Academic Progress, Coping Strategies and Psychological Distress among Teacher Education Students

Abstract

Academic performance among university students is a fundamental factor in the analysis of quality of higher education. Despite the large volume of research on academic performance, there are no conclusive results regarding the influence of some variables on it. While some studies find differences attributable to gender, age, or psychological factors, such as coping strategies, others conclude that they are inexistent or insignificant. This article seeks to deepen about how these variables influence the academic performance of trainee primary-school teachers. Educational improvements in a society are only possible if teacher training guarantees a high qualification of its teachers. In this article we analyze academic progress in a sample of 136 students and the effect of gender, age and coping strategies and psychological symptoms. From the data analysis it can be concluded that all the analyzed variables cause differences in academic performance in teacher students. Therefore, it will be necessary to establish improvement plans for this degree that meet these conditions.