Class Attendance Research Articles

Early morning university classes are associated with impaired sleep and academic performance

Attending classes and sleeping well are important for students’ academic success. Here, we tested whether early morning classes are associated with lower attendance, shorter sleep and poorer academic achievement by analysing university students’ digital traces. Wi-Fi connection logs in 23,391 students revealed that lecture attendance was about ten percentage points lower for classes at 08:00 compared with later start times. Diurnal patterns of Learning Management System logins in 39,458 students and actigraphy data in 181 students demonstrated that nocturnal sleep was an hour shorter for early classes because students woke up earlier than usual. Analyses of grades in 33,818 students showed that the number of days per week they had morning classes was negatively correlated with grade point average. These findings suggest concerning associations between early morning classes and learning outcomes.

Enhancing Higher Education Student Class Attendance through Truancy Reduction Program at the University of Namibia

The major objective of the present study was to identify the contributory factors of truancy among higher education students at the university of Namibia. Besides that, it was aimed at gaining a comprehensive understanding of the truancy reduction program which the university may adopt to help lessen the situation. A broader view of attendance issues in higher institutions is becoming more prevalent in literature. Also, the rise of higher institutions of learning has been accompanied by a sharp increase in the journey to source for approaches of enhancing class attendance amongst university students. The sample comprised 48 full-time students from the faculty of Education and Human Sciences aged between 17 to 60 years old from the University of Namibia’s Rundu campus. Data was collected using the open-ended online survey questionnaire. The questionnaire consists of two sections, one on respondents’ demographic data and the other on higher education students’ class attendance. A pilot study had been conducted to validate the instrument. Respondents were sent the link via the WhatsApp platform for them to respond to. Responses were monitored by the corresponding author using google docs. Data were analysed thematically. Results demonstrate that truancy among university students is significantly influenced by students, lecturers, and the university and a thorough grasp of the truancy reduction programme that institutions may use to help reduce truancy should be imposed.

Enhancing Higher Education Student Class Attendance through Truancy Reduction Program at the University of Namibia

Enhancing Higher Education Student Class Attendance through Truancy Reduction Program at the University of Namibia

Identity Verification using Geometry of Human Hands

Biometrics which can be used for identification of individuals based on their physical or behavioural characteristics has gained importance in today’s society where information security is essential. Hand geometry based biometrics systems are gaining acceptance in low to medium security applications. Hand geometry based identification systems utilize the geometric features of the hand like length and width of the fingers, diameter of the palm and the perimeter. The proposed system is a verification system which utilizes these hand geometry features for user authentication. This project introduces an inexpensive, powerful and easy to use hand geometry based biometric person authentication system. One of the novelties of this work comprises on the introduction of hand geometry’s related, position independent, feature extraction and identification which can be useful in problems related to image processing and pattern recognition. Today students’ (class) attendance became more important part for any organizations/institutions. The conventional method of taking attendance by calling names or signing on paper is very time consuming and insecure, hence inefficient. This paper presents the manual students’ attendance management into computerized system for convenience or data reliability. So, the system is developed by the integration of ubiquitous computing systems into classroom for managing the students’ attendance using palm print scanner. The system is designed to implement an attendance management system based on palm print scanner which students need to use their palm to success the attendance where only authentic student can be recorded the attendance during the class. This system takes attendance electronically with the help of the webcam, and the records the attendance in a database. Students’ roll call percentages and their details are easily seen via Graphical User Interface (GUI).

Instrument construct of student's discipline attitude: Validity and reliability

This study aimed to determine how the teacher's assessment of student discipline attitudes has been done all this time. Knowing how to develop an instrument for assessing students 'disciplinary attitudes that is standard and feasible to use, including: (a) what indicators are appropriate to measure students' disciplinary attitudes. (b) how to develop indicators for assessing disciplinary attitudes into questionnaire items. (c) determine the validity and reliability of the student's disciplinary attitude assessment instrument. In the end, to find out the degree of discipline of senior high school students. This research is a research and development. The subjects in this study were 312 class XI students of SMA Negeri 1 Karangdowo. Data collection was carried out by distributing questionnaires. The data analysis used included Exploratory Factor Analysis, reliability analysis using Cronbach's Alpha, and descriptive analysis. The result showed (1) the assessment of disciplinary attitudes by the teacher had not used valid and reliable instruments. (2) the results of the development of the instrument obtain indicators of discipline attitude, which are divided into 3, namely: obeying the general rules of schools outside the teaching and learning activities, obeying the rules of teaching and learning, and attendance in class, and obeying the rules of the learning task. The construct validity test of 50 items was declared valid with a Cronbach's Alpha value of 0.898, which was divided into 15 factors. (3) the tendency of discipline attitude of class XI students of SMA Negeri 1 Karangdowo is in the medium category

Efforts to Increase Teacher Discipline in Teaching Attendance in Class Through the Implementation of Rewards and Punishment at SDN 071060 Lasara Idanoi, Gido District, Nias Regency, 2021/2022 Academic Year

Improving the quality of learning in schools is very dependent on several factors. A very important factor, among others, is the application of school culture towards quality improvement. School culture is a positive thing that must be maintained and implemented by all school members without feeling forced. One of the school cultures that must be maintained is a culture of discipline, including the discipline of teachers in class attendance during the teaching and learning process. To improve the discipline of teachers can be pursued through various ways. In this School Action Research (PTS), an action was attempted in the form of implementing Reward and Punishment for teachers at SDN. 071060 Lasara Idanoi, Gido District, Nias Regency. This research was carried out in two cycles, because from the results of the research and data analysis, it turned out that in the second cycle, the teacher's discipline in class attendance in the teaching and learning process increased and met the predetermined indicators of 75%. From the results of this study, it can be concluded that to improve teacher discipline in class attendance in teaching and learning activities can be done by applying Reward and Punishment to teachers.

Enhanced Student Class Attendance by Using Concept of Flipped Classroom Approach

Purpose: The absenteeism of students in the classroom at an education institute is the interventional issue for this study and the flipped classroom method is used to solve or minimize this issue. Methodology: This study was conducted on 100 (before and after) students of the 2020-21 session (Bangla, English, Philosophy, Mathematics and Statistics courses) of two reputed colleges in Dhaka City. The collected data were analyzed and compared using independent t-test methods, where instructional intervention was an independent variable, and class attendance and mid-term mark were considered dependent variables. Results: The results of this study show that the class attendance and mid-term exam mark of students in the two groups (flipped method and traditional method) are statistically significant at a 5% level of significance (class attendance t =15.54, p = 0.00, <0.05, mid-term exam mark, t =17.83, p = 0.00, <0.05). The classroom class attendance and mid-term exam mark for the students in the flipped method group (class attendance: mean score 89.62, mid-term exam mark: mean score 20.58) were significantly greater than that of the traditional method group (class attendance: mean score 49.22, mid-term exam mark: mean score 8.54). Limitations: In this study, only 100 students’ data was collected from two reputed colleges in Dhaka city, consequently the results obtained from this study may not represent the overall context. Contribution: These two statistical results indicate the flipped classroom approach is better than the traditional approach. Thus, applying flipped classroom model to teaching keeps students engaged in a variety of activities before/in/after class, increased learning interest, and reduces student absenteeism. Novelty: The method applied in this study has opened new horizons instead of the long-standing conventional idea in the field of education.

School Administrators’ Views on Problem Situations and Solution Recommendations in Distance Education during Covid-19 Pandemi

This study was conducted to get school principals’ views on transition to the distance education (via TRT-EBA TV and Education Information Network), which was implemented within the scope of the measures taken at schools in Turkey with Covid-19 pandemic, to identify the problems at schools in this process, to determine the activities to overcome the problems and to reveal administrators’ recommendations. In this qualitative research, the phenomenology design was preferred. The study was carried out in the spring semester of the 2020-2021 academic year. 15 school administrators working in Gaziantep were included in the study using the maximum sampling method. Due to the pandemic conditions, interviews were held with the participants by technological devices and data were collected in this way. The data were analyzed by content analysis. According to the findings, problems concentrated under four main headings (categories) at schools during pandemic. These are technology, adaptation, planning and school-family cooperation. In line with the school administrators’ views, problem situations were identified in sub-headings such as access to technology-based (online) education, student's technological proficiency, students' attendance in online classes, the environment in which students attend in distance education, distance education experience, supervision in distance education, teachers' adaptation to distance education, students' adaptation to distance education, psychological state and motivation, communication, preparing course schedules, arranging lessons such as remunerating the courses and calculating additional course allowances, planning in-school activities, providing parents' support for distance education and establishing school-family cooperation. Many activities and administrator recommendations to eliminate these problems were determined and presented in tables in the findings section. At the end of the study, some recommendations such as improving the infrastructure providing access to distance education, organizing trainings to increase technology literacy for both teachers and students, etc. were included for practitioners, policy makers and researchers.

Bioengineering and medical informatics education in MD programs: perspectives from three Italian experiences

BackgroundGiven the impact of bioengineering and medical informatics technologies in health care, the design and implementation of education programs able to combine medical curricula with a proper teaching on engineering and informatics is now of paramount importance. In Italy, this goal has to fit in with the existing higher education system, which is structured into Bachelor programs and Master programs. Medicine and Surgery programs, instead, are designed as a six-year single-cycle Degree Program in Medicine and Surgery which comprises both class attendance and hospital internship and training. This program allows students to become Medical Doctors (MD). The different organization of this University program makes it not easy to introduce further contents, namely hard science courses, in the educational program. Notwithstanding this, we present here some recent innovative programs aimed at widening MD curriculum by including biomedical engineering and informatics subjects. In particular, we will introduce three of them. Two are joint-degree programs, the first between Humanitas University and Politecnico di Milano (MEDTEC School), and the second between University of Calabria and University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro (Medicina e Chirurgia TD). The Third one is a Professional Master coupled with an MD degree, based on a joint program among Pavia University, Pisa University, the Institute of Advanced studies in Pavia and the Scuola Superiore S. Anna in Pisa (MEET). ContributionThe paper provides a description of the fundamental design principles of the three above mentioned programs, and explores some aspects of the teaching modules, highlighting their positive aspects. In particular, we show how the three different programs allow students to enrich their knowledge by studying engineering subjects and innovative methods and technologies, as well as their applications to patient care. ConclusionsThe MEDTEC program is the first degree program at Italian and international scale which integrates medical and engineering subjects. In the following years, other programs were issued in Italy, defining similar education programs to couple a degree in medicine education with bioengineering and medical informatics, among which Medicina e Chirurgia TD and MEET. We believe the experiences described here in this paper represent the possibility of bridging the gap between medical and technological competencies.

Dance on: a mixed-method study into the feasibility and effectiveness of a dance programme to increase physical activity levels and wellbeing in adults and older adults

BackgroundPhysical activity (PA) has beneficial effects on physical and mental health outcomes in older adults. However, a consistent decline in PA participation has been noted with increasing age, with older adults consistently being reported as the least physically active population. Previous evidence showed that dance is an appropriate form of PA in older adults as it integrates the body’s movement with physical, cognitive, and social elements. This study investigated the feasibility and efficacy of a weekly dance programme over a 12-month period on PA levels and wellbeing.MethodsA mixed-method intervention design was used. Community-dwelling older adults aged 55 + years were recruited from local community groups in Yorkshire (UK). The programme comprised of a 60-min mixed genre dance class per week. Changes with carried forward data in self-reported measures of PA (min/week) and wellbeing with EuroQol visual analogue scale (EQ VAS) across four different time points (baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months) were assessed using the Friedman test. Feasibility was also assessed through class attendance and focus groups (N = 6–9) with participants. A thematic analysis of qualitative data was conducted.ResultsA total of 685 participants (589–89.1% females and 72–10.9% males) took part in the study. The mean age was 75 ± 10 years, and 38% of the participants were classed as highly deprived as per the index of multiple deprivation. There was a statistically significant increase in both PA (X2(3) = 192.42, P < 0.001) and EQ VAS scores across the four time points (X2(3) = 19.66, P < 0.001). The mean adherence rate was consistent across the 12-month period of intervention (70%). Themes from the focus groups included reasons for participating in the programme, perceptions of how the dance programme affected the participants, and facilitators to participation in the programme.ConclusionsThe good adherence and favourability indicate that the dance programme is feasible as an intervention in community-dwelling participants from socially economically diverse communities. The dance intervention showed a positive effect on PA levels and wellbeing. A randomised-controlled trial with a control group is required to test this intervention further.

ANALISIS DAN PERANCANGAN SISTEM PRESENSI MAHASISWA BERBASIS TEKNOLOGI PENGENALAN WAJAH DI FAKULTAS ILMU KOMPUTER UPN VETERAN JAWA TIMUR

Recording student attendance in classes at the National Development University "Veteran" East Java is currently still done manually. This is considered less efficient. With the rapid development of today's technology, attendance systems that utilize biometrics should be created and developed. In this research paper, the researcher presents the proposed design of a facial recognition-based biometric presence system. The research method used is literature study, current system analysis, system requirements analysis, and system design. The learning method used is Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) by utilizing the OpenCV and tensorflow libraries. The implementation of the system will utilize CCTV surveillance cameras that are in the class of the Computer Science Faculty of UPN "Veteran" Jawa Timur.

Hybrid Pedagogies: Nurturing teaching presence in multi-modal learning spaces

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted teaching and learning practices, particularly those in Higher Education. Students and Educators are reflecting on their practices and experiences over the past 18 months and the demand for new modes of teaching and learning have emerged. One such mode is Hybrid-Flexible or HyFlex. Utilising a HyFlex model, teachers teach students at the same time face-to-face (f2f) and synchronously online through video-conferencing software while enabling other students to engage in asynchronous learning (Beatty, 2019). Each class and learning activity is offered in-person, synchronously, and asynchronously. An underlying principle of HyFlex is to ensure a cohesive, connected student experience and to ensure that no student is academically disadvantaged. While a HyFlex design enables students to choose whether to attend classes f2f or online, synchronously or asynchronously, it requires faculty to reconceptualize the learning experience and rethink student engagement. Designing, developing and facilitating multiple modes of participation in HyFlex is a challenging endeavour which calls for specialized pedagogical knowledge, competencies and skills (Ulferts, 2021). There is a need to prepare educators for the diverse set of multifaceted roles HyFlex presents, however, there is a dearth of literature which explores the pedagogies that integrate physical and virtual learning spaces in the HyFlex learning environment. This paper firstly defines HyFlex and examines its strengths and shortcomings with a particular focus on pedagogy. Universal design principles and instructional strategies are then outlined and the notion of presence in the HyFlex teaching and learning environment is considered. In particular, it considers the role of teaching presence and how it might be redefined in a Hyflex environment to ensure cohesive, coordinated quality provision.

Lecture Attendance among Undergraduate Business Students in Egypt: An Exploratory Study

In Egypt’s higher education system, there are differences among universities about the compulsory nature of class attendance. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw a transition of higher education activities to online environments, has led, after the return to face-to-face learning, to an update on the usefulness of face-to-face learning for higher education students. This work provides quantitative exploratory research on the assessment of university students in the areas of economics and business in Egypt about attendance to face-to-face lectures, its advantages and disadvantages, and the usefulness of implementing new learning methodologies within the lectures. As a result, it has been obtained that the participating students valued attendance as an important element of their learning, although they identified disadvantages in this regard. In addition, they supported the development of active and collaborative methodologies in lectures. It is proposed that this research should be extended to compare the results with those of other geographical areas, and it is suggested that universities increase the adoption of new learning methodologies through the adoption of measures, such as teacher training, in this regard.

A Study on Strategies to Improve Elementary School Teachers' Professionalism in the Context of Integrated Education

Integrated education is an educational concept of special education, which refers to the provision of equal quality education and related services for all children, including those with special educational needs, in regular classes in regular schools in the community, based on the belief of meeting the diverse learning needs of all children. In recent years, the elementary school level has become the main basis for the development of integrated education, and the number of children with special needs attending classes has gradually increased, placing higher demands on the professionalism of elementary school teachers. This study aims to improve the professionalism of elementary school teachers in the context of integrated education at three levels: educational administration, schools and teachers, which will not only inject new energy into the development of elementary school teachers' professionalism, but also better promote the development of "class attendance" in China.

Managerial Skills and Performance of School Management Committees in Primary Schools in Yumbe District-Uganda.

This study investigated the influence of managerial skills on the performance of School Management Committees (SMC) in primary schools in Yumbe District. Managerial skills were conceptualized as financial skills and administrative skills. The performance of primary schools was conceptualized in terms Primary Leaving Examination Results, Approved school budget, Financial and accountability reports, Assessment of learners and teachers, Duty attendance by teachers and Class attendance by pupils. The objectives included (i) to examine the influence of financial skills on the performance of School Management Committees (SMCs) of Primary Schools in Yumbe District and (ii) to examine the influence of administrative skills on the performance of School Management Committees of Primary Schools in Yumbe District. The study adopted cross sectional and correlational designs. The study population was 340 using Morgan and Krejcie (1970) a sample of 185 respondents was obtained. Data were collected using in-depth interviews and self-administered questionnaires, analysed using Pearson’s linear correlation coefficient and content analysis. The results indicated that there was strong significant relationship between financial skills and performance of SMCs as well as strong significant relationship between administrative skills and SMC performance with r = (r = .772, α≤ .01) and (r = .850, α ≤ .01) respectively. The regression models all indicate a significant fit. The study concluded that managerial skill influences the performance of SMCs in primary schools. The study recommended continuous training for SMCs.

Secondary school mathematics teaching evaluations by students: A report card for the mathematics teacher

This study presents findings from multiple case studies undertaken in three secondary schools in South Africa’s Limpopo Province. The goal was to collect input from students on mathematics teaching practices in their classrooms. The study included a self-selected sample of eleven grade 12 students. Unstructured individual interviews and students’ written reports were used to collect data, which was then analyzed based on emerging themes. Students expressed genuine concerns about teachers’ lesson preparation, subject and pedagogical knowledge, classroom management, attention given to slow learners, quality of classwork and homework tasks given to students, exam preparation, class attendance, and utilization of contact time, teachers’ attitudes, and their emotional intelligence, among others. Based on the study’s findings, the author suggests that student evaluation of teaching be used in secondary schools to help teachers reflect on their teaching practices in order to create learning environments that most students would enjoy.

Community Health Worker-led Implementation of the Stanford Youth Diabetes Coaching Program in Underserved Latinx Communities.

The Stanford Youth Diabetes Coaching Program (SYDCP) is an evidence-based program led by health care professionals to teach healthy youth who then coach family members with diabetes or other chronic conditions. This purpose of this study is to evaluate a Community Health Worker (CHW)-led implementation of the SYDCP for low-income Latinx students from underserved agricultural communities. CHWs were trained and virtually led 10 training sessions virtually during the COVID-19 for Latinx students who were recruited from high schools in agricultural regions of Washington state. Feasibility measures include recruitment, retention, class attendance, and successful coaching of a family member or friend. Acceptability was measured by responses on the post-training survey. Effectiveness was evaluated by pre-post changes in measures used in prior studies of the SYDCP such as level of activation and diabetes knowledge. Thirty-four students were recruited, 28 completed the training and 23 returned both pre- and post-surveys. Over 80% of students attended 7 or more classes. All met with a family or friend and 74% met with them weekly. Approximately 80% of the students rated the program's usefulness as "very good" or "excellent." Pre-post increases in diabetes knowledge, nutrition-related behaviors, resilience, and activation were significant and similar to those observed in prior published studies of the SYDCP. Findings support the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of a CHW-led implementation of the SYDCP in underserved Latinx communities using a virtual remote model.

Investigating students' motivational goals and self‐efficacy and task beliefs in relationship to course attendance and prior knowledge in an undergraduate statics course

AbstractBackgroundStudent persistence in undergraduate engineering majors often depends on how they perform in foundational engineering courses. Although mastery of prerequisite knowledge affects how students perform in these courses, research suggests that achievement goal orientations and task‐value and self‐efficacy beliefs play prominent roles in predicting students' achievement.Purpose/HypothesisDrawing on achievement goal, expectancy‐value, and self‐efficacy theories, this study explores the relationships and relative predictive significance of students' achievement goal orientations and task‐value and self‐efficacy beliefs on academic achievement when prior knowledge and class attendance in a foundational engineering course were accounted for.Design/MethodParticipants were students enrolled in engineering statics at a primarily White institution. A multiple regression analysis was conducted using achievement goals, self‐efficacy for learning performance, task value, absence, and prior knowledge as predictor variables, and participants' achievement scores as the outcome variable.ResultsPositive relationships were observed between the different achievement goal constructs. The final regression model explained 50% of the variance in participants' achievement scores. Self‐efficacy and task‐value belief effects remained significant predictors of achievement, even after prior knowledge and regular class attendance were considered. Further, the combined effect of self‐efficacy and task‐value beliefs on achievement was larger than that of prior knowledge alone.ConclusionsPedagogical approaches that seek to improve engineering students' task‐value and self‐efficacy beliefs may be more efficacious at promoting achievement than those that focus on fostering achievement goal orientations. Instructors should consider such approaches along with those that effectively address differences in prior knowledge in foundational engineering courses.

Adaptation of an In-Person Mind-Body Movement Program for People with Cognitive Impairment or Dementia and Care Partners for Online Delivery: Feasibility, Satisfaction and Participant-Reported Outcomes.

Preventing Loss of Independence through Exercise (PLIÉ) is an in-person group mind-body movement program for people across the spectrum of cognitive decline and care partners (CPs). This study developed and refined an online version called Moving Together and tested feasibility and satisfaction with an online delivery. In Phase 1, we used qualitative methods to determine which elements of the in-person program were essential to retain for the online version and adaptations that would be needed to support the user experience. In Phase 2, we created a prototype of the online program and iteratively refined it based on user feedback. In Phase 3, we assessed feasibility of online delivery based on class attendance and program completion; we assessed satisfaction and participant-reported outcomes using a post-program evaluation survey with quantitative and qualitative components. Phase 1 findings from 27 participants (14 PLWD, 13 CPs) revealed three key considerations related to online delivery of PLIÉ: technology use, social connection as a primary motivator, and physical safety concerns. Phase 2 iterative testing among 25 participants (14 PLWD, 11 CPs) resulted in key refinements to program delivery and instructional elements; Phase 3 pilot testing included 39 participants (12 PLWD, 15 CPs, 12 MCI) who attended 75 ± 29% of 24 classes; 77% completed the 12-week program, of whom 96% rated it as excellent or good. Participant-reported outcomes included improvements in social connection, emotional well-being, physical function, cognitive function and present-centered body awareness. PLWD or MCI also reported improvements in self-concept, and CPs reported improvements in caregiving self-efficacy. The primary challenges were related to participant navigation of technology. The Moving Together online program is feasible for PLWD or MCI and CPs with participants reporting high satisfaction and positive outcomes across multiple domains. Providing individual technology support is critical for the success of livestreamed, online interventions for dementia.

Features of adaptation of fifth graders at school

The article is devoted to the discussion of topical theoretical aspects of the problem of adaptation of fifth graders, the features of their development and the process of adaptation, diagnostics, and analysis of methods aimed at studying anxiety, self-esteem, state in the lesson. By creating adaptive situations, the school is the bearer of the richest social experience, including the adaptation of the student to the content and form of education. The analysis showed that the main task of the educational institution is to create conditions for the successful adaptation of students, which is the key to high-quality education of the individuals, their further improvement and self-development. For each stage of the research (theoretical, empirical, interpretative), its own group of methods is defined: theoretical: collection of information, generalization, systematization, analysis of scientific literature; empirical: ascertaining research, testing, questioning; psycho-diagnostic: testing according to the method of diagnosing the level of school anxiety by B.N. Phillips, questioning according to the method of studying the emotional state of students “Subject-feelings” by T.E. Kovina, A.K. Kolichenko and I.N. Agafonova, testing by the method of diagnostics of general self-esteem G.N. Kazantseva. A sample of 120 fifth grade students of the Municipal Autonomous Educational Institution Secondary School No. 138, Chelyabinsk, was formed. It was revealed that increased levels of anxiety are observed to a small extent, the majority of fifth-graders do not experience mental discomfort and anxiety, they are balanced and emotionally stable. The average value of the index of emotional positivity of fifth graders during class attendance is observed in 74 %, which indicates their satisfaction in most subjects, a fairly comfortable internal climate in the classroom. In general, the process of adaptation of fifth graders in the middle level can be considered satisfactory, but there are students who have low emotional positivity to learning – 26 % and low self-esteem – 19 %. The recommendations compiled based on the results of the study can contribute to the effective adaptation of fifth graders to study in a general education organization and can be useful to both parents and all subjects of educational relations.