Exploring Academic Performance in Latin America: A Panoramic and Systematic Review of the Literature

Abstract

Recent literature has consolidated the study of academic performance as a key interdisciplinary field for understanding both learning and student well-being in higher education. In Latin America, approaches have evolved from cognitive models toward integrative perspectives that combine psychological, pedagogical, technological, and socioeconomic factors. Through a scoping review of twelve articles indexed in Scopus and Web of Science between 2015 and 2025, four predominant paradigms were identified: predictive, psychoeducational, socioeconomic-contextual, and collaborative pedagogical. The results reveal a growing trend toward the use of mixed methodologies, artificial intelligence models, and learning analytics, along with humanistic theories that prioritize motivation, self-regulation, and educational equity. It is concluded that academic performance is a multidimensional and dynamic phenomenon, whose study requires integrating empirical evidence with a broader understanding of the human and social context of university learning.