Important Factor In Students Research Articles

An explanatory model of the intention to continue studying among non-traditional university students.

Although academic achievement is believed to be an important factor in students' decision to continue studying at university, research on this topic is limited. The current study analyzed the relationship between academic achievement and the intention of 327 non-traditional students to continue studying at university, using a path model. The central hypothesis of the study was confirmed, as the intention to continue studying was determined by previous academic results, although the amount of variance explained was relatively low (13%). The results from this study indicate that the intention to continue studying at university depends less than expected on the performance achieved. So, universities should consider other variables such as the quality of the academic support offered to these students continue their studies.

Cadaveric simulation in surgical training: A high-fidelity model to increase trainee confidence

Cadaveric simulation in surgical training: A high-fidelity model to increase trainee confidence

Exploring Service and Support Needs in Postgraduate Education towards the Higher Education Quality

Students’ support is needed in postgraduate education embracing many service areas towards quality education. In achieving excellent graduates for national transformation reality, it needs to be addressed at all levels including departmental and institutional. It is vital to create suitable environment for students’ studies to ensure the sustainable development and execution of outstanding research outcome. The paper identifies that one of the important factors in students’ development is to create proper support and services. Thus, a qualitative analysis has been conducted to postgraduate student to discover the main concern of the support and services offered in a Malaysian public university. This study involved semi-structured interviews and the sample was self-selecting. The study disclosed the most important needs and deprived services that should be improved.

Two case studies of content-based language education

This article describes and discusses two case studies of content-based instruction for second language education — foreign/second language immersion for majority language students in Canada and dual language education for minority language students in the U.S. After discussing the rationale for CBI in general, we examine 45 years of research on each program model and provide empirical evidence on a number of important issues, including: students’ proficiency in the two languages used for instruction; non-language academic outcomes; whether age is an important factor in students’ language outcomes; and the relationship between age of first exposure to the second language and outcomes in that language. Two outstanding major issues are discussed at some length; namely, the suitability of these programs for at-risk learners and the need for a coherent model of how best to integrate language and content instruction to maximize second language proficiency without detracting from academic achievement. Suggestions for future directions are provided.

Suicide Behavior among Junior High School Students in Philippines and Indonesia Associated with the Social Factors

Background: Suicide has become a major public health issue among adolescents. In Asian countries such as Indonesia and Philippines shares the same social norm which sees suicide as taboo. Objective: This study aimed to understand the prevalence of suicide ideation among junior high school students in Indonesia and Philippines and the social factors influencing it. Methodology: The Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) 2007 in Indonesia and Philippines were used in conducting this study. This study used two-stage cluster sampling design with a total of 5,369 junior high school students participate in a self-report questionnaire. 2 questions related to suicide ideation served as dependent variable, and 14 questions as the independent variable classified into socio-demographic, socio-environmental and psychosocial were fitted to model the binary logistic regression analysis. Results and Conclusion: Female students are more likely to have suicide behavior (AOR=1.914; 95%CI=1.432-2.557). Philippines students are more likely to have suicide ideation than Indonesian students (AOR=4.760; 95%CI=3.256-6.960). However, Indonesian students with suicidal ideation were more likely to express their ideation by making a suicide plan (53.5%) compare to the counterparts (40.6%). Psychosocial factors, gender and school grade are important factors in students’ suicide behavior. Policy strengthening in counseling in the junior high schools is needed to prevent suicide.

The School Role in Lively Education and Student's Mental Health

School is a social institution in which education and personality growth of future makers shaped. One of the important factors affecting the students’ fully-fledged growth is focusing on their mental health. This paper has dealt with the concepts of happiness and liveliness of schools as an important factor in students’ mental health using descriptive-analytic method and library resources. One of the effective factors of students’ mental health that is the main responsibility of teachers is creating juiciness and fresh education at schools. Happiness has a vital role in developing creativity, having a positive feeling in life, social cooperation, emotional consistency, self-confidence, willing to promotion, dynamicity of mind and so. The most effective factors in schools happiness are: school's management, teacher and physical space. Regarding role and importance of happiness in education developing the school's supervisors should try more in creating fixed happy environment and fresh education in attracting students.

Quality of Work and Team Spirit as Drivers of Student Peer Evaluation on Advertising Group Project Performance

Using the evaluation traits typically adopted by college instructors, this study investigates the dimensions of peer evaluation criteria used by college students in advertising management and campaigns courses and examines their effects on overall peer evaluation under the influence of three moderating self-related concepts: self-esteem, self-competence and goal orientations (i.e., learning goal orientation and performance goal orientation). The results, from Study 1 suggest Quality of Work and Team Spirit as two important factors for students’ evaluation of their peers. The moderating effects of self-related concepts from Study 2 indicate that students with high self-esteem and high self-competence use Quality of Work predominantly, while students with high learning goal orientation and performance goal orientation use both Quality of Work and Team Spirit for peer evaluations. Overall, the findings indicate that students use Quality of Work more strongly in evaluating their team peers, compared to Team Spirit.

Impact of Personal Factors on Environmental Education in Tertiary Institutions in Ekiti State, Nigeria

This study examined the personal factors of individual students that could enhance environmental education in tertiary institutions. A total of 539 students of tertiary institutions were sampled, using multi-stage, simple random and purposive sampling techniques. The research was a descriptive design. Data were gathered using self-constructed questionnaire. Six research hypotheses were generated, t-test analysis was used to test hypotheses one and two, Analysis of variance(ANOVA) was used to test hypotheses three to five, while Pearson Product moment correlation method was use to test hypothesis six. The hypotheses were tested and the results were found to be significant at 0.05 level. The study revealed that gender of students and parents’ level of education, were not important factors in students’ environmental awareness knowledge. Gender of students and parents’ level of education were not important factors in their environmental attitude. The study further revealed that type of institution has no influence on students’ environmental awareness knowledge, and also on their environmental attitude. However a significant relationship was established between students’ environmental awareness knowledge and environmental attitude. Based on these findings, it was recommended that environmental education should be intensified in tertiary institutions and that its content should reflect the immediate needs of the students.

Managing Time and Making Space: Canadian Students' Motivations for Study in Australia

This article examines the ways in which Canadian students on an exchange or study abroad programme in Australia articulated the value of their experience in connection with time and, more particularly, time constraints. Where Canadian universities often promote study abroad programmes in connection with the global knowledge-based economy, students' desires to travel abroad were more often rooted in a desire to take 'time out' while remaining productive towards the completion of future goals. Students' narratives reveal a connection between time management, travel, and the formations of a class identity. Rather than analysing time strictly as a form of capital, however, insights are generated around time as practice, that is, how time becomes an important factor in students' continual negotiations of space, social relationships, and what could be called a 'lifetime itinerary'.

Knowledge, Attitudes And Sexual Practices Of University Students For Advancing Peer HIV Education

To determine the current HIV/AIDS Knowledge, Attitudes and Sexual Practices (KASP) indicators amonguniversity students that would facilitate development and implementation of a peer education programme and the subsequent monitoring and evaluation of other HIV/AIDS activities. An institutional based cross-sectional study. Maseno University, Kenya. Five hundred students composed of 60% males and 40% females as dictated by the university's male to female ratio. Levels of HIV and AIDS awareness, knowledge and attitudes and the current related behavioural trends and tendencies, among the students at the University. Of the five hundred respondents included in the study, 68.5% of them reported having ever had sexual intercourse, with males being the majority at 78.2%, while the females were 54.7%. A large majority (77%) of females were in current sexual relationships compared to 66.7% of males. A significant proportion (54.8%) of first year students reported having had their first sexual intercourse at the university. Sexual activity was seen to increase from 56.9 to 71.2% among the first year students when they got to second year of study at the university. Peer pressure emerged as an important factor in students' sexual behaviour (P=0.001). Of the students, 32% reported having undergone HIV tests, 70.8% were willing to go for a test while 74.3% perceived they had a chance of being infected with the virus based on their previous risky sexual experiences. A significant 77.7% of the respondents affirmed having ever used condoms but only 15.8% reported consistent use. High proportions of students are sexually active with peaks in first and second years of study. This is coupled with an equal inconsistent use of condoms. Peer influence emerged as an important feature in accelerating risky sexual behaviour hence the need for advancing peer education programmes in universities.

Learning Using Dynamic and Static Visualizations: Students’ Comprehension, Prior Knowledge and Conceptual Status of a Biotechnological Method

The importance of biotechnology education at the high-school level has been recognized in a number of international curriculum frameworks around the world. One of the most problematic issues in learning biotechnology has been found to be the biotechnological methods involved. Here, we examine the unique contribution of an animation of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in promoting conceptual learning of the biotechnological method among 12th-grade biology majors. All of the students learned about the PCR using still images (n = 83) or the animation (n = 90). A significant advantage to the animation treatment was identified following learning. Students’ prior content knowledge was found to be an important factor for students who learned PCR using still images, serving as an obstacle to learning the PCR method in the case of low prior knowledge. Through analysing students’ discourse, using the framework of the conceptual status analysis, we found that students who learned about PCR using still images faced difficulties in understanding some mechanistic aspects of the method. On the other hand, using the animation gave the students an advantage in understanding those aspects.

BLENDED LEARNING AND USER SATISFACTION

Increasingly, e-learning is gaining popularity and acceptance both in academic as well as in corporate environments. With the rapid increase of online instruction, many experts predict that e-learning may at some point become the largest source of higher education. A significant factor related to the acceptance and success of e-learning involves students' perceptions of and attitude towards online learning. In addition, past experiences with actual online instruction can be an important factor in students' perceptions of e-learning. This study surveys students' experience with an online unit in a traditional face-to-face course. Included also are student evaluations of several online components of a web-based course management software used in the course. Additional research can provide greater insight into the factors that promote the acceptance of and success with online instruction.

The Academic Impact of Financial Stress on College Students

Staying in school and graduating on time is an important factor for students and their families. Greater financial burdens may lead students to reduce coursework or drop out of school for paid work. A Web-based survey ( N = 503) was conducted in fall 2004 at a large public university to examine the characteristics of students who experienced dropping out or reducing credit hours due to financial reasons. Analyses were conducted to compare these students with those who did not drop out or reduce their coursework. Findings show the relationship between financial stress and academic performance.

Marketing mix formulation for higher education

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how a graduate institute at National Chiayi University (NCYU), by using a model that integrates analytic hierarchy process, cluster analysis and correspondence analysis, can develop effective marketing strategies.Design/methodology/approachThis is primarily a quantitative study aimed at developing a marketing mix for a graduate institute at NCYU in Taiwan. A survey using stratified random sampling was conducted, with 14 universities from four different areas in Taiwan randomly selected for the study. Two questionnaires were conducted: a Likert's five‐scale questionnaire regarding school images and an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) questionnaire regarding school selection factors were administered to 640 undergraduate students. Of the total number of questionnaires, 602 (94 percent) valid school image questionnaires and 570 (89 percent) valid school selection factors questionnaires were used.FindingsThe results of AHP revealed that the five most important factors for students' school selection were: employability, curriculum, academic reputation, faculty, and research environment. The results of clustering analysis identified five student groups for market segmentation, and they are the Prominence group, the Less aware group, the Pragmatic group, the Austerity group, and the Fastidious group. Finally, the results of correspondence analysis suggested that students of the Pragmatic Group are more likely to be attracted by NCYU, and also, students perceived NCYU to be strongly associated with lower tuition, fewer entrance‐exam subjects, lower entrance‐exam pass rates, and easier graduation requirements.Research limitations/implicationsIt would be better to conduct a factor analysis before using AHP.Practical implicationsParticularly, NCYU should establish new curricula relevant to internationalization, develop curricula in school finance and educational economics, and form study groups to enhance graduating student employment opportunities. Generally, higher educational institutions may adopt the research model developed in this study to develop their marketing mix for better results.Originality/valueThis paper documents research that was the first to integrate AHP, cluster analysis, and correspondence analysis in developing a marketing mix for higher educational institutions.

Validation of the Clinical Learning Environment and Supervision Scale

The aim of the study was to validate a new research instrument to evaluate the quality of the clinical learning environment and the supervision given to nursing students by qualified staff nurses. This paper describes the validation process of the research instrument. Dunn's and Burnett's (1995) CLE scale was chosen for the concurrent research instrument to test validity. The theoretical framework of this study draws on empirical research into clinical learning environments and supervision undertaken during the 1980's and 1990's. The sample consisted of nursing students who had undertaken a clinical placement in a hospital setting. The data (n=416) were collected from four Nursing Colleges in Finland. Students evaluated their clinical placements as being 'good' in both instruments. The supervisory relationship was the most important factor in students' supervisory system but this requires a positive atmosphere and a 'good' leadership in order to be effective. The congruence between the instruments in use was high so that it is impossible to note the possible impact of cultural differences in this instrument validation process.

The Effect of Action Orientation on the Academic Performance of Undergraduate Marketing Majors

Due to the effect of academic performance on employment opportunities and admission to graduate schools, researchers have long recognized the need for identifying factors that are linked to the academic performance of undergraduate marketing students. This research proposes a model that investigates the relationships among motivation, effort, personality, stress, and academic performance. Action-state orientation (AO-SO) is an important factor in students’ emotional exhaustion and effort. AO-SO relates to individual differences in the capacity to regulate emotions, cognitions, and behaviors to accomplish intentional actions. AO-SO consists of three dimensions: disengagement (versus preoccupation), volatility (versus persistency), and hesitation (versus initiative). Results indicate that persistency and initiative are positively related to effort, which is an important antecedent of academic performance. Also, disengagement is negatively related to emotional exhaustion.

Students' Attachment and Academic Engagement: The Role of Race and Ethnicity

Students' attachment to school and their academic engagement are important, yet understudied, aspects of the educational experience. In their study, the authors examined whether students of different racial-ethnic groups vary in attachment and engagement and whether properties of schools (e.g., racial-ethnic composition) influence these outcomes over and above individual characteristics. Using multilevel models with a sample of youths from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, they found important differences across racial-ethnic groups in both attachment and engagement. The racial-ethnic composition of schools is an important factor in students' attachment but not engagement. Moreover, the extent of racial and ethnic differences in both outcomes varies across high schools. These findings are discussed in terms of the challenges facing racially and ethnically diverse schools.

Personal characteristics and academic achievement of undergraduate accounting students studying through open learning

The continuing growth of open learning is evident from developments in countries such as the United Kingdom, China, India and South Africa. This study attempts to determine if enrolments in a single accounting open learning subject are achieving equity aims by analysing the profile of these open learning students, and investigates the relationships which exist between students' characteristics and performance. Equity in education is a qualitative property and refers to judgements concerning justice, in particular broadening the access to education and training to those groups who have previously had limited access. Personal characteristics were examined to investigate whether those students who, due to a number of barriers, had historically found it difficult to access tertiary education were now availing themselves of the increased access to opportunities. Responses from 107 students to a questionnaire provided information on gender, place of residence, employment status, level of education, type of secondary school attended and the number of times the students had attempted a specific open learning unit. The study found that open learning is meeting its aim of increased university participation by involving a population segment previously excluded, with 85% of students studying at university level for the first time. Flexibility and open access were important factors in students choosing this mode of study. The mean age was 32, with females outnumbering males. Only half the students were in full time employment. Minor gender differences were found with males outperforming females overall. Ethnicity and type of school attended were not related to achievement. No significant differences were found between a student's prior education level and results achieved in open learning.

Factors motivating pharmacy students to pursue residency and fellowship training.

Factors that influence pharmacy students to pursue residency and fellowship training were studied. Directors of 514 residency or fellowship programs were asked to distribute to their residents or fellows a survey concerning factors that influenced their decision to enter a residency or fellowship. Deans of the 75 U.S. pharmacy schools were sent a related survey and asked to forward it to the faculty or staff member who was most involved in promoting residencies and fellowships to students. This survey asked about methods for promoting the programs and the faculty member's opinion on why students chose to become residents and fellows. Residents and fellows cited "to gain knowledge and experience," "recognition of new and challenging roles," and "desire for specialized training" as their leading reasons for entering their programs. The pharmacy school representatives also cited "to gain knowledge and experience" and "desire for specialized training" as leading reasons. The residents and fellows thought instruction on residencies and fellowships should occur earlier in the pharmacy degree programs than it was being provided. The pharmacy school respondents considered the largest barriers to entering such programs "financial" and "a job was available upon graduation from pharmacy school." The pharmacy school survey results were broken into two groups: the 9 schools that produced the most students who went on to residencies and fellowships, and the rest of the schools. The former group was more likely to offer the Pharm.D. degree and to involve preceptors, residents, and fellows in didactic and clerkship teaching. Two factors--"to gain knowledge and experience" and "desire for specialized training"--were cited most frequently by survey respondents as important factors in students' decisions to pursue residencies and fellowships, and schools that produce more residents and fellows tended to involve preceptors, residents, and fellows in didactic and clerkship training.

The Relationship Between Agriculture Preservice Teachers' Learning Styles And Performance In a Methods Of Teaching Agriculture Course

Researchers (Witkin, 1973; Gregorc, 1979; Garger & Guild, 1984) have suggested that learning style was an important factor in students’ academic achievement, how students learn and teachers teach, and student-teacher interaction. Dunn and Dunn (1979) asserted that “teachers teach the way they learned” (p. 241), which has been supported by other researchers (Witkin, 1973; Gregorc, 1979; Avery, 1985). Koppleman (1980) suggested that investigations conducted on the relationship between a person’s learning style and the manner in which he/she teaches were insufficient.