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Enrollment to Exams: Perceived Stress Dynamics among First-Year Physics Students

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Title: Enrollment to Exams: Perceived Stress Dynamics among First-Year Physics Students
Language: English
Authors: Simon Zacharias Lahme (ORCID 0000-0002-7251-8832), Jasper Ole Cirkel (ORCID 0000-0001-6160-0964), Larissa Hahn (ORCID 0000-0002-5864-1594), Julia Hofmann (ORCID 0009-0005-3565-5343), Josefine Neuhaus (ORCID 0000-0003-1440-1588), Susanne Schneider (ORCID 0000-0003-4774-2290), Pascal Klein (ORCID 0000-0003-3023-1478)
Source: Physical Review Physics Education Research. 2024 20(2).
Availability: American Physical Society. One Physics Ellipse 4th Floor, College Park, MD 20740-3844. Tel: 301-209-3200; Fax: 301-209-0865; e-mail: assocpub@aps.org; Web site: https://journals.aps.org/prper/
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 28
Publication Date: 2024
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Physics, Science Instruction, Science Tests, Stress Variables, Foreign Countries, Student Attitudes, Dropouts, Undergraduate Students, Vacations, Intervention, Scores, Correlation, Laboratory Experiments, Test Preparation
Geographic Terms: Germany
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.20.020127
ISSN: 2469-9896
Abstract: The current dropout rate in physics studies in Germany is about 60%, with the majority of dropouts occurring in the first year. Consequently, the physics study entry phase poses a significant challenge for many students. Students' stress perceptions can provide more profound insights into the processes and challenges during that period. In a panel study featuring 67 measuring points involving up to 128 participants at each point, we investigated students' stress perceptions with the perceived stress questionnaire (PSQ), identified underlying sources of stress, and assessed self-estimated workloads across two different cohorts. This examination occurred almost every week during the first semester, and for one cohort also in the second semester, yielding a total of 3241 PSQ data points and 5823 stressors. The PSQ data indicate a consistent stress trajectory across all three groups studied that is characterized by significant dynamics between measuring points, spanning from M=20.1, S?D=15.9 to M=63.6, S?D=13.4 on a scale from 0 to 100. Stress levels rise in the first weeks of the lecture, followed by stable, elevated stress levels until the exams and a relaxation phase afterward during the lecture-free time and Christmas vacation. In the first half of the lecture period, students primarily indicated the weekly exercise sheets, the physics lab course, and math courses as stressors; later on, preparation for exams and the exams themselves emerged as the most important stressors. Together with the students' self-estimated workloads that correlate with the PSQ scores, we can create a coherent picture of stress perceptions among first-year physics students, which builds the basis for supportive measures and interventions.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2024
Accession Number: EJ1453739
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Enrollment to Exams: Perceived Stress Dynamics among First-Year Physics Students
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Simon+Zacharias+Lahme%22">Simon Zacharias Lahme</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7251-8832">0000-0002-7251-8832</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jasper+Ole+Cirkel%22">Jasper Ole Cirkel</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6160-0964">0000-0001-6160-0964</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Larissa+Hahn%22">Larissa Hahn</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5864-1594">0000-0002-5864-1594</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Julia+Hofmann%22">Julia Hofmann</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0009-0005-3565-5343">0009-0005-3565-5343</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Josefine+Neuhaus%22">Josefine Neuhaus</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1440-1588">0000-0003-1440-1588</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Susanne+Schneider%22">Susanne Schneider</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4774-2290">0000-0003-4774-2290</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Pascal+Klein%22">Pascal Klein</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3023-1478">0000-0003-3023-1478</externalLink>)
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  Data: American Physical Society. One Physics Ellipse 4th Floor, College Park, MD 20740-3844. Tel: 301-209-3200; Fax: 301-209-0865; e-mail: assocpub@aps.org; Web site: https://journals.aps.org/prper/
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  Data: 28
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Physics%22">Physics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Science+Instruction%22">Science Instruction</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Science+Tests%22">Science Tests</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Stress+Variables%22">Stress Variables</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Attitudes%22">Student Attitudes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Dropouts%22">Dropouts</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Undergraduate+Students%22">Undergraduate Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Vacations%22">Vacations</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Intervention%22">Intervention</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Scores%22">Scores</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Correlation%22">Correlation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Laboratory+Experiments%22">Laboratory Experiments</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Test+Preparation%22">Test Preparation</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Germany%22">Germany</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.20.020127
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  Data: 2469-9896
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  Data: The current dropout rate in physics studies in Germany is about 60%, with the majority of dropouts occurring in the first year. Consequently, the physics study entry phase poses a significant challenge for many students. Students' stress perceptions can provide more profound insights into the processes and challenges during that period. In a panel study featuring 67 measuring points involving up to 128 participants at each point, we investigated students' stress perceptions with the perceived stress questionnaire (PSQ), identified underlying sources of stress, and assessed self-estimated workloads across two different cohorts. This examination occurred almost every week during the first semester, and for one cohort also in the second semester, yielding a total of 3241 PSQ data points and 5823 stressors. The PSQ data indicate a consistent stress trajectory across all three groups studied that is characterized by significant dynamics between measuring points, spanning from M=20.1, S?D=15.9 to M=63.6, S?D=13.4 on a scale from 0 to 100. Stress levels rise in the first weeks of the lecture, followed by stable, elevated stress levels until the exams and a relaxation phase afterward during the lecture-free time and Christmas vacation. In the first half of the lecture period, students primarily indicated the weekly exercise sheets, the physics lab course, and math courses as stressors; later on, preparation for exams and the exams themselves emerged as the most important stressors. Together with the students' self-estimated workloads that correlate with the PSQ scores, we can create a coherent picture of stress perceptions among first-year physics students, which builds the basis for supportive measures and interventions.
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  Data: 2024
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        Value: 10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.20.020127
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      – SubjectFull: Science Instruction
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      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
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      – SubjectFull: Student Attitudes
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      – SubjectFull: Germany
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