Pre-university Students Research Articles

THE OCCURRENCES OF WTC AMONG MALAYSIAN PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN AN ESL ONLINE CLASSROOM

The English language is regarded as an important mode of communication in Malaysia, particularly in higher education institutions and the workplace. The perception that graduates lack English communication skills renders them unemployable upon graduation. Therefore, a great deal of effort has been expended to produce students who can communicate effectively in a variety of social and professional settings. The Ministry of Education has taken numerous steps to improve the English proficiency of students. This study examines pre-university students' willingness to communicate (WTC) in a digital setting at a local university. This study employed a qualitative methodology and included 12 classroom observations. The classroom observation data was subjected to an inter-rater reliability analysis, and the results revealed that the mood and role of the English Language Instructors (ELIs) significantly influenced the occurrences of WTC in English among pre-university students. The findings of this study are intended to provide stakeholders, curriculum developers, and ELIs with a better understanding of the teaching and learning factors that must be considered in order to ensure students' WTC in English.

A Study on the Level of COVID-19 Pandemic Fatigue Among Pre-University Students at ASASIpintar UKM

A Study on the Level of COVID-19 Pandemic Fatigue Among Pre-University Students at ASASIpintar UKM

The impact of learning experience on motivation: A case study of Chinese ethnic minority EFL learners

Language motivation research has long been a research focus in the field of second language acquisition. In the past two decades, a large number of motivation studies has been conducted in different social and cultural contexts. Researchers contributed to the explorations of factors that affect learners’ foreign language motivation as well as the relationship between motivation and other aspects of foreign language learning. However, research on Chinese ethnic minority learners’ motivation to learn English is in paucity. Many of the ethnic minority students are proficient in their mother tongue (minority language) and Mandarin (national language), while they are also learning English as a foreign language. The social and cultural contexts to which they are exposed make their English learning complicated. To address the gap, the present study adopted a qualitative research approach in the form of a case study to explore the impact of learning experience on English learning motivation among three Chinese ethnic minority pre-university students. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with three participants. The findings from the qualitative data revealed that the English learning motivation of the participants was typically examination-directed and greatly influenced by teachers’ teaching style, peers’ attitudes toward English and the overall learning atmosphere in the class. The study provides implications for educational policy making and English instruction in China’s ethnic minority regions.

A Review of Pre-university English Language Education Policies in China 2011-2022

Chinese foreign language education policies (FLEPs) are changing during years of development in aspects of national planning, education, and policy formulation. And the most widely acknowledged foreign language in China is English. This paper critically reviews English language education planning (ELEP) in China under the historical context from 2011 to 2022. The ELEP developments are related to the modern era's economic, ideological, and political changes. At the institutional level, English is considered without controversy as a universal language that promotes national development and offers personal opportunity. However, the English-as-threat notion has been repetitively mentioned in the history of policy development. Examining the political alterations shows that even with doubts and concerns, providing pre-university students with English language education is inevitably strategic. And from reviewing a series of officially published documents and relevant research reports, this study ends with the implications for both English learners and educators in China. As the instrumental role of English has remained essentially unchanged, the concept that teaching language with its culture should be emphasized and encouraged in relation to English teaching and learning standards. Learning English is not only about learning a foreign language, it also involves learning a fresh way of thinking.

Effect of Tai Chi on stress, anxiety, and self-perception of happiness: a longitudinal intervention study

This intervention follow-up study evaluated anxiety and stress levels and self-perceived happiness of individuals linked to the health field who did not practice Tai Chi and compared these variables before and after practicing this art. One hundred twenty-three participants were subdivided into two groups: G1) Older health professionals (n=41) and G2) Younger pre-university students interested in the health field (n=82). Participants received a 60-minute Tai Chi class. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14) was applied before the practice, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Andrews Face Scale were used before and after the class. Generalized linear models and the Bowker symmetry test were applied for data analysis. 46.3% and 30.5% of participants in G1 and G2 had mild stress levels, and 43.9% and 46.3% had moderate stress levels, respectively. After practicing Tai Chi, both groups presented significantly lower mean anxiety scores. In G1, 31.7% of participants went from moderate to mild anxiety levels after practice, 19.5% from severe to moderate, and 7.3% from severe to mild. In G2, 28.2% of participants went from moderate to mild anxiety levels after practice, 18.3% from severe to moderate, and 6.1% from severe to mild. Furthermore, 100.0% of individuals in G1 and 96.3% in G2 were happy after the class. Tai Chi was effective in reducing anxiety levels and improving self-perceived happiness.

Scholastic Difficulty: Scale Development and Implications for Future Research

The present study is an attempt to develop a scale to measure Scholastic Difficulty among Pre-University college students. The students of II pre-university courses (PUC) were the real and objective source to identify different scholastic difficulties. So, 140 students of PUC were contacted. The information given by 140 students were pooled and the scholastic difficulties were identified. 68 different scholastic difficulties were adopted by the students. These difficulties were considered as scholastic difficulties. Each of the difficulty was expressed in a statement form. Initially, there were 68 statements, these items with “Always, Sometimes, Rarely and Never” alternatives were administered on 200 II PUC students (108 male and 92 female). The data of these students were subjected to percentage, correlation and t-test analysis. Finally, 66 items were included in the Scholastic Difficulty scale. Scholastic Difficulty scale consisting of 66 items with 5 alternative answers such as always, most of the times, sometime, rarely and never was administered on a random sample of 150 II PUC students to judge the reliability. The coefficient of split-half reliability was 0.93, which was significant at 0.01 level of significance. Test-retest reliability of scholastic difficulty scale was undertaken. The scale was administered on a sample of 35 students of I year B.H.Sc. twice with an interval of 10 days. The coefficient of test and retest scores was 0.800, which was significant at 0.00 level of significance.

Financial knowledge of pre-university students: Effects of age and gender

Financial education is a constant social concern since it is essential to improve the well-being of individuals and society in general. Wrong financial decisions can have serious consequences that lead to serious economic and even social problems. Therefore, an adequate financial base is necessary and must be instilled from an early age. This work aims to identify the potential effects of two demographic variables, age and gender, on acquiring financial knowledge, delving into the potential moderating interrelationships between them. Applying a set of multi-level (mixed-effects) regression models to a sample of 9917 pre-university students from 175 high schools in Andalusia, our results show that: age and gender are significantly related to the acquisition of financial knowledge of pre-university students. Moreover, gender plays a moderating role in the relationship between age and the acquisition of financial knowledge of pre-university students. This study has practical implications for teachers, students, heads of educational centres and those responsible for educational plans because this paper's results help to better understand the key factors of financial education at a pre-college stage as it identifies significant differences in both age and gender. Policymakers responsible for educational plans are provided with the necessary evidence to propose adapting specific actions to the different student profiles. By doing so, they may design measures to make citizens' financial inclusion possible, resulting in greater welfare for society.

University Preparation Programs in Australia: International Student Perspectives

Existing studies have revealed that prior educational experience plays an important role in student learning, and many international students are encountering challenges while undertaking academic studies at Anglophone universities. However, few studies have examined how the pre-university preparation international students experience assists them in transitioning to university. This study explores, through the perceptions of students, the effectiveness of different university preparation pathways of a cohort of international students in a leading Australian university. Using a mixed-method research design, a questionnaire and focus group interviews were conducted to collect data about overseas student perceptions of the pathway program they undertook. The results show that international students who undertook different pathway programs had different perspectives about the extent to which they felt prepared for university in terms of important aspects of their education, such as subject content knowledge and English language proficiency. Based on the students’ perceptions, the findings of this exploratory study contribute new insights to help improve education practices at universities through a deeper understanding of the diverse preparation international students receive. Overall, the article highlights the heterogeneous nature of international students’ academic preparedness for university transition, and offers some practical implications for university educators, administrators, and curriculum designers.

HistoRace: Enhancing Distant Students' Collaboration and History Knowledge about Japanese Occupation in Sarawak through Technology and Gamified Learning

As the lack of exposure to Sarawak history to the current generation is acknowledged, the dearth of access to tactile evidence further deters students' motivation to learn about the local history and the dry, static pedagogical methods instructors use to teach History in school. The exclusion of History subjects in examinations at the pre-university level further reduces the interest and engagement towards the subject, given the exam-oriented learning behaviour practised by Malaysian students. This study has been designed to incorporate computer-supporting and collaborative learning ideas in teaching and learning History. The literature review reinforces the benefit of collaborative learning in improving students' critical thinking and understanding. Technology in education should be used as an engager and facilitator for learners to communicate their ideas and provide student autonomy collaboratively. The study aims to motivate pre-university students in Sarawak to learn important yet lesser-known local history while learning about the technological tools available, all by incorporating frugality. In this project, these advantages have been optimized by implementing collaborative activities over the Internet, involving sixteen participants from two institutions selected by convenience sampling. Expert reviews were sought to polish the research design before conducting the project. Data was collected via observation and online questionnaires. Computer-supported collaborative learning to learn history by incorporating physical and virtual platforms, as well as real-time communication, has been successfully done through this study, based on the participants' product accomplishment, positive questionnaire feedback, and field observation. Future work could focus on expanding the digital collaboration tools and opportunities that may enhance the History learning experience.

Time is suspect!

‘That it is possible to find the form of the Lorentz transformations without requiring the speed of light to be the same in every inertial system is rediscovered about every thirty years and, rightly, forgotten.’ This proposition alongside the doctoral dissertation of Hendrik Smid in 1986 provides food for thought: Is the light postulate of special relativity, which gives the speed of light in vacuum its status of maximum and unchanging speed, indeed not necessary? What kind of physical world are you then left with? What could be the value of discussing this in class? In this paper we show how the Lorentz transformation, which describes the relationship between two coordinate systems moving relative to each other at a constant speed, can indeed be derived by replacing the light postulate by another assumption, namely the requirement of closure under composition of transformations that relate inertial frames of reference (i.e. two successive coordinate transformations of certain type can be written as one transformation of the same type). Although well known in specialised literature of physics research, the remarkable insight that is somehow buried in nature is hardly mentioned in pre-university and bachelor’s physics courses and textbooks. Yet, the presented comprehensible approach may support the understanding and plausibility of the abstract subject of special relativity. Mathematics may go too far for an average pre-university student, but this subject would certainly not be out of place in an undergraduate physics course or a physics teacher course. Although many teachers do not know that the light postulate of special relativity can be replaced by another assumption or may not appreciate such replacement as part of their teaching of the topic, it offers in our opinion an opportunity to inform students that a critical look at postulates and an investigation of alternatives is an essential part of the nature of science.

Fighting Stigma: Remedial vs Supplemental Instruction

Remedial classes targeting at-risk students in the pre-college preparatory programmes in Oman appear to be doing a disservice to the very students the programme intends to support. The ‘culprit’ behind this situation remained a matter of guesswork until this study was initiated. This two-stage study aimed at (a) investigating the reasons behind the lack of motivation of those who were referred to remedial classes and (b) trialling and assessing a non-remedial academic support intervention. A mixed methods approach was used during the two stages to triangulate all stakeholders’ perceptions qualitatively and to corroborate the qualitative findings with statistical data from questionnaires targeting tutors and tutees. The remedial intervention was found to suffer from serious issues related to labelling. Unlike the remedial programme, the non-remedial, non-segregationist intervention, with its two-thronged focus on content and attitude, was found to be a better fit for the pre-college students.

Life Science Research Immersion Program Improves STEM-Specific Skills and Science Attitudes among Precollege Students.

A predicted rapid growth in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers demands a vast and talented workforce, but students most commonly abandon STEM majors within the first 2 years of college. Performance in introductory courses, scientific literacy, and the ability to critically reason are main predictors of retention in STEM, highlighting the importance of precollege and early college experience. The Life Science Research Immersion Program (LSRIP) is a novel science education model that focuses on the development of scientific research skills, thus preparing students for introductory college courses and beyond. To evaluate the efficacy of the LSRIP, pre- and postprogram assessments and surveys were administered to three precollege student cohorts. Scientific reasoning assessment scores improved by 4.70% in Summer 2019 (P < 0.01), 9.44% in Fall 2019 (P < 0.05), and 0.97% in Winter 2020 cohorts, with two of five questions showing statistically significant improvement. Surveyed attitudes toward science improved in 62.9% of questions across all cohorts. These results suggest that research immersion experiences are an effective educational instrument for improving and promoting scientific reasoning and attitudes among precollege students. To better prepare students for success in STEM higher education and careers, we recommend implementing LSRIPs to complement traditional precollege science curricula.

A mixed methods study to assess perception of interprofessional learning among pre-university students for medicine and dentistry

Interprofessional education (IPE) leads to positive mutual attitudes, better understanding of professional roles in caring for patients.This study was undertaken to assess the perception of interprofessional education of pre-university students even before they enter professional courses.: This is a mixed methods sequential explanatory study design involving sixty-four pre-university students, who were exposed to interprofessional related activity by interacting with medical and dental students on given health scenarios. The interprofessional education and interdisciplinary education perception scale (IEPS) to measure the student’s perception towards IPE. Wilcoxon Signed Rank test were calculated. The qualitative analysis was done to further analyse the quantitative data through online interviews.The student’s perception towards competence &amp; autonomy, perceived need for cooperation, perception of actual cooperation and understanding other’s value were significantly higher from somewhat disagree of score 3 (P&amp;#60;0.001). Most foundation year students realized that by learning with various professional students would make them effective member of health care team and promote collaborative practice. : It can be a good idea to sensitize the pre university students to interprofessional education.

Systems thinking activities used in K-12 for up to two decades

Infusing systems thinking activities in pre-college education (grades K-12) means updating precollege education so it includes a study of many systemic behavior patterns that are ubiquitous in the real world. Systems thinking tools include those using both paper and pencil and the computer and enhance learning in the classroom making it more student-centered, more active, and allowing students to analyze problems that have been heretofore beyond the scope of K-12 classrooms. Students in primary school have used behavior over time graphs to demonstrate dynamics described in story books, like the Lorax, and created stock-flow diagrams to describe what was needed to make a garden flourish. Middle school students have created larger stock-flow diagrams to study how composting helps to reduce pollution and have created small simulations to study population dynamics and the spread of epidemics. High school students have created/used numerous computer models to study systemic problems in mathematics, physical science, physics, biology, environmental science, global studies, and history. Some high schools developed modeling courses allowing students to create System Dynamics computer models to study problems of their choice, write technical papers explaining their models, and present their models and model results to an audience. This paper contains explanations of some of the systems thinking lessons that have been used with precollege students, some for just 5–6 years (especially the primary and middle school examples), others (especially the mathematics and system dynamics model courses for high school students) for decades.

Will It Rust? A Set of Simple Demonstrations Illustrating Iron Corrosion Prevention Strategies at Sea

Corrosion of metal, especially iron, is a natural electrochemical process that costs billions of dollars every year. Educating college and precollege students, our future STEM professionals, about the chemistry that governs corrosion and its prevention strategies is of paramount importance. In this manuscript, we share a few simple iron corrosion-related activities developed into a demonstration video that helped celebrate the 2021 National Chemistry Week and was used to accompany general chemistry lectures on electrochemistry. These easy-to-setup activities with clear and dramatic effects effectively demonstrated concepts of equilibria including Le Chatelier’s principle, buffers, oxidation and reduction potentials, and factors such as metal coupling, salinity, pH, and temperature that impact rusting and its inhibition. These demonstration activities, with an emphasis on maritime applications, may also be adapted for precollege science camps or chemistry laboratories.

The impact of field experiences in paleontology on high school learners

Field experiences are an important element of paleontological knowledge building. However, there is little information about the effects field experiences have on science stewardship and personal growth in high school learners. This pilot study analyzed the reflections of a group of female and male 9th grade U.S. high school students (N = 72) on their first field paleontology experience at Rainbow Basin Natural Area, California. We investigate the attitudinal impact of this experience within a human dimensions research framework using mixed methods. Likert-style surveys indicate relative consistency in pre- and post-treatment total group responses student-to-student. Qualitative responses highlight themes such as the power of science stewardship and a personal sense of connection to public lands. An increase in reflections of stewardship across coded segments occurred, from 18.4% to 29.4% pretreatment versus post-treatment. Qualitative responses and the human dimensions research framework are highly recommended as tools for paleontology education researchers to more effectively document attitudinal changes during field experiences and to better understand field paleontology narratives. In combination, these methods can highlight the intersection of science stewardship, personal growth through experiential education, and the importance of field paleontology. Future studies can make use of human dimensions research to illuminate the impact of field paleontology on pre-college students, and document the influence of field science on future generations of policy-makers, educators, and scientists.

Development of Workplace Skills Via A WWF Employer Project

Structured activities, such as internships, workplace visits and employer projects are becoming increasingly popular as a means of engaging potential employers with their future workforce. As such, this dimension of employer engagement is one that merits research, which is the objective of this study through exploring the effectiveness of an employer relations project as a means of developing workplace skills among pre-university students in a private university in Malaysia. This study aims to ascertain students’ perceptions of the employer project based on their experiences and participation. Adopting a mixed research methodology, the research employs both a questionnaire and the use of focus group discussions to probe more deeply into determining the significance of small group collaboration in the development of students’ personal and soft skills development.

The Impact of Girl Scout Engineering Experiences on the Identity Development of Middle Schoolers

Despite years of recruitment efforts, women remain significantly underrepresented throughout engineering. While research into precollege engineering education has expanded, it has primarily focused on formal learning settings, even though students spend significantly more time outside of the classroom. The COVID-19 pandemic changed everything, including the time spent outside of the classroom in informal environments. Specifically, programs had to evolve to provide online content and at-home activities. Some programs even shut down completely. Within this context, our study sought to understand the impact of one informal engineering learning experience, a Girl Scout engineering badge, which also shifted online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, we examined the impact on middle school girls’ engineering identity development to understand how these experiences supported the development of an engineering identity. Before and after a Girl Scout engineering badge experience, 15 girls (grades 4–7) were interviewed about their knowledge and perception of engineering. The Draw-an-Engineer Test was used as a focal artifact, and we studied the girls’ engineering identity through the lens of Possible Selves Theory. The engineering badge activities were facilitated online. Completely virtual and hybrid meetings were employed allowing additional insight into how outcomes differ with delivery method. Most participants showed an increase in their understanding of engineering and some developed engineering possible selves. Through our work, we noted that informal engineering experiences can improve pre-college students’ understanding and perception of engineering; however, differences in program delivery, such as those caused by the pandemic, can have an impact. Therefore, significant additional research is needed to better understand the scope of the impact of informal programs particularly regarding how impacts differ across delivery modes and contexts. These discoveries can be used to shape evidence-based recommendations for impactful informal experiences.

Engaging Primary and Secondary School Students in Computer Science Through Computational Thinking Training

Although Computer Science has grown to become one of the most highly demanded professional careers, every year, only a small percentage of students choose a degree directly related to Computer Science. Perhaps the problem lies in the lack of information that society has about Computer Science itself, and particularly about the work computer scientists do. No one doubts the role of Mathematics or Languages as core subjects in every primary and secondary education syllabus; however, Computer Science plays a negligible role in most current syllabuses. Only in a few countries have governments paid special attention to content related to Computer Science and to learning to analyze and solve problems the way computer scientists do (Computational Thinking). In this article, we present <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Piens@ Computacion@ULLmente</i> , a project that provides a methodology to promote Computer Science through Computational Thinking activities among primary and secondary education students. The results obtained from an exhaustive statistical analysis of the data we collected demonstrate that the perception of Computer Science that pre-university students have can be improved through specific training. Moreover, we can also confirm that the performance of pre-university students involving Computational Thinking skills is independent of gender, particularly at the primary education level.

Investigating a blended learning context that incorporates two-stage quizzes and peer formative feedback in STEM education

Researchers have expressed concern about the state of STEM education. To improve this situation, new pedagogies, such as blended learning, have been proposed and tested. The last decade has seen an increase in the use of blended learning to support learning; however, the effect of blended learning on learning remains unclear and often mixed. The two studies in this paper draw on data from pre-university science students in the following courses: (1) Electricity and Magnetism (E&amp;M) and (2) Waves, Optics &amp; Modern Physics (Waves). In study 1, the treatment group (blended learning coupled with two-stage quizzes &amp; peer formative feedback) performed significantly higher than the control group (lecture format with online homework &amp; instant feedback) in the standardized final exam. In contrast, in study 2, there was a non-significant main effect of groups, indicating that the treatment group (blended learning with online homework &amp; instant feedback) and the control group (lecture format with online homework &amp; instant feedback) performed similarly in the standardized final exam. The finding of study 1 suggests that the effect of an instructional pedagogical framework embedded in a blended learning context improves performance in STEM education. Whereas the finding of study 2 suggests that a blended learning context without incorporating any instructional framework or support for cognition other than the lecture is comparable to a traditional face-to-face course.