Med tvivlen som følgesvend: En analyse af omfang af og kilder til studietvivl blandt studerende

Resumé

De senere års uddannelsespolitiske initiativer har belønnet studerende, der er hurtige til at vælge en videregående uddannelse, og som holder fast i den uddannelse, de nu engang har valgt. At vælge uddannelse er imidlertid ledsaget af tvivl, og nyere dansk forskning har vist, at studerende vedvarende forhandler deres position på uddannelsen. I dette studie undersøgte vi, hvor stor en andel af aktive universitetsstuderende, der stadig var i tvivl om deres valg af studie, og vi undersøgte baggrunden for denne tvivl. På baggrund af en kvantitativ analyse af svar fra 4.339 studerende på Aarhus School of Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus Universitet, fandt vi, at en tredjedel af de studerende, selv efter optagelse på deres uddannelse, stadig var i tvivl om, hvorvidt de havde valgt det rigtige studie, og at dette gjaldt for førsteårsstuderende såvel som for studerende på femte år. Analysen viste yderligere, at studietvivl var mere udbredt blandt studerende, som havde (i) svært ved at se det interessante og relevante i fagene; (ii) lav tiltro til egne akademisk evner; (iii) opnået lave karakterer ved forudgående eksamener på universitetet. I artiklens perspektivering diskuterer vi, hvorvidt studietvivl må betragtes som et almindeligt og uproblematisk studie- og livsvilkår eller, om studietvivl må antages at være problematisk. Recent reforms of the Danish education system tend to favour those students who are quick to decide what higher education course they want to study and then stick to their decision. However, research has shown that the process of course selection and completion is not always linear and that students continuously negotiate their position in their study programme. In this study we examined how current university students experienced doubt about their choice of programme, and we examined the context surrounding this doubt. Based on a quantitative analysis of answers from 4339 students at the Aarhus School of Business and Social Sciences, we found that one third of students, even after enrolment in the university, had doubts about their choice of study programme. This was true for first-year students as well as students in their fifth year. Furthermore, the analysis showed that those students who (i) had difficulties finding interest and relevance in their study programme, (ii) had low confidence in their own academic abilities or (iii) had achieved low marks in previous exams at the university, were the most likely to be uncertain about their choice of course. We discuss whether having doubts about a chosen area of study once the programme has started can be considered a normal and unproblematic process in student development, or whether it should be considered problematic.