How does it feel to be evaluated? A systemic look at postgraduate students

Abstract

The structural constellation, applicable to education, was used to test the hypothesis that postgraduate students do not have difficulties to be evaluated. To test this hypothesis, the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire (World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument abbreviated) was applied to 36 students of the Postgraduate Program in Agronomy of the Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, on the first and last days of the school semester of 2017. Half of these students spontaneously accepted to participate in the constellation and responded to two systemic questionnaires, one at the beginning and the other at the end of the semester. During the first month of classes, the 18 students were submitted to the nine squares of the structural constellation technique. At the beginning of the semester, the two groups presented the same quality of life profile. After the constellation, the desire of the 18 students to increase their comfort during the assessments was achieved. In addition, the constellation improved the quality of life of the treated group, regarding the psychological and the environment domains. Another important aspect was the positive correlation between the desire of greater comfort during the assessments and the social domain, before the constellation, and with the psychological domain after the constellation. Knowing that the two groups were initially equal and that the quality of life was improved for the group that participated in the constellation, we hope that this type of therapy can help students to look at the evaluation process with more self-confidence and tranquility, which may improve their academic performance.