What Counts as Success? Constructions of Achievement in Prestigious Higher Education Programmes

Autor/inn/en	Nyström, Anne-Sofie; Jackson, Carolyn; Salminen Karlsson, Minna
Titel	What Counts as Success? Constructions of Achievement in Prestigious Higher Education Programmes
Quelle	In: Research Papers in Education, 34 (2019) 4, S.465-482 (18 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Jackson, Carolyn)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0267-1522
DOI	10.1080/02671522.2018.1452964
Schlagwörter	Success; Academic Achievement; Reputation; Student Attitudes; Teacher Attitudes; College Faculty; Legal Education (Professions); Medical Education; Engineering Education; Physics; Expectation; Foreign Countries; Grades (Scholastic); Stress Management; Interpersonal Relationship; High Achievement; Middle Class; Males; Undergraduate Students; Cultural Context; Self Concept; Academic Failure; Professional Identity; College Environment; Masculinity; Academic Ability; Extracurricular Activities; Intellectual Disciplines; Universities; Sweden + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Erfolg; Schulleistung; Schülerverhalten; Lehrerverhalten; Fakultät; Juristischer Beruf; Medizinische Ausbildung; Ingenieurausbildung; Physik; Expectancy; Erwartung; Ausland; Notenspiegel; Stressmanagement; Stressbewältigung; Interpersonal relation; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonelle Beziehung; Zwischenmenschliche Beziehung; Mittelschicht; Male; Männliches Geschlecht; Selbstkonzept; Hochschulumwelt; Männlichkeit; Außerunterrichtliche Aktivität; Geisteswissenschaften; University; Universität; Schweden
Abstract	Academic achievement is regarded an indicator of the success of individuals, schools, universities and countries. 'Success' is typically measured using performance indicators such as test results, completion rates and other objective measures. By contrast, in this article we explore students' subjective understandings and constructions of success, and discourses about 'successful' students in higher education contexts that are renowned for being demanding and pressured. We draw on data from 87 semi-structured interviews with students and staff on law, medicine and engineering physics programmes in a prestigious university in Sweden. We focus particularly upon academic expectations, effort levels, and programme structures and cultures. Achieving top grades while undertaking a range of extracurricular activities was valorised in all contexts. Top grades were especially impressive if they were attained without much effort (especially in engineering physics) or stress (especially in law and medicine); we introduce a new concept of 'stress-less achievement' in relation to the latter. Furthermore, being sociable as well as a high academic achiever signified living a 'good life' and, in law and medicine, professional competence. We discuss the implications of the dominant constructions of success, concluding that (upper) middle-class men are most likely to be read as 'successful students', especially in engineering physics. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01