scholarly journals Examining Saudi EFL University Students’ Readiness for Online Learning at the Onset of Covid-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elham Abdullah Ghobain ◽  
Abdullah Ahmed Zughaibi
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Online Education ◽  
University Students ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
First Year ◽  
English Major ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
First Year University

Nowadays, especially after the COVID-19 crisis lockdown, the heavy reliance on technology and online platforms led to a greater expectation of more learning autonomy among English learners in EFL contexts such as Saudi Arabia. The sudden shift to online learning requires an investigation into students’ readiness and willingness for such a mode of learning. This can provide educators with many prospects about learning outcomes achievement and assessment, test performance, and interaction during classes. Therefore, the current study seeks to contribute to the well-known area of learner autonomy research, which is still lacking in the context of the study, by exploring the readiness of Saudi first-year undergraduate English learners towards online education. Participants’ level of readiness is identified according to their autonomous behaviors and activities. The study will also assess the investigated concept considering the influence of gender and field of study of the participants on their autonomy levels. A total of 802 students participated in this study. It was found that Saudi first-year university students are moderately autonomous, that both males and females have similar levels of aptitude and readiness for taking responsibility for their learning, and that English-major and non-English-major groups showed comparatively similar levels across different learning autonomy dimensions. Yet interestingly, English-major participants displayed a relatively lower autonomy level than students of other majors.

scholarly journals Examining Saudi EFL University Students’ Readiness for Online Learning at the Onset of Covid-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-21
Author(s):  
Elham Abdullah Ghobain ◽  
Abdullah Ahmed Zughaibi
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Online Education ◽  
University Students ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
First Year ◽  
English Major ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
First Year University

Nowadays, especially after the COVID-19 crisis lockdown, the heavy reliance on technology and online platforms led to a greater expectation of more learning autonomy among English learners in EFL contexts such as Saudi Arabia. The sudden shift to online learning requires an investigation into students’ readiness and willingness for such a mode of learning. This can provide educators with many prospects about learning outcomes achievement and assessment, test performance, and interaction during classes. Therefore, the current study seeks to contribute to the well-known area of learner autonomy research, which is still lacking in the context of the study, by exploring the readiness of Saudi first-year undergraduate English learners towards online education. Participants’ level of readiness is identified according to their autonomous behaviors and activities. The study will also assess the investigated concept considering the influence of gender and field of study of the participants on their autonomy levels. A total of 802 students participated in this study. It was found that Saudi first-year university students are moderately autonomous, that both males and females have similar levels of aptitude and readiness for taking responsibility for their learning, and that English-major and non-English-major groups showed comparatively similar levels across different learning autonomy dimensions. Yet interestingly, English-major participants displayed a relatively lower autonomy level than students of other majors.

Sex-Related Differences in Spatial Ability in a Group of South African Students

1991 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanley Oosthuizen
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
South African ◽  
Spatial Ability ◽  
First Year ◽  
African Students ◽  
Spatial Differences ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
First Year University

Many recent studies have reported a convergence in the scores of males and females on spatial tests; however, these studies also indicate different amounts of convergence. There are indications that spatial differences continue to exist. It was decided to study such differences in spatial ability on two different tests for two groups of South African first-year university students ( ns = 60), one from arts and one from the sciences. In all comparisons statistically significant differences were found between the sexes.

多肢選択式項目の項目形式が文法テストパフォーマンスに与える影響について - The Effects of Multiple-Choice Item Formats on Grammar Test Performance

2010 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 169
Author(s):  
孝昭 熊澤
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Variance Components ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
First Year ◽  
Generalizability Coefficient ◽  
Multiple Choice Item ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Generalizability Study ◽  
First Year University

Item formats are a facet of testing that influences examinees’ test performance. In this study, six types of item formats were adopted, and 55 multiple-choice grammar items were developed and administered to 608 first-year university students for placement and diagnostic purposes. The research questions were: to what extent do items function for placement and diagnostic purposes, to what extent do item formats differ in terms of difficulty, to what extent do item formats contribute to the total score variance, and to what extent is the grammar test reliable. Based on the item analyses, most items functioned for placement and diagnostic purposes. FACETS analysis revealed that the six item formats differed in terms of difficulty. The generalizability study showed that 3% of the variance components was due to the item formats. The decision study indicated that the generalizability coefficient and dependability index were satisfactory for placement and diagnostic purposes. Based on the results, implications are discussed. 項目形式はテストパフォーマンスに影響する一つの要因だといわれている。本研究では6種類の項目形式を用いて55項目の多肢選択式項目を文法テストとして作成し、608名の大学一年生にプレイスメントテストと診断テストとして実施した結果を報告する。研究目的は、項目の機能、項目形式の困難度、項目形式などの分散成分の割合、文法テストの信頼性の検証である。項目分析の結果、ほとんどの項目がプレイスメントと診断テストの項目として機能していたことがわかった。FACETS分析の結果、6種類の多肢選択式項目の形式はそれぞれ困難度が異なることがわかった。一般化可能性研究の結果、項目形式の違いによって生じた分散成分が若干あり、文法テストパフォーマンスに影響する要因であることも明らかとなった。決定研究の結果、一般化可能性係数は.81で、信頼度指数は.75であった。上述の結果を踏まえ、教育的示唆について論じた。

scholarly journals Factors associated with depressive episode among first year University students in Serbia

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Čanković ◽  
D Čanković ◽  
I Radić ◽  
D Rakić ◽  
S Ukropina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
University Students ◽  
Depressive Episode ◽  
Social Health ◽  
Support Network ◽  
First Year ◽  
Behavioral Factors ◽  
First Year University

Abstract Background Some findings indicate that university students are at higher risk of depression despite being a socially advantaged population, showing that 15 to 25% of them develop some type of mental disorder during graduation, and depression is one of the most prevalent. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of depressive symptoms and its association with gender, material status, social health, and behavioral factors among university students. Methods The research represents a cross-sectional study conducted at the University of Novi Sad, Serbia. The research involved 455 first-year students. The average age of participants was 19.3 years (72.1% girls and 27.9% boys). Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was used to measure depressive symptoms (cut point for depressive episode ≥10). Additional questions were focused on self-assessed material status, social health, and behavioral factors (smoking and alcohol use). The binary logistic regression model was used to estimate the association between depression and observed independent variables. Results The prevalence of moderate to severe depressive episode among students was 18.0%, with no gender differences. Out of the total, 11.0% of students had suicidal thoughts or thoughts of hurting themselves. Multivariable logistic regression showed that self-assessed poor material status (OR = 2.04; 95%CI: 1.06-3.89), self-assessed poor social health (OR = 8.9; 95%CI:4.87-16.42) and smoking (OR = 2.18; 95%CI: 1.09-4.39) were significant predictors of depression among first-year university students. Conclusions High prevalence of depressive episode among university students call for the action for the promotion of mental health, particularly among those of lower socioeconomic status, and points out the importance of social health and social network in the prevention of mental disorders. Key messages Students on the first year of University should be screened for depressive symptoms. It is important to educate students on how to create a strong support network and to implement intervention programs for improving mental health through fostering healthy lifestyles change.

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