Development and validation of an instrument to collect students’ perceptions of upper secondary education programmes

This article details the design and validation of the Students’ Perceptions of Upper Secondary Education Programmes (SPUSEP) instrument, developed to explore Portuguese students’ experiences of transitioning into upper secondary education. The instrument was developed based on a literature review a...

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Main Author: Ana Cristina Torres
Format: Article
Language:Catalan
Published: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona 2025-07-01
Series:Educar
Subjects:
Online Access:https://educar.uab.cat/article/view/2365
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author Ana Cristina Torres
author_facet Ana Cristina Torres
author_sort Ana Cristina Torres
collection DOAJ
description This article details the design and validation of the Students’ Perceptions of Upper Secondary Education Programmes (SPUSEP) instrument, developed to explore Portuguese students’ experiences of transitioning into upper secondary education. The instrument was developed based on a literature review and focus group discussions with students from four upper secondary schools and was tested through a pilot study with 185 students attending the 1st year of upper secondary level in these schools. Reliability and validity were assessed using Cronbach’s alpha and a Principal Component Analysis. Furthermore, an independent sample T-test was conducted to examine differences between students in scientifichumanistic and VET programmes, as well as between general and VET schools. The results confirm that SPUSEP is a robust and reliable tool for gathering insights into students’ perceptions of upper secondary education programmes. It captures effectively the various perceptions of different pathways, including concerns about course load, degree of subject choice and learning experiences. SPUSEP can support discussions about and reforms of upper secondary education programmes at institutional, local or system levels, to promote more informed and student-centred educational improvements.
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publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
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spelling doaj-art-a85dd8e86d2d4928b000ff46c37e3e282025-07-31T07:15:14ZcatUniversitat Autònoma de BarcelonaEducar0211-819X2014-88012025-07-0161210.5565/rev/educar.2365Development and validation of an instrument to collect students’ perceptions of upper secondary education programmesAna Cristina Torres0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9068-1203CIIE - Centro de Investigação e Intervenção Educativas, FPCEUP, Universidade do Porto This article details the design and validation of the Students’ Perceptions of Upper Secondary Education Programmes (SPUSEP) instrument, developed to explore Portuguese students’ experiences of transitioning into upper secondary education. The instrument was developed based on a literature review and focus group discussions with students from four upper secondary schools and was tested through a pilot study with 185 students attending the 1st year of upper secondary level in these schools. Reliability and validity were assessed using Cronbach’s alpha and a Principal Component Analysis. Furthermore, an independent sample T-test was conducted to examine differences between students in scientifichumanistic and VET programmes, as well as between general and VET schools. The results confirm that SPUSEP is a robust and reliable tool for gathering insights into students’ perceptions of upper secondary education programmes. It captures effectively the various perceptions of different pathways, including concerns about course load, degree of subject choice and learning experiences. SPUSEP can support discussions about and reforms of upper secondary education programmes at institutional, local or system levels, to promote more informed and student-centred educational improvements. https://educar.uab.cat/article/view/2365upper secondaryvocational educationgeneral educationsurveyeducational transitionsprogramme of education or training
spellingShingle Ana Cristina Torres
Development and validation of an instrument to collect students’ perceptions of upper secondary education programmes
Educar
upper secondary
vocational education
general education
survey
educational transitions
programme of education or training
title Development and validation of an instrument to collect students’ perceptions of upper secondary education programmes
title_full Development and validation of an instrument to collect students’ perceptions of upper secondary education programmes
title_fullStr Development and validation of an instrument to collect students’ perceptions of upper secondary education programmes
title_full_unstemmed Development and validation of an instrument to collect students’ perceptions of upper secondary education programmes
title_short Development and validation of an instrument to collect students’ perceptions of upper secondary education programmes
title_sort development and validation of an instrument to collect students perceptions of upper secondary education programmes
topic upper secondary
vocational education
general education
survey
educational transitions
programme of education or training
url https://educar.uab.cat/article/view/2365
work_keys_str_mv AT anacristinatorres developmentandvalidationofaninstrumenttocollectstudentsperceptionsofuppersecondaryeducationprogrammes