scholarly journals Effects of University Preparation and Engagement on Achievement

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Elizabeth Marie Chinlund
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Study Skills ◽  
School Achievement ◽  
First Year ◽  
University Preparation ◽  
Academic Challenge ◽  
University Degree ◽  
First Year University ◽  
Mainstream Students

<p>This study comprised an investigation of the longitudinal achievement of New Zealand first-year undergraduate students (n=967) who transitioned to their degrees through the Certificate of University Preparation (CUP) programme at Victoria University of Wellington between 2008 and 2012 and the role of preparation and engagement on their achievement. Certain student behaviours, development of study skills, importance of academic challenge, and emphasis on academic support were all correlated with later university achievement. Although engagement is a highly acclaimed concept, its links to achievement were unsubstantiated. Using linear regressions, students' academic perseverance and their achievement in CUP each uniquely predicted first-year university degree programme achievement. CUP students' university achievement was higher than mainstream students with similar secondary school achievement, based on a statistical model of achievement that accounted for the relative difficulty of achieving each result. These findings indicate that the CUP programme was effective in preparing learners to access and achieve in university.</p>

scholarly journals Effects of University Preparation and Engagement on Achievement

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Elizabeth Marie Chinlund
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Study Skills ◽  
School Achievement ◽  
First Year ◽  
University Preparation ◽  
Academic Challenge ◽  
University Degree ◽  
First Year University ◽  
Mainstream Students

<p>This study comprised an investigation of the longitudinal achievement of New Zealand first-year undergraduate students (n=967) who transitioned to their degrees through the Certificate of University Preparation (CUP) programme at Victoria University of Wellington between 2008 and 2012 and the role of preparation and engagement on their achievement. Certain student behaviours, development of study skills, importance of academic challenge, and emphasis on academic support were all correlated with later university achievement. Although engagement is a highly acclaimed concept, its links to achievement were unsubstantiated. Using linear regressions, students' academic perseverance and their achievement in CUP each uniquely predicted first-year university degree programme achievement. CUP students' university achievement was higher than mainstream students with similar secondary school achievement, based on a statistical model of achievement that accounted for the relative difficulty of achieving each result. These findings indicate that the CUP programme was effective in preparing learners to access and achieve in university.</p>

Correlating entrance data and first year academic performance of students enrolled in the Integrated Master in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Porto

2021 ◽  
pp. 030641902110156
Author(s):  
TMGP Duarte ◽  
AM Lopes ◽  
LFM da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Institutional Factors ◽  
First Year ◽  
Female Type ◽  
The University ◽  
First Year University ◽  
Over Time

Understanding how the academic performance of first year undergraduate students is influenced by home, personal and institutional factors is fundamental to delineate policies able to mitigate failure. This paper investigates possible correlations between the academic performance of students at the end of high school with their achievements at the end of first year university. Data for students in the Integrated Master in Mechanical Engineering (MIEM) program within the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Porto are analysed for the period 2016/2017 to 2019/2020. The students’ performance is measured by two metrics and the students are structured as a whole and by groups, according to their gender (Male/Female), type of secondary school (Public/Private), living place (Away/Home) and the rank of MIEM in their application list of options (Option 1/Option 2–6). The information is organized statistically and possible correlations between the data are investigated. The analysis reveals limited correlation between the two metrics, meaning that all students may exhibit good or poor results at the end of first year in MIEM, independent of their status at entrance. An unanticipated pattern is exhibited for the group Option 2–6, since it shows that, despite entering into MIEM without top application marks, the students in this group can perform as well as the others. This behavior is consistent over time.

scholarly journals Thai Undergraduate Student Awareness of Regular and Irregular Grapheme-Phoneme Correspondence

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
David D. Perrodin
Keyword(s):  
General Education ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Private University ◽  
First Year ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Data Set ◽  
English Classes ◽  
Frequency Occurrence ◽  
First Year University ◽  
Letter Sound

<p>Recent events in Thailand in reference to the teaching of phonics for better comprehension of English vocabulary have highlighted the overuse of identifying letter-sound relationships in English by utilizing the familiar Thai orthography to assist developing Thai EFL learners. This paper investigated the long-term effects of using such pedagogy on recognizing regular and irregular Grapheme-Phoneme Correspondences (GPC) in English by Thai undergraduate students. To address this matter, the study used a convenience sampling of 373 first-year university students from 11 general education English classes at a mid-sized private university near Bangkok, Thailand. The familiar English poem <em>I Take It You Already Know</em> was employed for data collection, for it consists of a practical ratio of frequent and infrequent English grapheme-phoneme correspondences. Extensive lists of recognized grapheme-phoneme correspondences were used to identify the frequent or regular, and the infrequent or irregular main phoneme present in each of the 60 most frequently queried content words of the poem. Point-Biserial Correlation was employed to measure the strength of association between the frequency occurrence of the most queried content words from the data set, and the examined weighted word frequency data. The findings suggest that, in general, the Thai undergraduate students demonstrated an overall lack of recognition of regular and irregular Grapheme-Phoneme Correspondences of English. </p>

scholarly journals European first-year university students accept evolution but lack substantial knowledge about it: a standardized European cross-country assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Kuschmierz ◽  
Anna Beniermann ◽  
Alexander Bergmann ◽  
Rianne Pinxten ◽  
Tuomas Aivelo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Religious Faith ◽  
European Countries ◽  
First Year ◽  
Education Systems ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Acceptance Of Evolution ◽  
First Year University ◽  
School Curricula

Abstract Background Investigations of evolution knowledge and acceptance and their relation are central to evolution education research. Ambiguous results in this field of study demonstrate a variety of measuring issues, for instance differently theorized constructs, or a lack of standardized methods, especially for cross-country comparisons. In particular, meaningful comparisons across European countries, with their varying cultural backgrounds and education systems, are rare, often include only few countries, and lack standardization. To address these deficits, we conducted a standardized European survey, on 9200 first-year university students in 26 European countries utilizing a validated, comprehensive questionnaire, the “Evolution Education Questionnaire”, to assess evolution acceptance and knowledge, as well as influencing factors on evolution acceptance. Results We found that, despite European countries’ different cultural backgrounds and education systems, European first-year university students generally accept evolution. At the same time, they lack substantial knowledge about it, even if they are enrolled in a biology-related study program. Additionally, we developed a multilevel-model that determines religious faith as the main influencing factor in accepting evolution. According to our model, knowledge about evolution and interest in biological topics also increase acceptance of evolution, but to a much lesser extent than religious faith. The effect of age and sex, as well as the country’s affiliation, students’ denomination, and whether or not a student is enrolled in a biology-related university program, is negligible. Conclusions Our findings indicate that, despite all their differences, most of the European education systems for upper secondary education lead to acceptance of evolution at least in university students. It appears that, at least in this sample, the differences in knowledge between countries reflect neither the extent to which school curricula cover evolutionary biology nor the percentage of biology-related students in the country samples. Future studies should investigate the role of different European school curricula, identify particularly problematic or underrepresented evolutionary concepts in biology education, and analyze the role of religious faith when teaching evolution.

scholarly journals Mental health trajectories in undergraduate students over the first year of university: a longitudinal cohort study

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. e047393
Author(s):  
Kiera Louise Adams ◽  
Kate E Saunders ◽  
Charles Donald George Keown-Stoneman ◽  
Anne C Duffy
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Drug Use ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Longitudinal Cohort Study ◽  
First Year ◽  
Longitudinal Cohort ◽  
First Year University ◽  
Academic Year

ObjectiveThis study examined the association between candidate psychosocial and lifestyle variables and the trajectories of clinically significant anxiety and depressive symptoms from entry to completion of first-year university.DesignA longitudinal cohort studyParticipantsFirst-year undergraduate studentsMethodsWe analysed the responses of 1686 first-year undergraduate students attending Queen’s University who completed electronic surveys at both the beginning and completion of their academic year. Predictors of change in positive anxiety and depressive symptom screens (based on exceeding validated symptom threshold scores) were identified using logistic regression.ResultsIncreased university connectedness reduced the odds of emergent significant depressive and anxiety symptoms in healthy students and increased the odds of recovery in students who screened positive at the start of university. Students who screened positive for depression or anxiety at university entry were less likely to recover if they had a lifetime history of internalising disorders. Healthy students who increased their drug use over their first year had higher odds of developing significant levels of both anxiety and depressive symptoms by completion of the academic year.ConclusionsModerate to severe levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms are common among students at entry to university and persist over the first year. University connectedness may mitigate the risk of persistent or emergent symptoms, whereas drug use appears to increase these risks. Findings have implications for university well-being initiatives.

scholarly journals Effects of Pairing on the Relationships between Motivation and Task Performance in an Interactive Task

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. p451
Author(s):  
Katsuyuki Konno ◽  
Tsutomu Koga ◽  
Atsumi Yamaguchi
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
First Year ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Task Motivation ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Interactive Task ◽  
And Performance ◽  
First Year University ◽  
Pair Work

This study investigates how learners’ own motivational variables are related to task performance and how learners’ task performance is influenced by their partners’ motivational variables in an interactive task. A total of 28 Japanese first year university students engaged in a computer mediated, decision making task, and the number of words produced and turns taken during the task was counted as their task performance. Questionnaires were administered to measure eight motivational dispositions related to the task. Correlation analyses were used to examine the relationships between task motivation and performance. The results showed that (a) learners’ task motivation was positively correlated with task performance, suggesting a positive role of task motivation in performing a task and (b) learners’ task performance was negatively correlated with the interlocutors’ task motivation, except for the highly motivated pairs, which implied limited effects of pair work. This study finally provides some pedagogical and future implications.

scholarly journals Assessment in First Year University: A Model to Manage Transition

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-38
Author(s):  
J. A. Taylor ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
Education Students ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Specific Content ◽  
The University ◽  
First Year University ◽  
Engineering Computing

For most students assessment guides their study and learning practice. Yet in the literature associated with the first year of study at university, few have mobilised the power of assessment to develop and engage first year undergraduate students. This paper presents a model of assessment for first year students which separates the semester into three overlapping assessment phases: assessment for transition, assessment for development and assessment for achievement. The implementation and usefulness of the model is supported by examples from mathematics, engineering, computing, communication and nursing studies at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ). Particular attention is paid to assessments for transition which occur early in the semester and are linked more closely with processes than specific content. Evidence is collated on the success of assessments in improving the participation of students, especially distance education students.

scholarly journals Changes in approaches to learning over three years of university undergraduate study

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona McDonald ◽  
John Reynolds ◽  
Ann Bixley ◽  
Rachel Spronken-Smith
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Study Skills ◽  
Approaches To Learning ◽  
First Year ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Strategic Learning ◽  
Anatomy And Physiology ◽  
Undergraduate Study ◽  
Science Degree ◽  
Surface Learning

This study aimed to evaluate and compare approaches to learning by a longitudinal cohort of undergraduate students as they progressed from their first to third years of study in anatomy and physiology. The Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) wascompleted at the beginning and end of their first year of university study, and in their final semester. At first year, a surface learning approach predominated; however, at third year, students showed a significant increase in their use of deep and strategic learning approaches compared to first year, although surface learning approaches were retained. The extent to which third-year students took both strategic and deep approaches to learning was positively correlated with their performance on assessment. As students progress through a three-year science degree, they develop deeper and more strategic learning approaches, and assessment and teaching styles probably promote these approaches to learning.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document