Academic Performance Rates Research Articles

Prevalence of Mild Hearing Loss in Schoolchildren and its Association with their School Performance.

Introduction Hearing is important for the proper development of every child, especially for those younger than 5 years of age, because it helps in the development of language and speech. Emotional and social problems, as well as issues with academic performance, can result from hearing loss even of mild degree. Early diagnosis and management can overcome those negative impacts. Objective To determine the prevalence of mild hearing loss in primary-school children and its association with their school performance. Methods A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted at a regular school. The study included the random selection of 120 apparently normal students (aged 6-9 years) who were considered as having normal hearing by their parents. A total of 20 students were excluded from the study due to the presence of wax in their ears. Finally, the study was conducted with 100 students. All participants were subjected to a basic audiological evaluation, and the Screening Instrument for Targeting Educational Risk (SIFTER) questionnaire was given to their teachers to evaluate their school performance. Results From a total of 100 students, we confirmed that 23 (23%) had mild hearing loss, 17 (17%) had bilateral conductive hearing loss, and 6 (6%) had bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. The students who had low attention and communication performance were significantly associated with mild hearing loss. Conclusion The prevalence of mild hearing loss was of 23% (23 cases). This problem had an effect on the communication and attention in school; and it might affect academic performance later in life. A hearing assessment is highly recommended for every child, especially those who have a low rate of academic performance.

INFLUENCE OF THE ACCURACY OF METACOGNITIVE MONITORING ON THE SUCCESS OF LEARNING ACTIVITY

The theoretical analysis of the researches on the influence of accuracy of metacognitive monitoring on the success of educational activity was carried out in the article. By metacognitive monitoring, we mean the ability to assess the current state of cognitive activity and the focus on tracking whether the subject is correct on the problem posed, and on establishing a level of understanding of the processed material. When considering the properties of metacognitive monitoring, one should pay attention to its accuracy. The precision of metacognitive monitoring allows an individual to successfully use effective metacognitive strategies to achieve the goals of cognition. This provides an advantage in planning information processing processes and identifying effective strategies in the future. The judgments of metacognitive monitoring are an important source of student control of cognitive processes during the acquisition of information. Obviously, in the case of excessive assurance, when memorizing the educational material, the student does not pay enough attention to study it, as he mistakenly believes that he has learnt it. However, underestimating its own abilities, the student will spend too much effort and time to process the information. The main trends in the accuracy of metacognitive monitoring and the success of learning activities are presented by the following assertions: high indicators of monitoring development, measured by various questionnaires, correlate positively with academic achievements and the success of the implementation of knowledge tests; School students and college students who demonstrate more precise metacognitive monitoring of the success of the tests of knowledge, have higher scores on these tests, and also have higher rates of academic performance; School students and college students who demonstrate low performance of knowledge tests, as well as low academic performance, tend to re-evaluate their knowledge. Keywords: metacognitive processes, metacognitive monitoring, learning activity, overconfidence, underconfidence, calibration. Accepted: 07. 0 9 .2018 Reviewed: 21 .0 9 .2018 Published: 12 .10.2018 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31108/3.2019.2.9.4 * * * * * Завантажити/прочитати статтю PDF

The better performance and higher retention rates of women in electrical engineering studies

This work compares the academic performance and retention rates of women and men in electrical engineering studies. The analysis is carried out in two bachelor engineering degree programs offered in the School of Telecommunication Engineering, at the Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Spain: Telecommunication Systems Engineering and Telematics Engineering. Data from seven consecutive academic years have been used to compute three indicators regarding the same cohort of students: exam attendance rate, success rate, and performance rate. The results show that, in general, women obtain better academic performance rates than men in the first two academic courses while, from the third course on, there seems to be a trend toward uniformity in the academic results between female and male students. Furthermore, women generally present lower attrition rates than men, especially in the first year, and better graduation rates. Such facts could be explained by the higher motivation of female students when enrolling engineering programs—due to the adverse stereotyped context that they have to overcome—which lead to higher retention rates throughout the academic years as compared to their male counterparts.

Parent report of children's sleep disordered breathing symptoms and limited academic progress in reading, writing, and math

ObjectivesTo estimate via questionnaire within a population sample of New Zealand (NZ) children aged 6-to-10 years, the prevalence of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) and those struggling academically, and to identify individual and shared risk factors (health and demographic) for parent-reported SDB symptoms and academic difficulties. MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, parents/caregivers of children were recruited through schools and social media to complete an online questionnaire covering health and demographic factors, their children's SDB symptoms (Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire; PSQ) and parental ratings of academic performance based on teacher feedback relative to expected progress in the national curriculum (well below/below/at/above) in reading, writing, and math. ResultsA total of 1205 children (53% male) aged (mean) eight years two months were included, comprising 79.4% NZ European/other and 15.0% Māori. The survey-weighted prevalence of SDB (based on the PSQ) was 17.5%. This was higher amongst those with academic difficulties rated ‘below/well below’ expected progress for reading, writing and math (estimated at 24.0%, 31.0% and 27.5% respectively), with increased odds (adjusted odds ratios) for poor progress of 1.9 (95% CI: 1.2, 3.0), 1.8 (95% CI: 1.2, 2.7) and 2.4 (95% CI: 1.6, 3.7) respectively. There were no shared risk factors common to both SDB and academic difficulties identified from multivariate analyses. ConclusionsThe findings suggest that children with parent-reported SDB symptoms may be at high risk for poor progress in reading, writing, and math. Future research could examine whether treatment of SDB reduces barriers to learning and offsets educational risk.

Desempeño académico y egreso en 25 generaciones de estudiantes de la Facultad de Medicina de la UNAM

IntroductionAcademic follow-up (cohorts) of medical students during training is a source of relevant information. ObjectivesTo identify academic performance and graduation rates indicators, and their relationship with gender in 25 cohorts of medical students at UNAM Faculty of Medicine in Mexico City. MethodsLongitudinal design of true cohorts, with analysis of the academic records of 24,529 students (classes of 1986 to 2010). ResultsIn recent years, more women than men study medicine, and students are younger and have higher high school and college grades. During the first year of medical school, grades are low and only half of the student population complete all mandatory courses without failing. Graduation rates after 5 years are 40% and after 8 years 75%. ConclusionsGender and academic outcomes are related. It is important to develop early interventions to improve the educational process.

Academic Achievement of Direct-Entry and Non-Direct Entry (Pre-NCE) Science Students in Niger State College of Education, Minna Nigeria: Implications for Educational Administrators

The study investigates the academic achievement of direct entry and Non-direct entry (Pre- NCE) science students in Niger State College of Education, Minna based on their modes of admission into NCE I, NCE II, and NCE III programme. The study adopted an expost-facto research design. The population of the study consisted of all students admitted in the school of sciences into the Niger state college of education, Minna during 2008/2009 academic sessions. Altogether they were 1110 admitted in the college during the years under study. A three years track of academic performance rating of 372 students in selected courses in the school of sciences were used for the study. The findings revealed that there is a significant difference between the mean scores of academic achievements of Direct Entry and Non-direct entry (Pre-NCE) NCE I, NCE II, and NCE III students in the school of sciences at the Niger State College of Education, Minna. It is therefore recommended that the Post-UTME test introduced by colleges of Education should be sustained especially as cases of students having a GPA of 0.00 have been recorded among UTME students who came in through Direct Entry.

Aromatherapy Hand Massage for Test Anxiety and Self-Efficacy in Nursing Students: A Pilot Study

The purpose of this study was to determine if aromatherapy hand massage (HM) could improve test anxiety and self-efficacy in nursing students. Participants were randomized to receive aromatherapy hand massage (AHM), unscented HM, or no intervention (C) 60 minutes before an examination. No significant differences were found, but analysis of the percentage change from the means demonstrated the largest decrease in test anxiety in the AHM group (AHM = −12.4%, HM = −8.63%, C = −1.76%). Self-efficacy trends followed a similar pattern (AHM = 5.93%, HM = −3.03%, C = 0.52%). The trends in the percentage change from the means indicate that a larger sample may show improvements in test anxiety and self-efficacy with the use of AHM, which could improve nursing students’ academic performance and decrease attrition rates.

A Teacher Like Me: A Review of the Effect of Student–Teacher Racial/Ethnic Matching on Teacher Perceptions of Students and Student Academic and Behavioral Outcomes

Considerable research has examined the positive educational experiences of students of color assigned to teachers of the same race or ethnicity. Underlying this research is the belief that the cultural fit between students and teachers has the potential to improve a child’s academic and nonacademic performance in school. This comprehensive review examines the extent to which Black and Latino/a students (1) receive more favorable ratings of classroom behavior and academic performance, (2) score higher on standardized tests, and (3) have more positive behavioral outcomes when assigned to a teacher of the same race/ethnicity. Assignment to a same-race teacher is associated with more favorable teacher ratings, although the relationship differs by school level. There is fairly strong evidence that Black students score higher on achievement tests when assigned to a Black teacher. Less consistent evidence is found for Latino/a students.

Ranking Nordic Criminologists by Impact and Prestige

Criminology is growing internationally. In this study, I examine articles by Nordic criminologists in fifteen top journals for the period 2008–2017 and present quality-adjusted rankings of the top 30. The ranking applies measures that integrate publications and citations with position in the author-sequence and journal impact factor. I found 191 articles by 188 unique authors with 352 contributions in total. The scholars in the sample had, on average, contributed to 1.87 articles in the selected journals, but only about a third were published in ten selected U.S.-based journals while the rest were published in five European-based journals. Six scholars place high on all the three composite scores of impact and prestige. The identified trend may signal the increasing diversity and inclusivity of the field. The results can provide benchmarks for the going rate of academic performance among Nordic criminologists and may serve to empower younger researchers seeking promotions.

Relative progress and academic performance of graduate vs undergraduate entrants to an Australian medical school

BackgroundWhether graduate entrants to medical school perform better academically than undergraduate entrants remains controversial. Differences in the discipline backgrounds of graduates may, at least in part, have accounted for differences in the results of comparative studies reported to date. This study aimed to address the dual issues of whether academic performance and progression rates were different between GE and UG students and the extent to which the discipline background of GE students may underpin any differences observed.MethodsRelative academic performance as well as indicators of student progression (supplementary examinations, repeat years, leave of absence, withdrawal from the programme) were compared between graduate entrants (GE) (N = 410) and both school leaver entrants (SLE) (N = 865) and non-standard entrants (some prior tertiary education) (NSE) (N = 148) who combined for the final 4 yr. of a 6 yr. MBBS undergraduate programme in 8 consecutive cohorts from 2006 to 2013 in Western Australia.ResultsExamination scores were generally at or very close to a distinction grade or higher across all groups. Higher mean examination scores were seen for GE versus both SLE and NSE in the first 2 years with no significant differences in the final 2 years. GE from biological science / science backgrounds (N = 241) or physical science backgrounds (N = 26) performed the same as SLE and NSE throughout the programme. GE with a health / allied health background (N = 91), however, performed better throughout. They also performed better when compared to their GE counterparts from a humanities (N = 32) or a biological science / science background. GE had increased odds of withdrawing when compared to SLE (OR 2.50, 95% CI 1.30, 4.79, P = 0.006), but not compared to NSE. NSE had increased odds of repeating at least one level when compared to either GE (OR 2.74, 95% CI 1.21, 6.21, P = 0.016) or SLE (OR 4.10, 95% CI 1.93, 8.70, P < 0.001). There were no differences by entry category in the odds of sitting at least one supplementary examination during the programme. There was an increase in the odds of taking at least one leave of absence in both SLE (OR 2.55, 95% CI 1.79, 3.63, P < 0.001) and NSE (OR 2.47, 95% CI 1.50, 4.07, P < 0.001) compared to GE.ConclusionsBetter academic performance by GE compared to SLE and NSE was predominantly due to higher scores for GE with a health / allied health background. GE were also less likely to have impeded progress during the course.

Impact of counselling on the attendance and academic performance of second year medical students in the subject Pharmacology

Background: Absenteeism is becoming a major problem among medical students which has become a focus of concern nationally and globally.Methods: Students are assessed at the beginning of the counselling. The academic performance and attendance rates of students are recorded and tabulated systematically. The data was evaluated for the group of students having low academic performance and attendance over the study period. Statistics applied to determine significant impact of counselling on attendance and academic performance of students over the study period.Results: Study showed positive and significant impact of counselling on attendance and academic performance of the students. The study also revealed positive correlation between attendance and academic performance.Conclusions: The significant impact of counselling was found on student attendance and academic performance. The counselling sessions also proved to improve the student teacher relationship in terms of better two-way communication and also helped in receiving feedback on implementation of new ways of teaching.

Online Stratifcation: How Academic Performance Indicators Relate to Choices between Cyber Charter Schools

Background/Context A primary argument that supports charter school policy assumes students favor schools with high academic performance ratings, leading to systemic school improvement. Previous research challenges this assumption but has limited generalizability because geographic and enrollment constraints limit student choice sets. Purpose/Objective This study examines student enrollment patterns within cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania, a state where elected policymakers tend to view choice as a means for school improvement. Cyber charter schools are advantageous to study in this context because they have fewer enrollment barriers, helping researchers account for constraints found in previous studies. Research Design Using consecutive years of student-level enrollment data, we use descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression analyses to answer the following questions: Is a particular cyber charter school more popular if it displays relatively higher performance on academic indicators? To what extent do enrollments in the highest performing cyber charter school relate to the demographics of students and school environments that they left? Findings/Results The findings suggest that despite the more accessible choice sets inherent in the cyber charter school sector, academic performance indicators still are not linked to popularity within the sector. Enrollment clustering persists along student demographics and feeder district traits. Conclusions/Recommendations These findings suggest that even in the cyber charter school sector where key enrollment restrictions are removed, inequitable enrollment patterns persist. These findings continue to challenge basic assumptions used in school choice policy framing. Policymakers should consider this evidence when and if they design and implement charter school policy, creating policy that accounts for inequitable enrollments that occur under current policy logic.

English

The study investigates the use of electronic resources by postgraduate students in University of Cape Coast (UCC). It specifically targets first year postgraduate students of UCC. Awareness, usage, training, and access were explored. A survey method was employed and a structured questionnaire was utilized to solicit data. The findings revealed that, though students are aware of electronic resources, they do not fully utilize them to support their academic pursuit due to poor level of information literacy skills. However, few students had not participated in all information literacy skills training organized by the library. Results from the study showed that, significant number of postgraduate students do access electronic resources when on campus and mostly use electronic devices such as laptops, ipad, desktop computers, and mobile phones. The findings indicated that students use the electronic resources to complete assignments, write project work, to update lessons note, for research, and up-date themselves on new information in their fields of study. It was recommended that a structured curriculum should therefore be established as part of postgraduate students’ normal lecture periods where time is allocated on their time table for electronic resource training, and if possible, credited to their academic performance ratings or grading. Key words: Awareness, electronic resources, postgraduate students, training.

Multilingual glossaries: a solution for epistemological access in higher education

Summary writing is an important skill In this paper, it is argued that although the preferred language of teaching, learning and assessment at the former Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) is English (NMMU Language Policy, 2009), students’ primary languages can be mobilised to facilitate learning. Internal research at NMMU (2008) indicated that black and coloured students’ pass rates were low. To improve this situation, language support in the form of multilingual glossaries (in English, Afrikaans & isiXhosa) was provided. Multilingual glossaries were developed by communities of practice inside and outside the university. These glossaries have contributed towards changing the monolingual academic environment at NMMU to a multilingual one, and improved Black and Coloured students’ pass rates although they are still lower than their White and Indian counterparts (Sheppard, 2013/14). This study led to the conclusion that, understanding disciplinary concepts through the primary language could improve students’ academic performance and pass rates. A group of 28 Tourism Management students in a Communication tutorial participated in a pilot study conducted by the Centre for Teaching, Learning & Media to develop and measure the effectiveness of these multilingual glossaries. The data, in the form of qualitative and quantitative students’ feedback and pre- and post-test scores, will be presented. Keywords: linguistic diversity; multilingual glossaries; multilingualism; language development; academic achievement

Can educational laws improve efficiency in education production? Assessing students’ academic performance at Spanish public universities, 2008–2014

The information on academic performance rates—what percentage of the enrolled credits a student can pass in one academic year—showed traditionally a relatively low students’ academic performance at Spanish public universities. However, over the period 2008–2014, the academic productivity of undergraduate students at public higher education institutions improved considerably. In this period, Spanish universities experienced changes related to the structuring of the educational curriculum—the homogenization of undergraduate university degrees—and the policy of tuition fees. In relation to the latter, the entry into force of the Royal Decree-Law 14/2012 (the so-called Decreto Wert) allowed universities a considerable increase in tuition fees. Using data for Spanish public universities for the academic years 2008/2009 and 2013/2014, this paper studied to what extent this educational law contributed to the improvement of the academic performance of undergraduate students. Using a stochastic frontier analysis for panel data, this paper showed that the increase in undergraduate tuition fees (first enrolment) acted as a catalyst in reducing the inefficiencies of the Spanish public university system.

Wellness Promotion Courses in University Settings: A Review of the Outcome Research

Background: Improving college student wellness continues to be a challenge due to concerns related to lifestyle, unhealthy behavior, and lack of accessible supports, often resulting in poor academic performance and high drop-out rates. As a result there has been an increase in wellness-promoting academic courses across colleges and universities with the goal of helping students to establish healthy lifestyle behaviors.Aim: This article critically reviews the existing literature related to college courses designed to promote student wellness.Methods: This scoping review examines research related to courses designed to improve wellness within the college student population between the years 2000-2017 using multiple electronic databases. Results: Review findings include a lack of rigorous research designs, lack of integration of evidence-based models of wellness, challenges associated with consensus conceptualizations of wellness, fidelity, and replicability of wellness-related courses.Conclusions: Wellness as an emerging paradigm continues to gain attention in the literature, particularly related to college students. However, there is a need for more rigorous study designs, examination of mechanisms of change, and consensus related to conceptualizations of wellness and component definitions to inform wellness-promotion efforts, and ultimately support health-enhancing change within the existing lifestyle culture on college campuses.

Development of Methodical Materials for Teaching of Modern Physics

In the paper, the results of a study into a problem of cognitive barriers (difficulties) related to the third component of a pedagogical triad “how to teach what to teach to how to be learned study” are reported. At the first stage, methodical approaches to academic performance rating for students learning mathematical and natural-science disciplines were proposed. At the following stage, the cognitive barriers of students arising in the course of studying the specified disciplines were established. The results, obtained during realization of the above two stages were used as a basis for the development of methodology for teaching the discipline “Concept of modern natural sciences”, which is intended for the students of humanitarian and economic profiles. The core of the methodology for teaching the mentioned discipline is a theoretical course, guided by the fundamental ideas of physics, which have been formulated conceptually. Also, the content of a special course entitled “Physical foundations of new composite materials” is disclosed. The special course is intended for senior students of the technical universities studying in the directions training technical officers of industrial productions. The purpose of this course is to give to students the basic knowledge on the physical phenomena of material world of nano – and microscales, which are used for design of the advanced materials.

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports in High Schools: A Case Study From New Hampshire

ABSTRACTThe quality of a school’s social environment is critically related to student outcomes, including academic performance, attendance, student behavior, and high school completion rates. New Hampshire engaged in a dropout prevention initiative between 2006 and 2012 that focused on implementation of the multitiered Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework combined with an intensive, student-driven school-to-adult life transition intervention for the highest-need youth. This article presents a case study of how one high school in New Hampshire implemented PBIS at all three tiers of support: schoolwide, targeted, and intensive. The case study includes a description of practices implemented by the school, school- and student-level outcomes pre- and postimplementation, the coaching and training support provided to school staff, and successes and challenges experienced by the school. The discussion ends with recommendations for practice and research of PBIS implementation in high schools.

Effectiveness of music therapy on academic performance of nursing students

Background: It has been shown that music has effect on intellectual functions, behavioral aspects, and emotional aspects of students. The present study explores the role of music on these aspects of nursing students. The purpose of this study is to observe the effect of music listening on academic performance. Materials and Methods: Data were collected using a questionnaire. Sociodemographic data, study habits, home-related aspects, teacher-related aspects, and academic performance rating scale was used to analyze the academic performance of the students. Instrumental flute and violin music called Raag Shivaranjani and Raag Mohana were administered to the experimental group using a comfortable head set; it took 10 min for each sample. Music therapy was withheld from the control group. Posttest was conducted on 30th day in both intervention and control group with the same tool to assess the effectiveness of music therapy. Results: Of the 191 participants, intervention arm in the music therapy group (91 nursing students) and in the control group (100 nursing students), the positive findings obtained were that listening to music during studying had positive effects on the concentration of students and improved the academic performance. In the posttest academic performance rating to assess the effectiveness of music therapy, “estimate the percentage of written Nursing Foundation (care plan and case study) work completed (regardless of accuracy) relative to classmates” and “estimate the accuracy completed written nursing foundation (care plan and case study) work (i.e., percent correct of work done)” there were statistically significant changes in academic performances on exposure to music therapy. Conclusions: The current study suggests that a sub-group of students can get benefitted when the music is used as an intervention to improve academic performance. The following core competencies are addressed in this article: Medical knowledge, Practice-based learning and improvement, Interpersonal and communication skills.

Academic Satisfaction Level and Academic Achievement among Students at Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences: Academic Year 2015-2016

Background: Academic satisfaction is considered one of the most important factors affecting academic achievement among students. The purpose of the present study was to determine the relationship between academic satisfaction and academic achievement among students at Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences in Iran. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted with 346 student participants using stratified random sampling. The research instrument included the Student Academic Satisfaction Questionnaire, the Academic Performance Rating Scale, and student grade point average (GPA). Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. A 0.05 significance level was used for statistical tests. Results: The mean score of academic satisfaction among students was 50.7 ± 9.8 and the academic satisfaction level was moderate in 46.2% of the students. Comparing the academic satisfaction level in different fields of study, students in health (58.5%), nursing (67.5%), and paramedics (51.1%) reported a moderate satisfaction level and students in midwifery (84.2%), pharmacology (53.5%), medicine (69.3%), and dentistry (55.5%) recorded a high satisfaction level (P < 0.05). There was also a significant and positive correlation between academic satisfaction and academic achievement (P = 0.001, r = 0.02). Conclusion: Academic satisfaction among the 46.2% students that reported a moderate level was far from the ideal level. The relationship between academic satisfaction and academic achievement also indicated that creating motivation among students and increasing their levels of satisfaction could provide the grounds for academic achievement among them as much as possible.