Quantitative Literacy and Reasoning of Freshman Students with Different Senior High School Academic Background Pursuing STEM-Related Programs

<p style="text-align: justify;">This paper investigates the quantitative literacy and reasoning (QLR) of freshmen students pursuing a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)–related degree but do not necessarily have a Senior High School (SHS) STEM background. QLR is described as a multi-faceted skill focused on the application of Mathematics and Statistics rather than just a mere mastery of the content domains of these fields. This article compares the QLR performance between STEM and non-STEM SHS graduates. Further, this quantitative-correlational study involves 255 freshman students, of which 115 have non-STEM academic background from the SHS. Results reveal that students with a SHS STEM background had significantly higher QLR performance. Nevertheless, this difference does not cloud the fact that their overall QLR performance marks the lowest when compared to results of similar studies. This paper also shows whether achievement in SHS courses such as General Mathematics, and Statistics and Probability are significant predictors of QLR. Multivariate regression analysis discloses that achievement in the latter significantly relates to QLR. However, the low coefficient of determination (10.30%) suggests that achievement in these courses alone does not account to the students’ QLR. As supported by a deeper investigation of the students’ answers, it is concluded that QLR indeed involves complex processes and is more than just being proficient in Mathematics and Statistics.</p>

Association of Freshman Retention Rates with Instructional Expenditure and Residential Status : A Case Study for Large Public Colleges

Retention is a key indicator of institutional effectiveness in education research. Retaining full-time freshman students has been a long-standing problem for institutions of higher education. Overall, 40% of U.S. college students leave college among which the majority are freshman students. About 30% of freshman students drop out before their sophomore year of college. The primary causes for leaving college include financial pressure, falling behind in classwork, lack of social connections, and loss of family support. Higher educational institutions need to understand the dynamic between different expenditures and freshman retention rates to responsibly and strategically allocate funds to what will best support institutional success. This study investigates how freshman retention rates at large public colleges are associated with instructional expenditures and residential status. Findings of this study indicate that regarding freshman retention at large public colleges, spending more money on instruction goes further for residential colleges compared to non-residential ones. In other words, for most levels of instructional expenditure, residential colleges have higher freshman retention rates than non-residential colleges. Findings of this study can assist higher education institutions in directing their efforts toward what will best support institutional success.

Factors Affecting the English Language Preparedness of College Freshman Students

This study determined the factor that affects the level of preparedness in the English language of the College of Education (COED) freshman students majoring in Elementary Education. Eighty (80) students were chosen as the participants of this study. A survey questionnaire was used to explore the students' opinions by considering six factors that may have affected their preparedness in English: Prior knowledge of the second language of learners, students' motivation, learning styles of students, instructional methods of teachers, classroom setting, and school amenities. The findings revealed that the classroom environment and the classroom and school facilities affected their preparedness. Moreover, the teacher's availability of learning materials, teaching method, and student's motivation were also additional factors that affected them. The results imply that the government should do its best to provide these students with facilities and more learning materials. As a result, the English I course teachers should consider all these when teaching English to enhance their preparedness.

THE PRESENCE OF COLLABORATION SKILL IN ELT CLASS

One of the skills that must be possessed in the 21st century is collaboration skill. It requires teachers to present or provide it in the learning process, so that later students are expected to be able to implement it in their real life. The study reported in this paper aims to describe the implementation of collaboration skill in the process of teaching and learning. The data collected by means of close-ended questionnaires and guided interview that were administered to 125 freshman students of the English Education Department of Universitas Muria Kudus. The result shows that 84% of the students said that the teacher has implemented the collaboration skill, however from 84%, only 48% is categorized as instructionally effective. It is suggested that the teachers should manage some instructions and control how the instructions are executed. Keywords: 21st century skills, collaboration skill, effective instruction.

Macao College Freshman Students’ Beliefs and Intentions regarding Learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL): A Theory of Planned Behaviour Perspective

This paper investigated Macao college freshman students’ English learning under the framework of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), and a total of 544 valid questionnaire responses were collected for the analyses. Factors like attitudes towards English learning, subjective norms, and perceived behaviour control of Macao college freshmen were analysed with varimax rotation using Principal Component methods. Gender and previous learning places have a significant difference in those factors and their learning intention. The findings showed that the TPB explained Macao college freshman students’ English learning beliefs and attitudes. This study provides valuable implications for ways to increase student attitude. English instructors should understand freshman students’ English learning intention and adopt efficient teaching methods to increase their motivation.