Online self management training with students: promoting well-being at university

The concept of self-management (SM) was developed in the chronic illness and in the organizational fields. Only recently SM has been used in the academic context. SM refers to the ability to work effectively towards meaningful goals and to be flexible in the face of setbacks. It reflects planning and goal-seeking behavior, resilience behavior and the process of working flexibly towards meaningful personal results. Therefore, SM is an umbrella concept that encompasses the pursuit of transversal key skills useful in the academic path and in the future job context. At the Sinapsi Centre Services for Active and Participated Inclusion of Students of Federico II University Naples an online SM group training was developed for students of each degree and year courses, held on MTeams. The training is composed by six weekly meetings focused on the discussion of four key competences: effectively time management, motivation in one’s training and professional project, strategies for achieving aims and problem solving. In each meeting, a mediation device aimed at supporting the pursuit of each specific competence was delivered to the group. The training began in October 2020 reaching a total of 5 cycles. To assess the efficacy of the training, Academic Performance Inventory, Academic Motivation Scale, General SelfEfficacy and SInAPSi Academic Engagement Scale were administered in pre and post-test phases. T-test for paired samples was performed for all the scales to compare pre and post-test scores. Findings on the preliminary efficacy of the first two training groups showed a statistically significant improvement in general self-efficacy, an improvement in academic performance and positive and consistent style of motivation and academic engagement. The results suggest that the online SM training effectively impacted on the perception of self-efficacy of the participants and, consequently, on the academic achievement.