Students’ Attitudes towards Research: A Study of Graduate Education Students at a Chinese Normal University

Paul Kakupa,Han Xue

doi:10.22521/edupij.2019.82.1

Abstract

Students’ Attitudes towards Research: A Study of Graduate Education Students at a Chinese Normal University

Highlights

Graduate education is the level of education taken beyond that of the bachelor’s degree
This study examined graduate education students’ attitudes towards research, and explored the demographic factors associated with those attitudes
The results showed that the students had moderately positive attitudes towards research

Summary

Introduction

Graduate education is the level of education taken beyond that of the bachelor’s degree. A key component of this educational level is research, which often culminates into either a Master’s or Doctoral degree thesis or dissertation. Graduate education equips students with the necessary skills, knowledge and other competencies for independent research work. The ability to undertake research is not driven by the acquisition of research knowledge and skills alone; the affective component is key in this process. Discomfort, and worry (anxiety), in particular, can breed negative attitudes towards research (Williams & Coles, 2003). These negative attitudes can, in turn, leave graduate students feeling dejected, and unable to fulfil the research requirements of their degree programs on time (Rezaei & Zamani-Miandashti, 2013). Several studies have found that anxiety or attitudes towards a particular course (such as research), can have serious implications on the learning process and academic performance of students (Elmore & Lewis, 1991; Ma, 1995; Onwuegbuzie & Wilson, 2003; Papanastasiou & Zembylas, 2008; Wise, 1985; Woelke, 1991; Zeidner, 1991)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion