{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,19]],"date-time":"2026-01-19T14:16:39Z","timestamp":1768832199547,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":18,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,24]],"date-time":"2023-07-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1690156800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Education Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Becoming a student, i.e., learning a set of new skills and lifestyles is an inevitable task for young people joining higher education (HE). Using Perrenoud\u2019s (1995) conceptualization of the student\u2019s role as a theoretical framework, this paper intends to reflect on the construction of students\u2019 identities and its repercussions on their academic success through analysis of the discourse between HE students. How students try to intertwine their personal lives with the demands of their new roles as higher education students is also discussed. Qualitative data analysis was conducted using semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 30 engineering students. Our analysis of the results confirmed that attending HE can indeed be conceptualized as the exercise of a \u201ccraft\u201d. This craft could be taught in different ways, with more or less success, in the light of the construction of one\u2019s own social identity with more focus on either their role as student or their role as a young person. The results allow for the emergence of a conceptual framework which, crossing the investment in their social role as students with academic success, brings out distinctive dimensions: \u201cLive to Study\u201d, \u201cStudy to Live\u201d, \u201cStudy without living\u201d and \u201cLive without study\u201d. These dimensions provide four major student profiles that can advise the management of higher education institutions to strategically take actions to promote not only student success, but also the pedagogic efficiency of their educational programs.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/educsci13070758","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,25]],"date-time":"2023-07-25T01:32:10Z","timestamp":1690248730000},"page":"758","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Study to Live or Live to Study: The Link between Social Role Investment and Academic Success in First-Year Higher Education Students"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2067-5243","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Diana","family":"Dias","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Lus\u00f3fona University, School of Economic and Organizational Sciences,  1749-024 Lisboa, Portugal & CIPES Research Centre"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3467-6204","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gina","family":"Santos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Lus\u00f3fona University, Faculty of Economic, Social and Business Sciences, 4000-098 Porto, Portugal & CETRAD Research Centre"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"240","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cedpsych.2012.01.003","article-title":"Identity Formation in Educational Settings: A Contextualized View of Theory and Research in Practice","volume":"37","author":"Flum","year":"2012","journal-title":"Contemp. Educ. Psychol."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Perrenoud, P. (1995). Of\u00edcio de Aluno e Sentido do Trabalho Escolar, Colec\u00e7\u00e3o Ci\u00eancias da Educa\u00e7\u00e3o, Porto Editora."},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"Adelson, J. (1980). Handbook of Adolescent Psychology, Wiley & Sons."},{"key":"ref_4","unstructured":"Erikson, E. (1968). Identity: Youth and Crisis, Norton."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"78","DOI":"10.1007\/s10964-005-9019-0","article-title":"Psychosocial Resources in First-Year University Students: The Role of Identity Processes and Social Relationships","volume":"35","author":"Adams","year":"2006","journal-title":"J. Youth Adolesc."},{"key":"ref_6","unstructured":"Dubar, C. (1997). A Socializa\u00e7\u00e3o: Constru\u00e7\u00e3o de Identidades Sociais e de Identidades Profissionais, Porto Editora."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2696","DOI":"10.1080\/03075079.2020.1767049","article-title":"\u201cYou\u2019re Thrown in the Deep End\u201d: Adult Learner Identity Formation in Higher Education","volume":"46","author":"Brunton","year":"2020","journal-title":"Stud. High. Educ."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Dias, D. (2023). Engineering Learning Outcomes: The Possible Balance between the Passion and the Profession. Soc. Sci., 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/socsci12010037"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1050","DOI":"10.1080\/03043797.2022.2113368","article-title":"Students strategies to survive the academic transition: Recycling skills, reshaping minds","volume":"47","author":"Dias","year":"2022","journal-title":"Eur. J. Eng. 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Estigma: Notas sobre a Manipula\u00e7\u00e3o da Identidade Deteriorada, Guanabara Koogan."}],"container-title":["Education Sciences"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2227-7102\/13\/7\/758\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T20:18:04Z","timestamp":1760127484000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2227-7102\/13\/7\/758"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,24]]},"references-count":18,"journal-issue":{"issue":"7","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,7]]}},"alternative-id":["educsci13070758"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/educsci13070758","relation":{},"ISSN":["2227-7102"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2227-7102","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,24]]}}}