Preparation and standardization of academic compatibility test in students

Papannameh for obtaining a master's degree in psychology

General orientation

Abstract

The present research was conducted in order to construct and standardize the academic compatibility test. To create this test, all tests related to compatibility were studied and reviewed, and after conducting interviews with a number of students and removing and changing a number of questions and confirming content validity and face validity by psychology professors, questionnaires were prepared in 6 subscales (compatibility with the university and faculty, compatibility with the course and field of study, social and interpersonal compatibility, emotional compatibility, self-discovery and purposefulness, compatibility with academic and educational skills) with 152 questions. This questionnaire was implemented on the sample group. The population of the present study consists of all the students of Qazvin city. 411 people were selected as samples from the four major Qazvin universities and two non-governmental institutions. The questions were analyzed by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and the reliability of the test was obtained using Cronbach's method. And the final version was prepared with 138 questions. The results showed that according to the Cronbach's alpha obtained for the whole test (? = 0.94), the questionnaire has high reliability.

Keywords: academic adjustment, standardization

In this chapter, first, an introduction about adjustment and its importance for students is given. A comprehensive and up-to-date tool to measure academic adjustment so that it includes most of the components shows the necessity of the current research. This research pursues two main goals, which are 1. Examining the current conditions and the tools used to measure academic adjustment. 2. Preparing a questionnaire that can measure academic adjustment and has high reliability and validity. Finally, the method that is suitable for analyzing the research data is introduced.

1-1- Introduction

Studying at university for a large number of students, both boys and girls, is accompanied by anxiety and pressure. The educational environment and new rules, different expectations from the previous era, the beginning of an independent life and entering the world of adulthood and the formation of human and intimate relationships are new conditions that require the adoption of new strategies. Adaptation [1] is a dynamic process in which a person tries to balance what he does or wants to do, as well as with what that the environment and society demand to establish a balance. In psychology, adaptation is assumed to be a more or less conscious process on the basis of which a person adapts to the social, natural or cultural environment [2]. This adaptation requires that the person changes himself or actively makes changes in the environment, and as a result, the necessary harmony between the person and the environment is created. Student life is new conditions for those who enter the university, and at the same time, it has its own tensions. Many students enter there without knowing the culture of the university and do not know what the professors want from them, what is the purpose of doing the homework and what is the grading method. Some students feel that they cannot adapt to the professors and the new conditions, as a result of incompatibility. and sometimes adapt to new geographical conditions as well as more responsibility than in the past. On the other hand, students who study in cities other than their family's place are faced with issues such as separation from family and new life conditions. Studies have shown that such tensions affect people's performance and productivity. Entering university requires learning skills that increase students' ability and adaptability in dealing with specific issues. Adapting to the new environment and conditions, especially for non-native students and dormitory residents, issues such as living with roommates, living independently from parents, managing personal affairs, managing finances, etc. follows Meanwhile, communication issues, academic and motivational issues are among the other common issues among new students.                                  

   Academic adjustment[3] includes components such as: staying in university, enjoying education, having psychological well-being, two-way social relations and good academic performance. Academic adjustment and its various dimensions are considered fundamental and very broad topics in psychology. For this reason, identifying factors related to it, while increasing the scope of knowledge, can have many applications in reducing individual and interpersonal problems.

The great importance of this issue is that there is no suitable tool for measuring academic adjustment, which includes all components and is in accordance with Iranian culture. The present study was designed and implemented with the aim of preparing a questionnaire of academic adjustment and its standardization[4]. The scores of psychological tests are usually interpreted based on the norms that represent the functioning of the normative samples in the test. Therefore, for norming in an experimental way, the functioning of the group that represents the desired society should be evaluated. practically determined in the test, then the raw score of each person is checked in connection with the distribution of the scores obtained from the norming sample to determine his place [5] in this distribution.

1-2- Statement of the problem

Man is always faced with diverse and unknown issues and problems in relation to his surrounding environment, and in order to meet his demands, he needs balance and adaptability to the environment. Adaptation is the flow of a person to adapt himself to internal pressures and requirements. Outside, it takes effort (Reid-Victor [6], 2004; McLeod and McElliser[7], 1999).

Chaplin[8] defines adaptation as a change in activities in order to overcome obstacles and satisfy one's needs. He considers adaptation as a type of problem solving in which an organism or a person has a need that cannot be met by previous methods. In such situations, the behavior is changed until the response leads to the satisfaction of the need. In the adaptation mode, the person plays a more active role in the situation. For this reason, compatibility is different from the concepts of compromise, adaptation and conformity [9] (Chaplin, 1985).

Being admitted to university and transferring from high school to university is a big and major change in their lives for many young people. Entering the university is an opportunity for further learning and psychological growth, but at the same time, it is a source of stress for some people and causes maladaptive reactions in them. A person benefits from adaptation when he can establish a healthy relationship between himself and his social environment. It originates from the science of biology. Darwin proposed it for the first time in his theory of evolution, then this concept was used in other sciences such as psychology and sociology. This term in the meanings of biology refers to biological structures that facilitate the survival of species (Friedlander, Reid, Shapak, 2007). In the psychology of Kressini [10], adaptation is defined as follows: creating changes in attitudes and behavior in such a way that one can lived well and effectively. Establishing constructive relationships with others, dealing with problematic or stressful situations, handling responsibilities and satisfying personal needs and goals are examples of adaptation. The degree of adaptation depends on two factors: 1) personal characteristics such as attitudes, skills and physical conditions. 2) The nature of the situations he faces such as family problems, sudden and natural events. Since man and his environment are constantly changing, so the adaptation of man is also constantly changing (Viton [11], 2003). Adaptation has different dimensions: Sin Wesing [12] has divided adaptation into three main types: a) academic adaptation, b) social adaptation [13], c) emotional adaptation [14] (Nick Dell, 2015). Bakro Siriak [15] believes that academic adaptation is a multi-dimensional concept and means the ability of individuals to respond successfully to the diverse demands of the educational environment (Zarei, 2013).

Theories of learning and academic success identify two types of factors that affect the continuation or discontinuation of studies in the university: 1) Individual factors or tendencies that students have before entering the university. 2) interactive factors that are related to experiences after entering the university (Balter [16], 2002, quoted by Ardakani, 2014).