An examination of undergraduates’ perceptions on faculty members’ and institutional support and its effects on their appreciation of scientific skills and research endeavors

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship among undergraduate students’ perception of faculty members’ and institutional support, undergraduate students’ appreciation of scientific skills and undergraduate students’ research endeavors.Design/methodology/approachA structural model was calculated to relate the variables. The sample included 1,882 undergraduate students from a State University located in the Southeast of Mexico. Undergraduate students came from different fields, and all of them that had taken at least 60 percent of their curricular credits.FindingsThe structural model suggests that faculty members’ and institutional support are positively related to undergraduate students’ appreciation of scientific skills and undergraduate students’ research endeavors. The findings suggest faculty members’ and institutional support are key factors to develop scientific research in undergraduate students. Therefore, the researchers argue that science programs taught in Mexican colleges and universities must endorse supportive practices among faculty members and institutions.Research limitations/implicationsThe cross-sectional design does not allow to set clear causal relationships among the explored variables. In addition, the sample included only one public university. Thus, further empirical research with research participants from different universities across the country is suggested. These improvements may enhance the strength of the proposed theoretical model.Practical implicationsCurrently, there are a plethora of studies looking at students’ attitudes toward science. Those studies have also discussed the conditions and contexts that influence research practice among undergraduate students. Nonetheless, there are no studies known by the authors that include the set of variables and relationships considered in the present study.Originality/valueDespite the plethora of studies looking at several conditions and contexts influencing undergraduate students’ attitudes toward science, no studies known by the authors have included the set of variables and relationships considered in the present study.