Relación entre los tipos de costos percibidos y el afrontamiento de tareas desafiantes en estudiantes universitarios chilenos.
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Date
2025
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Universidad de Concepción
Abstract
La transición a la educación superior expone a los estudiantes a demandas académicas que pueden afectar su motivación y rendimiento, especialmente cuando enfrentan tareas desafiantes cuyo afrontamiento depende de cómo evalúan distintos tipos de costos, un aspecto poco explorado por la literatura pese al énfasis de la Teoría Expectativa-Valor Situada (SEVT) en su naturaleza dinámica y contextual. Estas dificultades no solo repercuten en el desempeño estudiantil, sino que también generan impactos relevantes para las instituciones, aumentando la probabilidad de reprobación y por consecuencia la tasa de deserción indicador clave de eficiencia interna y sostenibilidad financiera. Este fenómeno implica no solo la pérdida de ingresos proyectados, sino también la necesidad de destinar recursos adicionales a estrategias de apoyo y retención estudiantil.
Este estudio tuvo como objetivo analizar cómo los distintos costos percibidos (esfuerzo, esfuerzo externo, oportunidad y emocional) se relacionan con la percepción de tareas desafiantes en estudiantes universitarios chilenos. Se aplicó un diseño cuantitativo correlacional y transversal a una muestra no probabilística de 851 estudiantes de ocho carreras, utilizando instrumentos validados para medir costos y una escala diseñada para evaluar atributos de la tarea desafiante.
Los análisis incluyeron estadísticas descriptivas, correlaciones de Pearson, clustering Fuzzy C-Means y ANOVA. Los resultados muestran asociaciones positivas y significativas entre todas las dimensiones del costo y las percepciones de dificultad y desmotivación de la tarea, destacando el costo de esfuerzo (𝜌 = 0,446) como el predictor de mayor magnitud, seguido por el costo emocional (𝜌=0,443). El análisis de perfiles reveló cuatro grupos diferenciados: “Desafío Abrumador”, “Desafío Bajo Control”, “Desafío Indiferente” y “Desafío Emocionalmente Demandante” los cuales reflejan configuraciones motivacionales distintas y coherentes con la SEVT, indicando que los estudiantes no afrontan las tareas de manera homogénea. Además, los ANOVA mostraron que estos perfiles se asocian con indicadores académicos como reprobación de ramos y promedio de notas, aunque tales relaciones se modifican cuando se incorpora el área disciplinar, lo que confirma el carácter situado del modelo.
En conjunto, los hallazgos evidencian que los costos percibidos constituyen un componente crítico para comprender el afrontamiento académico y pueden orientar estrategias institucionales de apoyo y retención estudiantil.
The transition to higher education exposes students to academic demands that can affect their motivation and performance, particularly when they face challenging tasks whose engagement depends on how they evaluate different types of perceived costs, an aspect still underexplored despite the Situated Expectancy-Value Theory (SEVT) emphasizing its dynamic and contextual nature. These difficulties not only affect individual performance but also generate institutional impacts by increasing the likelihood of course failure and, consequently, student dropout, a key indicator of internal efficiency and financial sustainability. This phenomenon implies not only the loss of projected revenue but also the need to allocate additional resources to student support and retention strategies. This study aimed to analyze how different perceived costs (effort, external effort, opportunity, and emotional cost) relate to students’ perceptions of challenging tasks among Chilean university students. A quantitative, correlational, cross-sectional design was applied to a non-probabilistic sample of 851 students from eight academic programs, using validated instruments to assess perceived costs and a scale designed to evaluate attributes of challenging tasks. Analyses included descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, Fuzzy C-Means clustering, and ANOVA. Results showed positive and significant associations between all cost dimensions and the perception of task difficulty and task aversion, with effort cost (𝜌 = 0.446) emerging as the strongest predictor, followed closely by emotional cost (𝜌 = 0.443). The profile analysis identified four differentiated groups: “Overwhelmed Challenge,” “Challenge Under Control,” “Indifferent Challenge,” and “Emotionally Demanding Challenge” reflecting distinct motivational configurations consistent with SEVT, indicating that students do not approach challenging tasks uniformly. Furthermore, ANOVA results revealed that these profiles are associated with academic indicators such as course failure and grade point average, although these relationships shift when disciplinary area is considered, confirming the situated character of the model. Overall, the findings demonstrate that perceived costs constitute a critical component for understanding academic engagement and can inform institutional strategies for student support and retention.
The transition to higher education exposes students to academic demands that can affect their motivation and performance, particularly when they face challenging tasks whose engagement depends on how they evaluate different types of perceived costs, an aspect still underexplored despite the Situated Expectancy-Value Theory (SEVT) emphasizing its dynamic and contextual nature. These difficulties not only affect individual performance but also generate institutional impacts by increasing the likelihood of course failure and, consequently, student dropout, a key indicator of internal efficiency and financial sustainability. This phenomenon implies not only the loss of projected revenue but also the need to allocate additional resources to student support and retention strategies. This study aimed to analyze how different perceived costs (effort, external effort, opportunity, and emotional cost) relate to students’ perceptions of challenging tasks among Chilean university students. A quantitative, correlational, cross-sectional design was applied to a non-probabilistic sample of 851 students from eight academic programs, using validated instruments to assess perceived costs and a scale designed to evaluate attributes of challenging tasks. Analyses included descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, Fuzzy C-Means clustering, and ANOVA. Results showed positive and significant associations between all cost dimensions and the perception of task difficulty and task aversion, with effort cost (𝜌 = 0.446) emerging as the strongest predictor, followed closely by emotional cost (𝜌 = 0.443). The profile analysis identified four differentiated groups: “Overwhelmed Challenge,” “Challenge Under Control,” “Indifferent Challenge,” and “Emotionally Demanding Challenge” reflecting distinct motivational configurations consistent with SEVT, indicating that students do not approach challenging tasks uniformly. Furthermore, ANOVA results revealed that these profiles are associated with academic indicators such as course failure and grade point average, although these relationships shift when disciplinary area is considered, confirming the situated character of the model. Overall, the findings demonstrate that perceived costs constitute a critical component for understanding academic engagement and can inform institutional strategies for student support and retention.
Description
Tesis presentada para optar al título de Ingeniero/a Civil Industrial.
Keywords
Estudiantes universitarios Chile, Costos universitarios, Educación superior