Percepción del impacto del examen nacional para la educación superior en estudiantes de la Facultad de Psicología

Abstract

This thesis describes the perception of the impact of the National Exam for Higher Education (ENES) among students of Psychology. It is based on a quantitative, non-experimental, transversal study of descriptive scope. The research was conducted among students between 18 and 38 years old (and 22.05 years old, on average) and who are pursuing the degree and are between the first and the ninth semester of their studies (63.60% female, 36.40% male) in different specializations: Educational Psychology (17.11%), Clinical Psychology (53.53%), and Social Psychology (29.36%). A questionnaire was applied, which was divided in several parts: 1) a section on socio-economic backgrounds; 2) a section on general information on the ENES and on the National System of Leveling and Admissions; 3) a section on academic satisfaction; and 4) a section on students’ motivation to pursue a degree in Psychology. The results show that 29.7% of respondents would drop Psychology and change majors if given the chance, as well as that 17% would have preferred to study majors related to Health, such as Medicine or Dentistry. As for academic satisfaction, the students who were the least satisfied found fault with the general, institutional services, i.e. with the administrative and infrastructural aspects of their college life. Finally, 55% of the students who chose Psychology as their major made their selection on the basis of a wish to overcome their affective, personal problems. In conclusion, there are different perceptions on the impact of the ENES among respondents: some think it is a good instrument to promote people based on merit and on their talents for a future scholarly career, whereas others see the test as a method to restrict access to public universities and, thus, to exclude people or to significantly restrict their majoring options.