Personalized Education for a Programming Course in Higher Education

The purpose of this chapter is to present the intervention in personalized education for the Programming Methodology course in higher education. Indicators such as dropout rate, failing rate, and poor academic performance of the students of Universidad Tecnológica de Puebla (UTP) are necessary to propose strategies that improve education quality. Therefore, during the four-month periods of September – December in 2016 and 2017, the authors performed interventions with the strategy of personalized education with the objective to improve the indicators mentioned above. The four strategy elements are 1) content, 2) work methods, 3) pace and times, and 4) assessments options. The study that is presented in this chapter is original because it avoids a unique starting point for all students. The study attempts to go over what the students have in common; this is why the authors were able to stimulate each student to be in charge of their own knowledge freely and responsibly.

Factors influencing poor academic performance among urban university students in Bangladesh

Poor academic performance is challenging for students, parents, and teachers. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the factors associated with the poor academic performance of 661 undergraduate students who scored CGPA ≤2.5 from a selected private university of Dhaka City, Bangladesh, using a simple random sampling technique. Data were collected using a pretested and self-administered questionnaire. Of the study participants, male preponderance (88.4%) was found, and 77.9% of them selected the study programs by themselves. Poor academic performance was found significantly correlated with irregular class attendance (p=0.003), father’s low education level (p

The Influence and Response of Primary School Parents to Their Children's Learning Distress

Objectives: Distress is an unsatisfactory state of mind, and anxiety is its main manifestation. This research studies the learning distress of pupils. Methods: (1) A questionnaire survey was conducted on 543 samples to get the date about students' learning anxiety. (2) Interviews with 5 participants with anxiety symptoms and their parents to get the stories behind the students' learning distress. Results: 64.1% of the students in the sample were found to have symptoms of high anxiety. The interview showed that pupils were dissatisfied with their learning environment, dissatisfied with their academic performance and learning status, and they felt very tired and bored, even afraid with their studies. Conclusions: Poor academic performance, too many extracurricular activities, parents' over-concern about grades, and uncomfortable parent-child communication are the reasons for the learning distress of pupils. Parents do not pay much attention to the learning mood of pupils. It is recommended that parents spend more time with the company and educational guidance to help children develop positive learning emotions.

Teachers’ Regular Supervision and Student Academic Performance in Public Secondary Schools in Ekiti State, Nigeria

The poor academic performance of students could be as a result of irregular supervision of teachers. The study investigated the relationship between teachers’ regular supervision and student academic performance in public secondary schools in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey and correlational research were used for the study. The population for this study was 203 schools and 7,538 teachers in public secondary schools in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Validated instrument titled “Teachers’ Regular Supervision Questionnaire (TRSQ) was employed to collect data from the sample while a profoma was used to obtained data for academic performance of students. The study revealed that there was a positive significant relationship between regular supervision of teachers and student academic performance in public secondary schools in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The study recommended that principals and other internal supervisors should ensure regular supervision of teachers.

Predictors of academic performance during the covid-19 outbreak: impact of distance education on mental health, social cognition and memory abilities in an Italian university student sample

Background This study aimed to investigate the impact of distance education (DE) on mental health, social cognition, and memory abilities in a sample of university students during the national COVID-19 lockdown in Italy and to identify the predictors of academic performance. Methods Two hundred and three students (76.4% women, mean age 24.3, SD ± 4.9) responded to an anonymous online cross-sectional survey between July 15 and September 30, 2020, on DE experience and cognitive and social-cognitive variables. A short version of the Beck Depression Inventory-II, ten images from the Eyes Task, and five memory vignette stimuli were included in the survey. Descriptive, one-way ANOVA, correlation, and logistic regression analyses were conducted. Results Half of the student sample reported significant impairment in concentration and learning abilities during DE. Regarding psychological health, 19.7%, 27.1%, and 23.6% of the sample reported mild, moderate, and severe depressive symptoms, respectively. Correlation analyses showed a statistically significant negative association between depression and the overall subjective evaluation of DE (r = − 0.359; p < 0.000). Changes in one’s study context and habits, i.e., studying alone at one’s parents’ home instead of studying with colleagues or alone in a university “social place” (e.g., the university library), seemed to increase the likelihood of poor academic performance by almost 3 times (O.R. 3.918; p = 0.032). This predictor was no longer statistically significant in the subsequent step when the individual impairment predictors were entered. Learning concentration impairment during DE (O.R. 8.350; p = 0.014), anxiety about COVID-19 contagion for oneself or others (O.R. 3.363; p = 0.022), female gender (O.R. 3.141; p = 0.045), and depressive symptomatology (O.R. 1.093; p = 0.047) were ultimately determined to be the strongest predictors of poor academic performance, whereas the appreciation of DE represented a protective variable (O.R. 0.610; p < 0.000). Conclusions The study showed a negative impact of DE on the mental health of students presenting depressive symptoms and impairment in concentration and learning, the latter identified as the strongest predictors of poor academic performances. The study confirms the emerging need to monitor the impact of DE, which occurred during the 2019/2020 academic year and will continue in the coming months, to refine educational offerings and meet students' psychological needs by implementing psychological interventions based on the modifiable variables that seem to compromise students’ psychological well-being and academic outcomes.

Fulminant subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) presented with acute hemiparesis in a 13-year-old girl with perinatally acquired HIV infection

A 13-year-old girl with perinatally acquired HIV infection was admitted to us with acute onset, right-sided hemiparesis of 30 days duration and right-sided myoclonic jerks of 2 days duration affecting the face, upper and lower limbs. On examination, she exhibited increased tone and a pyramidal pattern of weakness in her right upper and lower limbs, along with spontaneous multifocal myoclonic jerks in the affected area. IgG levels in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid for measles were significantly elevated. Brain MRI depicted T2-weighted-hyperintensities in the subcortical white matter. The electroencephalogram demonstrated evidence of lateralised long interval periodic discharges. This patient had no past behavioural problems or poor academic performance. This case underlines the fact that, though subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is a chronic disease, a rare fulminant form of SSPE might develop acutely and atypically, with an increased proclivity for HIV-infected patients.

Analysis of the Effect of Militancy Activities on Students Enrollment in Niger Delta: Implications for Adult and Vocational Education

With the continuous decline on students' enrollment in adult and vocational education in Niger Delta region, this study sets to analyse the effect of militancy activities and its impact on educational development. It adopted the ex post facto type of the descriptive research. The sample of 347 students was used to respond to the data collecting instrument. Based on the analysis, the existence of poor synergy between teacher and students and scanty population were notable as the effects of the insurgency. Further analysis showed that students’ poor academic performance, high illiteracy level and increase in youth restiveness were found to have highly impacted on the educational development.

The Impact of Addiction on Academic Performance of Students: the Case of Wolaita Sodo University, Ethiopia

Background: The high prevalence of substance use and its association with poor academic performance is a global concern today. Objective: The study was conducted to assess the impact of addiction on the academic performance of students in the case of Wolaita Sodo University. Methods: Cross-sectional study was carried out among a total of 421 students selected by using the cluster sampling technique. Data were collected via semistructured questionnaires and interviews and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.Results: The results showed that, from the total sample of students, 71.8% of the respondents were involved in addiction while the rest 28.2% were free from any addiction and 73.1% males were more likely to be addicted than females (26.9%). The chi-square result also shows that addiction and academic performance were found to be dependent and addicted students were associated with poor academic achievement than nonaddicted. The regression dummy variable test also showed that the students involved in addiction recorded a lower academic results by 0.587 than addiction free students.Conclusion: Behavioral and physiological addiction to illicit substances and other stimulants is common in Wolaita Sodo University as in other higher education institutions. The common practice of substance use and its association with poor academic performance demand universities to have a good control of the substance and to implement youth friendly activities. The effects of addiction might be better studied through pertinent, vigorous research.

Writing Abilities in Compulsive Prisoners

Research has found links between academic failure and criminal offending and suggest that many incarcerated young people have experienced significant behavioral and learning problems in school, which could result in criminal outcomes and poor academic performance. The objective of this study was to analyse writing disorders in impulsive and compulsive prisoners. The sample was composed of 194 male prisoners, of which 81 had been diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder and 113 with Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder. Male participants were recruited at the Granada Prison Center. They completed the Demographic, Crime, and Institutional Behavior Interview; the International Personality Disorder Examination (IPDE); The Symptom Checklist (SCL-90-R) and Assessment Battery of Writing Processes (PROESC in its Spanish acronym). We found that prisoners with writing disorders generally have difficulties in the skills necessary to write properly due to impulsive and compulsive behavior.