A guest in someone else’s house: On the compatibility between university students and their learning environment

Academic environments are structured in ways that shape how students are expected to think, act, and succeed. While students are often assumed to adapt to these expectations, less attention has been paid to how such structures themselves define the terms of participation and impact students’ sense of fit. This dissertation examines how students’ perceptions of fit with these structures relate to their engagement, fear of failure, sense of belonging, and performance within higher education.
Drawing on theories of person–environment fit and achievement goal orientations, this research investigates how individual characteristics interact with (perceived) learning environments. The findings show that fit is not merely an individual perception but emerges through the interaction between students and structurally embedded expectations.
The results challenge the notion that student success is a matter of individual adjustment. Instead, they highlight the role of institutional practices in shaping who is able to participate with ease and who is required to adapt. By reframing fit as a product of both individual and contextual factors, this dissertation contributes to a more critical understanding of student success in higher education and offers implications for designing learning environments that support a broader range of students.