Academic Performance Indicators Research Articles

Peculiarities of relationships of characteristics of adaptation capabilities of the organism and indicators of motor activity of students

The health of student youth is largely determined by the level of functional capabilities of the organism, which depends on the level of motor activity, that is the total number of movements that a person performs in a given period of time. The purpose of the work is to establish the features of the relationship between the characteristics of adaptive capacity, functional status and level of development of psychophysiological functions and criteria for motor activity of students. The research was conducted on the basis of National Pirogov Memorial Medical University, where 385 students (200 young girls and 185 young boys) were supervised, who, taking into account the peculiarities of the distribution of different levels of motor activity, were divided into 3 comparison groups – with potentially low, medium and potentially high levels of motor activity. The values of daily energy consumption, number of locomotions and duration of the dynamic component in the daily budget were used as the leading criteria of hygienic assessment of students’ motor activity. Functional features and adaptive capabilities of the organism were determined using conventional methods. The analysis of the obtained results involved the use of a standard application package of multidimensional statistical analysis “Statistica 6.1 for Windows”. The results of studies conducted on the basis of correlation analysis procedures indicate the fact that the largest number of correlations between the characteristics of psychophysiological functions and the leading characteristics of health and indicators of academic performance in professionally oriented disciplines studied are recorded in girls, and boys who belonged to the group with an average level of physical activity (daily energy expenditure of 9000-11000 kJ in young girls and 11000-13500 kJ in young boys). The use of cluster analysis procedures during the prognostic assessment of indicators of health and academic performance in professionally-oriented disciplines, made it possible to identify 3 clusters of the studied characteristics of the functional state of students, which have the most pronounced effect on their values: visual-motor speed cluster (indicators of the latent period of simple and differentiated visual-motor response), visual-sensory cluster (indicators of critical fusion of light flickers and efficiency of work performed) and integrative-coordination cluster (a number of indicators that reflect the properties of major nervous processes, characteristics coordination of movements, indicators of attention functions, etc.). Using factor analysis procedures, it determined that both young girls and young boys have the most positive impact on academic performance in vocational disciplines such factors as “functional state of the visual sensory system”, “functional state of coordination” and “functional state of higher nervous activity”.

RELATIONSHIP OF BODY MASS INDEX AND WAIST HIP RATIO WITH SCORES OF DEPRESSION, ANXIETY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN FEMALES

Background: Enhanced adipose tissue is likely to affect an individual’s mental health. This study aimed to link its indices (BMI/WHR) with indices of depression/anxiety in female medical students. Methods: One hundred and six female medical students were equally divided into non-obese (BMI?24.9+WHR<0.8) and obese (BMI>24.9+WHR?0.8) groups. Depression/anxiety scores were calculated using Aga Khan University Anxiety Depression Scale (AKUADS), Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) while last exam percentage was considered as an indicator of academic performance. Results: AKUADS and BDI scores of obese subjects were higher than those of non-obese subjects (p=0.018 and p=0.030 respectively) while academic score of obese subjects was lesser than that of non-obese subjects (p<0.0001). Within non-obese and obese subjects, and within total study population AKUADS scores were positively correlated to BMI and WHR (rho=0.39, p=0.00), (rho=0.38, p=0.00), (rho=0.36, p=0.00), (rho=0.38, p=0.00) and (rho=0.35, p=0.00), (rho=0.35, p=0.00) respectively. BDI scores within non-obese group, obese group, and in total population were positively correlated to BMI and WHR too (rho=0.40, p=0.00), (rho=0.40, p=0.00), (rho=0.32, p=0.01), (rho=0.34, p=0.01), and (rho=0.30, p=0.00), (rho=0.31, p=0.00) respectively. AKUADS and BDI scores had a negative correlation with academic score in both non-obese and obese subjects (rho= -0.29, p=0.03), (rho= -0.30, p=0.02), and (rho= -0.44, p=0.00), (rho= -0.35, p=0.00) respectively. Conclusion: Within obese female medical students enhanced degree of depression/ anxiety affects academic performance considerably; this calls for shrewder monitoring of their mental wellbeing.

Development of the Psychological System of Pedagogical Abilities of Students – Future Primary School Teachers

Introduction. Psychological and pedagogical support for the professionalization of a teacher should be based on modern knowledge in the development of pedagogical abilities. The most popular strategy for studying abilities is still the analytical approach, which does not allow to consider abilities as a holistic, continuously developing psychological education. The purpose of the article is to present the results of research into the development of the psychological system of pedagogical abilities of students – future primary school teachers in the context of continuous pedagogical education at secondary school, pedagogical college and pedagogical university. Materials and Methods. The survey involved 201 subjects, including students of the pedagogical class (n = 15), students of the vocational pedagogical college (n = 82), students of the pedagogical university (n = 104). In order to study the psychological system of pedagogical abilities, test methods, questionnaires, self-assessment scales, as well as an analysis of indicators of academic performance were used. The analysis of the psychological system of abilities was made by using systemic indices (coherence, divergence, organization), assessing the homogeneity/ heterogeneity of structures, identifying the basic and leading components of the system. Results. The uneven development of the psychological system of pedagogical abilities at different levels of pedagogical education was shown. It has been established that the development of the system of pedagogical abilities during the period of study at school, college and university cannot be characterized as continuous. Students of the pedagogical class are characterized by a higher organization of the ability system than those in college and university; for college students – their continuous restructuring and a decrease in organization by the end of their studies; for university students – a more stable and progressively developing system of abilities. Qualitative differences in the structural organization of the system are determined by the different contributions of the types of abilities (individual, subjective, personal) to its functioning and achievement of academic results. The organization of the system of abilities of schoolchildren is largely determined by the abilities of an individual, college students – by the abilities of a subject of activity and personality, university students – by the abilities of an individual. Discussion and Conclusion. The conclusions formulated in the research paper serve the basis for the organization of special activities on the purposeful formation of the system of pedagogical abilities in the conditions of continuous pedagogical education.

Embedded researchers' purpose and practice: Current perspectives from Australia.

The embedded researcher model proposes that if research is co-produced with academics, clinical staff will have greater engagement with and ownership of the research findings, and they will be able to integrate evidence in practice. This paper describes the role and purpose of embedded researchers in Australian healthcare settings. A purposive sample of current and former embedded researchers were invited to participate in an exploratory online survey. Embedded researchers were defined as individuals with research qualifications who worked, or had worked, for at least 30% of their time in a healthcare organisation doing research or research capacity building. Most embedded researchers described a dual purpose, in building clinicians' capacity for research while also undertaking clinical research. Only a small proportion of respondents described their purpose as supporting and improving clinical practice. Most embedded researchers described working to both traditional academic key performance indicators and a complementary range of clinical performance and healthcare service indicators. Embedded researchers provide more research development and engagement in health services than is recognised or currently reported. In addition to traditional academic indicators, they described a broad range of clinical and health service indicators which measured capacity building.

Impact of grading system on student academic performance during the COVID-19 pandemic

The grading systems used for assessment students' knowledge in traditional and distance learning differ and give different assessments of learning outcomes, which affects the indicators of student academic performance. The trends of modern education are aimed at the increasing involvement of distance forms in the educational process of universities, which requires a certain synchronization of grading systems at the level of learning outcomes. The research is aimed at identification and confirmation of the existence of differences between the results of assessment in traditional and distance learning forms, which are reflected in the indicators of student performance. The study used methods of nonparametric analysis using the STATISTICA 10.0 program. The Mann-Whitney U-test was used to compare independent populations in cases where there were no signs of normal data distribution, and Pearson's Chi-square test was used to compare nominal values. To compare related (paired) quantitative samples, the Wilcoxon test was used. The research results showed a statistically significant increase in student academic performance during the COVID-19 pandemic during distance learning. Therefore, when comparing the indicators of student performance in the spring semesters of 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 academic years, significant differences were found in the U-criterion and Chi-square with different levels (p <0.05, p <0.01, p <0.001) depending on the course of study and the performance indicator. The only exceptions are the senior students of Master's programmes who have shown a decline in academic performance. According to the results of the study, it can be concluded that the distance grading system makes lower requirements for learning outcomes in terms of student academic performance indicators, which overestimates them relative to the traditional form of education.

Objectively measured physical activity and academic performance in school-aged youth: The UP&DOWN longitudinal study.

To examine the longitudinal relationships between objectively measured total volume and specific intensities of physical activity (PA) with academic performance in a large sample of youth aged 6-18 years. A longitudinal study of 1046 youth (10.04±3.10 years) from Spain was followed over 2 years. PA (volume and intensity) was measured by accelerometry. Academic performance was assessed through grades reported on the transcript at the end of the academic year (Mathematics, Language, an average of these two core subjects, and grade point average [GPA]). Longitudinal relationships between PA and four indicators of academic performance were examined using covariance and regression analyses, adjusted for a variety of confounders. Youth Quartile 2 for PA volume at baseline obtained better scores than those who participated in Quartiles 1 or 4 volumes of PA in GPA 2 years later (p=0.006). There were generally no longitudinal associations between specific PA intensities and any of the academic performance indicators (all p>0.170). However, a change in light PA over 2 years was inversely associated with three academic indicators in youth (βrange , -.103 to-090; all P<040). Findings suggest that participants in Quartile 2 volume of PA had a better GPA in comparison with Quartiles 1 and 4 volumes of PA during youth, but there was no association with changes in PA volume over time. PA intensity was generally unrelated to academic performance during youth. However, there was an inverted u-shape relationship between light PA changes and GPA.

The Persistent Publication Glass Ceiling: An Analysis of Female Authorship Trend in Vascular Surgery

Prior research in vascular surgery has identified significant gender disparities in leadership positions. Publication serves as an indicator of academic performance, which is an important factor in promotions, salaries, grants, and tenure. This study aims to evaluate female authorship in vascular surgery literature.

Can a psychological-educational supportive intervention enhance the psychological well-being and academic performance of freshman medical students?

Background: Freshman medical students experience high levels of distress, which may affect their learning ability. The present study assessed the effectiveness of a psychological-educational supportive package on the psychological well-being and the academic performance of freshman medical students. Methods: We included all the first-year medical students of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in the educational year of 2018-2019 in the present study, using the census method. The first-year medical students of autumn semester 2018 formed the control group and those in winter semester 2019 formed intervention group. 102 students among the control and 129 students (divided into 13 groups) among the intervention group voluntarily completed the study. The intervention was a psychological-educational supportive package designed to provide a supportive environment for freshmen and enhance peer-group interactions, increase emotional intelligence, coping and problem-solving strategies. It consisted of 6 weekly group sessions for first-year medical students, followed by follow-up sessions until the end of the first semester. The outcome measures were Grade Point Average (GPA) of the first and second semesters as the indicators of academic performance and the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) at the beginning of the first semester, at the end of the semesters to quantify the level of psychological well-being. Results: The mean GHQ-28 changes in the intervention group were significantly higher than the control group (pre-test/post-test: P= 0.013, post-test/follow-up: p <0.0001). In the intervention group, GPA was significantly higher than the control group in both the first and second semesters (P=0.016, p <0.0001, respectively). Conclusion: Psychological-educational intervention improved the level of psychological well-being and academic performance of freshman medical students.

Understanding the Challenges of Graduation Rate Faced by Two Education Preparatory Programs in the State of Mississippi

In this study, the authors described the contribution of student’s academic performance indicators as predictors of graduation rate in two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Education Preparatory Program (EPP) in the State of Mississippi. The authors interviewed two EPP chairs in summer 2019 and used qualitative inquiry to code and look for themes to provide meaning and add additional explanation to the students’ graduation rate. The main findings of the study suggest that teacher candidates’ ACT/SAT scores are predictive of graduation rates. Similarly, socioeconomic status showed a positive relationship with admission to the EPP and graduation rate. Each EPP faces the challenge of graduating a sufficient number of certified teachers to ensure its continuity. The EPP needs to ensure that students are capable of passing the state certification exams and graduating to be successful. Graduation rate is an indicator of EPP performance and its likelihood of continuity and longevity.

Academic performance, adaptation and mental health of nursing students: A cross-sectional study

AimTo evaluate the institutional indicators of academic success, performance and failure and to identify the factors that influence the performance, academic adaptation and mental health of nursing students. DesignDescriptive, cross-sectional study. MethodsData collection was performed between April 2018 and January 2020, focusing on academic data of nursing students (n = 348) and answers to a questionnaire with active students of the course with at least two years since admission (n = 88). ResultsAcademic data indicates negative trends on academic failure and dropouts. Mean academic performance was 7.56 out of 10 and ALEQ-r results showed high academic adaptation in all dimensions, except in the personal dimension of scale. The prevalence of depressive symptoms reported was 60.2% (95%CI: 49.8–70.1%) and presented as predictors of this condition both academic performance and adaptation. ConclusionsThere was found a trend in academic failure and dropouts among nursing students, as well as a relevant prevalence of depressive symptoms despite good average of academic adaptation and academic performance.

Anxiety and personality as indicators of academic performance in university foreign language classrooms

The main purpose of this study is to test whether students’ performance in official language tests in the university context is influenced, apart from anxiety, by certain personality traits. A sample of 394 university students in Spain were assessed in language academic performance using the Test of English for International Communication: Listening and Reading (TOEIC L&amp;R), Foreign Language Anxiety using the Spanish version of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), Test Anxiety, by means of the Spanish version of the Test Anxiety Inventory and Personality Traits through the Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Frequency analyses for the categorical variables, and means and standard deviations for continuous variables were calculated, and a forward stepwise regression model was used to assess the independent variables that contributed significantly to the variance in the score on the academic performance. Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) correlated most significantly with student foreign language academic performance, followed by the Neuroticism dimension, Test Anxiety and Extraversion. These results show that anxiety can still be considered the best indicator to predict language academic performance and that personality traits do play a relevant part in the foreign language learning process in the university context.

Parental Divorce: Impact on Socio-Psychological Behavior and Academic Performance of Students in Teacher’s Perception

ABSTRACT Divorce situates severe consequences on the family environment, annually significant numbers of children face such life transitions. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of parental divorce with social, psychological behaviors and academic performance of separated family children in the perception of elementary teachers. This study surveyed socio-psychological behavior and academic performance indicators. Sixty teachers participated in the study; they were currently teaching such children. The statistical measures of study constitute a significant negative impact on children’s social and academic performance. This study concluded the distressing effect of divorce on elementary students.

Study Habits of Highly Effective Medical Students.

BackgroundStudy habits have been the most significant indicator of academic performance and play a unique role in students’ academic accomplishment. The study is aiming to determine the most common study habits of highly successful medical students and their relation to academic achievement.MethodsA cross-sectional observational study was conducted from September to December 2019 among medical students of both gender from six medical colleges in Saudi Arabia. The students answered the standardized questionnaires to study the different learning habits among medical students, including learning prioritization, knowledge retention strategies, motivation, daily hours of studying, study learning resources.ResultsSix hundred and seventy-five medical students enrolled themselves electively into the study. The results showed a significant correlation between study habits and students’ academic accomplishments. The top ten study habits of highly effective medical students are managing their time effectively, they get rid of interruptions (phone, family, friends) that disrupt their daily work, they use goal-setting to determine their most important activities, their daily study hours is ranging between 3 and 4 hours, they study alone for knowledge retention of medical information, learn from multiple sources and invest in technology with high efficiency, they contribute to the teaching of their peers, they study the main lecture slides with notes when no exam is coming, and they study lecture slides with notes and previous exam questions when preparing for upcoming exams; finally, they maintained motivation for self-gratification and fulfillment of their family dreams.ConclusionThis study’s outcomes consolidate general study practices that can be credited to learning achievement and expand recognition to inspire less accomplished students by investigating and exploring factors that have enhanced and worked for many accomplished students.

The Prevalence, Causes And Effects Of Drug Use And Abuse On Performance Indicators Among Secondary School Students In Teso South Constituency, Kenya

The use of drugs has become more rampant today than at any other time. In learning institutions, especially secondary schools, the use of drugs has resulted in poor concentration in classwork, high rate of absenteeism and failure in exams leading to poor academic performance. The purpose of this study therefore was to: establish the prevalence of drug use among students in Teso South Constituency, establish the causes of drug use and identify the effects of drug use on academic performance indicators among secondary school students in Teso South Constituency. The constituency has a total of 25 public secondary schools with a total of 8023 students. Krejcie and Morgan’s formula was used to select 192 students and data was collected from the field using questionnaires and later analyzed using percentages. Results indicate that 54.7%, 22.4%, 6.7%, 4.7% 4.2%, 3.1% of the students use Tobacco, Miraa, Cocaine, Tranquilizers, Kuber and Marijuana respectively. Also, the most influential causes of drug abuse among them were Peer influence at 90.1%, family background at 57.1% and availability of drugs at 30.8%. Lastly, 89.6% of the students had poor grades due to drug abuse alongside 78.6% of them affected by low concentration span and lack of interest in studies. The study, therefore, inferred that there is a high of drug ab prevalence use amongst secondary school students with family, peers as well as availability contributing to the onset of drug abuse.The study concluded that drug abuse interferes with academic performance indicators of secondary school students in Teso South Constituency.

Exploring Saudi Students’ Perceptions of National Exams: A Washback Study

Research on washback and impact of tests (either positive or negative) on teaching and learning in the language assessment field has proliferated in approximately the last three decades. This study aims to explore the positive washback of the General Aptitude Test (GAT) and Scholastic Achievement Admission Test (SAAT) based on the perceptions of secondary school students in Saudi Arabia since this topic is underresearched in the literature. While the existing research has provided insight into the validity and reliability of these tests, we have a limited understanding of how these tests can positively impact the performance of students. In this qualitative study, data were collected from 103 participants using a case study approach through the means of semistructured questionnaires and semistructured interviews. Data were analyzed inductively by employing a computer program called NVivo. The results of the study showed that the participants were positively influenced by the test. This impact was manifested in students’ low pressure test-taking experiences, their successful honing of soft skills needed for future university study instead of reliance merely on indoctrination or the memorization of information and the feasibility of enrollment in universities because the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) is no longer the sole indicator of academic performance. Students’ scores increased due to the method of testing, test preparation and test retaking, which played key roles in promoting score gains and thus accentuating a positive washback.

Türkiye’de Yükseköğretim Kurumlarının Bilimsel Üretkenliğinin İzlenmesi: Mevcut Durum Analizi ve Öneriler

In the rapidly developing and changing world, higher education institutions have taken their place among the institutions struggling in global competition conditions. With the educational processes, the opportunities they provide to their students, employees, researchers and society, and the values they create with these stakeholders, these institutions are in an effort to progress in the ranking steps. There are many university ranking systems adopted on international platforms, and the common point of these ranking systems is the priorities they give to the criteria for scientific productivity. At this point, authorities who want to move their institutions to upper levels need to closely and effectively monitor the relevant performance indicators.This study, which presents research in this context, reveals how institutions monitor their scientific productivity levels and how much they adopt implementation components and policies in well-developed institutions. Data obtained from one-to-one interviews with a representative sample group accompanied by a form and from online announcement channels of institutions are summarized and presented. In the light of the data, all situations that cause problems to occur are made more visible and solutions are suggested. General findings show that although performance monitoring processes differ from each other, they exist in every institution, but some important performance dimensions cannot be monitored by all institutions in an efficient way. For example, although particular academic performance indicators are taken into account, it is observed that there are deficiencies in clearly expressing the goals and policies towards the improvement of the indicator values in the strategic plans and following them on a field basis.

Academic performance and socio-demographic characteristics of students: Assessing moderation effect of self-esteem

ABSTRACT Self-esteem has a profound role in students’ academic performances. This study was designed to examine the moderation effect of self-esteem on the relationship between academic performance and students’ socio-demographic characteristics. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in 20 schools in Jordan. A nonrandom consecutive sampling method was used to recruit students who provided their demographic information and answered the Arabic Version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Participating students (n = 1800) showed a mean self-esteem of 23.07 (SD = 2.69), while the academic performance showed a mean of 86.5 (SD = 6.34). Self-esteem moderated the relationship between socio-demographics (gender, educational sector, and education program) and academic performance. Self-esteem is an important indicator of academic performance and should be strongly considered by stakeholders at all school programs and types. The differences in self-esteem and academic performance according to gender need to be investigated further to draw conclusive future plans.

Academic Achievement of Children in Same- and Different-Sex-Parented Families: A Population-Level Analysis of Linked Administrative Data From the Netherlands.

Although numerous studies have examined how children raised in same-sex-parented families fare relative to children in different-sex-parented families, this body of work suffers from major methodological shortcomings. By leveraging linked administrative data from several population registers from the Netherlands covering the 2006-2018 period (n = 1,454,577), we overcome most methodological limitations affecting earlier research. The unique features of the data include complete population coverage, reliable identification of same-sex-parented families, a large number of children in same-sex-parented families (n = 3,006), multiple objective and verifiable educational outcomes, and detailed measures of family dynamics over children's entire life courses. The results indicate that children in same-sex-parented families outperform children in different-sex-parented families on multiple indicators of academic performance, including standardized tests scores, high school graduation rates, and college enrollment. Such advantages extend to both male and female children, and are more pronounced among children in female than male same-sex-parented families. These findings challenge deficit models of same-sex parenting.

Relating Student Engagement Indicators to Academic Performance Using Multiple Correspondence Analysis

Abstract Student engagement is an essential device for deepening learning, achieving learning outcomes, developing competencies, and improving academic performance in education settings. It is widely receiving increased attention among various scholars and higher education leaders. However, there are increasing concerns about the academic performance of students in higher education settings. The application of statistical data analytics for mining student engagement datasets is a candidate strategy for discovering essential indicators associated with academic performance. However, widely used data analytic methods like principal component analysis are ineffective when most of the indicators captured are categorical, making them inappropriate for establishing the weighty academic performance indicators. This study’s objective was to investigate the application of multiple correspondence analysis to establish weighty student engagement indicators of academic performance. This study’s findings have indicated that higher-order learning and student-staff interaction are weighty indicators that relate student engagement to academic performance.

Mental Health Associations with Academic Performance and Education Behaviors in Canadian Secondary School Students

Course grades, as an indicator of academic performance, are a primary academic concern at the secondary school level and have been associated with various aspects of mental health status. The purpose of this study is to simultaneously assess whether symptoms of mental illness (depression and anxiety) and mental well-being (psychosocial well-being) are associated with self-reported grades (in their primary language [English or French] and math courses) and education behaviors (school days missed due to health, truancy, and frequency of incomplete homework) in a sample of secondary school students across Canada ( n = 57,394). Multivariate imputation by chained equations and multilevel proportional odds logistic regressions were used to assess associations between mental health scores, academic performance and education behaviors. Lower depression and higher psychosocial well-being scores were associated with better grade levels in both math and language courses, as well as better education behaviors. In turn, better education behaviors were associated with higher course grades. Depression scores and psychosocial well-being scores remained associated with higher grades after controlling for education behaviors, however the magnitude of association was diminished. Results indicate that the effects of mental health factors were partially attenuated by education behaviors, suggesting while reduced class attendance and poor homework adherence were associated with both academic outcomes and mental health, they do not account entirely for the association between lower grades and worse mental health.