scholarly journals The power of assessment

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pirjo Pollari
Keyword(s):  
Principal Component Analysis ◽  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Assessment Methods ◽  
Upper Secondary School ◽  
Questionnaire Data ◽  
Upper Secondary

Assessment wields a great deal of power over students. Yet, there is little research on how students, either in general or as individuals, experience assessment. Therefore, this study aimed to explore what disempowers or empowers students in EFL assessment. A total of 146 students from one Finnish upper secondary school answered a questionnaire on assessment and feedback in their EFL studies. The study utilises mixed methods: primarily, the questionnaire data was analysed quantitatively (principal component analysis, step-wise regression analysis), secondarily, qualitative data and analysis were also used. The analyses showed that students reacted to assessment in highly individual ways. While many students appreciated assessment, a significant minority found assessment disempowering. Assessment caused them considerable anxiety and they did not consider assessment methods good and versatile enough. Furthermore, feedback played a role in assessment disempowerment. Therefore, EFL assessment and feedback methods should be more versatile in order to also cater for those students who currently may feel disempowered by assessment.

scholarly journals To feed back or to feed forward?

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 11-33
Author(s):  
Pirjo Pollari
Keyword(s):  
Principal Component Analysis ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Upper Secondary School ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Feed Forward ◽  
Language Studies ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Personalised Feedback

Good feedback is a powerful element in learning. Ultimately, however, the impact feedback has on learning depends on how the learner responds to that feedback. So far, foreign or second language studies on feedback have mainly concentrated on different methods of error correction, not on students’ responses to feedback in general. This study aims to find out what students thought of the feedback they had received in their EFL studies. Furthermore, the study seeks to discover students’ different responses to that feedback. The data was gathered using a web-based questionnaire filled out by 140 students. The students, aged 17–19, were all from a single Finnish upper secondary school. The data was analysed mainly quantitatively. The results show that although students were primarily content with their feedback, they wanted more guiding feedback, i.e. more feed forward. They also wanted more personalised feedback as well as feedback that takes place during the learning process, and not only after it. In addition, the varimax-rotated principal component analysis brought out four different responses to feedback. The results indicate that feedback should be more differentiated to support and empower students in their EFL learning better.

scholarly journals A new perspective on adolescent athletes’ transition into upper secondary school: A longitudinal mixed methods study protocol

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1142412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana V. Ryba ◽  
Kaisa Aunola ◽  
Sami Kalaja ◽  
Harri Selänne ◽  
Noora J. Ronkainen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Study Protocol ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Upper Secondary School ◽  
Adolescent Athletes ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
New Perspective

scholarly journals The LA aggression scale for elementary school and upper secondary school students: Examination of psychometric properties of a new multidimensional measure of self- reported aggression

Psihologija ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Kozina
Keyword(s):  
Elementary School ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Upper Secondary School ◽  
School Students ◽  
Upper Secondary

The paper introduces a new multidimensional scale LA (lestvica agresivnosti [Aggression Scale]) for measuring self-reported aggression in elementary and upper secondary school students in Slovenia. The scale has been developed with a special focus on the school setting, using three elementary school samples (preliminary study: N=2777; main study: N=10427 and validity and test-retest study: N=191) representative of 4th and 8th grade students in Slovenia and one upper secondary school sample (N=3253) representative of the final year of upper secondary school in Slovenia. The exploratory analyses using principal component analyses (PCA) revealed a four-factor structure: verbal aggression, physical aggression, internal aggression and aggression towards authority that were interrelated. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) showed that the items of the scale formed four factors that were related to the higher order factor. The structure turned out to be stable over different age groups. The scale demonstrated adequate internal consistency, concurrent validity and test-retest stability.

scholarly journals Being Able to Stay or Learning to Stay: a Study of Rural Boys’ Educational Orientations and Transitions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna-Maria Stenseth ◽  
Unn-Doris K. Bæck
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Education ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Further Education ◽  
Upper Secondary School ◽  
Upper Secondary Education ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Educational Orientations

AbstractThis study explores the influence of geographical location on young pupils’ educational orientations and their transition from lower to upper secondary school; it pays particular attention to the voices of male youths from a rural area. More specifically, it investigates the interplay between gender and geographical contexts and the significance of these factors in understanding the processes associated with educational orientations. Margaret Archer’s framework is used to analyse how pupils’ agency is constrained and/or enabled by objective structures. The data material consists of qualitative interviews with 18 pupils transitioning from lower to upper secondary school in Norway. Each of the pupils was interviewed twice: first when they were in their last year of lower secondary education, and then during their first year of upper secondary education. The findings show that pupils consider geographical locations when making decisions about further education and work. In addition, they believe that education beyond compulsory schooling benefits their life in the rural areas. However, unlike their urban counterparts, pupils from rural areas appear to have a more constraining transition to upper secondary education. Through the analyses in this article, it becomes clear that both geographical location and gender are key factors for understanding processes connected to education.

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