scholarly journals Exam Preparation: Concerns of London Upper Secondary School Students with Implications for Teachers and Teaching

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A Minott
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Preparation Process ◽  
School Students ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
School Based ◽  
Exam Preparation ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Examination Preparation

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.

Defending either a personal or an assigned standpoint

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-100
Author(s):  
Timo Salminen ◽  
Miika Marttunen
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Role Play ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Male Students ◽  
School Students ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Personal Opinion ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Support Students

Abstract This study clarifies whether a specific type of role play supports upper secondary school students’ collaborative argumentation. Data consist of 12 dyadic face-to-face and 12 chat debates. Data analysis focused on the quality of students’ argumentation. Comparisons were made between students who defended standpoints at variance with their personal opinions on the topics, between the two study modes and topics, and by gender. When the students defended a standpoint differing from their personal opinion, the male students engaged in counterargumentation more often than the female students. When, in turn, the students defended their personal standpoint, they produced both counterargumentative and non-argumentative speech turns equally often, and their arguments were more poorly elaborated than when they defended an assigned standpoint. The study suggests that role play in which both counterargumentation and students’ personal standpoints on an issue are taken into account is a viable means to support students’ high quality argumentation.

scholarly journals Interference of First Language in Secondary School Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (6S3) ◽  
pp. 675-681
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
First Language ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Writing Strategies ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
School Students ◽  
Essay Writing ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Support Students

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.

scholarly journals Identifying Learners’ Difficulties in ESL Reading Comprehension

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aixa Hafsha
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
School Students ◽  
English As Second Language ◽  
Esl Reading ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Esl Learners

Reading is one of the fundamental skills in language learning and all English as Second Language (ESL) learners need to acquire it in order to master a language. However, statistics show that Malaysians are not reading enough especially the school students who are labeled as reluctant readers. This is deeply reflected in their reading comprehension which is one of the tested components in the SPM examination. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the learners’ difficulties in ESL reading comprehension. Thus, a survey was conducted among 80 upper secondary students in Johor. Questionnaires were used in the survey and given out to the respondents involved. The data obtained from the survey were analysed using SPSS. There were five categories of reading comprehension difficulties among the upper secondary school students. Based on the analysis, it was found that most of the students have agreed that the main difficulty faced by them in ESL reading comprehension is related to the reading process. Finally, the implications of these findings on ESL reading comprehension difficulties were discussed from the aspects of what the teachers could do in their teaching practices to address this issue and provide ways to solve them.

scholarly journals Seeking Adequate Competencies for the Future

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-20
Author(s):  
Meri-Tuulia Kaarakainen ◽  
Suvi-Sadetta Kaarakainen ◽  
Antero Kivinen
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
Educational Choices ◽  
Upper Secondary School ◽  
School Students ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Digital Skills ◽  
General Goal ◽  
The Relationship

Digital skills are a prerequisite today for working, studying, civic participation, and maintaining social relationships in our digitalised technical world. These skills are also important both as a general goal and an instrument for learning. This study briefly presents the aims that are related to digital skills of the Finnish curricula, and explores, using a large sample (N = 3,206) of Finnish upper secondary school students, these young people’s digital skills and their distribution. The study provides new insights into the state of these skills and differences found in them and focuses on the relationship between these results and the students’ present educational choices and future study/employment intentions. The actual variability of digital skills among upper secondary students is one of the main findings of the study. On the same educational level, it was found that digital skills vary enormously, particularly for students’ current educational choices and their future intentions. Digital skills are also distinctly associated with age for 15 to 22-year-olds. At the same time, gender alone appears to have no prominent effect on the level or adeptness of upper secondary school students’ digital skills.

scholarly journals THE STATUS OF OPTIONAL DISCIPLINES IN THE SCHOOL BASED CURRICULUM OF UPPER-SECONDARY SCHOOL: A CASE OF ROMANIA

2015 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-16
Author(s):  
Valentin Cosmin Blândul ◽  
Adela Bradea
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Extracurricular Activities ◽  
Core Curriculum ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Subjective Perception ◽  
Upper Secondary School ◽  
School Students ◽  
School Based ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
The Status

The school curriculum includes the learning experiences students are invited to go through in an organized and systemic way. The curriculum has two main parts, the core curriculum and the school based curriculum (SBC) respectively. The latter one concerns the learning experiences, which school provides in addition to the minimum experiences that all students should gain and it can be achieved through optional school disciplines. However, education research has shown that the way these optional disciplines are chosen often expresses the teachers' options rather than those of the students. The main aim of this study was to analyze the subjective perception of upper-secondary school students with regard to the status of optional disciplines within the SBC. The sample consisted of 121 students, who study in 4 upper-secondary schools from Oradea, Bihor County, Romania. The instrument used was a questionnaire, and the implementation period was October-December 2014. The results show that the reasons why students choose a certain optional discipline are related to their need for personal and professional development. The most important subjects students want to study are foreign languages and sports activities, and the favored forms of organization include extracurricular and applied activities. Key words: extracurricular activities, optional disciplines, school-based curriculum.

scholarly journals Influence of the English Language in Shaping Islamic Identity Among Religious Secondary School Students

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Taufik Hidayah b. Abdullah ◽  
Mohd Nazri B. Latiff Azmi ◽  
Engku Muhammad Tajuddin b. Engku Ali ◽  
Mohd Hazli B. Yah@Alias ◽  
Muzammir B. Anas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
English Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
School Students ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Urban Elite ◽  
Group Interviews

Identity refers to how people understand their relationship to the world, how that relationship is constructed across time and space, and how people understand their possibilities for the future. This research examined some claims made that learners of the English language as a second language have associated themselves with the culture and practices of the native speakers thus eroding the identity of the learners as good Moslems. This research aimed at investigating this phenomenon, to what extent the changes existed, if any. The main topics to discuss were the influence of the English language towards religious secondary school students’ identity and to what extent the students could retain their identity as Moslems. There was one theory employed in this research called Self-Identity Theory. 90 religious secondary students and 8 teachers were used as respondents by conducting focused group interviews and face to face interviews with them. They came from urban, sub-urban, elite and rural schools respectively. The findings revealed that there were mixed responses from the respondents on the issues. 85 students, making up 94.5 % of the whole respondents, asserted that the English language did not change the students’ Islamic identity. Meanwhile only 5 students, comprising 5.6% of the respondents, were of the opinion that the students had been influenced by the culture of native speakers of the English language thus eroding their identity as good Moslems. In a positive note, it was also found that there were some good values instilled in the teaching of the English language such as confidence, helping each other, teamwork, etc.

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
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Kuala Lumpur ◽  
Student Body ◽  
Chemistry Students ◽  
School Based ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
And Gender

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.  

Comparing socialization into club sports among seventh-grade girls by school type

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Zander
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
Peer Group ◽  
School Type ◽  
Reference Groups ◽  
School Students ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Club Sports ◽  
Social Reference

SummaryThe study used group discussions and a documentary method to investigate which micro-processes at the nexus of family, peer group, and school encouraged and discouraged seventh-grade girls' involvement in club sports, and what collective orientations accompanied these processes. Based on reconstructed micro-processes and orientations, two selected groups of girls in intermediate and upper secondary school (Hauptschule and Gymasium) were compared to determine how involvement in club sports differed by school type. One result was that the upper secondary school students were part of several social reference groups with a sports orientation simultaneously, whereas the intermediate secondary school students were part of fewer social reference groups overall, and the groups they were part of tended to have other orientations than sports. The upper secondary students benefited during their childhood and preteen years from interactions among social reference groups (family, peer group, school) that were conducive to club sports involvement, whereas intermediate secondary students were exposed to interactions that inhibited their involvement in sports. This inhibiting effect results from a lack of family influences, negative sports experiences in school, and in particular the high significance of peer groups that pursue other interests having little to do with club sports.

The Schoolwork Engagement Inventory

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katariina Salmela-Aro ◽  
Katja Upadaya
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Concurrent Validity ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Older Students ◽  
School Students ◽  
Factor Solution ◽  
Upper Secondary

This study introduces the Schoolwork Engagement Inventory (EDA), which measures energy, dedication, and absorption with respect to schoolwork. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the validity and reliability of the inventory among students attending postcomprehensive schools. A total of 1,530 (769 girls, 761 boys) students from 13 institutions (six upper-secondary and seven vocational schools) completed the EDA 1 year apart. The results showed that a one-factor solution had the most reliability and fitted best among the younger students, whereas a three-factor solution was most reliable and fit best among the older students. In terms of concurrent validity, depressive symptoms and school burnout were inversely related, and self-esteem and academic achievement were positively associated with EDA. Boys and upper-secondary-school students experienced lower levels of schoolwork engagement than girls and vocational-school students.

A Study of Study Habits and Academic Achievement among Secondary and Senior Secondary School Students of Mysore City

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roya Sherafat ◽  
C. G. Venkatesha Murthy
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Secondary Level ◽  
Study Habits ◽  
School Students ◽  
Senior Secondary School ◽  
Senior Secondary

The authors of this study have attempted to understand whether study habits affect academic achievement among secondary and senior secondary school students of Mysore. It is also attempted to know whether students at secondary level differ from senior secondary level on their study habits. The study was conducted on the sample of 625 students of Mysore City in India using stratified random sampling technique. Results indicated that the study habits facilitate higher academic achievement. Further, it was also found that secondary school students are significantly better than senior secondary students on study habits. The findings are analyzed and explained. Thus, study habit is found to be an important correlate of academic achievement.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document