Previous Academic Achievement Research Articles

The Effectiveness of Experiential Learning Strategy in Achieving Science Subject Competence Among Fifth Grade Elementary School Students

This study investigates the effectiveness of experiential learning strategies in enhancing science subject competence among fifth-grade elementary students in Anbar Governorate, where traditional teaching methods dominate. Prior research indicates a lack of engagement and critical thinking among students, emphasizing the need for pedagogical approaches that promote active learning and real-world experiences. Employing a descriptive and experimental design, this research included two groups: an experimental group receiving instruction through experiential learning and a control group taught via traditional methods. The sample consisted of 65 fifth-grade students from Al-Mu'min Primary School, chosen to ensure representativeness. Pre-experimental assessments ensured equivalence in variables such as age, intelligence, and previous academic achievement. The study's impact was evaluated using a post-test composed of 40 multiple-choice questions aligned with the science curriculum. Statistical analysis revealed a significant difference in mean achievement test scores between the groups, with the experimental group achieving a higher average score of 29.90 compared to the control group's 22.55. The calculated t-value was 10.11, surpassing the critical t-value of 2.00 at the 0.05 significance level, indicating strong evidence for the effectiveness of experiential learning strategies. Furthermore, the effect size measured using eta squared (η² = 0.63) confirmed a large impact on student achievement. The findings signify that experiential learning strategies substantially enhance science subject competence among elementary students, fostering greater engagement and understanding of scientific concepts. These results advocate for the integration of experiential learning methodologies in science education, reflecting a shift away from traditional teaching practices to more effective, student-centered approaches that promote critical thinking and real-world application of knowledge.

Discrimination or a Competitive Climate? Why Women Cannot Translate Their Better High School Grades into University Grades

While girls have better grades than boys in high school, this does not translate into better performance of young women, as compared to young men, in university. Due to the high signalling value of university grades for subsequent income and employment outcomes, this has important consequences for gender inequalities at labour market entry. However, previous studies have not yet examined the potential barriers that might limit women’s ability to maintain their previous academic achievement at the university level. Drawing on the nation-wide Student Survey, this study addresses this shortcoming by investigating perceived discrimination against women and perceived competition among students as two potential correlates. Our findings first confirm that while girls have better grades in high school than boys, this has reversed at the university level. Further, high school grades are less strongly correlated with university grades for girls compared to boys. Our results highlight that young women perceive there to be more discrimination against women as well as higher levels of competition within their field of study, than do their male peers. The study further demonstrates that an increased level of perceived discrimination is strongly associated with lower university performance for young women, thereby plausibly hindering their ability to reach their full academic potential.

Mapping personality markers in a Portuguese sample: The factor structure, reliability and incremental validity of the Big Five Mini-Markers

This study reports the psychometric characteristics of a Portuguese form of the 40-item Big Five Mini-Markers, relying upon a cross-sectional design with a sample of 673 Portuguese undergraduates from a Portuguese public university. Results supported the five-factor structure of the translated version and the internal consistency levels of the sub-scales were equivalent to the original version. However, nine items were identified as problematic and dropped from the analysis, due to low component loadings or relatively high cross-loadings. Further evidence from the remaining 31 items supported this instrument’s incremental validity for predicting students’ self-handicapping behaviours over previous academic achievement. Key implications for further research with the Portuguese version of this instrument are briefly presented and discussed.

Insights into undergraduate medical student selection tools: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Evaluating medical school selection tools is vital for evidence-based student selection. With previous reviews revealing knowledge gaps, this meta-analysis offers insights into the effectiveness of these selection tools. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted applying the following criteria: peer-reviewed articles available in English, published from 2010 and which include empirical data linking performance in selection tools with assessment and dropout outcomes of undergraduate entry medical programs. Systematic reviews, meta-analyses, general opinion pieces, or commentaries were excluded. Effect sizes (ESs) of the predictability of academic and clinical performance within and by the end of the medicine program were extracted, and the pooled ESs were presented. Sixty-seven out of 2,212 articles were included, which yielded 236 ESs. Previous academic achievement predicted medical program academic performance (Cohen’s d=0.697 in early program; 0.619 in end of program) and clinical exams (0.545 in end of program). Overall aptitude tests predicted academic achievement in both the early and last years (0.550 & 0.371, respectively). Within aptitude tests, verbal reasoning and quantitative reasoning best predicted academic achievement in the early program (0.704 & 0.643, respectively). Neither panel interviews, multiple mini-interviews, nor situational judgement tests (SJT) yielded statistically significant pooled ES. Current evidence suggests that learning outcomes are predicted by previous academic achievement and aptitude tests. The predictive value of SJT and topics such as selection algorithms, features of interview (e.g., content of the questions) and the way the interviewers’ reports are used, warrant further research.

Employing Data Mining Techniques and Machine Learning Models in Classification of Students’ Academic Performance

The study deals with the use of data mining techniques to build a classification model to predict students' academic performance. The research indicates that the use of machine learning models and data mining methods can reveal hidden patterns and relationships in big data, making them indispensable tools in the field of education analysis. Special emphasis was placed on the use of algorithms such as decision trees. The study includes an analysis of factors that affect students' academic performance such as previous academic achievement in educational activities, as well as social and psychological factors. Classification models were applied using the KNIME platform and the WEKA tool to analyse students' performance in three courses: database technology, artificial intelligence, and image processing in the ICT degree program. The results showed that the use of decision trees can effectively classify students' performance and determine the success and failure rate. The cruel outright mistakes, RMS error and relative supreme mistake all showed 0% whereas the kappa esteem got from the analysis extended between 0.991 and 1.00 which significantly concurs with most statistical values.

Stress of school performance among secondary students: The role of classroom goal structures and teacher support

With concern growing about the increasing levels of school stress among secondary school students, examining its associations with students' perceptions of important elements in classroom climate can offer valuable scientific information. However, there is minimal research about the role of perceived classroom goal structures and teacher support in school stress. In addition, most research on classroom goal structure has not made a distinction between performance-approach structures and performance-avoidance structures, which may have different effects on school stress. The aim of the present study was to examine the role of classroom goal structures and teacher support in students' stress linked to school performance. We also examined the potential moderating effect of teacher support in the association between classroom goal structures and stress. Our sample consisted of 4768 secondary school students aged 11–17 years (Mage = 13.74; 47.9% boys) from 54 schools in Andalusia, Spain. Consistent with the study's aims, hierarchical multilevel multiple regression was used to examine the relationships between mastery goal structure, performance-approach goal structure, performance-avoidance goal structure, and teacher support on our stress of school performance outcome. After controlling for gender, age, and previous academic achievement, performance-avoidance goal structure was significantly associated with higher levels of stress of school performance (p < .01). Furthermore, perceived classroom goals and teacher support tended to work together, with the role of performance-approach goal structure being dependent on the levels of mastery goal structure and teacher support (p < .05). Practical implications from these findings and future research directions are discussed.

The impact of the four-pillars strategy on the acquisition of scientific and motivational concepts in third-grade middle students in physics

The study aimed to know the strategy of the four pillars in acquiring scientific concepts and motivation for third-grade secondary school students in physics. The researcher chose Al-Warka Secondary School for Boys in Baghdad as an intentional sample for the experiment. The research sample was 50 students from the third-grade secondary school students, divided them into two groups with 25 students for each of the two research groups. The researcher made the two groups equal in the varieties of intelligence and previous academic achievement in science subject in the second grade and the chronological age in months. The researcher prepared a test for acquiring scientific concepts and adopted a measure of motivation. After verifying the validity and reliability of the researcher’s use of the T-test to find out the results, the researcher concluded that the strategy of the four pillars has an active effect on the acquisition of scientific concepts and motivation for the experimental group compared to the control group, and the researcher suggested a number of recommendations and suggestions.

Exploring dimensions of blended learning readiness: Validation of scale and assessing blended learning readiness in the context of TVET Bangladesh

In collaboration with Technical and Vocational Education and Training educators and academic librarians, this study attempts to develop and validate a blended learning readiness scale for Bangladeshi TVET students. This study also attempts to investigate the reliability of this validated scale by measuring six blended learning readiness dimensions. In this research, the Content Validity Index, Exploratory Factor Analysis, and Confirmatory Factor Analysis were used to establish the construct validity of the blended learning readiness scale. Questionnaires were circulated to the students of six Institutes of Marine Technology (N = 235) who went for a blended learning session for an entire semester. This study's result suggests a strong positive association between Bangladeshi polytechnic students' preparedness for blended learning and attitudes toward online learning, openness to new technology, and attitudes toward the face-to-face classroom. In contrast, significant negative correlations were found between blended learning readiness and basic skills in using technology, learning flexibility, and study management. This study also implied that gender and previous academic achievement is not strong predictor of measuring blended learning readiness in Bangladeshi Technical and Vocational Education and Training context. This blended learning readiness scale would help course designers, educators, librarians, and policymakers of Bangladesh to improve the quality of the blended learning environment by addressing the students' concerns about various blended learning components.

Perspectives of the degree project: Small-scale action research in Swedish higher education

The degree project in educational sciences constitutes the pre-service teacher students' final academic achievement in the Bridging Teacher Education Programme at a university in Sweden. The degree project is complicated or a possibility because this university thesis constitutes only one part of the professional degree. The other part of the thesis project, a BA/BSc or MA/MSc, has been acknowledged as previous academic achievement, a required academic qualification for enrolment in the programme. A further difficulty or opportunity is that students' previous theses were achieved in academic disciplines not typically related to teacher education, sometimes several decades ago. This study aimed to visualise the notion of degree project in bridging teacher education. Our initial questions were: Could the transition between academic disciplines be facilitated? Could knowledge of degree project genres be visualised to enhance academic achievement? What is professional development for student teachers? In the actual study, the scope was limited to perspectives of the degree project and suggestions for improvement of degree project design. Thus, in participatory inquiry conversations, small groups of students and lecturers shared their perspectives of the degree project, and provided suggestions for improvement of the project design. Findings from qualitative analysis of the audio recorded data revealed students’ difficulties in conceptualising the writing assignment, mainly due to unpreparedness. Means of addressing the unpreparedness emerged as task-sequencing throughout the study programme, applying an academic literacies approach. Implications for further action research and teaching are participatory inquiry conversations as continual components in the study programme. A further area of potential investigation is application of instructional design theory to degree project supervision.

Developmental trajectories of children's educational expectations in China: Contributions of academic achievement and maternal expectations

This longitudinal study examined the overall and heterogeneous developmental trajectories of children's educational expectations and the effects of children’'s previous academic achievements and maternal educational expectations on these trajectories. The educational expectations of 3868 Chinese children (1839 girls; Mage = 9.42 ± 0.52) were investigated six times from the 4th to 6th grades. Children's previous academic achievement and maternal educational expectations were also collected during the first wave. The results showed that Chinese children's educational expectations generally increased in middle childhood and could be categorized into four classes: high stable-increasing, low stable-increasing, low quickly-increasing, and high quickly-decreasing. Furthermore, maternal educational expectations have the greatest influence on the initial level of children's educational expectations, whereas previous academic achievement has the greatest impact on the increasing rate of children's expectations. In addition, both factors contribute to classifying children into a high-stable increasing class in comparison to the other three classes. The findings indicate that Chinese children increase their educational expectations in middle childhood and continually adapt their expectations mainly based on their previous achievements. These findings could advance our understanding of the development of children’s educational expectations in the middle childhood period and provide educational practitioners with prospective factors to increase children’s educational expectations.

The efficiency of the reinforcement technique in second-grade intermediate students' academic success on the topic of the Holy Qur'an and Islamic education

The study's goal is to determine the efficiency of the reinforcement technique in second-grade intermediate students' academic success on the topic of the Holy Qur'an and Islamic education. The study's goal is to determine the efficiency of the reinforcement technique in second-grade intermediate students' academic success on the topic of the Holy Qur'an and Islamic education. To achieve the purpose of the research, the researcher used an experimental design with partial control and a post test, which is dependent on the experimental group that is taught using the reinforcement strategy and the control group that is taught using the traditional technique. The researcher selected Ibn Al-Atheer Secondary School for Boys as the location. The researcher used an experimental design to attain the purpose of the r The researcher chose Ibn Al-Atheer Secondary School for Boys, affiliated with the General Directorate of Salah al-Din Education (Department of Education) on purpose to conduct the experiment. The research sample amounted to 60 students, with (30) students for the experimental group and (30) students for the control group. There was a balance between the two groups in terms of chronological age, academic achievement for the previous year, intelligence, and academic achievement for the parents). There is a statistically significant difference at the level of significance (0.05) between the average scores of the experimental group students who studied using the reinforcement strategy and the average scores of the control group students who studied using the usual method of achievement.

The influence of SES, cognitive, and non-cognitive abilities on grades: cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence from two Swedish cohorts

It is well established that socioeconomic status, cognitive ability, and non-cognitive abilities such as self-efficacy are substantially associated with academic achievement. However, the specific relationships of these variables remain a relatively unexplored topic in regard to more recent and representative samples. The current study examined such relations by taking advantage of two cohorts (total N = 12,315) of Swedish students at the elementary (Grade 6) and lower-secondary school levels (Grade 8) in the compulsory school. The regression models showed that all three variables explained a substantial portion of grade variance, with cognitive ability having the strongest relationship, followed by non-cognitive abilities, and SES. Longitudinal associations, which accounted for previous academic achievement, showed that the three variables did still explain a substantial amount of grade variance.

Stuck in the middle school rut: can anything improve academic achievement in rural Chinese middle schools?

ABSTRACT Academic achievement in middle schools in rural China remains poor for many students. This study examines whether programmes and interventions can improve academic achievement by reviewing rigorous experimental evaluations of nine programmes (11 interventions) on 47,480 rural middle school students in China. The results find none of the interventions improved academic achievement. Moreover, we find no evidence for heterogeneous treatment effects by student gender, age or previous academic achievement. These results may be due in part to the academically-demanding nature of the middle school curriculum, which is applied universally to students with varying levels of cognitive ability.

An Early Intervention Technique for At-Risk Prediction of Higher Education Students in Cloud-based Virtual Learning Environment using Classification Algorithms during COVID-19

Higher Education is considered vital for societal development. It leads to many benefits including a prosperous career and financial security. Virtual learning through cloud platforms has become fashionable as it is expediency and flexible to students. New student learning models and prediction outcomes can be developed by using these platforms. The appliance of machine learning techniques in identifying students at-risk is a challenging and concerning factor in virtual learning environment. When there are few students, it is easy for identification, but it is impractical on larger number of students. This study included 530 higher education students from various regions in India and the outcomes generated from online survey data were analyzed. The main objective of this research is to predict early identification of students at-risk in cloud virtual learning environment by analyzing their demographic characteristics, previous academic achievement, learning behavior, device type, mode of access, connectivity, self-efficacy, cloud platform usage, readiness and effectiveness in participating online sessions using four machine learning algorithms namely K Nearest Neighbor (KNN), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) and Random Forest (RF). Predictive system helps to provide solutions to low performance students. It has been implemented on real data of students from higher education who perform various courses in virtual learning environment. Deep analysis is performed to estimate the at-risk students. The experimental results exhibited that random forest achieved higher accuracy of 88.61% compared to other algorithms.

Reliability and validity of new online selection tests for midwifery students

Background and objectiveNewly created midwifery bachelor programmes attract an increasing number of applicants. Hence, educators have moved away from traditional non-standardised selection methods and started developing new tools for the admission of students. Researchers have expressed concerns around the validity of such selection measures and their ability to identify the appropriate candidates. The objective of this study was to develop and implement selection procedures for a new midwifery Bachelor of Science degree in Hamburg, Germany, and assess their psychometric properties. DesignThis is a mixed-methods longitudinal study on the reliability, validity and acceptability of newly developed selection criteria. SettingThe newly established midwifery bachelor of science in Hamburg, Germany. ParticipantsUpon completion of their online application, all midwifery applicants were invited by email to participate in our research project and thereby informed of its purpose and voluntary nature of their participation. The total number of candidates who took the test was 366, of which 309 agreed to take part in this study. Sixty-five applicants were eventually admitted to the midwifery Bachelor programme, of which 59 were included in the study. Measurements and findingsWe developed two tests for cognitive ability (HAM-Mid I and II) and adapted one test for personal and professional characteristics (Casper - Computer-based Assessment for Sampling Personal Characteristics). Due to the Covid pandemic, we implemented the tests online instead of on site as initially planned. HAM-Mid I had the lowest (Cronbach's Alpha = 0.38) whereas Casper had the highest internal consistency (Cronbach's Alpha = 0.77) of all three tests. Age, previous academic achievement and native tongue were significantly associated with applicants’ performance on HAM-Mid II and Casper admission tests. HAM-Mid II was associated with students’ performance in the first year midwifery exam (r = 0.31, p < 0.05). Overall evaluation of HAM-Mid II and Casper was good while HAM-Mid I received a more negative feedback. Key conclusionsEvidence on the reliability and predictive validity of the newly developed tests suggests that the applied admission criteria are appropriate for an objective selection of bachelor midwifery students. Implications for practiceThe interests of university and clinical stakeholders of a midwifery bachelor degree can be represented through the development of tests for the assessment of cognitive ability and personal and professional characteristics.

Exploration of employability perceptions with blended multi-criteria decision-making methods

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore employment perception of students as a relevant indicator of higher education quality, using blended multi-criteria decision-making methods.Design/methodology/approachThe differential impact of these variables was analyzed in this paper taking a sample of 641 students and six higher education lecturers identified as experts on young vocational careers. The traditional study of student behavior and perceptions of employability does not incorporate the uncertainty associated with multi-criteria decision processes and is therefore less adapted to the human reasoning process. This research applies traditional techniques together with fuzzy techniques capable of managing more effectively the uncertainty associated with student actions and behaviors.FindingsThis research shows that it is important to consider previous work experience, academic achievement and soft skills developed during education experiences. In this way, this research shows the lecturers how to adapt their pedagogical practices according to students' perceptions of employability and assess their students' perceptions of employability. In addition, lecturers will be able to incorporate the uncertainty associated with decision-making processes to optimize employability perception.Originality/valueHigher education-related research on uncertainty environments as multi-criteria decision problems is still in early stages. The incorporation of the uncertainty associated with decision-making processes to this field allows to optimize employability perception thanks to its adaptation to real human behavior in the adoption of decisions.

Intentions to quit, emotional support from teachers, and loneliness among peers: developmental trajectories and longitudinal associations in upper secondary school

The current longitudinal study examined students’ intentions to quit school as a process that unfolds over time in a social context of upper secondary school. Based on self-report data collected from 1379 students at three time points over 13 months, the results from latent growth curve modelling revealed average increases in intentions to quit school and loneliness among peers at school, and no average change in perceived emotional support from teachers. In line with hypotheses, there was (1) a negative association between change in perceived emotional support from teachers and change in intentions to quit school and (2) a positive association between change in loneliness among peers and change in intentions to quit school, while controlling for gender, study track, and previous academic achievement. It is important that schools implement strategies to prioritise the quality of interpersonal relationships as an integral component of their educational mandate.

Self-Regulated Learning On Program Entry in Doctor of Physical Therapy Students: A Pilot Study

Introduction. The transition to graduate study can be difficult for entry-level physical therapist (Doctor of Physical Therapy [DPT]) students to make. One factor that may support this transition is the development of self-regulated learning (SRL). SRL has been associated with academic success in graduate health professions programs. Despite previous academic achievement, some DPT students struggle with first semester coursework. It is unknown whether these students have adequate SRL skills. Therefore, this study examined students' perceived SRL skills on program entry. Methods. Participants enrolled in their first semester of a DPT program were recruited from a medium-sized historically minority serving institution in the Southeastern United States. Doctor of Physical Therapy students (N = 28) completed the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) instrument to discover perceived abilities in SRL. The LASSI is a valid and reliable instrument that assesses skills, strategies, and behaviors of SRL and has been used in other graduate health professions. Demographic data and LASSI scores were evaluated using descriptive statistics, and between-group comparisons were performed using nonparametric independent tests and analysis of variance. Significance was set at an alpha level of &lt;.05. Results. Entering students perceived a need for moderate or high levels of support in most areas of SRL as measured by the LASSI. Statistically significant demographic differences in scale scores found within the cohort included minority status, undergraduate institution, and gender. Discussion/Conclusion. This study provides insights into the areas of support DPT students need for SRL that may have implications for early academic support. Diverse students may have different supportive needs. Further research is needed to discover SRL development needs in DPT students.

Family socioeconomic status and parental expectations affect mathematics achievement in a national sample of Chilean students

Family socioeconomic status (SES) has a significant influence on children’s academic success and is related to parents’ attitudes toward education. Moreover, according to the expectancy-value theory, parental expectations are linked to their children’s perceptions of school, which, in turn, influences the way their children invest themselves in education. In this study, we aimed to test a part of the theorical expectancy-value family socialization model that links family SES and parental expectations and explore their influences on children’s mathematics self-concept and achievement. This study was conducted in the Chilean context, which is characterized by strong neoliberal educational policies that induce a strong relationship between family economic resources and children’s educational trajectories. We utilized a longitudinal design, and our study sample (N = 157,814 Chilean students) came from a national assessment that was conducted from 2007 to 2013 when students were in their 4th, 8th, and 10th grades. Our results showed that, while controlling for children’s previous mathematics achievement, their final mathematics achievement was influenced by children’s mathematics self-concept, the family socioeconomic and educational context, and parental expectations regarding their children’s academic achievement. Our findings also highlighted that Chilean parents base their expectations on parents’ capacity to support their children’s education as much as on their children’s previous academic achievement.

ASSESSMENT OF MEDICAL STUDENTS’ METACOGNITIVE AWARENESS OF READING STRATEGIES AND ITS RELATION WITH ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY AT AZIZ FATIMA MEDICAL AND DENTAL COLLEGE, FAISALABAD

ABSTRACT&#x0D; BACKGROUND &amp; OBJECTIVE: Students reading strategies strongly influence their academic performance. Our study aimed to determine medical students' metacognitive awareness during reading strategies and its relation with their academic scores.&#x0D; METHODOLOGY: Study was done among third year MBBS students of Aziz Fatima Medical College Faisalabad. Students previous years academic achievement information was collected and they also filled questionnaire on metacognition regulation by the Metacognitive Awareness Reading Strategies Inventory. Convenient sampling was used for this study. The data were analyzed in SPSS 20. In our study the independent variable was metacognitive score while previous professional examination marks were taken as the dependent variable.Standard deviation and mean were used for the descriptive data. For categorical data, percentage and frequencies were used.&#x0D; RESULTS:&#x0D; Different reading strategies employed by medical students in relation to metacognition were our main focus in the study. Metacognition was taken as score measured by a 30 item MARSI scale and their academic performance measured in terms of total marks obtained in the last professional examination held by the University. Total 101 out of 110 students from 3rd year MBBS class were enrolled in the study and the response rate was 92%. Forty one (41) respondents were females and sixty (60) respondents were male the mean± SD age of students was 21.05±0.74.&#x0D; CONCLUSION: All dimensions of metacognition are positive and strongly correlated with each other’s. Higher the score in one dimension will cause positive change in other dimension score and vice versa.