scholarly journals Internet Plagiarism among Form Four Chemistry Students of a Selected Malaysian Secondary School: Exploring Its Prevalence, Correlates and Gender Differences

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 54-72
Author(s):  
Rajiah Hassan ◽  
Tunku Badariah Tunku Ahmad

This case study was conducted to investigate the extent and prevalence of Internet plagiarism among a group of upper secondary students taking Chemistry as an elective subject at a selected public school in Kuala Lumpur. Eighty-seven (N=87) Form Four Chemistry students were required to write a two-page essay on acid rain as part of the School-Based Assessment exercise. The essays were examined in a quantified document analysis to record the occurrences and prevalence of plagiarism from Internet sources. Researcher-coded scores and Turnitin similarity indexes were used as the measures of Internet plagiarism. The results show that Internet plagiarism in this student body was widespread (99%) as almost everyone plagiarized, except one female student. The amount of information copied was extremely high at an average of 90% for Turnitin similarity indexes and 91.3% for researcher-coded scores. Gender wise, both boys and girls plagiarized at about the same extent, and the slight difference between them did not account for any statistical significance. Most were involved in high-scale plagiarism, and appeared to have lifted their essays completely off the Internet. However, the study could not completely ascertain whether students' lack of ability in English and Chemistry was the actual reason for their plagiarism act as measures of the two subjects turned out to be weak correlates of plagiarism. Based on the findings, the study recommends that students be explicitly taught the proper skills of writing and educated about the nature and implications of Internet plagiarism.  

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A Minott

The aim of this qualitative case study was to ascertain factors impacting the examination preparation process and causing concerns for London upper secondary students, to learn steps taken to reduce and/or resolve the concerns, and to discuss the implications for teachers and teaching. A subsidiary yet important aim was to give the students a “voice” in the research literature. Using convenient or opportunity sampling, 14 Grade 12 and 13 students, ages 16–18 in a south-west London secondary school, were interviewed face-to-face. The analysis of the data revealed external factors and a personal need factor, that is the need to pass the exam, impacted the examination preparation process and caused concerns for students. Schools and students have use various solutions to reduce and/or resolve concerns. For example, school-based solutions included offering make-up or additional sessions or extra classes. Students—when faced with large amounts of material and information—employed solutions such as “things-to-do lists” and breaking down tasks into manageable sections. Implications for teachers and teaching include the need for teachers’ lesson contents to address factors impacting exam preparation and students’ concerns. Teachers also need to equip students to use a variety of revision strategies, encourage students to use social support and ensure that promised extra lessons materialize.


2012 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harison Mohd Sidek

The purpose of the present study was to determine how well Malaysian EFL Secondary Curriculum prepares upper secondary students for tertiary reading in English. This study is explorative in nature. The data for this study were acquired from a Malaysian national EFL upper secondary textbook. The data were in the form of comprehension reading passages in the selected EFL textbook. In this case study, reading instructional design in the EFL textbook was analyzed in terms of types and the grade-level length of passages used in the textbook. The findings show that reading instructional design in the EFL textbook significantly emphasizes the use of narrative passages with the majority of the passages being below grade-level texts.


Author(s):  
José Manuel Suárez ◽  
Ana Patricia Fernández ◽  
Ángela Zamora

Introduction. The debate over the education of immigrant pupils relative to native Spanish students is currently a hot topic, but very little research has been undertaken in this area in Spain. The objective of this study was to detect certain possible differences in motivation and strategies between immigrant and Spanish pupils, and also between boys and girls.Method. A sample of 436 secondary school pupils was used. The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) was used as a basis, but was adapted in the shape of the elimination of the goal sub-scales (intrinsic and extrinsic), which were replaced by the Goal Orientation Scale of Skaalvik. Various Student’s t-tests were carried out to determine whether or not there were statistically significant differences between the independent samples studied, concretely in respect of nationality of origin and of gender. In interpreting results, account was also taken of the effect of the size of sample. Moreover, MANOVA analyses were also used to check whether there were any interactions between the nationality of origin and gender in respect of the variables studied.Results. In general, it was noteworthy that the main differences found were linked to the gender of pupils, much more than their nationality of origin. Hence, statistically significant differences were found in a total of twelve variables by gender and only three by nationality. Moreover, differences encountered lay mostly in the area of learning strategies rather than in academic motivation and self-motivation.Discussion and conclusion. As a general conclusion for this study, it may be emphasized that the main differences recorded were in respect of gender, much more than with regard to the nationality of origin. More specific studies would be desirable so as to develop further this line of investigation, which is novel in a Spanish context.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Mette Bunting ◽  
Geir Moshuus

Mye forskning om skoleavbrudd i videregående opplæring ser på risikofaktorer, som sosio-økonomisk bakgrunn, grunnskolepoeng og kjønn, og kan derfor sies å fokusere på individuelle og strukturelle faktorer. Artikkelen argumenterer for heller å se på skoleavbrudd som et samspill eller møte mellom individet og systemet, det individuelle og strukturelle. Forskningen baseres på data fra en longitudinell kvalitativ studie i sitt fjerde år. Informantene er ungdom i NAV-systemet som har sluttet på videregående skole, men som fortsatt har skolerett. Gjennom den indirekte metoden, en intervjumetode basert på etnografiske intervjuer, søkes det å legge til rette for at ungdommene kan fortelle sine historier med egne ord og på sin måte. Disse fortellingene belyser avbruddsprosessene, og beskriver opplevelser forut for avbruddet. Funnene viser at selv om ungdommene sier dette skjer på grunn av enkelthendelser, belyser fortellingene deres at dette er komplekse prosesser som ligger til grunn, gjerne år tilbake. Artikkelen konkluderer med at sosialt medierte prosesser også utenfor skole, må vektlegges for å kunne forstå skoleavbrudd.Nøkkelord: frafall, kvalitativ longitudinell studie, livshistorier, etnografisk intervju, ungdom, videregående skoleAbstractResearch on dropout from upper secondary school usually focuses on risk factors such as socioeconomic background, previous academic results and gender—that is, on individual and structural factors. The present article argues for a shift of focus, looking at dropping out as an interaction between the person and the system—between the individual and the structural. This research draws on interview data from a longitudinal qualitative study (now in its fourth year) of young people both in and out of school. The informants were young dropouts currently in the welfare system. Using the indirect method (developed from ethnographic interviews), the interviewer sought to establish an environment in which these young people could use their own words when sharing their stories. Those stories provide an insight into the processes and experiences prior to the event of dropping out. The findings show that although young people describe dropping out as a singular event, their stories indicate complex preceding processes, often from some years before. The article concludes that socially mediated interactions between the individual and the structural, both inside school and out of school, must be considered when seeking to understand why young people drop out.Keywords: dropout, qualitative longitudinal study, life stories, ethnographic interview, youth, upper secondary school


First language (L1) interference is inevitable in second language (L2) acquisition. The research was carried out to investigate types of students writing approach that relates to first language interference among upper secondary students and the level of first language interference in L2 written essays among lower secondary students in Malaysia. The participants in this research were 50 students currently studying Form Four in a state-funded school, Akademi Menara Gading, Pahang. The data was collected using the Student L1 Interference Tendency Questionnaire [SLITQ], and analysis of students’ essay writing samples. After triangulating the data, the result indicated that most students positive they have under-differentiation in their essay writing, and analysis of the student's written essays showed that there is less evidence of L1 interference. In conclusion, teachers and schools should acknowledge L1 interference in students’ writing skill and promote a variety of writing strategies to support students existing writing skills.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Liu ◽  
Xue Sun ◽  
Meng Sun ◽  
Yan Zhou ◽  
Xinyue Li ◽  
...  

Purpose: This study explored whether instructional characteristics, learner characteristics, family socioeconomic status, and gender influence creativity in the context of programming education in China.Methods: A total of 851 upper-secondary-school students in Beijing, China, were surveyed using the Creativity Scale, Programming Learning Scale, Programming Teaching Scale and Family Socioeconomic Status Questionnaire. SPSS (version 22) was used for correlation analysis, t-test and regression analysis.Results: (1) Teachers’ programming teaching method and management; students’ programming learning approach, attitude, and engagement; gender; and family economic capital were all significantly associated with creativity. (2) There were significant differences between males and females in terms of creativity, programming learning approach and programming learning attitude. (3) Learner attitudes, engagement, and approach, and their family economic capital, were strong predictors of creativity, with the strongest influence of learners’ attitudes to programming learning and weaker influence of family economic capital.Conclusion: The main factors that influence creativity in the context of programming education are programming teaching method, programming teaching management, programming learning approach, programming learning attitude, programming learning engagement and family economic capital. Among these, learner factors (attitude, engagement, and approach) and family economic capital are the key factors influencing creativity. These findings provide a basis for improving the creativity of Chinese programming learners and inspire teachers to consider learner factors and gender differences as they design and manage their instruction. Furthermore, the influence of family economic capital on the creativity of learners cannot be ignored.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (44) ◽  
pp. 95-110
Author(s):  
Mohd Shafie Mohamad ◽  
Rozita Radhiah Said ◽  
Azhar Md. Sabil ◽  
Mohd Mursyid Arshad

The Bahasa Melayu question paper is divided into two papers ( Paper 1 and Paper 2), with both papers require written essay responses. The literature section is the part of the questions that students are required to answer in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) exam. There are 13 marks awarded for 4 questions, two of them are questions in the form of KBAT. The aim of this study was to improve secondary school students' skills in writing KBAT answers using drill method. In addition, the researchers compared students' responses to four parts of the questions in the literature section of Bahasa Melayu Paper 2 (1103/2) before and after the drilling method. This study used a qualitative approach in the form of a case study (document analysis). In data collection, 5 classes in Maahad Control were subjected to pre-test and post-test. The study revealed that the pre-test scores of 10 students randomly taken from 5 classes, 3 of them were at the weak level and 7 students were at intermediate level. However, after 6 drilling sessions, the researcher found that the performance of the students improved in the post-test. 2 students reached an intermediate level and 8 students reached a good level in answering literature questions. This proves that students trained with drill method mastered the techniques of answer writing due to the influence of answer discussion which highlights the key words in each question. Meanwhile, teachers still need to guide students on punctuation and the use of appropriate cohesive devices in each part of the answer.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (106) ◽  
pp. 8-24
Author(s):  
Silvia Regina dos Santos Coelho ◽  
Candido Alberto Gomes

Abstract This paper reports on a case study carried out in an upper secondary school (grades 10-12), which for 17 years has established learning workshops, with interseriation and interdisciplinarity, as well as complementary distance learning. The establishment, located in the industrial City of Curitiba, Brazil, maintains agreements so that its students, electively, attend the technical education in the counter-term. The qualitative-quantitative methodology included documental analysis, observation, semi-structured interviews with principals, counselors, teachers and students and application of questionnaires to convenience samples of teachers and students. The results show that, according to social expectations, this school has become publicly different due to its methodologies and success in reconciling the preparation for higher studies and technical courses. Continuous assessment and parallel recovery reduce reprobation and abandonment to minimum levels. The predominant organizational image is that of the school as a company, with components of the bureaucratic model, to frame the innovations in the official molds, and the school’s image as culture. Implications of these organizational images are discussed.


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