Supporting Student Learning Needs in Tertiary Education: Institutional Support Structures Based on the Institutional...

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Higher Education Studies

Background:

• Student support is crucial for academic success in tertiary institutions.
• Existing tools like the Learning Needs Questionnaire (LNQ) assess student needs, but a complementary measure for institutional support was lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Institutional Support Questionnaire (ISQ).
• To assess students' psychological perspectives on institutional support for learning.
• To complement the LNQ for resource optimization in tertiary education.

Main Methods:

• Development and validation of the 42-item Institutional Support Questionnaire (ISQ).
• Psychometric analysis to determine the questionnaire's reliability and validity.
• Comparative analysis with the Learning Needs Questionnaire (LNQ).

Main Results:

• The ISQ demonstrated adequate psychometric properties.
• Four key factors of institutional support were identified: academic competency support, teaching practices, tutors' characteristics, and use of technology.
• These factors largely mirrored the factors identified by the LNQ.

Conclusions:

• The ISQ is a valid tool to assess students' perceptions of institutional support.
• Combined use of ISQ and LNQ enables targeted academic support structures in teaching-focused tertiary institutions.
• The study highlights the importance of aligning institutional support with identified student learning needs.