ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we present evidence that emerged from data collected during the year 2000 by the Permanent Observatory for Teaching and Learning Quality of the University of Algarve. Data presented here will refer exclusively to students’ representations of the institution, themselves, their teachers and the curriculum, since we consider that students are the privileged informants about their own academic experience. The main topic explored refers to students’ evaluation of the influence of academic motivation on the decision to drop out from university. The theoretical framework will also be presented.
