THE CORRELATION BETWEEN STUDENTS’ WRITING ATTITUDE AND COMPOSITION PERFORMANCE

The main objectives of this study were to find out (1) whether student’ writing attitude correlates with their composition performance (2) whether the factors of writing attitude correlate with their composition performance, (3) whether students’ writing attitude give contribution to the value of their writing composition and (4) whether the factors of students’ writing attitude give contribution to their composition performance. The population and sample of the study covered one hundred and fifty-six students of six semester of English Study Program. The data were obtained giving a questionnaire and composition writing test. The data collected from were analyzed by using regression analysis and hypothesizes were tested by using F-test. The results show that there were significant correlation between the student writing attitude (total) and their composition performance. (R =.242 and R²=.058). Out of the five factors of student writing attitude, there were three factors which had a significant statistical relationship with the student composition performance. They were writing perception (R= .220 and R²= .049), positive writing activities (R= .176 and R²=.031), and reading preferences (R= .193 and R²= .037). The first factor, writing perception give much contribution to the sub scales of composition performance. Furthermore, the unhypothesized findings showed that gender and writing attitude were correlated significantly in composition performance since the mean value was balanced between male and female students. However, based on the mean value, male group has better writing attitude while female group has better composition performance. Finally, the results of this research are hopefully beneficial for the English teaching and learning processes, such as writing skills. Student’s writing attitude should be considered since students may have different attitude toward writing that can affect their performance in writing.

The Effect of First-Year Seminar Classroom Design on Social Integration and Retention of STEM First-Time, Full-Time College Freshmen

Classroom design is related to student satisfaction and learning, but its effect on student retention is unknown. This exploratory study compared the impact of classroom design on social integration and retention among STEM first-time, full-time college freshmen in a first-year seminar course by comparing classroom sizes (large (LL) vs. small (SL) lecture), classroom formats (lecture (SL) vs. flipped classroom (FC)), and classroom student composition of students at risk of attrition based on low math placement scores (combined low math (CLM) vs. separated low math (SLM)). To capture social integration of freshman after their first semester, students completed a survey for course credit. Retention rates of freshman returning to the university for their second year were included. Almost all students in all classrooms had made friends in college; most had made friends with peers in the course and were spending time with them outside of class. Compared with LL students, SL reported lower satisfaction with their overall social life. More FC students were satisfied with their social life, and fewer found making friends to be harder than expected. These findings showed even greater disparities between groups for at-risk students. SLM students exhibited lower social integration than CLM students. The CLM flipped classroom retained the highest percentage of students at the university into the second year. Findings from the present study suggest that integrating at-risk students into a first-year seminar flipped classroom that matches student composition of the major benefits social integration and retention into the second year, for all students as well as those with low math scores.

The Effects of Campus Shooting on School Finance and Student Composition

Between 1999 and 2018, 210 shootings have occurred on public school campuses in the United States. The increased need for security and student support may crowd out instructional resources post-shooting. Shootings may also cause students, especially those from socioeconomically advantaged backgrounds, to move away, leading to declines in enrollment. Both changes in the budget allocation and the student composition could exert a negative impact on achievement. First, we examine the effects of campus shootings on public school districts’ revenue, expenditure, debt, and staffing using a long panel of district-year data. Results from event study and difference-in-differences analyses indicate that shootings increase per-pupil spending by $248, which is funded primarily through increased federal transfers. Most spending increases occur in noninstructional functions, such as pupil support services, and capital projects, but they do not crowd out instructional spending. Using school-level data, we show that shootings are followed by a decline in enrollment, driven almost exclusively by reductions in students who do not receive free- or reduced-price lunch. Private schools in the area also experience enrollment drop. In sum, despite the increased intergovernmental transfers, campus shootings reduce the desirability of the community and lead to the exit of relatively well-off families.

Sorting it Out: The Effects of Charter Expansion on Teacher and Student Composition at Traditional Public Schools

Since their introduction in the 1990s, charter schools have grown from a small-scale experiment to a ubiquitous feature of the public education landscape. The current study uses the legislative removal of a cap on the maximum number of charters in North Carolina as a natural experiment to assess the impacts of charter school growth on teacher quality and student composition in traditional public schools (TPS) at different levels of local market penetration. Using an instrumental variable difference-in-differences approach to account for endogenous charter demand, we find that intensive local charter entry reduces the inflow of new teachers at nearby TPS, leading to a more experienced and credentialed teaching workforce on average. However, we find that the entry of charters serving predominantly White students leads to reductions in average teacher experience, effectiveness, and credentials at nearby TPS. Overall these findings suggest that the composition of the teacher workforce in TPS will continue to change as charter schools further expand, and that the spillover effects of future charter expansion will vary by the types of students served by charters.

Factors Affecting Teacher Motivation in Nepal

The major aim of this paper is to report the finding of a study that aims at analyzing different factors influencing teacher motivation towards the teaching profession. To this goal, a mixed method approach was used and quantitative data were collected from 430 teachers, teaching at the Basic Level, from six districts using a set of questionnaires. Qualitative data were gathered from 48 teachers, six resources persons, six teacher trainers and three policy-makers. The major findings of the study show that multiple factors influence teacher motivation towards teaching profession, which are broadly categorized under four areas: individual, school related, socio cultural and political. Policy-related factors include salary and benefits, leave facility, promotion, training, pensions and freedom to trade union. Similarly, school-related factors for teacher motivation include school management, leadership, teaching load, professional development opportunities and feedback and reinforcement mechanism. Student-related factors contain class size, student composition, regularity, and discipline. Socio-cultural factors for teacher motivation include social recognition of teachers, political interference and teacher-parent cooperation. Finally, the issue of teacher performance and motivation should be tied up with the policies of teacher professional development.

Iskolák közötti egyenlőtlenségek alakulása 2010 után

Összefoglaló. A tanulmány az iskolai egyenlőtlenségek alakulását vizsgálja a kétezres évek második évtizedében. A tanulói összetétel bizonyos szociális háttérváltozói szerint nőttek az egyenlőtlenségek az elmúlt évtizedben, az SNI, illetve a BTMN tanulók iskolarendszerben való eloszlása viszont egyenletesebb lett az alsófokú iskolarendszerben. Országos szinten a többiskolás települések közötti egyenlőtlenségek jobban nőttek, mint az egyiskolás települések között. Az is bizonyítást nyert, hogy inkább a hátrányos helyzetű tanulók elkülönülése jellemzőbb, mint a jobb helyzetben lévő tanulóké. A relatíve jobb helyzetben lévő településeken nőttek jobban az egyenlőtlenségek. Az egyenlőtlenségek alakulása mögött elsősorban az egyházi iskolák térnyerése, illetve az iskolakörzeten kívülről történő beiskolázási gyakorlat játszik főszerepet, míg a demográfiai folyamatok gyakorlatilag nincsenek hatással az egyenlőtlenségek alakulására. Summary. The study examines the development of school inequalities in the second half of the 2000s. According to certain social background variables of the student composition, inequalities have increased in the last decade, while the distribution of SEN (special educational needs) and ALBD (adaptation, learning and behavioral difficulties) students in the school system has become more even in the primary school system. At the national level, inequalities between multi-school settlements increased more than between single-school settlements. It has also been shown that segregation of disadvantaged students is more common than that of better students. Inequalities increased more in relatively better settlements. The main factors behind the development of inequalities are the rise of church schools and the practice of enrollment outside the school district, while demographic processes have practically no effect on the development of inequalities.