Vocational Senior High School Research Articles

The study of preparation strategy of senior high school (SMA / MA) graduates in Pasuruan

Senior High School (SMA) is the formal education system of intermediate level after the junior secondary level that prepares graduates to continue their education to a higher level (college). In a policy perspective, senior high school (SMA) graduates are prepared to continue their education. Parents and the Junior High School (SMP) should prepare them comprehensively and independently. This study is intended to describe and analyze the various factors which become the references for educational success in senior high school (SMA/MA), such as the awareness of parents to determine the education of their children, the awareness of the students about the condition of a future which are full of challenges, the quality of education at the senior high school (SMA/MA) especially in strengthening educational character and the quality of workers as the need of workplace, including the role of government in addressing these conditions. The studies obtained from schools, namely accommodation and relevance of senior high school (SMA) curriculum development to the needs of workers in a good quality industry, the principal has a great commitment, availability of production units, partnerships with businesses and industries (DUDI), have a good simultaneous cooperation between vocational high school (SMK) and senior high school (SMA).

Strategy Use for Listening in English as a Foreign Language: A Comparison of Academic and Vocational High School Students

Researchers of learner and language use strategies have long suggested that appropriate application of strategies can facilitate second or foreign language learning. Listening is the most fundamental skill in language learning, but for decades this skill was not emphasized in secondary schools in Taiwan. However, in 2012 a new national English listening test (TELC) was launched for both academic and vocational senior high school students, and learning English listening suddenly became important. To date, there has been little research on variation in listening strategy use in Taiwan. This study investigated the listening strategies that are currently employed and valued by academic and vocational high school students in Taiwan. The author administered a survey to 400 senior high school students, involving quantitative analysis of questionnaire data and qualitative analysis of semistructured interviews. The findings reveal differences in the use of certain categories of listening strategies between the two groups of students. Although listening strategies were highly valued by all participants, the reasons cited differed. The results highlight the educational system's influence on the choice of listening strategy and provide teachers with useful information regarding teaching English listening to adolescent students of English as a foreign language in Taiwan.

The Effect of Personality Value Practice of Principals toward Attitude, Discipline, Qualities and Communications of Work

This study aims to identify the effect of personality value practice of principals toward work attitude, work discipline, work quality and work communication of teachers in senior high schools such as public senior high schools (SMA), vocational senior high schools (SMK), religion senior high schools (MAN) in Makassar city, South Sulawesi province of Indonesia. The sample consisted of 295 teachers. It used random sampling method. The study used a questionnaire to collect data. Data were analyzed by the statistical inference of linear regression to test the hypotheses. Cronbach's alpha of the questionnaire is 0.879. The results showed a strong effect of personality values of principals toward work attitude, work quality and work communication of teachers at schools. While, personality value of principals have moderate influence on teachers’ work discipline.

A Study on Learning Effectiveness of an Engine Troubleshooting Practical Course with Computer- Assisted Instruction (CAI) at The Vocational Senior High School

A Study on Learning Effectiveness of an Engine Troubleshooting Practical Course with Computer- Assisted Instruction (CAI) at The Vocational Senior High School

A survey of career guidance needs of industrial design students in Taiwanese Universities

School pupils in Taiwan spend most of their time in studying and having examinations, and consequently many of them decide what major to study in universities rather hastily. Industrial design (ID) programs in universities nowadays recruit students from general and vocational senior high schools through a variety of channels. As a consequence, ID students may vary considerably in their abilities, aptitudes, and career goals, and they are in urgent need of career guidance. This paper reports a survey of the career guidance needs of ID students in Taiwan. Eight focus groups (fifty-six students in total) were interviewed and a sample of 360 ID students, from four Taiwanese universities, were surveyed. Based on the implications of the findings, we make some proposals for design education and further research.

PEMETAAN SMK: STUDI EKSPLORATIF DI PROVINSI DIY, KALSEL, DAN KALTIM

This research aims to describe (1) the latest data about the existence of vocational senior high school that consists of the numbers of school, the skill program, the numbers of learning group, and the numbers of productive training teacher: (2) the comparison of the productive training teacher with the skill program and the learning group. This research was conducted by using survey technique. The population which also eshtablished as the sample of this research were all of the head of the Branch Office of Education in the provinces region Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY), South Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, and all of the headmasters of SMK in those provinces. The data were collected by using documentation and questionnaire technique. The collected data were analyzed by using the quatitave descriptive technique and processed by SPSS 12 program. The result of this research showed that there was difference of SMK numbers between the numbers of SMK that recorded in 2008 (409 schools) and the numbers of SMK that observed in 2009. There were 423 SMKs in DIY, South Kalimantan, and East Kalimantan. 152 SMKs of them were public shool and the other 271 SMKs were private schools. The numbers of skill program were 1142 programs that located in DIY: 491, South Kalimantan: 198, and East Kalimantan: 453. The numbers of learning group = 4998 groups, for DIY 2309 groups, South Kalimantan 785 groups and East Kalimantan 1904 groups. The numbers of productive training teacher were 16069 people, DIY 7450 people, South Kalimantan 2459 people and East Kalimantan 5160 people. The comparison between teacher and skill program was 14,6 : 1, between teacher and learning group was 3,2 : 1. The skill program dominantly handled were Automotive Mechanical Engineering, Networks and Computer Technology, Accountancy, Multimedia, Marketing, and Office Administration. In addition, especially for DIY, Clothing Engineering was dominant skill program as well

Religion, class and schooled sexuality among Minangkabau teenage girls

This paper examines the meanings attached to sexuality and femininity by Minangkabau teenage girls in schools in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Schools in West Sumatra communicate a hegemonic, normative understanding of womanhood, and a moral consciousness of the female sexual body, to students. Different types of schools – academic, vocational and Islamic senior high schools – have a different ‘curriculum of the body’ (Lesko 1988) and differently discipline bodies and shape sexuality. School girls articulate their understanding of and practise their sexuality in ways that are characteristic of their class, gender and religiosity, mediated by their schools. The schools articulate a religiously-ordained and gendered social order, and impose social control. The different types of school render girls chaste and virtuous to varying degrees. Through everyday practices, this curriculum effects girls’ embodied experience of sexuality. Minangkabau teenage girls have a highly developed sense of their own sexuality, but, far from experiencing a sexual revolution as a result of globalization, most have developed a sexual awareness that is weighted with cultural and religious burdens. Minang female adolescent sexuality is a moral sexuality based on Islam and adat.

Age and contributing factors to unlicensed teen motorcycling

This study aims to examine the initial age when teenagers engage in unlicensed motorcycling in Taiwan and the factors contributing to their unlicensed behavior. Data were collected from the retrospective experience of a cohort of senior high school students and a Cox regression model was applied. The results indicated that an estimated 63.4% of the students had experienced riding before the legal age of 18 years. Contributing factors such as whether the students were in a vocational senior high school, male, and in households with higher motorcycle ownership rates led to an earlier riding age; in contrast, a higher degree of parental monitoring, fewer motorcycles in the household, living in Greater Taipei, and an increase in the bus density in the district delayed the ages of beginning motorcycling. The higher minimum licensing age of 18 in Taiwan has caused a debate about its effectiveness because of the high prevalence of unlicensed teenage riding. Measures such as parental monitoring, power- or speed-limited mopeds, training programs, and no duo-passengers should be carefully examined if a policy is to be made on lowering the age limit of motorcycling.

Developing Communicative Language Test for Vocational Senior High School

This paper is aimed at revealing the role of communicative language test n enabling and measuring student’s English achievement at Vocational School (SMK). Its coverage will be the considerations and procedures to construct communicative language test. This test is intended to be a measure of how the testees are able to use language in real life situations. There are several models of communicative competence, grammatical competence, sociolinguistic competence, discourse competence, and strategic competence. This test has three steps; identifying objectives, developing the test, specification, and developing the communicative test. Key Words: Communicative test, vocational school, linguistics, sociolinguistics, discourse, strategic,

Interactive processes and learning attitudes in a web-based problem-based learning (PBL) platform

This paper discusses the steps taken to set up a digital logic course problem through a problem-based learning (PBL) constructivist approach. PBL is the learning which results from the process of working toward the understanding and resolution of a problem. The purpose of this study was to develop and implement problem-based learning in a digital logic course in a senior vocational industrial high school. Data collection included content analysis and a questionnaire survey. Content analysis was used to evaluate the students’ discussion messages, quality of dialogue, and the level of problem-solving activities. A survey was then administered to examine the students’ learning attitudes and perceptions toward this platform as a possible tool for PBL learning. Researchers found “Peer-responses” category is the most messages; the contents of messages focus on “General explanation” and “Reaction”; the level results of all groups’ problem-solving are similar; the index of the “Interaction” satisfaction level is the highest in PBL activity. Finally, some research suggestions were also proposed.

PENGEMBANGAN KOMPETENSI KOMUNIKATIF BERBAHASA SISWA SMA/SMK

Abstract This study is to accelerate or develop communicative or functional competence in using Indonesian and English of General and Vocational Senior High School students through communicative approach. Several techniques are used. The Picture Cue Card technique is used for the students of the State Vocational Senior High School 3 Purwokerto, whereas the Feature Analysis technique is used for the students of General Senior High School of Abdi Negara of Muntilan. Retelling technique is used for the students of State Vocational Senior High School1 of Depok, whereas the Progressive technique is used for the students of the State General High School 7 of Yogyakarta. This research is a classroom action rsearch with communicative learning approach. The result show following: (1) Picture Cue Card thechnique can accelerate English ability. (2) Feature Analysis technique can accelerate the mastery of Indonesian vocabulary (3) Retelling technique can accelerate the ability in reading English texts (4) Progressive learning can accelerate the ability in writing in Indonesian. Keywords: picture cue cards technique, analysis feature, retelling, progressive learning,classroom action research.

Relationship of Binge Drinking and Other Health-Compromising Behaviors among Urban Adolescents in China

Purpose To describe frequency and patterns of alcohol use and explore the association between binge drinking and other health-compromising behaviors among adolescents in urban China. Methods Data on alcohol use and other behavioral risk factors were obtained from the 2004 China Adolescent Behavioral Risk Factor Survey conducted in 18 provincial capitals. Chi-square test was used to estimate the prevalence of alcohol use and compare differences in drinking frequency by gender, school type, and grade. Logistic regression was used to estimate the association between binge drinking and other health-compromising behaviors. Results Data were available on 54,040 students in grades 7 to 12. In all, 51.1% of students reported ever using alcohol (male: 58.6%; female: 44.3%), 29.7% reported drinking before 13 years of age, and 14.1% had gotten drunk at least once during the past year. In the 30 days preceding the interview, 25.2% students reported consuming at least one alcoholic drink (male: 31.4%; female: 19.6%) and 10.3% reported at least one episode of binge drinking (male: 14.4%; female: 6.6%). Male students from vocational senior high schools reported the highest frequency of alcohol use. The prevalence of other risk behaviors, such as smoking, drug use, and fighting were significantly higher among students with a positive history of binge drinking. Conclusions Alcohol use among urban adolescents is a major problem in China. A comprehensive alcohol control policy is needed, incorporating measures to educate the public about the dangers of adolescent alcohol use and regulating access and purchase of alcohol by minors.

Using mobile communication technology in high school education: Motivation, pressure, and learning performance

Motivation and pressure are considered two factors impacting vocational senior high school student learning. New communication technology, especially mobile communication technology, is supposed to be effective in encouraging interaction between the student and the instructor and improving learning efficiency. Social presence and information richness theory was applied to analyze the media and their impacts on the instruction process firstly. Then the author observed firstly the impact of using individual communication technologies – namely Short Message Service (SMS), email, and online forum – on student learning motivation, pressure, and performance, based on a comparative investigation of 176 students. Then the impacts of using combination of mobile and Internet communication technology – SMS + email, SMS + online forum – were examined with another experiment of 45 students. The result showed that instant messaging helps bonding the two roles – student and instructor – in the instruction process effectively. When combined with Internet communication media, it can significantly increase student extrinsic motivation without causing higher pressure. Additionally, communication media demanding public expression rather than private dialogue should be adopted with careful consideration, since they may raise student pressure.

Integrating ICT into second language education in a vocational high school

Abstract This study investigated the potential impacts of integrating the Internet into an English as a second language class in a vocational senior high school in Taiwan. Twenty‐nine students and a young male English teacher were involved. It was found that the students overall had a positive perception toward using Internet tools. This study indicated that the integration of information communication technology on the Internet with English facilitated the creation of a virtual environment that transformed learning from a traditional passive experience to one of discovery, exploration, and excitement in a less stressful setting. The study revealed that a computer‐mediated communication environment could lower students' psychological barriers to enable them to express their opinions freely and to communicate actively on the Internet and that it could also enhance their critical thinking, problem‐solving and communication skills through online activities or class homepage construction. An individual case study further revealed that a task‐oriented English tutoring strategy in association with email communication could motivate the student's writing competence but the student's language proficiency and grammatical accuracy did not improve. Finally, based on the findings, recommendations for future studies are made.

Abstracts

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of traumatic dental injuries (TDI) in Taiwan, and to analyse the relationships between the occurrence of traumatic dental injuries and school type, age, gender, socio-economic status, family structure, overjet and lip morphology. Methods: A random sample of 6284 15–18-year-old academic and vocational senior high school students in southern Taiwan was selected. Each completed a questionnaire and was examined with standard clinical procedures. Results: Participation rate was 99.97%. The prevalence of TDI in Taiwan was 19.94% (95% C.I. 18.96%, 20.95%). Male adolescents (OR = 1.809, 95% C.I. 1.589, 2.058) attending private (OR = 1.158, 95% C.I. 1.004, 1.336) and/or vocational schools (OR = 1.200, 95% C.I. 1.030, 1.398), with an overjet greater than 5 mm (OR = 1.697, 95% C.I. 1.450, 1.985), inadequate lip morphology (OR = 1.350, 95% C.I. 1.189, 1.533), living with at least one nonbirth parent (OR = 1.274, 95% C.I. 1.013, 1.601), and/or having the middle educated chief guardian (OR = 1.210, 95% C.I. 1.039, 1.411), were found to be at greater risk of TDI. Conclusions: The prevalence of TDI in Taiwan was similar to that found in other countries. Correlates of TDI were gender, lip morphology, overjet, chief guardian's level of education, family structure and school type. Further investigation into the aetiology of TDI is indicated.

How teachers in different educational contexts view their roles

Based on the premise that teachers’ perceptions of their professional roles are closely linked to their self images and their impact on the learning and achievement of their students, a study was conducted to investigate the relationship between the context of teachers’ work and their views of themselves as professionals. Sixty teachers in Israeli vocational senior high schools participated in the study. Half taught high-achieving and half low-achieving students. Teachers’ professional images of self were uncovered by asking them to match their images of themselves as teachers with drawings of other, carefully chosen, occupations and to comment on their choices. The use of metaphoric pictures was found to be a meaningful vehicle for raising teachers’ awareness of their roles and functions in school. The major finding of this study was that the teaching context has a significant impact on teachers’ images of their professional selves. The caring metaphor, for instance, is more prevalent in some educational situations than in others, leading to potential pedagogical implications. The rejection of some images proved to be no less important than the positive choices. It is argued that metaphoric pictures could serve not only as research instruments but also as an instructional tool in teacher education programs.

A Behavioural Checklist of Career Exploration Activities for use in Vocational Guidance and Research: Preliminary Study

Although career exploration is essentially a process for the individual, behavioural counsellors may become involved in its planning, ordering and evaluation. The purpose of the present study was to provide some initial data on a standardised behavioural checklist of career exploration activities — FINDING OUT FACTS ABOUT JOBS. The checklist was designed for use in vocational guidance and research. It contains 40 career exploration activities grouped into six response classes e.g., reading, writing, talking etc. The checklist was administered to 196 vocational guidance and senior high school students. Subjects reported an average of 14.3 career exploration activities, with talking to friends being the most frequent (83%) and writing to unions, the least frequent (2%). Hierarchical cluster analysis of the 40 by 40 squared Euclidean distance matrix betwen items, identified fourteen optimum groups of activities. These were generally grouped together on the basis of level of response. Overall, it was found that activites involving talking and reading were most highly correlated (r = 0.570 p<.001). It was argued that preliminary data from this study provided practitioners with a standardised list, a measure of current achievements, and some basis for individual comparisons in career-exploration. The role of the checklist in behavioural assessment was also outlined.