University Preparation Course Research Articles

Civil society and education in Turkey: the relations between the Society for the Dissemination of Knowledge and Imam Hatip Schools (1951-1976)

Imam Hatip schools are among the educational institutions that have had a major impact on the social transformations in Turkey’s recent history. These institutions have played a major role in integrating the rural population to urban life and culture by providing access to education and integrating them into modern urban society. The critical role these ‘religious’ Imam Hatip schools have played could only have been realized with the social and financial support of civil society organizations. Organizations such as İlim Yayma Cemiyeti (Society for the Dissemination of Knowledge) (IYC) have contributed greatly to these schools’ ability to reach out to large masses and the continuation of education among lower income students. This article aims to reveal the relationship between Imam Hatip schools and civil society through the example of the Istanbul Imam Hatip School opened in 1951 and to discuss the impact of civil organizations on schooling in Turkish society. Furthermore, the study examines the role of IYC has had in the mental, physical, and outward transformation of the modern urban citizen. This article therefore argues Imam Hatip schools and the IYC to have played vital roles in modernizing Turkish society since the second half of the twentieth century. According to the research findings, the IYC’s contributions range from housing and providing clothing to educational materials, medical and hospital expenses, university preparation courses, and undergraduate scholarships. The IYC Archive’s decision records will be used for the first time in a study and constitute the main source upon which this research is based.

From Spherical Cows to Schrödinger’s Cat: what students want to learn in physics

This paper reflects on feedback received from 161 Ontario grade 12 physics students between 2017–2018 and 2020–2023, on the content and delivery in different modes (face-to-face, online, hybrid) of the 2008 Ontario Grade 12 Physics—University Preparation course (SPH4U). Across modes, students considered Revolutions in Modern Physics significantly more interesting and less stressful than any of the other four units. Students also identified Dynamics as significantly less interesting than all of the units, and found it significantly more stressful than all units other than Fields. Students were most interested in topics not previously studied (e.g. Special Theory of Relativity) that they felt promoted new ways of thinking. Adjusting to grade 12 expectations combined with more challenging course concepts were the primary contributors of stress. Included is a discussion of physics education reform, and the role of physics education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Intensive Course Programme at Qassim University, Saudi Arabia: Finding Correlations between Course Shortcomings and High Dropout Rates

ICP in Saudi institutions of higher education is a university preparation course based on an academic curriculum aimed to hone the school leavers’ intellectual skills to succeed in the challenge of higher education. Universities all over the world, and especially in the west, offer similar programs, rather they mandate prospective international students whose mother tongue is other than English to opt for such programmes. These are popularly known as ESL (English as Second Language) intensive courses. In the KSA these are limited to the period at the very start of the academic session. However, in the west, students can opt for longer and more frequent programmes with the choice of sitting for these during the vacation periods. In this sense, they are more flexible to suit student needs. The aim is similar as that in KSA: To set the non-English speaking student at a language pedestal where he/she has a fair a chance to pursue higher education as the English-speaking one. Seen from this vantage, this is a bridge course to select incumbents for the English courses offered by the universities. Pilot studies in the KSA on the success of ICP failed to yield conclusive results amidst rising agreement to scrap the programme as tangible learning outcomes were not visible. However, before doing so it would have been worthwhile to find correlations. If any, between attrition rates and course shortcomings. This aim motivated the current study across three campuses in the departments of English at Qassim University Colleges of Sciences and Arts in Methnab, Al-Asyah, and Buraidah. The study collected all enrolment and follow up data for the three departments and interviewed fifteen subjects each from among those who completed the course but decided against pursuing higher education, those who dropped out before course completion, and those who enrolled for higher education after undertaking the ICP. Our greater concern was with those who dropped out during the course as they neither pursued higher education nor benefitted as they would have on completing the programme.

Immersed in academic English: vocabulary and academic outcomes of a CLIL university preparation course

ABSTRACTThis article reports on an English for academic purposes course designed following the tenets of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) to address the needs of language minority (LM) high school graduates entering Canadian universities. The language used in and required of post-secondary study is challenging for many LM students, particularly those with marginal English language arts grades, contributing to a difficult transition into university. The goal of this course was to improve academic English language skills to mitigate this transition; academic language skills and strategies were embedded, and the content and materials mimicked mainstream university courses. To determine what, if any, vocabulary gains took place during the course, data from pre-/post-testing and writing samples of the ten consenting participants were analyzed using t-tests. These data consisted of lexical measurement tools including the Gates MacGinitie Test of Reading (Vocab) and the Productive Academic Word Test, along with writing analysis using TAALEs and Lextutor software to evaluate lexical sophistication. Each measurement indicated vocabulary gains occurred during the six-week CLIL course. Qualitative examples of student work are provided, and subsequent academic performance of participants is presented. This research concludes with recommendations for future research and CLIL implementation in higher education.

Critical reading, critical thinking: Delicate scaffolding in English for Academic Purposes (EAP)

Critical thinking is at the heart of tertiary education, and is also a key focus of university preparation courses. In particular, developing the ability to read − and to read critically – is vital for aspiring university students. Courses in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) generally include some attention to critical reading, but how this is conceived and realised varies considerably. This paper reports on the findings of an ethnographic study of three EAP teaching-learning contexts in Australia and relates the pedagogy of these classrooms to theories of critical thinking identified by Davies and Barnett (2015). All three EAP contexts focused to some extent on cognitive skills such as identifying main ideas, but teachers differed in their approach to criticality and attention to critical pedagogy. In some classes, students appeared to take a performative role (simply ‘doing’ the task); however, in other classes students demonstrated a more intense engagement with the content of their reading – an indication of a developing critical disposition which could serve them well at university and beyond.The paper argues that critical reading pedagogy can be realised in different ways, but that nurturing students’ critical dispositions, in particular, requires delicate scaffolding to support their development as critical meaning-makers. Such scaffolding pushes students to develop deeper skills and criticality, yet enables them to feel secure in the transcultural contact zones in which they are participating.

The Effectiveness of Corpus- Based Approach to Language Description in Creating Corpus-Based Exercises to Teach Writing Personal Statements

Using corpora in language teaching has revolutionized language research with its ‘authentic’ appeal. Corpus tools have enabled linguistic researchers and teachers to investigate actual usages and the characteristics of certain genres in order to improve syllabus design and infer more effective classroom exercises. From this perspective, this paper attempts to use corpus tools to investigate the characteristics of one of the most important requirements of university programs admissions which is the <em>personal statement</em>. Despite the immense importance of writing a personal statement in the lives of students wanting to enroll in universities, little research has been conducted on its instructions. More importantly, teaching its features to university students has been neglected although personal statements are an essential genre that should be emphasized in academic writing classes or university preparation courses. The paper aims to investigate if compiling a corpus of personal statements can lead to creating an effective corpus-based activities to be taught in teaching writing a personal statement. Then the paper attempts to evaluate the pedagogical implications of using corpus-based activities and criticized the weaknesses and strengths of corpora as a resource in language teaching. This paper chose to focus on personal statements collected from law students due to the high demand on law colleges in Saudi Arabia and the difficulty of admission requirements. This study used Sketch Engine® to complie a corpus of sixty-seven personal statement with a total word count of 50, 691, then analysed the lexio-grammatical features. The results were used to create corpus-based excersises to be taught in writing courses teaching personal statements.

The relative benefits found for students with and without learning disabilities taking a first-year university preparation course

Positive outcomes have been reported for university preparation courses for students without disabilities. Little is known about whether these courses can offer the same benefit to students with learning disabilities and whether the inclusion of psychosocial factors, in addition to academic skills, would benefit both groups. First-level students with and without learning disabilities were tested on variables known to influence academic performance at the beginning and end of a university preparation course. Results revealed that students entering university with and without learning disabilities have similar challenges. Both groups showed increases in attentiveness, and academic and general resourcefulness after the course. Students with learning disabilities experienced greater gains in academic self-efficacy in comparison to their non-disabled peers. The study showed benefits in including psychosocial measures in a university preparation course, and that integrating students with learning disabilities into the course could help to alleviate the limited resources of disabilities programs.

Investigating Teacher Attitudes to Extensive Reading Practices in Higher Education: Why Isn’t Everyone Doing It?

This paper reports on interviews conducted with 36 teachers involved in university preparation courses at language teaching centres in New Zealand. The interviews were designed to investigate teacher attitudes to extensive reading in higher educational contexts, and current practice in such contexts. While teachers expressed positive beliefs about the language learning benefits of extensive reading, these beliefs did not generally result in the inclusion of extensive reading in the classroom programme. This may reflect the realities of the wider educational context. If extensive reading is to be more widespread in higher educational contexts, it needs to be promoted through teacher education, new research, changes in course design, raising awareness among administrators and managers, and improved resource provision.

Integrating Discipline-Based Reading to Improve Intercultural and International Learning

Abstract With the number of alternative pathways now available for entry into Australian universities, the number of international students is steadily increasing. This article reports on the undergraduate results of a teaching project at the University of Canberra, Australia, and explored whether the introduction of a discipline-based reading program into an existing university preparation course would result in an improvement in international students' learning in the discipline and increase their proficiency in the English language. Using data drawn primarily from results of written feedback from students and lecturers, in-depth interviews with students, comparison of student grades in both English and content subjects, and ongoing assessment data, this article found that the introduction of the discipline-based reading program during the length of the project was highly beneficial in that it facilitated improved learning outcomes for international students. This article advocates that discipline-based reading instruction positively benefits international students in their first year of study.

Investigation of secondary science teachers' beliefs and practices after authentic inquiry-based experiences

This study continues research previously conducted by a nine-university collaborative, the Salish I Research Project, by exploring science teachers' beliefs and practices with regard to inquiry-oriented instruction. In this study, we analyzed the relationship among secondary science teachers' preparation, their beliefs, and their classroom practices after completion of a course designed to provide authentic inquiry experiences. From Teacher Pedagogical Philosophy Interview data and Secondary Science Teacher Analysis Matrix observational data, we analyzed links between the teachers' conveyed beliefs and observed practice regarding the teachers' actions (TA) and students' actions (SA). Also presented is a listing of teachers' perceived influences from university preparation course work. Results indicated that 7 of the 8 teachers professed a belief in teacher-centered or conceptual style with regard to TA and SA. The observational results indicated that 7 of the 8 teachers displayed a teacher-centered or conceptual style with regard to TA and SA. Inconsistencies between interview and observational data were unexpected, as half of the teachers professed slightly greater teacher-centered styles with regard to TA than what they actually practiced in their classrooms. All teachers reported that an inquiry-based science course was valuable. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 43: 938–962, 2006