Fatores preditores do desempenho académico: motivação, satisfação e autoeficácia

Based on the assumption that the academic performance of the higher education student can be explained by psychological factors, namely their motivational state, satisfaction and self-efficacy, it was defined as a general research objective the study of the relationship between academic motivation, satisfaction with higher education and self-efficacy in higher education and its repercussion on student academic performance. This research is developed according to a quantitative methodology involving two samples of undergraduate students and integrated master's degree in Portuguese higher education: the sample A consists of 1344 students and the sample B consists of 1343 students. Based on the formulation of a proposed theoretical model, involving academic motivation, satisfaction with the training, self-efficacy in the formation and academic performance of the student, the adjustment was made in sample A, based on a Structural Equation Modelling methodology (SEM) and subsequent validation in an independent sample, sample B. The results obtained reveal the validity and reliability of the proposed theoretical model, demonstrating that the academic motivation of the student and his satisfaction with the training exercise the function of mediators between the self-efficacy in the formation and its academic performance. It was verified that self-efficacy in the training positively influences the academic performance of the student and, also, his academic motivation and satisfaction with the training. In turn, it was also verified that the motivation and satisfaction of the student positively influence his academic performance, emphasizing that the motivation positively influences the satisfaction. In this way, higher education institutions can improve the student's academic performance based on the improvement of their self-efficacy, motivational state, and satisfaction.