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The social, educational and cognitive factors of success in the first year of university: A case study

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Abstract

The main objective of this study, which evaluated a sample of first-year students enrolled at the University of Burgundy, France, in 2010–2011, is to understand the factors determining success in the first year of university. The originality of this research lies in the inclusion of specific indicators of students’ skills when they start university within the explanatory models of educational achievement. These indicators include measures of academic performance (written comprehension skills) and cognitive abilities. While the impact of cognitive abilities on educational success has been examined at primary level in France, the present study is among the first to do this at higher education level, with the additional consideration of students’ educational and social backgrounds. The results show the significant impact of educational background (repeated years, type of baccalaureate and baccalaureate grade) on success. The researchers also found that written comprehension skills and cognitive abilities alone play a limited role in explaining success, since the impacts of these variables are apparent throughout a student’s educational career (and not just in higher education). Another finding was that subject choice based on specific career aspirations is an important factor associated with success – a significant insight which qualifies the impact of educational background.

Résumé

Facteurs sociaux, éducatifs et cognitifs de succès pendant la première année universitaire : étude de cas – La présente étude, qui évalue un échantillon d’étudiants inscrits en première année 2010-2011 à l’université de Bourgogne (France), a pour objet de cerner les facteurs déterminant la réussite de la première année universitaire. L’originalité de cette recherche réside dans la prise en compte, dans le cadre des modèles explicatifs du niveau d’instruction, d’indicateurs spécifiques sur les compétences que possèdent les nouveaux étudiants. Ces indicateurs comprennent la mesure des performances intellectuelles (compréhension écrite) et des capacités cognitives. Si l’impact des capacités cognitives sur la réussite scolaire est examiné en France au niveau primaire, la présente étude est une des premières à en faire de même au niveau supérieur, en intégrant en outre le contexte éducatif et social des étudiants. Les résultats révèlent l’impact significatif sur la réussite du contexte éducatif (années de redoublement, type de baccalauréat et note obtenue à celui-ci). Les chercheurs constatent en outre que la compréhension écrite et les capacités cognitives jouent à elles seules un rôle limité dans l’explication de la réussite, puisque l’impact de ces variables est manifeste tout au long du parcours éducatif (et pas seulement au niveau supérieur). Il apparaît par ailleurs que le choix de la discipline fondé sur des aspirations concrètes de carrière est un facteur important de succès, et constitue une découverte importante qui relativise l’impact du contexte éducatif.

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Notes

  1. All translations from French sources such as this one were prepared by the authors of this paper.

  2. Students in France complete their secondary school cycle by passing a baccalaureate diploma exam (baccalauréat, often abbreviated bac). There are three kinds of bac, namely (1) the baccalauréat général [general baccalaureate, with three subject streams: S (sciences), ES (economic and social studies) and L (literary studies); (2) the baccalauréat technologique [technical baccalaureate, with seven streams: STG (management), STI (industrial studies), STL (scientific an technological laboratory studies), STSS (health and social studies), STAV (agronomy), TMD (music and dance) and Hôtellerie (hotel management)] and (3) the baccalauréat professionnel (vocational baccalaureate) with several streams.

  3. For more information (in English) about CEREQ, see http://www.cereq.fr/index.php/themes/Version-anglaise/A-public-pole-of-expertise.

  4. For more information about OVE, see http://www.ove-national.education.fr/the-ove/presentation.

  5. The DALF test (Diplôme Approfondi en Langue Française) is an advanced-level French language proficiency test. For more information see http://www.ciep.fr/en/delf-prim-delf-delf-junior-version-dalf-diplome-detudes-langue-francaise-diplome-approfondi-langue/dalf-diplome-approfondi-langue-francaise.

  6. The Time-Based Resource Sharing (TBRS) model “accounts for working memory spans in adults […]. [It] assumes that both components (i.e., processing and maintenance) of the main working memory tasks require attention and that memory traces decay as soon as attention is switched away” (Barouillet et al. 2004, p. 83).

  7. American psychologist Michael Posner is known for his research on the role of attention in high-level human tasks such as visual search, reading and number processing.

  8. Originally developed by English psychologist John C. Raven in 1936, this test consists of 60 nonverbal multiple-choice questions designed to measure a person’s reasoning ability (see http://www.raventest.net/).

  9. Guy de Maupassant (1850–1893) is especially renowned for his cleverly-plotted short stories, but he also wrote a number of novels, poems and some travel literature.

  10. The pass mark for the baccalauréat is at 10 out of 20 points. Above that, there are three levels of honours: A result of 12–13.99 points will earn a mention assez bien (honours); 14–15.99 points a mention bien (pass with merit); and 16–20 points a mention très bien (distinction).

  11. Serial reaction time (SRT) investigates cognitive and biological principles of (implicit) learning and memory during a series of repetitive tasks. Complex reaction time (CRT) looks at how people make several decisions about when and how to respond when they are set one complex task.

  12. Model 10 is not presented.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Research in the Sociology and Economics of Education (IREDU), University of Burgundy, Dijon, France

    Sophie Morlaix & Bruno Suchaut

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  1. Sophie Morlaix
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  2. Bruno Suchaut
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Correspondence to Sophie Morlaix.

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Morlaix, S., Suchaut, B. The social, educational and cognitive factors of success in the first year of university: A case study. Int Rev Educ 60, 841–862 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-014-9459-4

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