Evaluating Academic Adaptation in Students: A New Technique

Abstract

Evaluation of academic adaptation in students is an important aspect of their incorporation into the educational environment of university. Academic adaptation can be considered a complex multicomponent formation that requires a specially developed tool to measure an individual’s ability to adapt to the educational environment in general. The aim of the research was to develop, validate and standardize a special technique for evaluating academic adaptation in university students. The study involved 419 1—4-year students aged 17—26, with the average age of M=19.6 SD=2.8 (18.4% male). A questionnaire was used to assess socio-demographic characteristics. To assess the academic potential, we used a technique called “Adaptability” by A.G. Maklakov and S.V. Chermenin. We assumed that academic adaptation includes cognitive, emotional, motivational, psychophysiological, communicative and personal components. Our technique includes six scales matching these components and a separate integral scale. In the process of designing the technique we tested its reliability, face, content and convergent validity and standardization. The results of these testing showed that the technique has good psychometric indicators and can be used both for research and applied purposes.