Undergraduate Students In Thailand Research Articles

Thai Undergraduates’ Motivation in Learning Different Foreign Languages: A Dörnyei’s L2MSS Perspective

Dörnyei’s (2005) research radiates positivity, emphasizing the crucial role of motivation in language learning beyond traditional methods. The study investigated 261 undergraduate students in Thailand studying languages other than English (LOTEs), utilizing Dörnyei’s L2 motivational self-system (L2MSS) theory. Employing a mixed-methods research approach, the study explored participants’ motivational profiles through questionnaires and voluntary interviews. The findings reveal high motivation levels among LOTE students, with ideal L2 self, L2 learning experience, instrumentality–promotion, international posture, and cultural/community interest as significant predictors. Notably, L2 learning experience emerged as the most influential predictor across all LOTE groups, offering a promising avenue for educational advancements. It advocates a dynamic teaching approach, fostering positive environments, emphasizing practical benefits, integrating cultural elements, and addressing online classroom challenges. Optimistic recommendations include ongoing teacher development, collaboration among educators, and parental involvement for a vibrant and motivating educational experience. The study’s upbeat tone suggests potential expansion through increased sample sizes and incorporating a diverse array of less commonly taught languages (LCTLs).

Enhancing Socially Responsible Leadership for Undergraduate Students in Thailand: A Quantitative Model

Background and Aims: With the need for social profits and benefits in social development, Thailand needs to train their future leaders to possess leadership value-based, participated, purposed, and non-authoritative to resolve emerging social issues like social inequity, environmental pollution, democratic development, etc.; consequently, socially responsible leadership is a sort of tool can solve the problems and make better for society in Thailand; the research would conduct the five objectives in the researcher to propose a suitable model for enhancing socially responsible leadership for undergraduate students in Thailand: 1) to find what levels of socially responsible leadership are for university students in Thailand; 2) to find what levels of involvement frequency in activities can advance socially responsible leadership for university students in Thailand; 3) to determine whether there is a significant difference between student demographics and socially responsible leadership for university students in Thailand; 4) to determine whether there is a significant relationship between leadership activities and socially responsible leadership for university students in Thailand; 5) to propose a suitable model for developing socially responsible leadership for university students in Thailand. Materials and Methods: The researcher conducted the three theories: the social change model of leadership, the four types of leadership activities that can enhance socially responsible leadership for undergraduate students, and demographics of students; the research quantitative analysis and modeling; the duration of collecting data was in 6 months; there were 600 valid data from five representative universities in Bangkok, Thailand; then, the researcher would conduct model validation by five scholars from the universities in Bangkok, Thailand and an evaluation model as the CIPP. Results: The research includes the following findings: 1) there were eight dimensions of socially responsible leadership in higher education context in Thailand: commitment, controversy with civility, congruence, change, consciousness of self, collaboration, common purpose, citizenship; 2) there were the four types of leadership activities can enhance socially responsible leadership in higher education in Thailand: game related activities, student organizational and interesting club activities, classroom activities and leadership workshops; 3) there were three types of students who need to enhance the leadership: males, aged less than 18, and first-year level; 4) the researcher found almost the four types of leadership activities can be associated with the eight dimensions of socially responsible leadership (p<.05) ; 5) according to the results of model validation, the five scholars approved the model has possibilities to enhance socially responsible leadership for undergraduates in Thailand by given scores (≥0.60). Conclusions: The model advises enhancing socially responsible leadership for undergraduates, males aged under 18, and first-year students in higher education in Thailand and higher education institutions in Thailand, which could lead to the four types of leadership activities appropriately. Furthermore, the model can provide practical paradigms for developing socially responsible leadership for related stakeholders concerned with student development in higher education in Thailand.

Development and evaluation of a virtual reality basic life support for undergraduate students in Thailand: a project by Mae Fah Luang University (MFU BLiS VR)

BackgroundIn traditional basic life support training for university students or the public, trainees practice simulations only once or twice during the course, potentially limiting their competence. In contrast, virtual reality allows trainees to independently study and practice as often as needed, enhancing their skills. This research and development project aimed to develop and evaluate a novel learning device, virtual reality basic life support for undergraduate students of Mae Fah Luang University (MFU BLiS VR).MethodsThis study employed a two-group, pre- and post-test design, involving seventy students (n = 35 in each group) from Mae Fah Luang University, Thailand. Data were collected from March 2022 to January 2023. The experimental group received the MFU BLiS VR, in addition to traditional teaching, while the control group received only traditional teaching. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics, Chi-square, Mann-Whitney U test, and Wilcoxon signed ranks test.Results“MFU BLiS VR” provided a learning experience in out-of-hospital basic life support for adult patients in four scenarios: (1) a person who was not breathing but had a pulse; (2) a person who was not breathing, had no pulse, and required defibrillation; (3) a person who was not breathing, had no pulse, and did not require defibrillation; and (4) a person with normal breathing and pulse but was unconscious. Each scenario was presented sequentially from scenario one to scenario four. The scenarios encompassed common and complex situations requiring prompt and effective bystander responses to save lives. The results revealed that the experimental group had a significantly shorter no-flow time compared to the control group (Z = -5.02, p < .001) and achieved significantly higher knowledge scores than the control group (Z = -3.39, p < .01) as well as superior practical skills (Z = -7.26, p < .001). Both groups reported the highest satisfaction levels in all aspects, with no significant differences.ConclusionMFU BLiS VR is an effective training approach for teaching and learning basic life support and the use of an automated electronic defibrillator. It captures students’ attention and enhances their understanding of these essential life support skills, which are crucial for everyone.

Assessment of a Flipped Classroom: An Innovative Method of Teaching English for EFL Undergraduate Students in Thailand

This article assesses flipped classroom, which is a modern-day teaching method for EFL undergraduate students in Thailand, and its effectiveness. The flipped classroom’s primary characteristics are outlined, including individualization features, flexibility features, differentiation features, and the opportunities students have to learn anywhere and anytime. The research uses a descriptive-analytical method with a quantitative and qualitative assessment control provided. This article seeks to estimate EFL students’ new experiences deriving from flipped classroom applications. It was completed by analyzing responses from the survey-based questionnaire of 80 EFL students at Chiang Rai Rajabhat University. Descriptive statistics and analytical methods were applied in order to verify the research. Flipped classroom applications were revealed to make the process of education both more effective as well as innovative, as EFL students’ language learning performance was enhanced, and both their motivation and participation was increased, as was their interest in English learning.

Unpacking the nature of critical thinking for educational purposes

ABSTRACT Although critical thinking has been widely accepted as an educational goal for decades, clear evidence for the development of students’ critical thinking is sparse. Critical thinking has been conceptualised as skill, knowledge, and disposition respectively in psychology, philosophy and critical theory, but which applies to education is unclear. In this paper, we argue that treating critical thinking as skill is most appropriate in education. However, there are still three competing theories of critical thinking as skill: as a single unitary skill, as a set of disparate sub-skills, and as a composite skill with several sub-skills. We evaluated the validity of these theories through conducting Rasch and correlation analyses on the results of 385 undergraduate students in Thailand on the Multi-Purpose Assessment of Critical Thinking (MPACT) test. The findings suggest that critical thinking is a composite skill with several sub-skills with implications for the teaching and testing of critical thinking.

Enhancing EFL Students’ Performance and Genre Awareness in Academic Writing through Genre-based Instruction

For EFL students, academic writing can be challenging, especially in Thailand, where English is taught in formal classroom settings. To become proficient in academic writing, students need to master genre knowledge and develop an understanding of genre variations. This study attempted to figure out how genre-based instruction affected the academic writing performance of EFL students. The main research questions are to what extent students improve their writing performance and their awareness of genre after studying academic writing through genre-based instruction. The study involved fifty-six undergraduate students in Thailand. There were four research instruments, i.e., pretest and posttest, student writing, student reflection, and semi-structured interviews. Students’ writing scores were analyzed using descriptive statistics. An independent-sample t-test was used to analyze the means of the two groups receiving different instruction types. Student reflection and interviews were used to explore the target students’ genre awareness and students’ attitudes toward the instruction. The results of this study showed that the students in the control and experimental group had equal writing abilities, as seen in the pretest. However, the experimental group of students significantly outperformed the students in the control group in all types of academic writing. The findings also revealed that the target students improved their genre awareness in four ways, i.e., audience awareness, purpose awareness, appropriate content, and textual features. In addition, they held positive attitudes toward genre-based instruction. This study provides a guideline for teachers and practitioners to incorporate genre-based instruction into teaching writing to improve students’ writing proficiency.

The Effects of Online Physical Activity During Covid-19 Pandemic among Undergraduate Students in Thailand

Study purpose. The purpose of this study was to develop a physical activity program by using resistance band for students to improve physical activity and monitor improvements in physical performance. The university students’physical activity, which was still low before the pandemic, may be impacted by these. As a result, we want to incorporate physical activity into our course and assess the differences in physical performance before and after taking the course. Materials and methods. 95 undergraduate college students signed up to take the course. The online course, which included resistance band training for a total of 12 weeks, addressed the principles of resistance band training/exercise. The physical performance of the participants was assessed both before and after training. Results. According to our study findings, university students at Walailak University can increase their physical performance by using an online resistance band training. The physical fitness statistics for the wall sit test, sit up test, sit and reach test, and shuttle run test were significantly different before and after the online elastic band intervention (p=0.0463, p=0.0050, and p=0.0430, respectively), but not for the shuttle run or YMCA 3-minute step test. Conclusions. The results of this study provide proof that resistance band training improves strength and encourages physical activity. In order to reduce anxiety and depression, which the COVID-19 has severely touched, as well as to increase the population’s level of physical activity or exercise, we must continually promote physical activity or exercise at home.

Factors Associated with Knowledge and Attitude towards E-Cigarettes among Undergraduate Students in Thailand: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Thailand government has enacted a ban on vaping for eight years, but the number of vapers has continued to increase, particularly among teenagers. This study aimed to evaluate undergraduate pharmacy students' knowledge and attitudes toward e-cigarette use in Thailand. This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed between January and March 2022. The participants were selected from 14 universities of Thailand. For data collection, a questionnaire was developed online using Google Form. The participants had to complete the questionnaire within 5 to 10 days the via s. Chi-square and binary logistic analysis were used to assess the association between variables. A total of 507 participants were recruited, The participants' mean age was 20.6 ± 1.9 years. About 98.6% of the participants knew about e-cigarette, and 74.4% had never been taught about e-cigarettes. Moreover, 68.8% of the participants declared that people around them were smokers. Logistic regression analysis indicated that the participants who declared that they were not sure if e-cigarettes contains nicotine or not were 10.5 more likely to consume e-cigarettes (AOR = 10.5; 95 % CI 3.130-35.181; P ˂0.001). Male participants who were at the academic year of three and four were more likely to use e-cigarettes than female students who were at the academic year of five and six (AOR 2.9; 95 % CI 1.599-5.214; P ˂0.001; AOR = 4.5; 95 % CI 1.412-14.571; P ˂0.001; AOR = 3.9; 95 % CI 1.263-12.511; p = 0.018). OOur study findings showed that pharmacy students lacked knowledge about e-cigarettes and misunderstood about e-cigarettes substances. Future research is necessary to develop educational programs for health professionals to be ready to advise patients about e-cigarettes.

A Study of Career Maturity, Information-Seeking Behavior, Entrepreneurial Efficacy, Problem-Solving Skills, and Managerial Skills of Undergraduate Students in Thailand

Nowadays, in addition to the hard skills like academic knowledge of new graduates, other soft skills of management such as Career Maturity (CM), Information-Seeking Behavior (ISB), Entrepreneurial Efficacy (EE), Problem-Solving Skills (PSS), and Managerial Skills (MS) are also required by the company owner as they will be useful in real-life work management. The objectives of this study are: 1) to investigate the current competencies of CM, ISB, EE, PSS, and MS of undergraduate students in Thailand, 2) to investigate the different competencies of CM, ISB, EE, PSS, and MS across different gender, faculties, and grade levels. This study uses an online questionnaire to collect data from 569 undergraduate students from Thailand. The result shows that the reliability of the data collecting tool is acceptable (Cronbach’s alpha was at 0.87) and the current findings further reveal that the total competencies of CM, ISB, and MS are different by gender but on the other way, total competencies of all 5 which means to CM, ISB, EE, PSS, and MS are different by faculties and grade levels. The information from this study can make instructors or teachers develop a modern classroom that can increase competitiveness for undergraduate students and prepare them to be qualified to apply for future employment.

Cambio de dominio: percepciones de adicción al juego entre estudiantes universitarios en Tailandia y China

Thailand and China’s internet penetration rates have rocketed over the past 15 years. Such increased access has led to increased scholarly interest in students’ online gaming habits in both countries. However, there is little research available about how undergraduate students in both countries consider their own and their peers’ gaming attitudes and habits, especially when these are sensitively aligned with “addiction.” Lacking too is research about how they think gaming impacts learning and academic performance between students from different university disciplines. This research examines undergraduate students in Thailand and China from the humanities compared with those from other disciplines in respect to their attitudes to and awareness of gaming addiction. A sample of 181 students from international and private universities were surveyed. Their interactions with leading games were analysed. A Likert scale was used alongside open-response questions and qualitative discourse analysis forming a mixed method to interpret these results. It is shown in this descriptive-inferential study that that students’ field of study, whether they actively played games and how often they played games all impacted how they valued their own gaming and defined the concept of “addiction.” Humanities and science students showed the same gaming habits as per daily hours spent gaming; business/economics students gamed less overall. Those who considered themselves addicted to gaming, perceived gaming addiction to account for 15-21hours spent gaming per week. Threshold gaming hours, positive and negative aspects of over gaming and a variance between moral and aesthetic appreciation of gaming as it impacts gamers’' lives were noted.

A Study of Factors Affecting the Self-managerial Skills of Undergraduate Students on Online Learning

Nowadays, undergraduate students have to change from on-site classroom learning to online learning; hence, building self-managerial skills is essential to their success in online learning. The goal of this study was to investigate the impact of various factors on undergraduate students’ self-managerial skills in online learning. A questionnaire was designed and distributed directly to respondents via the online system, and 1,057 valid responses were collected and evaluated. In this study, the data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and multiple regression techniques. The current findings revealed that self-appraisal (SA), planning skills (PSSP), organizing skills (PSSO), evaluating skills (PSSE), and interpersonal skills (IPS) had effects on self-managerial skills (SMS) of undergraduate students in Thailand. This study has a benefit for professors or lecturers who must design and build modern online classroom through an online learning management system that enhances the competency of undergraduate students’ self-management skills and prepares them for future careers.

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among undergraduate students in Thailand during the peak of the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic in 2021

Abstract Objectives To determine the point prevalence of undergraduate students who are hesitant to accept COVID-19 vaccination and to identify the predictors of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in university students. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted during June–July 2021. A total of 542 undergraduate students from universities in three central provinces of Thailand participated in an online survey via Google Form. We used a transculturally translated, Thai version of the Oxford Coronavirus Explanations, Attitudes, and Narratives Survey (OCEANS II). Results There were 217 undergraduate students (40%) who were hesitant to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and the significant predictors for this hesitancy were: being students in Year 2 and higher (AOR: 2.73; 95% CI: 1.55–4.84); having negative beliefs toward the COVID-19 vaccine (AOR: 10.99; 95% CI: 6.82–17.73); and having a perceived positive general vaccine conspiracy belief (AOR: 1.90; 95% CI: 1.02–3.52). Conclusions It is important to minimize vaccine hesitancy among Thai undergraduate students with a negative perception of vaccines by clarifying false information.

Antecedents and Consequences of Social Adjustment of Undergraduate Students in Thailand: A Meta-Analysis Study

Social adjustment of undergraduate students is an issue that every educational institution worldwide regards as essential; this also includes educational institutions in Thailand. The systematic study, collection, and synthesis of antecedent factors affecting student’s social adjustment are, therefore, necessary as the data obtained from the abundance of research available can lead to new findings which can be used to design, strategize and promote students’ social adjustment, effectively addressing the social adjustment issues of students which have long been problematic. Therefore, this research’s objective is to synthesize available knowledge in the dimension of antecedent factors and consequences regarding to undergraduate students’ social adjustment in Thailand through the examination of various research publications available in the past 10 years (from year A.D. 2009-2019) through meta-analysis. Research that was used to synthesize 50 studies. Research results found that the individual’s internal factors affected student social adjustment the most. The variable of self-control has the largest average effect size. The variables of self-reliance and abstraction have negative consequences and large average effect sizes. Among the factors in the category of individuals’ external factors, the variable of participation in student activities had the largest average effect size, followed by interpersonal relationships, and participation in religious activities, respectively. In addition, under demographic factors, the variable of student age had the largest average effect size, followed by academic achievement, gender, source of funding received, and religion, respectively. These findings can be helpful in furthering strategic planning to ameliorate the social adjustment of students in higher education.

The Optimization of Effective Learning Outcomes with Online Classroom for Undergraduate Students in Thailand

The educational system in the university level has been collapsed during the lockdown period of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) not only in Thailand but across the globe. This study was aimed at meeting the following objectives were 1) to study the factors with direct effects on learning outcomes with online classroom for undergraduate students in Thailand(LEFF);and 2) guidelines for the optimization of effective learning outcomes with online classroom for undergraduate students in Thailand. Data were collected using a questionnaire survey with a 0.971 Cronbach’s alpha, which was applied to a sample of 700 undergraduate students. Later, data were analyzed using SmartPLS3.0 software. The results showed shown 78.3% of the variance was explained by SEM. Student characteristics (STUD) was shown to have a direct effect on learning outcomes with online classroom for undergraduate students in Thailand(LEFF) at the highest level, followed by motivations (MOTV). This result suggested are students should adjust their attitudes, teachers should be neutral, treating all students equally and completely, the curriculum committees should collaborate and cooperate in revision course content for online instruction, the academic work units of each university should conduct surveys of the impact of online learning and the management team of these university should set IT support for all students and teachers. The additional findings from this study found that university support (UNSP) didn’t have any effect on learning outcomes with online classroom for undergraduate students in Thailand (LEFF), although UNSP includes;training from IT staff, using a quality program, enough equipment and quality to use, help is available at all times when there is a problem during study time and there is a program manual for teaching and learning. © RIGEO 11(6), SPRING, 2021

Creativity Quotient of Undergraduate Students in Higher Education Institutes within Thailand

The creativity quotient (CQ) is an essential competency strongly linked to the innovation of a person’s future development. Creativity quotient scores are calculated by ideational fluency scoring and are derived from the fluency and flexibility of the responses. A total of 1,200 undergraduate students from various types of universities (public and autonomous, Rajabhat University, Rajamangala University of Technology, and private) within Thailand were tested using a classical divergent thinking task to measure CQ. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the demographic characteristics, and the CQ of undergraduate students in Thailand. The results revealed a statistically significant difference (p &lt; 0.01) among the type of university, gender, field of study, year of study, and Grade Point Average (GPA). The highest CQ score among undergraduate students was 18, and the lowest score was 0. The total average CQ score was 5.74, and the standard deviation was 2.82. Moreover, the results indicated that students who studied in the Rajabhat University had the highest CQ scores. The study also showed that year 4 and above female students in Humanities and Social Sciences with GPAs between 3.51 and 4.00 had the highest CQ scores. These findings may be used as the primary data for educators and administrators in higher education to develop strategies to enhance students’ creativity and innovation.

Alcohol Consumption Behavior among Undergraduate Students in Thailand: Development of a New Causal Relationship Model

Alcohol consumption among undergraduate students in Thailand is problematic. The aim of this study was to deepen our understanding of this problem by developing a causal relationship model for the alcohol consumption behavior of undergraduate students in Thailand, and to verify the model&amp;rsquo;s concordance with empirical data. Four latent variables were considered: alcohol consumption behavior, alcohol expectancy, drinking refusal self-efficacy, and health literacy. Participants included representative 1st &amp;ndash; 5th year undergraduate students at the Thailand National Sports University, with 600 students being selected using stratified random sampling procedures. The descriptive statistics and the causal relationship model were analyzed using LISREL 8.80. The model developed was in good agreement with the empirical data (c2=228.66, df = 79, p &amp;gt; 0.05 , c2/df=2.894, SRMR =0.07, RMSEA =0.06, CFI =0.99, and RFI =0.98), with all computed indices passing the stipulated criteria. On the basis of the coefficients of determination in the structural equation model, alcohol expectancy, drinking refusal self-efficacy, and health literacy together accounted for 80% of the variance in the student&amp;rsquo;s alcohol consumption behavior. These theoretically based causal factors provide new directions for future intervention work aimed at modifying the alcohol consumption behaviors of undergraduate students at the Thailand National Sports University. This can be accomplished by developing activities that are suitable and contextually sensitive to their needs.

Effectiveness of social media for weight reduction on overweight undergraduate students in Thailand

PurposeAddressing overweight in the population is an important public health challenge. Use of social media such as Facebook has been proposed as a platform to deliver weight loss interventions to influence behavior change to tackle obesity. The purpose of this paper is to compare the effectiveness of weight loss education and support interventions delivered through online social media (experimental group) vs conventional method (control group).Design/methodology/approachThe six-month experimental study comprised of a four-month intervention and a two-month follow up from May 2016 to October 2016. All faculties in a university were randomly selected into the experimental or control group. Then, undergraduate students (n=66) were randomly recruited from each faculty into the corresponding groups (experimental group=33 and control group=33). Both groups received health education and support services through either Facebook or the offline support system. The mean differences of main outcomes including body mass index (BMI) and waist to height ratio (WHtR) between groups at baseline and fourth month and baseline and sixth month were compared usingt-test.FindingsThe results show those in the experimental group had significantly better outcomes in term of BMI and WHtR at the end of four-month intervention with the mean difference (95% CI) at 0.7 (0.1, 1.3) and 0.01 (0.00, 0.01), respectively. The differences at the end of the study, however, became insignificant.Originality/valueThe health education and support services through Facebook can be used in a weight loss promotion program for BMI and WHtR reduction. On a larger scale to replace conventional programs, a long-term continuous measure is needed.

Designer Competency of the Fashion Design Undergraduate Students in Thailand: A Need Assessment Perspective

Abstract This study used a mixed approach research design. The objectives were to study employers’ and college instructors’ needs regarding the designer competencies of undergraduate fashion-design students in Thailand, and to propose a guideline for the development of designer competencies of undergraduate fashion-design students in Thailand. For the quantitative approach, the research samples included 250 business owners/designers and 163 college instructors from fashion design faculties in Thai universities. A questionnaire was used as the research instrument. Data were collected by email. A “need-assessment analysis” technique was implemented in the data analysis. Regarding the qualitative approach, 15 key informants were interviewed via the interview script. A “content analysis” technique was used to analyse the qualitative data in this research. The results revealed that the employers’ need for improved components of knowledge competencies was consistent with the need of college instructors: both placed a priority on the development of language knowledge, followed by product-management knowledge, innovative knowledge and design knowledge. The employers’ need for improved components of skill competencies was consistent with the need of college instructors: both placed a priority on the development of language skills, followed by product-management skills, innovative and technology skills, and design skills. The employers’ need for improvement of qualification competencies was consistent with the need of college instructors: both placed a priority on the social role, followed by inner drive and self-conceptualisation, respectively. However, the findings indicated a difference between their needs: employers found that none of the qualification competencies needed rapid development, whereas college instructors indicated that one component needed rapid improvement – the social role.

Developing people's information capabilities: fostering information literacy in educational, workplace and community contexts

List of Contributors. Editorial Advisory Board. Preface. Introduction - Information Literacy and Information Behaviour, Complementary Approaches for Building Capability. Transforming Information Literacy for Higher Education in the 21st Century: A Lifelong Learning Approach. Curriculum and Curriculum Integration of Information Literacy in Higher Education. The Construction of Information and Media Literacy in Education Policy: A Study of Singapore. Information Literacy in Higher Education: Research Students' Development in Information Search Expertise. Mediating Culture: Media Literacy and Cultural Awareness The Representation of Race and Ethnicity in Maya and Miguel. Empowering Professional Practices of a Community of e-Learners: Special Education Teachers in Alaska and their Information Literacy Conceptions. Information Literacy of Undergraduate Students in Thailand: A Case of the Faculty of Arts, Silpakorn University, Thailand. Building Partnerships for Information Literacy among HE Institutions in African Universities: Opportunities and Challenges - A Case Study. Perspectives on Legal Education and the Role of Information Literacy in Improving Qualitative Legal Practice. Information Literacy in the Business School Context: A Story of Complexity and Success. Workplace Reflections of Information Literacy Training: The Case of the Agriculture and Health Sectors in Tanzania. Workplace Information Literacy: It's Different. Diversifying Information Literacy Research: An Informed Learning Perspective. The Use of Participatory Techniques in the Communication of Information for Communities: Information Literacy and Collaborative Work for Citizenship Development. About the Authors. Developing People's Information Capabilities: Fostering Information Literacy in Educational, Workplace and Community Contexts. Library and Information Science. Developing People's Information Capabilities: Fostering Information Literacy in Educational, Workplace and Community Contexts. Copyright page. Index.

Trajectory of University Dropout: Investigating the Cumulative Effect of Academic Vulnerability and Proximity to Family Support

University dropout is a major policy concern around the world because of its consequences for the individual, institutions and society. In this study, we offer new evidence by examining the cumulative effect of academic vulnerability and family support on trajectory of dropout among cohorts of undergraduate students in Thailand. Data were drawn from administrative records of two cohorts of students (n=1613), and consisted of information on which semester individual’s dropped out of university. Using discrete time survival analysis, we first modelled the trajectory of dropout without predictors followed by a conditional model which examined the effects of predictors on the trajectory of dropout. Cumulative effects of predictors were then examined by plotting the probabilities of their combined effects on dropout in each semester. Our findings show that while the beginning of the second year was a critical period of dropout with almost 20% of students leaving by this time, as much as 10% of students drop out between the second and final year. Students with the lowest entry grades were about 2.17 times more likely to dropout while those who were farther away from family support were 1.32 times more likely to drop out across each semester. The cumulative effect of low entry grades and living away from family support resulted in a 30% probability of dropping out in the second year. The dropout rate among this category of students by the final year was 60% compared to only 14% for students with high entry grades and who live close to their families. Among other things, we recommend that interventions to reduce dropout should encompass both helping students to access family support and develop personal connections at university to compensate for absence of family support, as well as academically focused support for student who do not have a strong entry qualification.