Student Perspectives on Academic Difficulties in Human Anatomy within Health Sciences Programmes at a Private Chilean University
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.19083/ridu.2026.2549Keywords:
Human anatomy, academic difficulties, higher education, student voice, academic persistenceAbstract
Introduction: Courses with high failure rates represent a persistent challenge in higher education due to their impact on students’ academic trajectories and retention. These courses, commonly associated with high levels of academic demand, methodological difficulties, or misalignments between teaching practices and students’ expectations, raise concerns at the institutional level. Objective: To understand, from a situated perspective, the experiences and meanings that students attribute to the factors hindering their academic performance in the Human Anatomy course, analyzing the interaction between pedagogical, personal, and contextual dimensions within a course characterized by high failure rates. Method: A qualitative, phenomenological study was conducted. The voluntary sample consisted of 80 students enrolled in the Human Anatomy course during the first semester of 2025 at a private university in Viña del Mar, Chile. Data were collected using an online questionnaire comprising six non-dichotomous open-ended questions. Results: The factors hindering academic achievement were diverse and were grouped into pedagogical, personal, and contextual dimensions. Key issues included the misalignment between teaching practices and students’ learning needs, content overload, and insufficient instructional support. Discussion: The findings highlight the need to reconsider pedagogical and institutional strategies, positioning student voice as a central element for strengthening the quality of professional education.
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