ArticleFEBS open bio2026
Determinants of undergraduate bioscience engagement: Validating attendance barriers and classroom spatial behaviour across institutions.
Article in FEBS open bio, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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5 authors.
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Abstract
Student engagement with in-person teaching remains a key challenge in undergraduate bioscience education, particularly in large-cohort and commuter-dominated contexts. This study evaluates a dual-mechanism framework encompassing macro-level structural determinants influencing attendance and micro-level affective determinants influencing in-class spatial behaviour. Survey data were collected from 891 undergraduate bioscience students across three London universities. Attendance barriers were assessed using ranked-choice responses across 15 pedagogic factors and analysed using weighted priority scores. Seating behaviour was captured through self-reported habitual classroom positioning. Non-parametric analyses examined variation across institutional, commuting, demographic, and health-related variables. Consistent with the hypothesis, attendance was primarily associated with macro-level academic and structural factors, with workload management and reliance on recorded teaching emerging as the highest-priority barriers across all institutions. Institutional differences reflected variation in lecture-capture provision and teaching practices. Journey length was associated with academic readiness barriers, particularly for medium-distance commuters, while demographic characteristics showed limited independent influence once structural factors were considered. In contrast, seating behaviour was strongly associated with micro-level affective factors, particularly social anxiety and sensitivity to crowding. Students reporting these factors tended to select peripheral or low-density areas, with minimal influence from institutional or commuting variables. These findings support a dual-dimensional model in which attendance is shaped by structural conditions, while spatial behaviour reflects sensory and emotional factors, with implications for lecture-capture, timetabling and inclusive learning environments in bioscience teaching.
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