Academic Performance in Public Higher Education Institutions: A Study on the Effects of Teacher Commitment, Teaching Methodologies and Evaluation Methodologies in Students attending Nursing and Management Courses

Abstract

The rapid development of science and technology as well as politic, social and economical dynamics which characterize post-modern societies, demand from educational systems a high quality education accessible to all. The main challenge of the XXI century in the educational field is not only to assure that students acquire a wide range of skills which are permanently updated, but also to guarantee the quality of those learning experiences. Consequently, the quality level in education is one of the major concerns of those government leaders, politicians, academics and researchers. This has also been a highly discussed subject in scientific meetings and it has been studied in many educational research programs in the many different countries of the western world. Research results on education quality show a positive relation between student’s academic performance and teaching quality. However, it is necessary to venture further; research on quality indicators is needed in order to understand how students recognize quality in teaching. In order to achieve this, we have developed an exploratory study involving students from different higher education institutions in Portugal. The data was collected using a questionnaire survey and the sample consists of students in different courses from higher education institutions in Alentejo (Portugal). This work shows the analysis of what students in Nursing and Management courses at the University of Évora and Polytechnic Institute of Beja, recognize as tecahing quality in three different domains: teacher commitment, teaching methodologies and evaluation methodologies. The aim of the analysis is to verify the influence of these variables on students’ academic performance.