e na ional mobili y, oppo uni ies o pe - sonal g ow h and de elopmen , social in e ac ions, and in e pe sonal ela ionships (Bake , McNeil, & Si yk, 1985; Bo ghi e al., 2016; Maina des, Raposo, & Al es, 2012). The mul idimensionali y o academic expec a ions has been highligh ed h ough se e al di e en ial s udies ocus- ing on subg oups o s uden s. Fo example, s uden s om disad an aged social g oups o s uden s who a e he i s - gene a ion o pa icipa e in HE end o ha e lowe le els o expec a ions in e ms o lea ning and achie emen (Menon, Sai i, & Soc a ous, 2007; Tho pe, Snell, Hoskins, & B yan , 2007). On he con a y, when conside ing gende , a numbe o s udies ha e highligh ed di e ences in expec a ions when compa ing men and women. This esea ch shows ha women seem o alue and in es mo e in in e pe sonal ela ionships and in lea ning ac i i ies, while men a e mo e conce ned wi h hei p o essional ca ee s and employmen a e g adu- a ion (Sax & Ha pe , 2007; Wells, Sei e , & Saunde s, 2013). A he same ime, women a e mo e likely o be in ol ed in communi y and olun ee wo k; men in es mo e in asks in ol ing leade ship and compe i i eness and a e mo e a ailable o mobili y p og ams (Sax & Ha pe , 2007; Zeldin, B i ne , & Paja es, 2008). In he speci ic case o Po ugal, wi h college en ance based on a nume us clausus sys em, s uden s en oll o a deg ee and an ins i u ion by means o hei g ade-poin a e - age achie emen , combining high school ma ks wi h na ional exams and no as esul o any oca ional op ion o p e e - ence. This has been backed up in ecen yea s by Go e nmen esea ch which ound ha almos 50% o s uden s in Po ugal a e no en e ing college in he deg ee p og am o hei choice (Fonseca, Dias, Sá, & Ama al, 2014). These s uden s a e p obably en e ing HE wi h lowe ed o inadequa e academic expec a ions and, as a esul , i is easie o unde s and hese di icul ies wi h ega d o engaging in academic ac i i ies and being mo e con iden in a aining a deg ee, pa icula ly in he i s yea . The e alua ion o expec a ions would hus be impo an in allowing ins i u ions and eache s o p opose ac ions p omo ing an adjus men o s uden expec a ions and o c ea e he op imum condi ions o hei success in HE (Bo ghi e al., 2016; Holmegaa d, Madsen, & Ul iksen, 2016). In ligh o his easoning, he “Academic Pe cep ions Ques ionnai e–Expec a ions” (APQ-E) was de eloped and alida ed o Po uguese and Spanish s uden s (Deaño e al., 2015; Gil e al., 2013). This scale akes in o accoun se en dimensions o ypes o expec a ions: T aining o Employmen ; Pe sonal and Social De elopmen ; S uden Mobili y; Poli ical Engagemen and Ci izenship; Social P essu e; Quali y o Educa ion; and Social In e ac ion. E en hough adequa e eliabili y and alidi y ha e been obse ed in Spanish and Po uguese samples (Deaño e al., 2015; Diniz e al., 2018), he s uden s ha e commen ed nega i ely wi h ega d o he ex ension o he measu es and he p esence o i ems wi h e y simila con en s. In his a icle, he mul idimensionali y o expec a ions was es ed wi h con i ma o y ac o analysis o e alua e he possibili y o educing he numbe o i ems in each dimen- sion. This educ ion is equi ed o acili a e he use o his scale in u u e esea ch, when o he pe sonal a iables mus be included in he e alua ion p o ocol o s udy academic adap a ion and success. A he same ime, i is impo an o es ablish a simila numbe o i ems o each dimension in he inal e sion o APQ-E. Based on p e ious s udies wi h his ques ionnai e, we expec ed o eplica e a s uc u e wi h se en dimensions in he sho e sion and o achie e iden ical o s onge eliabili y o each dimension while a oiding edun- dancy in he con en s o he i ems. Me hod Pa icipan s The pa icipan s we e 3,017 i s -yea s uden s in wo Po uguese HE ins i u ions. To assu e a g ea e deg ee o he - e ogenei y in he sample, a public ins i u ion in he no h and a p i a e ins i u ion in he sou h o Po ugal we e chosen. In he p i a e ins i u ion, s uden s we e om he social sciences and humani ies, and in he public ins i u ion, s uden s we e om a wide ange o scien i ic a eas, including hose ela ed o echnology. In bo h uni e si ies, mos o he s uden s we e emale (56.5%) and aged be ween 16 and 54 (M = 19.48, SD = 4.52). Mos s uden s epo ed ha hey we e in he deg ee o hei choice (65.5%) and also hei i s choice o ins i u- ion (77.1%). A la ge majo i y (88.8%) had no job, ei he pa - ime o ull- ime, and 36.8% men ioned he necessi y o lea ing hei pa en al homes o a end HE. Finally, mos s u- den s ended o be i s -gene a ion s uden s in HE, wi h only 21.6% o hei pa en s ha ing HE diplomas (27.3% in he case o mo he s). A small pe cen age (7.1%) o incomple e ques ionnai es we e emo ed p io o he da a analysis. Ins umen and P ocedu e S uden academic expec a ions we e measu ed using he APQ-E (Deaño e al., 2015). This ins umen comp ises 42 i ems o ganized in o se en subscales: T aining o Employmen (TFE, eigh i ems; e.g., “Ob ain aining o achie e a good job”); Pe sonal and Social De elopmen (PSD, eigh i ems; e.g., “Imp o e my iden i y, au onomy and sel -con idence”); S uden Mobili y (SM, eigh i ems; e.g., “Pa icipa e in s uden exchange p og ams”); Poli ical Engagemen and Ci izenship (PEC, six i ems; e.g., “Con ibu e o imp o ing he wo ld and socie y”); Social Casano a e al. 3 P essu e (SP, ou i ems; e.g., “Mee my amily’s expec a- ions”); Quali y o Educa ion (QE, ou i ems; e.g., “Pa icipa e in deba es o scien i ic con e ences”); and Social In e ac ion (SI, ou i ems; e.g., “Enjoy li ing wi h o he s and ha ing un”). Each i em elici ed a esponse on a 6-poin Like - ype scale anging om 1 (s ongly disag ee) o 6 (s ongly ag ee). Adequa e eliabili y and alidi y in Spanish and Po uguese samples we e ob ained (Deaño e al., 2015; Diniz e al., 2018). The p ocedu es o da a collec ion and he c i e ion o choosing s uden s we e he same in bo h ins i u ions. Da a we e collec ed a he poin o en ance in o uni e si y, and only eshman s uden s we e conside ed. APQ-E in eg a ed a p o ocol o e alua e he quali y o adap a ion and adjus men i s -yea s uden en an s, including sociodemog aphic da a, pas academic backg ound, academic expec a ions, and expec a ion o di icul ies ha s uden s an icipa ed in hei academic adjus men . S uden pa icipa ion was olun a y, and in o med consen was gi en by all pa icipan s. Da a Analysis Because he i ems measu emen scale was o dinal, he ac- o ial s uc u e o he APQ-E was e alua ed using a con i - ma o y ac o analysis (CFA) on he i ems’ polycho ic co ela ion ma ix using he WLSMV (weigh ed leas squa es means and a iance adjus ed) es ima o (Finney, DiS e ano, & Kopp, 2016) implemen ed in Mplus ( . 7.4., Mu hén & Mu hén, 1998-2016, CA). Goodness o i was e alua ed acco ding o he compa a i e i index (CFI), he Tucke –Lewis index (TLI), and he oo mean squa e e o o app oxima ion (RMSEA). CFI and TLI alues highe han .95 and RMSEA alues lowe han .06 we e consid- e ed indica i e o a good s uc u al i (Schmi , 2011). Tes s o he Δχ2 be ween nes ed models calcula ed wi h he WLSMV es ima o we e unde aken ollowing Sa o a and Ben le (2010). In addi ion o C onbach’s alpha, composi e eliabili y as p oposed by Geldho , P eache , and Zyphu (2014) was used. Con e gen and disc iminan alidi y we e examined using he a e age a iance ex ac ed (AVE) and he ac o co ela ions as sugges ed by Fo nell and La cke (1981) and Hai , Black, Babin, and Ande son (2014). Resul s The esul s o he CFA ca ied ou on he 42 i ems showed a poo i wi h he da a (Table 1) and, as a consequence, some o he o iginal i ems we e d opped based on concep ual, p ac ical, and s a is ical (low ac o loadings) g ounds. Thus, wo i ems which showed he lowes ac o loadings we e emo ed in each dimension, ensu ing a he same ime ha he con en o he emo ed i em was assessed by he emain- ing i ems. The dimension Quali y o Educa ion was also emo ed because he Modi ica ion Indices sugges ed c oss-loadings wi h se e al i ems in o he ac o s. This ac o also p esen ed high co ela ions (abo e .80) wi h se e al o he dimensions, hus lacking disc iminan alidi y. Figu e 1 con ains he six dimensions e ained, as well as he ou i ems included pe dimension, suppo ed in successi e analyses. To especi y he ini ial model, he sample was andomly spli in wo. The i s hal (Sample 1) was used o especi y he model and he second (Sample 2) was used o alida e he esul ing model. A e emo ing 18 i ems, he sho ened model showed an adequa e i , bo h acco ding o TLI and CFI, and a RMSEA alue close o .05, in bo h samples (Table 1). The ac o loadings we e all highe han .65 in he co e- sponding la en cons uc . As a consequence, he AVE is highe han .50, which is indica i e o good con e gen alidi y (Fo nell & La cke , 1981; Hai e al., 2014). To assess disc iminan alidi y, he AVE o each ac o wi h he squa ed co ela ion be ween each pai o ac o s was com- pa ed. E idence o disc iminan alidi y was accep ed when he AVE o wo gi en ac o s was highe han he squa ed co ela ion be ween hem (Fo nell & La cke , 1981; Hai e al., 2014). The esul s in Table 2 show ha mos o he cons uc s mee he c i e ia o he AVE ac o g ea e han he squa ed co ela ion be ween hem. Howe e , he pai s, Pe sonal and Social De elopmen –Poli ical Engagemen and Ci izenship (PSD-PEC) and Pe sonal and Social De elopmen –T aining o Employmen (PSD-TFE) showed lowe AVE han he squa ed co ela ion be ween he la en a iables. Thus, h ee al e na i e models we e es ed: wo in which hose ac o s we e me ged in o a single ac o (PSD- TFE and PSD-PEC) and a hi d me ging he h ee dimen- sions in o a single ac o (PSD-TFE-PEC). The di e ences in Table 1. Goodness-o -Fi Indexes o he Models Tes ed. χ2d p TLI CFI RMSEA [90% CI] Ini ial model 14051.6 798 <.001 .88 .89 .074 [.073, .075] Reduced Model Sample 1 1449.7 237 <.001 .96 .97 .058 [.055, .061] Reduced Model Sample 2 1411.9 237 <.001 .96 .97 .057 [.055, .060] To al sample 2642.9 237 <.001 .96 .97 .058 [.056, .060] Hie a chical model 3270.3 246 <.001 .95 .96 .064 [.062, .066] No e. d = deg ees o eedom; TLI = Tucke –Lewis index; CFI = compa a i e i index; RMSEA = oo mean squa e e o o app oxima ion; CI = con idence in e al. 4 SAGE Open Figu e 1. Academic Expec a ions Ques ionnai e—dimensions e ained. Casano a e al. 5 he chi-squa e esul s be ween each o hese models and he o iginal six ac o model a e all s a is ically signi ican , Δχ2 PSD-TFE(5) = 437.8, p < .001; Δχ2 PSD-PEC(5) = 395.2, p < .001; Δχ2PSD-TFE-PEC(5) = 876.2, p < .001. As an al e - na i e solu ion o he high co ela ions be ween he ac o s, a hie a chical model (Figu e 2) posi ing a high o de ac o called Global Expec a ions was es ed. This high o de ac o is a measu e o he expec a ions s uden s ha e and can be exp essed in e ms o mo e posi i e o nega i e expec a ions i espec i e o he kind o expec a ion. Taking in o accoun ha a hie a chical model can show, a bes , goodness-o - i indexes as good as he mul idimensional co ela ed model (Ma sh & Hoce a , 1985), he ou come showed ha he hie - a chical model esul ed in a e y accep able goodness-o - i indexes (Table 1). Reliabili y analyses showed e y accep able alues bo h o C onbach’s alpha and composi e eliabili y (Table 2). A compa ison wi h he eliabili y o p e ious s udies using he longe e sion o he scale shows ha he eliabili y sco es a e iden ical o be e when he numbe o i ems used a e he same (SP and SI) and emains a e y accep able le els when he numbe s o i ems pe dimension a e educed (TFE, PSD, SM, and PEC). Table 3 p esen s he desc ip i e s a is ics o he scales. Conside ing he na u e o he cons uc (expec a ions) and he poin in ime when i was e alua ed (be o e he beginning o he academic yea ), he dis ibu ion o he esul s shows a nega i e skewness. Ne e heless, o almos all dimensions, he esul s ange om he lowes poin o he scale o he highes , he excep ions being he dimensions T aining o Employmen and Poli ical Engagemen and Ci izenship, despi e he minimum alue p esen ed being close o he lowe end o he scale. Discussion The success o ansi ion and adap a ion o HE is assumed as an impo an ac o in p omo ing s uden in ol emen and academic success (Balloo e al., 2017; Fe nández e al., 2017; Pasca ella & Te enzini, 2005). S uden s who ha e expe ienced mo e di icul ies in he adap a ion p ocess ha e highe ailu e a es and a e mo e likely o d op ou , pa icula ly in he i s yea (B iggs e al., 2012; Ki san as, Winsle , & Huie, 2008). Posi i e expec a ions a e associa ed wi h he in es men o s uden s in o e coming challenges posed by new ci cum- s ances in he eaching-lea ning p ocess, li ing au ono- mously o ha ing new ela ionships wi h pee s (K amme e al., 2016; Kuh e al., 2005; Pasca ella & Te enzini, 2005). The e is o en a gap be ween he ini ial expec a ion and he eali y expe ienced by he s uden s, because hei ini ial expec a ions a e oo high o un ealis ic. This disjunc u e may p ejudice he adap a ion p ocess, wi h a po en ial nega i e impac on s uden sa is ac ion and achie emen (Bo ghi e al., 2016; Jackson e al., 2000). To help s uden s be suc- cess ul and pe se e e in HE, i is impo an ha ins i u ions and eache s ake in o conside a ion he s uden expec a ions in hei policies and p ac ices. In u ilizing a mul idimensional ques ionnai e o academic expec a ions ha can be used in Po ugal, Spain, and B azil, his a icle analyzes ac o ial s uc u e, speci ically, i he e is a be e goodness-o - i model when academic expec a ion dimensions a e conside ed indi idually o when hey a e me ged in a second-o de ac o . A he same ime, i was possible o e i y i some i ems could be elimina ed due o con en edundancy, allowing as much as possible o a smalle scale, as well as educing he s uden ime and e o (Appendix). The sho e sion could also be help ul in esea ch wi h a la ge numbe o s uden s and when he assessmen p o ocol includes o he a iables and scales. The esul s o he CFA showed ha he i ems o he dimen- sion o Quali y o Educa ion we e dis ibu ed by o he dimen- sions o he ques ionnai e as a esul o hei speci ic con en . Some a e close o he Pe sonal and Social De elopmen dimension (e.g., pa icipa ion in deba es o scien i ic con e - ences), o he s o he Social P essu e dimension (e.g, achie e- men o good g ades in o de o enhance my cu iculum). I is Table 2. Reliabili y Measu es, A e age Va iance Ex ac ed, and Co ela ion Ma ix Be ween he Dimensions o he Expec a ions Scale. C onbach’s alpha Composi e eliabili y Gil e al. (2013) P esen s udy Diniz e al. (2018) P esen s udy AVE TFE PSD SM PEC SP SI TFE .89 (8) .81 (4) .95/.92 (8) .89 (4) .679 — .591 .138 .408 .231 .319 PSD .87 (8) .78 (4) .91/.89 (8) .85 (4) .585 .769 — .184 .692 .340 .465 SM .85 (8) .88 (4) .91/.92 (8) .91 (4) .711 .372 .429 — .267 .084 .262 PEC .85 (6) .81 (4) .88/.87 (6) .86 (4) .612 .639 .832 .517 — .254 .346 SP .79 (6) .80 (4) .79/.80 (4) .85 (4) .590 .481 .583 .289 .504 — .359 SI .75 (6) .85 (4) .80/.72 (4) .89 (4) .676 .565 .682 .512 .588 .599 — No e. The numbe o i ems o each dimension a e in pa en heses. In he Diniz e al. (2018) s udy he i s composi e eliabili y sco es a e o men and he second o woman. Values below he diagonal a e co ela ions among cons uc s, and alues abo e diagonal a e squa ed co ela ions. All co ela ion alues a e s a is ically signi ican a p < .001. AVE = a e age a iance ex ac ed; TFE = T aining o Employmen ; PSD = Pe sonal and Social De elopmen ; SM = S uden Mobili y; PEC = Poli ical Engagemen and Ci izenship; SP = Social P essu e; SI = Social In e ac ion. 6 SAGE Open possible ha he o mula ion and implemen a ion o he expec a ions in he di e en domains iden i ied he e necessa ily de i e om Quali y o Educa ion. The e o e, main aining his dimension would ein o ce he co ela ions Figu e 2. Academic Expec a ions Ques ionnai e—hie a chical model. Casano a e al. 7 be ween he emaining six dimensions and diminish hei speci ici y, con a y o he objec i es o mul idimensional e alua ion o academic expec a ions wi h his ques ionnai e. In iew o hese da a, we op ed o he emo al o i ems om his dimension, educing he dimensions e alua ed om se en o six. On he con a y, o educe he numbe o i ems in he ques ionnai e, we chose ou i ems pe dimension wi h be e loading in he speci ic ac o and he i ems wi h con en which p o ided complemen a y in o ma ion. Tes ing he ini ial model s uc u e wi h se en dimensions esul ed in he model ha ing an inadequa e i . Be e indices we e achie ed in es ing a model wi h six dimensions, ol- lowing he emo al o Quali y o Educa ion i ems. Howe e , he mode a e o high co ela ions be ween he six dimen- sions sugges ed he es ing o an al e na i e model wi h a second-o de ac o ( ange o co ela ions coe icien s was .29 be ween SM and SP dimensions and .83 be ween PSD and PEC). This second-o de ac o model (Model 2) p e- sen ed a good model i and sugges s he possibili y o ob aining a gene al index o academic expec a ions. This index e lec s posi i e o nega i e s uden expe iences, belie s, and aspi a ions in e ms o hei pa icipa ion in HE, and hese can also be di e en ia ed by he six domains iden- i ied as i s -o de ac o s. The esul s o his second-o de model show di e en weigh s o he i s -o de ac o s, and hese di e ences may be ela ed o hei ele ance in he aca- demic expe iences o he i s -yea s uden s. As an example, he lowe loading o he S uden In e na ional Mobili y dimension (.55) may ansla e in o lowe ele ance in i s - yea s uden s when hey en e HE in con as wi h PSD (.93) which is assumed as a gene al objec i e o HE en ance (Fea on, Nachmias, McLaughlin, & Jackson, 2018). The eme gence o a second-o de ac o was no o eseen by he au ho s in he o iginal e sion o he ques ionnai e and could signal a smalle di e en ia ion in he s uden pe cep ions o he possibili ies ha HE allows in di e en a eas o hei pe sonal, social li e, and u u e p o essional de elopmen . In u he s ud- ies, aking samples o s uden s om o he g ade yea s will be in e es ing o es whe he he p esence o his second-o de ac- o pe sis s in he ace o he s onge academic expe iences, as well as whe he expec a ions depend on he scien i ic na u e o hei deg ees and hei academic pa hways. Finally, i would be decisi e o es he academic ele- ance o his cons uc by, o example, analyzing i s ela ionship wi h o he indica o s o academic adap a ion and abo e all, wi h con inued applica ion owa d a cou se and academic pe o mance in he i s yea . These analyses, con- side ing gene al and speci ic ac o s, enable he iden i ica- ion o s uden s wi h sco es in expec a ion ha a e highe o lowe (social, academic, ins i u ional) and o iden i y p e en- i e p ac ices o suppo hese s uden s. Conside ing he di e si y o HE en an s uden s, in e ms o objec i es and mo i a ions o g adua e, he ques ionnai e esul s allow o he implemen a ion o p e en a i e p og ams ha enable s u- den s o each hei academic expec a ions and p omo e oppo uni ies o de elopmen . When he esea ch shows ha many s uden s s a HE wi h high and un ealis ic expec- a ions (By ne & Flood, 2005; K amme e al., 2016), he use o his sho e sion in la ge-scale s udies acili a es he iden- i ica ion o hose s uden s and can guide he implemen a ion o cu icula o ex acu icula p og ams o aise awa eness o a a mo e accu a e academic eali y in he i s yea o he uni e si y. In summa y, he sho e sion o he APQ-E was ob ained wi h six o he ini ial se en dimensions (Deaño e al., 2015; Diniz e al., 2018). This sho ened e sion o he APQ-E showed adequa e eliabili y and alidi y, p o ing o be an adequa e ins umen o assess s uden expec a ions when en e ing he HE sys em. These expec a ions can be consid- e ed as a whole by in o ming hem o a global le el o aca- demic expec a ions and also di e en ia ed acco ding o speci ic domains o hei accomplishmen . In addi ion, educing he numbe o i ems om 42 o 24, wi h ou i ems pe dimension, allows o i o be included in e alua ion p o- ocols ha ake in o conside a ion a g ea e numbe o pe - sonal and con ex ual a iables. Appendix Lis o I ems in he Final Ve sion o he APQ-E Pe sonal and social de elopmen 2. Take he academic oppo uni ies o imp o e my iden i y, au onomy, sel -con idence, e c. 9. De elop my pe sonali y. 16. Gain con idence in my po en iali ies. 37. Acqui e skills o be a mo e esponsible and au onomous pe son. Table 3. Desc ip i e S a is ics o Final Six Dimensions o he Expec a ions Scale (N = 3,017). MMedian SD Skewness Ku osis SE Minimum Maximum TFE 5.553 5.75 0.539 −1.698 4.622 0.010 1.25 6.00 PSD 5.337 5.50 0.642 −1.291 2.882 0.012 1.00 6.00 SM 4.554 4.75 1.082 −0.814 0.521 0.020 1.00 6.00 PEC 5.147 5.25 0.712 −0.824 0.804 0.013 1.25 6.00 SP 4.426 4.50 1.120 −0.727 0.297 0.020 1.00 6.00 SI 4.854 5.00 0.912 −1.100 1.613 0.017 1.00 6.00 No e. TFE = T aining o Employmen ; PSD = Pe sonal and Social De elopmen ; SM = S uden Mobili y; PEC = Poli ical Engagemen and Ci izenship; SP = Social P essu e; SI = Social In e ac ion. 8 SAGE Open S uden in e na ional mobili y 3. Pa icipa e in uni e si y s uden mobili y p og ams (E asmus, Leona do, e c.). 10. A ange in e nship in ano he coun y. 31. Pa icipa e in s uden mobili y, spending some ime in he cou se in ano he coun y. 38. Be willing o ake in e nships in ano he coun y o ob ain an in e na ionally ecognized quali ica ion. Poli ical engagemen and ci izenship 4. Unde s and how I can con ibu e o imp o ing he wo ld and socie y. 18. Take a c i ical iew o he wo ld and hink abou how o ans o m i . 32. Becoming a commi ed ci izen owa d he p oblems o con empo a y socie y. 39. Con ibu e o he imp o emen o he human condi ion o he well-being o people. Social p essu e 5. Mee he expec a ions o my amily. 19. Don’ disappoin amily o iends in e ms o my aca- demic achie emen . 33. Ful ill he desi e o hose close o me who ha e encou - aged my highe educa ion. 40. Achie e a le el o educa ion simila o g ea e han ha achie ed by my pa en s (o olde siblings). Social in e ac ion 7. Ha e momen s o socializa ion and un. 28. Pa icipa e egula ly in pa ies wi h colleagues. 35. Ha e a g oup o iends wi h whom I can elax and socialize ou side o class. 42. Li e and socialize wi h a new g oup o iends. T aining o employmen 8. Ha e be e ca ee oppo uni ies in he labo ma ke . 15. Ge aining o ha e a good job in he u u e. 22. Empowe me o succeed p o essionally in he u u e. 29. Ensu e a sa is ac o y p o essional ca ee a e he cou se. Decla a ion o Con lic ing In e es s The au ho (s) decla ed no po en ial con lic s o in e es wi h espec o he esea ch, au ho ship, and/o publica ion o his a icle. 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