NEYART Magazine
ISSN: 2992-7161
Discussion
The findings of this study offer a critical assessment of the academic routines of first-semester
engineering students. The overall mean of 1.82, which places the group at a low-to-medium level, is
consistent with the regional issue described by Carrillo Vargas and Bravo Bastidas (2022), who associate
deficits in study habits with high dropout rates in Latin America (40% to 70%). This initial level suggests
that students are undergoing a complex transition to higher education without the necessary tools to cope
with the cognitive demands of their program.
One of the most relevant points is the gap between formal compliance and the depth of learning. While
the highest-rated indicator was attention to the order and presentation of assignments (M=2.05), cognitive
processing tasks, such as writing one’s own summaries (M=1.77), were deficient. This phenomenon is
consistent with the results of Biwer et al. (2024) that describe a “habit inertia,” wherein students gravitate
towards superficial processing strategies—even while recognizing they are not optimal: passive
memorization, for example. In this study, for memorization, the means (M=1.98) obtained was prioritized
among the highest scores, reinforcing what is called reactive learning and non-meaningful learning.
Dimension III (Exam Preparation) was the area of greatest weakness (M=1.79), highlighting that 45.5%
of students never finish the material before an assessment. This lack of foresight aligns with the
observations of Walck-Shannon, Rowell, and Frey (2021), who argue that time allocation is more critical
than the total time invested. The improvisation observed in the sample suggests that students have not
adopted spaced repetition practices, a technique that, according to the literature, is key to academic
success regardless of prior preparation.
The low ability to organize tasks by difficulty and time (M=1.68) can be interpreted in light of the
transformations documented by George-Reyes et al. (2023). Following the COVID-19 pandemic, self-
management in virtual environments has become a greater challenge for college students. The results
indicate that the group has not yet managed to autonomously regulate their study processes within the
new digital ecosystem, which increases their academic risk.
Finally, although women showed slightly higher means (1.85 vs. 1.80), the homogeneity in the low-to-
medium level of both genders underscores the need for a widespread intervention. As Chilca (2017) points
out, approximately 50% of university students need to modify their study techniques upon entering
college. The data from this study justify the design of psycho-pedagogical programs that not only teach
Issue 4 | Vol. 4 – No. 1 | January – June 2026 |
Página 300
Original Research Article
