Be(com)ing an excelent student: a qualitative study with engineering undergraduates

Abstract

This study explores the factors affecting the development of academic excellence on a group of 33 high-achieving engineering students. Participants were interviewed individually to explore several personal and contextual aspects of their past and current academic pathways. The results obtained reflect three main contributions to the conceptualization and understanding of excellence in academic contexts: the need to adopt a multidimensional and dynamic view about the concept of excellence; the existence of a variety of possible pathways and environmental conditions to achieve excellence; and the understanding of excellence as a process undergoing continuous development, which thrives within the family context and school environment, and that seems to be continuously nurtured by individuals in interaction with their contexts.