From ABC’s to 3P’s (and a couple of T’s): Exploring Factors Affecting Student Learning in Higher Education and the Need for an Updated Educational Framework

Higher education is a challenging landscape to investigate, as it encompasses a diverse range of student backgrounds and requires a focus on developing metacognitive thinking skills, creating effective learning environments, and promoting student engagement and motivation. Over the years, various frameworks have been developed to describe the learning experiences and processes of higher education students. However, the rapidly changing nature of the 21st century demands that educational researchers and universities re-evaluate the established teaching and learning frameworks. This has become especially clear during the COVID-19 pandemic, where the sudden shift to online learning has highlighted the need for flexible and adaptable approaches to education. As we move forward, it is essential to continue to examine and develop effective frameworks that can support students in navigating the challenges of higher education and beyond. Three of the studies presented as part of this PhD have been published as journal papers or book chapters, while the other two are under review. In addition to the main chapter publications, several other publications have been submitted to various international journals evaluating current frameworks and providing suggestions for alternative interventions. This PhD aims to explore several factors that influence student learning promoting a revision to the well-established educational framework of Biggs’ (1993) 3P model. Despite its age this model continues to be widely used in higher education, emphasising the importance of three factors: presage, process, and product when considering the factors that affect student outcomes. The aim and the rationale of this PhD, along with a broader discussion on the widely used Higher Education frameworks are presented in the introduction, while an adapted model (3P2T) is proposed in the discussion. Each of the studies presented is related to either one or a combination of Biggs’ (1993) three factors affecting student outcomes. Specifically, study one explores the impact of prior learning and knowledge on student academic performance. This study explored the effects of prior knowledge on first-year Psychology students' academic achievements through ordinal regressions and correlations. In order to explore the role of digital learning tools in Higher Education and their potential benefits during disruptive events for learning (i.e., industrial strikes), study two compares students' Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) behaviour across three consecutive first-year undergraduate Psychology cohorts, in which one year was impacted by industrial strikes. Next, study three, empirically explores the relationship between students' learning approaches, metacognition, and academic performance using longitudinally collected data. Results suggest that a further investigation of these and other factors affecting student outcomes should be explored. Study four does exactly this and presents a new questionnaire, adapting items from the widely used Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ; Pintrich et al., 1991) including three new key themes of course utility, procrastination, and use of diverse sources and test anxiety. Finally, the last study, study five, qualitatively explores the multiple transitions that students undergo as they move from secondary to tertiary education (University), including changes in education, student socialisation, and emotions. Students arrive with expectations about their University experience, based on their understanding of what it means to study at this level, and the interviews explore how these expectations manifest and change throughout their degree. The study used thematic analysis to identify five key themes that shape students' experiences: prior experience, adjustment to university, staff relationships, the experience of studying, and future plans. Overall, the five studies employed various qualitative, quantitative, and analytical research methods in order to investigate how current Higher Education changes may affect student learning experience across different stages over their degree. The main findings of this research project argue that the need of an updated version of well-established educational frameworks (i.e., Biggs’ 1993 3P model) is necessary. Such necessity is driven by the changes in University learning processes, student expectations and engagement, use of learning technologies, and the demographic pool now entering Higher Education. The research findings suggest that educational policymakers and University teachers should consider factors such as digital learning tools, diverse populations, and new teaching and learning methodologies to ensure the continuation of educational framework relevance and usefulness. Applying this consideration will guide the design and delivery of Higher Education, allowing teachers to tailor their approaches to meet the needs of ever growing and diversifying range of students