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1
Omruuzun, Fatih. "A New Framework For Evaluation Of Field Based Academic Performances Of Higher Education Institutions." Master's thesis, METU, 2011. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12613732/index.pdf.
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Measurement and evaluation of academic performance is an highly debated research area and results of the studies in this area are closely followed by a large segment of the society. In general, researches conducted in this domain evaluate higher education institutions as a whole, but such an approach actually represents an average performance of the research fields, which are actively studied by the members of institutions. This may be misleading, because academic performance varies for each university depending on the field of research. However, people who are interested in the results of these studies require more detailed information about field based academic performances of institutions.
One of these studies mentioned above have been implemented in 2011 by University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP) research laboratory which was established in Middle East Technical University - Informatics Institute. In this study, 2000 universities around the world have been ranked according to multiple criteria in terms of overall academic performance.
Interests shown to results of the system implemented by URAP revealed a need for a more comprehensive ranking system, which deals with the evaluation of field based academic performance.
In this sense, within the scope of this study, universities ranked by URAP research laboratory were evaluated in terms of their academic performance in the following six research fields<br>Agriculture &<br>Environmental Sciences (AGE)
Clinical Medicine (MED)
Engineering, Computing &<br>Technology (ENG)
Life Sciences (LIFE)
Natural Sciences (SCI)
Social Sciences (SOC)
Institutions in this study has been evaluated according to data that have been collected from ISI - Web of Knowledge for the indicators listed below.
Article Count (last year)
Total Document Count (last 5 years)
Cumulative Journal Impact (last 5 years)
Total Citation Count (last 5 years)
H-Index (average of last 5 years)
The results indicate that status of universities from the point of academic performance varies according to the research field.
2
Sutanto, David T. "Pictures at an exhibition: a performer &8217;s guide comparing recorded performances by pianists Vladimir Horowitz and Evgeny Kissin: "Eccentric" v.s. "Academic " playing /." Cincinnati, Ohio : University of Cincinnati, 2007. http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/view.cgi?ucin1180300837.
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Thesis (Dr. of Musical Arts)--University of Cincinnati, 2007.<br>Advisor: Frank Weinstock Title from electronic thesis title page (viewed Nov. 18, 2007). Includes abstract. Keywords: Pictures at an Exhibition; Vladimir Horowitz; Evgeny Kissin; Piano Includes bibliographical references.
3
Holzer, Susanna. "University Choice, Equality, and Academic Performance." Doctoral thesis, Växjö universitet, Ekonomihögskolan, EHV, 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:vxu:diva-6181.
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This thesis consists of three essays that examine issues on university attendance behavior, factorsof university completion, and the labor market value of a university diploma in Sweden. Essay [I] analyzes how the rapid expansion of higher education that increased the geographicalaccessibility to higher education in the 1990s affected university enrollment decisions amongvarious socioeconomic groups of young adults in Sweden. The empirical findings show that theprobability of enrollment in university education increases with accessibility to universityeducation. The results also indicate that accessibility adds to the likelihood of attending auniversity within the region of residence. Access to higher education more locally seems to havedecreased the social distance to higher education, meaning that the option of attending highereducation, as compared to entering the local labor market after upper secondary school, hasbecome a more common and a more natural alternative for more socioeconomic groups insociety. Essay [II] compares the performance of students in universities built before and after the largedecentralization and expansion of the higher educational system in Sweden, starting in the late1970s. Two outcome measures are used: (i) whether or not the student has obtained a degreewithin seven years after she initiated her studies; and (ii) whether or not she obtained 120 creditpoints (the requirement for most undergraduate degrees) within seven years. Controlling forseveral background variables as well as GPA scores in a binomial probit model, we show thatstudents at old universities are about 5 percentage points more likely to get a degree and about 9percentage points more likely to obtain 120 credit points. However, in an extended bivariatemodel where we consider selection on unobservables into university type, we cannot reject thepossibility of no difference in performance between the two university types. Essay [III] analyzes the labor market value of a university diploma (sheepskin) in Sweden. Incontrast to previous studies, this study only focuses on Swedish university students who havethree years of full time university education or more − where some have obtained a universitydegree, others not. The results show that for male students, the wage premium of possessing adegree, i.e. the sheepskin effect, is roughly 5-8 percent. For women, it is about 6-7 percent forthose who have completed four years of fulltime or more. For students who attended a moreprestigious university in the metropolitan areas in Sweden and majored in the natural sciences, asheepskin effect of roughly 13 percent for men and 22 percent for women is traced. However,this result did not hold among students who attended. Keywords: Higher education, university enrollment; university choice; accessibility; universitycompletion; selection bias; propensity score matching, sheepskin, human capital.
4
Earl-Novell, Sarah. "Gender differentiation in first class academic achievement at university." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2003. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.270508.
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It is claimed that, nationally, women undergraduates obtain proportionately fewer First Class degrees than their male counterparts. This thesis examines the extent to which gender differentiation in First Class achievement exists in Higher Education. Historically, various hypotheses have been presented within literature on Higher Education to account for this pattern and the thesis explores the extent to which these hypotheses continue to hold explanatory power using the University of Sussex as a case study. To ascertain the hypotheses' continued relevance and salience, a multi-faceted methodological approach was employed. The empirical programme comprised a national (N=657534) and a local statistical survey (N=8349) examining HESA defined subject groups, in addition to a local statistical survey (N=568) examining specific disciplines. The empirical programme also included detailed analyses of a student cohort of 'high achievers' (N=199) who were tracked throughout their degree. A range of information was collected on this cohort including cognitive ability and personality test scores, socio-demographic data, pre-university qualifications and measures of application. Some of the cohort (N=84) completed a questionnaire, and interviews were carried out with a smaller sub-section (N=23). Structured observations of seminars (N=24) were also conducted alongside interviews with members of faculty (N=21). Findings indicate that, nationally, gender inequity in First Class performance is prevalent in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Physical Sciences. In relation to local patterns of performance, evidence suggests that the University of Sussex may be spearheading incipient shifts in attainment with gender differentiation in existence only in the Humanities. Notwithstanding this moving and improving picture vis a vis the gender distribution of Firsts, the thesis concludes that many of the hypotheses remain pertinent.
5
Spanos, Bill. "Performance evaluation of non-academic personnel in a Quebec University." Thesis, McGill University, 1990. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=22397.
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The purpose of this study was to find out if the performance appraisal system (the PMP) of non-academic nonunionized personal of a Quebec university was developed, implemented, administered and maintained adequately.<br>The literature emphasizes certain elements essential to the successful or adequate development, implementation and administration of a performance appraisal system, and it is in reference to this body of literature that the PMP was examined. To find out how the PMP was developed, implemented and administered in practical terms, the researcher interviewed four Human Resources staff members directly responsible for these processes.<br>The findings of this descriptive study showed that in order for a performance appraisal system to be successful, an organization must be thorough in addressing certain essential elements within each step of its development implementation and administration. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
6
Murphy, Jennifer. "Managing professional development of academic staff to enhance university performance." Thesis, University of Bath, 2014. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.687301.
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Calls for more effective and modern teaching practices, higher research outputs, leaner administrative processes, greater community engagement, and more student-centred approaches to the business of higher education have intensified the challenges of working in a university. These challenges have added considerable complexity to the roles of academic staff, many of whom are facing increasing demands for which they are ill equipped to deal in terms of their formal education. To succeed in the highly competitive and changing environment that is higher education today, universities need to ensure that the requisite capabilities are developed in their academic staff. The key question underpinning this study is: how can the provision of professional development for academic staff be optimised to enhance university performance? The focus of the research is on identifying the ways in which higher education institutions provide formal offerings of professional development to academic staff, how they are organised to do this, who is entrusted with the task, and what are the strengths and limitations of the approaches taken. The research is informed by literature concerning higher education management, academic development, and strategic human resource management. Taking a critical realist ontological perspective, case studies of professional development provision in two Irish universities are presented. Findings reveal that while effective professional development is an espoused priority it is not a managed priority. While there is some evidence of good practice, the fragmented organisational structures in place for delivery of professional development reveal an absence of coordination and gaps in provision. The connection between professional development and organisational performance is loose. Recommendations are made on how the provision of professional development for academics can be managed to enhance university performance. A framework for designing performance-led professional development activities that aligns organisational and individual goals is proposed. An organisational structure that takes a more conscious approach to the management of the full range of professional development provision is put forward.
7
Ha, Joung Yeob. "LEGAL ACCESS TO ALCOHOL AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCE FROM MIAMI UNIVERSITY." Miami University / OhioLINK, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1501219488946778.
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Bush, Denise, and n/a. "Writing in the university : faculty expectations and overseas tudents' performance." University of Canberra. Education, 1993. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060622.132041.
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Two surveys were conducted at the University of Canberra
in 1992 to seek the views of faculty on issues regarding
academic writing. The first survey sought to ascertain what
criteria faculty employ when marking student writing. It
asked faculty to indicate the importance of certain key features
in the writing of university students. These key features were:
Content, Argument, Style, Organisation, Communicative Ability,
Vocabulary, Use of Literature and Punctuation. Faculty were
requested to rank the importance of aspects of each of the nine
key features.
The second survey asked faculty to assess an actual
assignment written by an overseas student, using the structure
of the nine key features of writing as above. Faculty were
invited to indicate the strengths and weaknesses of the
assignment which they were assessing.
The aim of the surveys was to better inform teachers of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) classes, who prepare
overseas students for study at university. EAP teachers need
to know the expectations of faculty, in order to give overseas
students a realistic view of what faculty expect from their
assignments and the kinds of. weaknesses which faculty find in
overseas students' writing.
The survey found that content-related features such as
Content, Argument, Organisation and Communicative Ability
were considered more important than form features such as
Punctuation, Grammar, Style and Vocabulary. Use of Literature
was found to be a very important feature in some faculties but
not in all. Surprisingly, Style was the feature which evoked the
greatest variety of responses from faculty; however, in general
faculty agreed that Style had to be appropriate to the topic or
task, rather than there being a set format for academic writing.
From a factor analysis of data, four underlying principles
for academic writing were derived. These principles were:
relevance, appropriacy, accuracy and clarity. Thus, academic
writing, according to the faculty surveyed, should be:
1) relevant to the topic and to the internal argument of the
assigment;
2) appropriate in the style, tone and use of literature;
3) accurate in its vocabulary, grammar and referencing system.
4) clear in its argument and organisation of ideas.
For the most part, faculty responded favourably to the
overseas student assignments, which were assessed in the
second questionnaire. Faculty indicated that the main
weakness in overseas student writing was in their argument.
The surveys also found differences between different
Faculties in the importance they place on these key features.
It was postulated that the Science Faculties (Applied Science,
Environmental Design and Information Science and
Engineering) would be fairly similar in their views on writing,
as would the Humanities Faculties (Communication, Education
and Management). This was found to be only partly true. The
views of Information Science and Engineering faculty were
found to be more similar in many of their attitudes to the
views of the Humanities faculty. However, in some ways, their
views were unique and unlike any other Faculty. In particular.
Information Science and Engineering faculty place little
emphasis on writing as a method of assessment and, perhaps
as a consequence, even less on the use of literature in writing
From the survey, it also appeared that, in general, faculty
make some allowances for the fact that overseas students are
L2 speakers. They tend to overlook mechanical errors so long
as the content is acceptable.
9
Zachos, Georgios. "Greek university libraries in the European context : a comparative evaluation." Thesis, Loughborough University, 1994. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/15661.
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The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive examination of university libraries in Greece seen in the European context. To this end, the thesis: i. discusses the context in which Greek university libraries have developed and the challenges they face; ii. examines the factors that affect their operation and development; iii. assesses their role in university education in supporting the informational, educational and research needs of the academic community; iv. compares their position with similar libraries in other member states of the European Union and in Scandinavia; v. suggests actions needed in order that university libraries in Greece should develop further and play their role better. In this study a standard model for university libraries is developed and performance indicators and methodologies which are proper for this model are used. University libraries are examined as open, dynamic, multi-goal seeking and purposeful systems. They consist of resources which are transformed into outputs for the benefit of their users. Inputs, outputs and outcomes can be measured in a greater or less accuracy but measurement itself is meaningful only if it is placed in some kind of context. University libraries operate within a given environment. They receive their inputs from this environment, and their outputs are used by people or other systems in the environment. They are also constrained by factors in this environment such as the social, economic, educational, technological, etc. In this study not only the performance indicators themselves but also the relationships between them that are indicative of performance were analysed. The main findings of the study are related to the environment within which Greek University Libraries operate, the organisational structures, and administrative practices applied, issues concerning staff and the way they affect library development, the provision of library material, the organisation of technical services, and the reader services that are provided. Library performance is assessed in a number of ways. The indicators produced and comparisons with the state of development of university libraries in other European countries show that Greek University libraries fall behind them in terms of almost all indicators used. It appears that Greek University libraries are weak in meeting the needs of their users in both education and research.
10
Tam, William Hon Kwan. "Academics’ perspectives of performance management in a British university context." Thesis, University of Leicester, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/4036.
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This study provides an in-depth understanding of how academics perceive and experience a performance management system in a British university. Specifically, it examines - within the context of a university department - the meaning and purposes of performance management; the effectiveness of the processes; the management of the system and its effectiveness; the impact of the system on academics’ working lives; and the areas requiring improvement. The study particularly explores the tension between performance management as a means of accountability within a managerial context and the more traditional academic ethos of professional autonomy. The research adopts a qualitative case study approach by selecting a School of Education in an older researchled University. The case School was primarily chosen for its ease of access. However, it had also operated performance management for some time, and it had academics with both high and low research profiles, a phenomenon which was likely to present a range of experiences of the performance management system. Twelve academics with varied backgrounds in terms of years of service, seniority and gender were participants in the study. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and documentary sources between September 2006 and February 2007. A two-level analytical coding approach was used to derive themes from the collected data. Among the major findings were that the participants found the meanings and purposes of performance management ambiguous; and that the many different processes contained within the system were perceived as fragmenting and confusing in achieving the intended outcomes. Compounding the concern was the lack of dedicated and able academics to manage the process. With work intensification - a prominent feature of academic life, academics became frustrated with the lack of time available for their research work. To defend their research ethos, the study provides evidence that some academics look for a more structured system to address the unbalanced workload issue.
11
Alasehir, Oguzhan. "University Ranking By Academic Performance: A Scientometrics Study For Ranking World Un." Master's thesis, METU, 2010. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12612484/index.pdf.
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Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), whose basic aim is the contribution of scientific developments and providing services have been showing an increasing interest in evaluation of productivity and quality. In fact, productivity and quality evaluation is essential for all type of organizations since the evaluation helps organization to set short and long term goals by defining the current situations, future expectations and the roadmap to fulfill these expectations. The studies on evaluation of academic productivity and quality have led to development of new academic fields such as Bibliometrics, Scientometrics and Informetrics. Consequently, new academic journals specialized on these disciplines have emerged. Moreover, during the last twenty years, as an outcome of these new emerging academic fields, several university ranking systems have been developed both at national and global level. Although these university ranking systems have attracted attention<br>they have been criticized due to a number of issues such as inappropriateness of indicators chosen, scoring procedure adopted, etc. In this study, an academic performance evaluation and ranking system has been developed and implemented. The new system which processes about 2,000 world universities is based on data from non subjective, reliable and universally accepted online sources. The scoring procedure includes statistical analysis and data has been collected via a tool developed for this purpose to eliminate human errors.
12
Reyes, Helen. "The relationship between university nursing student classroom engagement activities and academic performance." Lynchburg, Va. : Liberty University, 2007. http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu.
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Wong, Brian Shing-chi. "Metacognitive awareness, procrastination and academic performance of university students in Hong Kong." Thesis, University of Leicester, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/27621.
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Academic performance has long been the focus of educational research. There are so many factors that can affect the results of the academic performance of a student. This study focuses on how university students in Hong Kong self-regulate their academic learning. Two factors were investigated for their self-regulation: the use of metacognitive skills and the punctuality for learning. Three hundred and fourteen students from two universities participated in this study by filling out a self-administered questionnaire, which consists of three instruments measuring metacognitive awareness, procrastination, and academic performance. The results show that ‘high metacognitive awareness’ and ‘low procrastination tendency’ are two positive elements for academic learning. For analysis purposes, the data were divided into four categories by using the mean scores of each variable: students with high level of metacognitive awareness and high level of procrastination; students with low level of metacognitive awareness and low level of procrastination; students with high level of metacognitive awareness but low level of procrastination; students with low level of metacognitive awareness but high level of procrastination. The results show that the students without any of these positive elements are significantly lower in G.P.A. than students from the other three groups; however, it is surprising to find that the students who have two positive elements do not get a higher G.P.A. than those who have only one of these positive elements.
14
Sauer, Karen. "University Professors' and Department Directors' Perceptions Regarding Support for Freshman Academic Performance." ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4021.
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In Chile, 50% of students who enroll in Chilean colleges do not graduate, negatively impacting their families' economic situations as well as national development. The purpose of this qualitative bounded case study was to gain a deeper understanding of the perceptions held by math, English, and general education professors regarding the support provided to freshman students in a program at 1 campus of a private Chilean university. Deci and Ryan's self-determination theory emphasizing internal and external motivations and social constructivism theory emphasizing development as a process comprised the conceptual framework. Both theories provide meaningful understanding of the drivers that support students in their learning process. The research questions focused on understanding the support that math, English, and general education professors and directors might provide to freshman students. A purposeful homogeneous sampling was used to identify 9 professors and 3 directors. Data collection involved semistructured interviews, peer debriefing, and member checks to triangulate the data. The findings revealed that the university could benefit from implementing a seminar program to acclimate conditionally admitted students to university studies. A 1-week seminar was developed. This study may contribute to positive social change by influencing professors' and directors' perceptions regarding possibilities for supporting students in improving their academic performance, thereby raising student passing and graduation rates to positively impact national development in Chile.
15
Morrow, Susan Elizabeth. "Research strategy in UK academic medicine : four case studies in the University of London." Thesis, University of Sussex, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.262717.
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Mazer, Cherie. "An Evaluation of the Iowa State University Ecosystem." Doctoral diss., University of Central Florida, 2014. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETD/id/6319.
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Purpose – This dissertation in practice is an evaluation study conducted at Iowa State University, entitled, Learning Ecosystem Assessment Review of Needs (LEARN). The evaluation posed these questions: (a) What educational technologies are currently used and what technologies will be needed in the future? (b) What are the attitudes and practices of faculty and students toward online and blended learning? (c) What academic technology support services are used? What are the perceptions of the support provided for the application of academic technologies?
Methodology/design – The study was a mixed-methods design employing interviews with deans and focus groups and surveys of faculty and students.
Findings – Iowa State University faculty and students use a wide array of academic technologies both in physical and virtual classrooms. The prevailing sentiment regarding the need for future academic technologies is not for new offerings and new features but for easier to use, more reliable technologies, and more timely support. Although Iowa State University has formally adopted online learning by offering numerous programs and courses, the university is in the early stages of adopting blended learning.
Implications – The results and implications of the study inform the university on next steps to ready the institution for leveraging technology and preparing for the transformation toward strategic adoption of online and blended learning. The author outlines an organizational learning approach to manage change and promote adoption of blended learning.<br>Ed.D.<br>Doctorate<br>Education and Human Performance<br>Education
17
Hartwell, Julie Anna. "Administrators' perceptions regarding middle college/early college academic support strategies and student performance." Connect to this title online, 2009.
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au, J. Taylor@murdoch edu, and Jeannette Taylor. "The Impact of Performance Indicators on the Work of University Academics: A Study of Four Australian Universities." Murdoch University, 1999. http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20051129.154225.
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In 1988, the Australian Federal Government released the document Higher Education: A Policy Statement which was intended to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the higher education sector. This paved the way for the application of performance indicators (Pls) across higher education, most notably the creation of a link between Pls (called the Composite Index) and the research component of the annual government funding to universities. Although PIS for teaching became popular, funding for the teaching component was not directly attached to PIS and remained largely based on student enrolments.
The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of university academics in Australia on the effects of research and teaching as a result of the introduction of funding based on research Pls. The academic literature suggests that Pls can bring about desirable effects but it also warns that their imposition, particularly by the government on universities, may lead to unintended and undesirable effects, such as goal displacement and strategic manipulation, which may be designed to enhance apparent research performance. To guide the investigation, it was hypothesised that the government's Pls which focus on research will be integrated into the universities' internal policies; will encourage universities to place a high priority on the research activities funded by the Pls; will lead to significantly more paperwork; will contribute to a significant change in the approach to research but not to teaching; and will result in academics adopting negative attitudes towards Pls.
Two basic sources of information were obtained to evaluate these hypotheses. First, the administrations of selected universities were consulted, and staff interviewed, to gauge the degree of change that had been implemented by the universities. Second, a questionnaire was constructed in order to assess academics' attitude towards Pls, and their perceptions of an association between Pls and their institutional reward system. The questionnaire also assessed changes in research, teaching and paperwork activities.
The universities selected characterised the different kinds of universities found in the Unified National System of the Australian higher education system. One hundred and fifty-two academics from these universities were surveyed by the questionnaire. Thirty percent of these academics participated in a structured interview. The disciplines from which the academics were selected for participation included arts/humanities, science, and professional studies which included a natural science based profession and a social science based profession. In addition, a case study of one of these universities was carried out.
The institutions were found to have reorganised their internal policies to incorporate and focus on the Pls in the government's Composite Index. The academics surveyed were generally found to have negative attitude towards their institutional Pls, although staff of higher rank had relatively more positive views. Reasons for their dissatisfaction included the inability of Pls to capture the various dimensions of academic work and privileging research over teaching. For a majority of the academics, the introduction of Pls was associated with a rise in paperwork load and a change in the approach to research in terms of focusing on publications and external research grant applications, particularly those counted in their institutional PI-based funding schemes. The time devoted to these activities, as well as the number of publications and grants for which they were expected to apply, have significantly increased. It was found that staff did use various strategies to maximise their PI scores, such as writing shorter papers in order to increase the quantity of publications. The proportion who changed their approach to teaching was also sizeable; most of them were concerned about getting students through their courses with minimum fuss by having lower ambitions for students and pandering to their superficial needs. However, the proportion who changed their teaching was significantly less than those who changed their research. One possible reason could be the lack of special incentives to increase their emphasis on teaching.
19
Verne, C. K. "Characteristics associated with academic performance a case study of special entry university students." Adelaide, 1985. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09P/09pv531.pdf.
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Hinson, Danny. "English Proficiency & Academic Performance of International Students at a Small Baptist University." TopSCHOLAR®, 1992. https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/2477.
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The predictive reliability of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) as a predictor of academic success of international students at Belmont University, a small Baptist university, was examined. Data were collected and examined on 168 international students. They were profiled by gender, language background, Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score, grade point average achieved, and major area of study.
No significant correlation was found between TOEFL scores and academic achievement as measured by CPA. However, significant correlation was found between major field of study, TOEFL ranges, and gender in relationship to academic success.
TOEFL scores were also correlated with GPA for each specific academic major. A higher correlation was found for the humanities (r = .26, p < .05), and undecided students (r = .38, p < .05), than for business (r = .08, p < .05).
A t-test showed that students with TOEFL scores below 500 attained significant lower grades (GPA means = 2.44) than students with scores above 500 (GPA means = 2.72). Closer examination of GPA means for subjects in the TOEFL score ranges above 500 indicate that the higher the TOEFL score range the higher the mean GPA.
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Smith, Leonard Cowper. "The effect of selected academic development programmes on the academic performance of academic development students at a South African university : an empirical study." Doctoral thesis, University of Cape Town, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/11803.
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Includes abstract.<br>Includes bibliographical references.<br>The case studies that make up this thesis cover the three largest academic development programmes at the University of Cape Town. A variety of statistical methods are used to estimate the effect of educational interventions in selected first- and second-year academic development courses on the academic performance of academic development students in these courses and through to graduation, relative to mainstream students. In general, research in this area in South Africa and internationally has been characterised by small sample sizes and a lack of statistical rigour. Few studies control for the range of independent variables that can affect students’ academic performance, in addition to the academic development programme or course, and the great majority ignore the sampleselection problem that arises in the selection of students for academic development and mainstream programmes. The theoretical rationale underpinning this thesis is informed by the postpositivist and evidence-based approaches to empirical investigation. Demographic, academic and other data for some 9000 students for the years 1999?2005 was obtained from the university’s data base and academic departments. Statistical techniques including multivariate analysis and propensity score matching are used in an attempt to finesse the problems associated with the use of non-experimental data as students are selected into different courses and programmes.
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Vivekananda, Kitty. "Long-term multiple stressors, coping and academic performance /." View thesis View thesis, 2001. http://library.uws.edu.au/adt-NUWS/public/adt-NUWS20030507.140731/index.html.
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Baldwin, Anne L. "Factors influencing university performance of associate in arts graduates transferring to the state university system." FIU Digital Commons, 1992. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/1381.
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The purpose of this study was to examine the factorsbehind the failure rates of Associate in Arts (AA)graduates from Miami-Dade Community College (M-DCC) transferring to the Florida State University System (SUS). In M-DCC's largest disciplines, the university failure rate was 13% for Business & Management, 13% for Computer Science, and 14% for Engineering. Hypotheses tested were: Hypothesis 1 (H1): The lower division (LD) overall cumulative GPA and/or the LD major field GPA for AA graduates are predictive of the SUS GPA for the Business Management, Computer Science, and Engineering disciplines. Hypothesis 2 (H2): Demographic variables (age, race, gender) are predictive of performance at the university among M-DCC AA graduates in Engineering, Business & Management, and Computer Science.
Hypothesis 3 (H3): Administrative variables (CLAST -College Level Academic Skills Test subtests) are predictive of university performance (GPA) for the Business/Management, Engineering, and Computer Science disciplines. Hypothesis 4 (H4): LD curriculum variables (course credits, course quality points) are predictive of SUS performance for the Engineering, Business/Management and Computer Science disciplines.
Multiple Regression was the inferential procedureselected for predictions. Descriptive statistics weregenerated on the predictors. Results for H1 identified the LD GPA as the most significant variable in accounting for the variability of the university GPA for the Business & Management, Computer Science, and Engineering disciplines.
For H2, no significant results were obtained for theage and gender variables, but the ethnic subgroups indicated significance at the .0001 level. However, differentials in GPA may not have been due directly to the race factor but, rather, to curriculum choices and performance outcomes while in the LD.
The CLAST computation variable (H3) was a significant predictor of the SUS GPA. This is most likely due to the mathematics structure pervasive in these disciplines.
For H4, there were two curriculum variables significant in explaining the variability of the university GPA (number of required critical major credits completed and quality of the student's performance for these credits). Descriptive statistics on the predictors indicated that 78% of those failing in the State University System had a LD major GPA (calculated with the critical required university credits earned and quality points of these credits) of less than 3.0; and 83% of those failing at the university had an overall community college GPA of less than 3.0.
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Vivekananda, Savithri, University of Western Sydney, and College of Social and Health Sciences. "Long-term multiple stressors, coping and academic performance." THESIS_CSHS_XXX_Vivekananda_S.xml, 2001. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/311.
Full textAbstract:
This research comprised of three studies designed to investigate the coping strategies utilised by high and low performing university students with non-academic stressors. Coping research has frequently focused on single stressors providing a distorted picture of coping. Utilising a combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies, this research provides new insights into the dynamic and multi-dimensional nature of coping with long-term, multiple stressors. It extends our understanding of coping beyond traditionally individualistic conceptualisations where active coping is valued over prosocial relationship-focused coping. Conceptualisations of social support is broadened to view it in more complex interactional terms. In Study 1, 521 university students were surveyed using a standardised coping inventory, the Ways of Coping Checklist revised. Several demographic groups were identified as at academic risk. Having good health, along with the high use Social Support and Problem Solving and the low use of Self Blame strategies all predicted high GPA. Study 2 involved a content analysis of 179 Exclusion Appeal letters submitted by excluded students. When confronted with multiple stressors, poor performing students compartmentalised or amplified multiple stressors which resulted in patterns of reactive problem-focused or emotion-focused coping. Passive and uni-directional approaches to social support resulted in the depletion of such resources. Study 3 investigated adaptive coping patterns using an open-ended questionnaire and a semi-structured interview with twenty high performing students. High performers viewed multiple stressors as inter-related, which is termed cross situational appraisal and displayed a versatile coping pattern across stressors termed cross situational versatility. Proactive and prosocial coping are critical for the acquisition and maintenance of social support over a long-term period. Implications of these research findings for Student Services staff are discussed.<br>Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
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Al, Gharibah Awad M. D. F. "The influence of anxiety on students' academic performance during test-taking at Kuwait University." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/288792.
Full textAbstract:
The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between test anxiety (low, moderate, and high) and student performance on three dependent variables: GPA, midterm score, and final exam score. Four hundred forty-six full-time undergraduates from Kuwait University participated in this study during the spring semester of 1997. The Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI) scale was used to assess anxiety level in general and in both cognitive (worry) and emotional components, specifically. There were a number of major findings attributable to this study. The most important and unexpected finding was that there was no difference that can be accounted for by either cognitive (worry) or emotional components on the TAI for student test performance on the final exam. Other results show that overall, both female and male low anxious students rank higher in their GPA than moderate and high anxious students. However, low anxious female students' GPA ranks higher than low anxious male students' GPA. The findings also demonstrate that male sophomore students performed better on the final exam than all other students at all levels. In comparing the difference between the colleges, students in other colleges performed better than the College of Education students on the final exam. This may be due to unequal sample size for other colleges compared to the College of Education. Although not significant, another interesting pattern emerged when a covariate analysis was used to control for past performance as indicated by the GPA. When analyzing female and male students separately, the results indicate that higher anxious male and moderate anxious female students perform better than low and moderate anxious males and low and high anxious females in the final test exam. Without controlling for the GPA, there is no difference between test anxiety and midterm and final exam score. Finally, the results also show that the TAI scale is a reliable measure for assessing student anxiety level.
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Fitzgerald, Nicola. "The influence of technostress on perceived academic performance : A study on university students in Sweden." Thesis, Malmö universitet, Malmö högskola, Institutionen för datavetenskap och medieteknik (DVMT), 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-40720.
Full textAbstract:
Increased digitisation in higher education requires the usage of various information and communication technologies (ICTs). However, studies have shown that ICTs induce technostress. The purpose of this research is to explore how technology characteristics influence students’ technostress, and in turn their perceived academic performance. To examine this, a survey was sent out to student’s at MAU in Sweden and a bivariate analysis was conducted to analyse the data. The results showed some technology characteristics were associated with technostress, while some were not. The students’ technostress could, however, not be determined to have an association with their perceived academic performance. The study discusses possible contributing factors to the results.
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Southworth, Jennifer Williams. "Student Demographics, Academic Performance, and Faculty Perceptions of Equine Students at The Ohio State University." The Ohio State University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1397654291.
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Fleischman, Dawn. "Associations between age at school entry and academic performance using data from a nationally representative, longitudinal sample /." Connect to this title online, 2007. http://etd.lib.clemson.edu/documents/1181251697/.
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Van, der Merwe Nadia. "The relationship between psychological well-being and academic performance of university students / Nadia van der Merwe." Thesis, North-West University, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/1056.
Full textAbstract:
Emotional intelligence is a relatively new and growing area of behavioural research, which
stimulated the imagination of the general public, the commercial world and the scientific
community. Only a few studies have been done on the relationship between emotional
intelligence and academic performance. The objective of this study was to determine the
relationship of emotional intelligence, optimism, life satisfaction and self-efficacy, as well as the
validity and reliability of these measures on a sample of university students. Further objectives
included conceptualising emotional intelligence, optimism, life satisfaction, self-efficacy, wellbeing
and academic performance and determining the validity and reliability of the 33-item
measurement of emotional intelligence (SEIS) for a sample of potential future employees in
economical sciences professions. The results obtained from this study will help organisations
determine the level of emotional intelligence and well-being of their future workforce, in order to
implement certain interventions to improve it.
A cross-sectional survey design was used for this study. A sample of 341 students was used for
this study, but only 324 of the responses could be utilised. The participants (N = 324) were
students within the field of economics. 1 17 Students were from the Vanderbijlpark Campus and
207 students were from the Potchefstroom Campus. The Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale,
Life Orientation Test Revised, Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the General Perceived Self-
Efficacy Scale were administered. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the
statistical data.
The results obtained from the SEIS proved this measuring instrument to be valid and reliable.
By using the multiple linear regression analysis approach, a six dimensional factor structure for
emotional intelligence among students emerged, which supported earlier conceptions in this
regard.
The results showed that Interpersonal factors consisted of Positive Affect, Emotions-Others,
Happy Emotions, Emotions-Own, Non-Verbal Emotions and Emotional Control. Intrapersonal
factors consisted of Self-Efficacy, Life Satisfaction and Optimism.
Self-efficacy, Life satisfaction, Optimism, Pessimism, Positive Affect, Emotion-Others, Happy
Emotions, Emotion-Own, Non-Verbal Emotions and Emotional Control, predict 16% of the
variance in Academic Performance. Significant predictors of Academic Performance are Life
Satisfaction, Optimism, Pessimism and Emotions-Others.
A second order factor analysis was done on the factors of the SEIS, LOT-R, GPSES, and the
SWLS. Two factors were extracted explaining 50,95% of the variance. These factors were
called Interpersonal Factors and Intrapersonal Factors. On the Intrapersonal Factor, the
following factors loaded: Emotions-Others, Happy Emotions, Emotions-Own and Non-Verbal
Emotions. Self-Efficacy, Life Satisfaction and Optimism, Positive Affect and Emotional Control
loaded on the Interpersonal Factor. It is evident from the above that psychological well-being
consisted out of two dimensions namely Interpersonal and Intrapersonal aspects.
Positive Affect is significantly positively related (large effect) to Optimism and Self-Efficacy
and significantly positive related (medium effect) to Emotions-Others, Happy Emotions,
Emotions-Own, Non-Verbal Emotions and Emotional Control. Emotions-Others is significantly
positively related (medium effect) to Happy Emotions, Emotions-Own and Self-Efficacy. Happy
Emotions is significantly positively related (medium effect) to Emotions-Own, Non-Verbal
Emotions, Emotional Control, Optimism and Self-Efficacy. Emotions-Own is significantly
positively related (medium effect) to Non-verbal Emotions, Emotional Control, Optimism and
Self-Efficacy. Non-verbal Emotions significantly positively related (medium effect) to
Emotional Control and Self-Efficacy.
Emotional Control significantly positively related (large effect) to Self-Efficacy and significantly
positively related (medium effect) to Optimism and Life Satisfaction. Optimism significantly
positively related (medium effect) to Life Satisfaction and Self-Efficacy.
Pessimism is significantly negatively related (medium effect) to Life Satisfaction and Self-
Efficacy. Life satisfaction is significantly positively related (medium effect) to Self-Efficacy and
Academic Performance.
Recommendations for future research were made.<br>Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.
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Mthimunye, Katlego Dumisani Trevor. "Predictors of academic performance and throughput among second-year nursing students at a university in the Western Cape." University of the Western Cape, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/4695.
Full textAbstract:
Magister Curationis - MCur<br>Background: Institutions offering Bachelor of Nursing programmes worldwide are under increasing pressure to graduate larger numbers of students to meet the demands of the desired nurse workforce. High academic performance, which is measured by continuous assessment and examination results, is one of the major goals of higher education. However many students experience difficulty during their second year of study at the university used in this study. Aim: The overall aim of the study is to assess whether the identified predictor variables (cognitive, non-cognitive and demographic) influence academic performance of second-year nursing students at the University of the Western Cape. Methodology: A non-experimental quantitative research approach with a cross-sectional predictive design was applied. The selected sample (n=226) included all first-time enrolled Bachelor of Nursing students for the years 2012 – 2013 at the University of the Western Cape. An all-inclusive sampling method was applied. Data were obtained from the Student Administrative System Integrated and recorded in the data collection check list. Statistical Package for Social Sciences software version 23.0 was used sort and analyse the data. Simple and multiple linear regression were done. Ethics: Permission to conduct the present research study at the University of the Western Cape was obtained from the Registrar and the Director of The School of Nursing. The Research Ethics Committee of the University of the Western Cape granted ethics approval related to the research. The researcher maintained the principles of anonymity and confidentiality throughout the study. Results: The study found that the cognitive predictor variables had the strongest predictive power in association with student performance in comparison to the non-cognitive predictors and demographic variable, besides race which rejected the null hypothesis.
Conclusion: The findings provided evidence to the School of Nursing to assist them in identifying students who may be at risk of unsatisfactory academic performance and who ultimately fail to proceed to the next level of study.
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Wright, James Scott. "Academic Lineage and Student Performance in Medical School." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1999. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc2206/.
Full textAbstract:
This research investigated the association between academic lineage and student performance in medical school. The purposes of the study were to: (1) determine whether the Carnegie classifications of medical school applicants' institutions of origin are associated with academic performance in medical school; (2) consider the relationship between the admission selectivity of the schools of origin and the academic performance of medical school students; (3) compare the performance of medical students from institutions under public governing control with students from privately controlled institutions; and (4) establish a model by which the relative academic strengths of applicants from a variety of undergraduate institutions can be understood more clearly based on the previous performance of medical students from schools with similar institutional characteristics. A review of the literature on medical school admissions was completed and used to develop this research. Medical students from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas who enrolled between the years 1990 and 1994 and graduated or were dismissed between the years 1994 and 1998 were selected as the sample for the study (n=933). The undergraduate institution of origin for each student was coded based on its Carnegie classification, admissions selectivity group, and whether its governing control was public or private. Because the sample was not randomly selected and the data likely would not meet the assumptions of equal means and variance with the population, nonparametric analyses of variance and multiple comparison tests were completed to compare the groups of the independent variables over each dependent variable. The analyses revealed that for the sample of medical students selected for this study there was an association between academic lineage and student performance in medical school. Differences were found among Carnegie classifications on the dependent variables of cumulative medical school grade point average, class rank, failure rate, and score on Step 1 of the United States Medical Licensure Examination. Further, it was found that admission selectivity was also associated with student performance in medical school for each dependent variable except failure rate. Finally, the study results indicated no association between public or private governing control and student performance in medical school.
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Swan, Rachel. "An Academic Assessment of the National Performance Network and Visual Artists Network: An Internship Academic Report." ScholarWorks@UNO, 2015. http://scholarworks.uno.edu/aa_rpts/181.
Full textAbstract:
This academic report was composed at the conclusion of a 480 hour internship with the National Performance Network/Visual Artists Network (NPN/VAN), summarized in Chapter Two. This report includes NPN/VAN’s mission, history, and organizational structure within Chapter One. Chapter Three is a SWOT analysis, and Chapter Four includes a summary of best practices, highlighting NPN/VAN’s intermediary and network structure. In conclusion, a series of suggestions are offered for further consideration.
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Simons, Mariella Hodges. "The influence of instructional coaches on improving teaching and student performance." Diss., Mississippi State : Mississippi State University, 2006. http://sun.library.msstate.edu/ETD-db/ETD-browse/browse.
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Cao, Naichuan, and Naichuan Cao. "The Impact of Ethnic Identity on Educational Constraints: A Dilemma for Diaspora Hui University Students in China." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/620697.
Full textAbstract:
This paper explored the process of identity formation among the Hui national minority, particularly focusing on Hui students who live and study within the majority group. Given that Hui's tradition derived from its mixed blood is often misinterpreted by others in interactions with outgroup members, it is necessary to explore Hui students' opinions of their ethnicity in public school, the way that they construct their ethnic identity, and how identity varies among Hui students and thus affects their academic performance. Results showed that in the group of Hui students who reported their GPA, ethnic identity and self-esteem negatively predicted GPA. Self-esteem failed to act as a moderator in the prediction of GPA, but it did mediate the prediction of their aspiration for higher education. Differences between ethnic identity only existed between Hui students in central and northwest of China. Additional analysis and information from interviews showed that Hui students do have experiences in which they are misinterpreted by other groups, and Hui ethnicity does affect their life.
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Matoti, S. N., and K. E. Junquiera. "Assessing the academic behavioural confidence (ABC) of first-year students at the Central University of Technology, Free State." Interim : Interdisciplinary Journal, Vol 8, Issue 2: Central University of Technology Free State Bloemfontein, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/11462/369.
Full textAbstract:
Published Article<br>First-year university students make judgements about their capabilities in mathematics which mainly stem from their past school experiences. It is against this background that the researchers decided to conduct a study with the aim of assessing the academic behavioural confidence of first-year students enrolled in the B.Ed. (FET): Natural Sciences programme and the B.Ed. (FET): Economic and Management Sciences programme offered by the School of Teacher Education at the Central University of Technology, Free State. Bandura's (1986) Social Cognitive Theory is the overarching theoretical framework of the self-efficacy construct and therefore also for this study. A quantitative approach was followed and the Academic Behavioural Confidence scale (ABC) designed by Sander and Sanders (2006), was adopted for use in the study. The study sought to first of all determine whether a significant difference in the academic behavioural confidence of the first-year students within the Natural Sciences and Economic and Management Sciences programmes does exist. It furthermore wanted to determine if a significant difference in the academic behavioural confidence between male and female students within these two programmes exists. The results indicated that there is a significant difference in the academic behavioural confidence of the NS and EMS groups. There is, however, no significant difference between male and female students within and between the two groups. Based on the findings some recommendations on dealing with first-year students have been made.
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Grass, Julia, Alexander Strobel, and Anja Strobel. "Cognitive Investments in Academic Success: The Role of Need for Cognition at University." Universitätsbibliothek Chemnitz, 2017. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:ch1-qucosa-226546.
Full textAbstract:
Previous research has shown that Need for Cognition (NFC), the individual tendency to engage in and enjoy cognitive endeavors, contributes to academic performance. Most studies on NFC and related constructs have thereby focused on grades to capture tertiary academic success. This study aimed at a more comprehensive approach on NFC’s meaning to success in university. We examined not only performance but also rather affective indicators of success. The current sample consisted of 396 students of different subjects with a mean age of 24 years (139 male). All participants took part in an online survey that assessed NFC together with school performance and further personality variables via self-report. Success in university was comprehensively operationalized including performance, satisfaction with one’s studies, and thoughts about quitting/changing one’s major as indicators. The value of NFC in predicting tertiary academic success was examined with correlation analyses and path analysis. NFC significantly correlated with all success variables with the highest correlation for study satisfaction. Path analysis confirmed the importance of NFC for study satisfaction showing that NFC had a significant direct effect on study satisfaction and via this variable also a significant indirect effect on termination thoughts. This study clearly indicates that NFC broadly contributes to the mastery of academic requirements and that it is worthwhile to intensify research on NFC in the context of tertiary education.
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Nwokeocha, Stella-Maria. "Academic staff working conditions, organizational commitment and performance of Nigerian universities." Thesis, Anglia Ruskin University, 2015. http://arro.anglia.ac.uk/552644/.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis explored the academic staff working conditions, organizational commitment and performance of Nigerian universities. There is a general thinking that there has been a decline on the motivation of the average academic staff in Nigerian university system leading to brain drain situation and a decline in quality of performance of the universities. Incidentally, there is limited empirical evidence comprehensive enough to serve as a framework of what the academics need at work to make them more inclined to remain in their universities, including university performance. This thesis explored the topic in a comprehensive way with academics from six Nigerian universities. It answers the question what and how did the perceived obstacles to academic staff organizational commitment and university performance in Nigeria evolve, and what can be done to improve it? The research design was cross-sectional. Qualitative and quantitative information were gathered to uncover the historical origin of the problems; satisfaction with current working conditions, issues of personal growth, organizational commitment, and university performance. A sample of 248 academics participated in the study. Historically, both structural and managerial issues, internal and external factors, were implicated in the evolution of the problems in the university system. Satisfaction with teaching resources and facilities was poorest. Factors important for personal growth were the same as those that would make the academics more inclined to stay, though, concern with basic salary and welfare were more prominent in decision to stay. Reference to comparable situations with colleagues elsewhere was basis for need to improve on some work factors like salary. The thesis concludes that, deficiency-growth factors, intrinsic-extrinsic factors, and equity issues are important in dealing with the organizational commitment and performance problems in the Nigerian universities studied. Sugestions and limitations of the study are provided.
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Graves, Nora Annette. "Structuring teacher knowledge to optimize teacher performance." [Pensacola, Fla.] : University of West Florida, 2007. http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/WFE0000073.
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Scott, Delores W. "Conditions related to the academic performance of African American students at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University." Diss., Virginia Tech, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/38350.
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Bresó, Esteve Edgar. "Well-being and performance in academic settings. The predicting role of self-efficacy." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Jaume I, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/10524.
Full textAbstract:
El objetivo general de esta tesis has sido poner a prueba un modelo 'heurístico' que sirva para explicar las relaciones existentes entre: las creencias de autoeficacia de los estudiantes, los obstáculos-facilitadores que los éstos perciben, sus niveles de burnout-engagement relacionados con sus estudios y su rendimiento académico. Además, también se ha puesto a prueba la eficacia de una intervención diseñada expresamente para incrementar los niveles de autoeficacia de los estudiantes universitarios. Para llevar a cabo este objetivo se han realizado cuatro estudios transversales y un estudio cuasi-experimental. De este modo, los resultados descritos en esta tesis permiten articular y cuantificar la relación existente entre las variables anteriormente descritas (autoeficacia, obstáculos-facilitadores, burnout-engagement y rendimiento).
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Brennan, Martha. "Stress reduction as a link between aerobic activity and academic performance experienced by undergraduate women through the use of the Student Recreation Center at Texas A&M University." Texas A&M University, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/5958.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between aerobic activity and academic performance through stress reduction using a student recreational facility. Research indicated that learning in college tends to focus on the academic aspects of the undergraduate experience - the classroom, laboratory, and the library - not other factors potentially affecting academic performance (Kuh et al., 1991). Forty women were randomly selected from the undergraduate population at Texas A&M University in order to analyze the relationship between aerobic activity and academic performance by measuring perceived stress levels. All participants completed an on-line stress questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), every three weeks. Exam scores from an introductory sociology course and an educational statistics course were used for data analysis also. The experimental group (exercise group) used twelve weeks of regular aerobic exercise, while the control group (non-exercise) remained sedentary. During the twelve-week period, all participants self-reported data for additional qualitative data. Research findings of this study included:
1. The main benefit from aerobic activity was that women who exercised
regularly felt more positive about academics and non-academic activities than
women who did not exercise regularly.
2. There was no statistical significant difference between exam scores and
academic performance of women who exercised regularly and those who did
not exercise regularly.
3. There was no statistical significant difference between stress levels of women
who exercised regularly and women who did not exercise regularly.
Based on the findings of the study, researcher recommendations include:
1. Continue to investigate the changing demographics of college students -
namely, age, sex, and non-traditional students. This study was limited to fulltime
women between the ages of 18-24. Men and part-time students need to
be included in a comparable study, providing campuses with more data that
reflects the entire student population.
2. Explore additional areas in sociology and psychology that address exercise
behavior trends in college students. Results from this study indicated that
there are many variables, including stress, that affect college students in the
behavioral sciences that can be attributed to differences in physical activity
between sedentary and non-sedentary people.
3. Analyze health factors, which include amount of exercise, nutrition, and sleep
patterns.
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Tangpijaikul, Montri. "The Thai university student's fine-tuning of discourse in academic essays and electronic bulletin boards performance and competence /." Phd thesis, Australia : Macquarie University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1959.14/73139.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (DAppLing)--Macquarie University, Faculty of Human Sciences, Dept. of Linguistics, 2009.<br>Bibliography: p. 208-233.<br>Introduction -- Conceptual frameworks: language competence and the acquisition of modality -- Generic frameworks: speech, writing and electronic communication -- Linguistic frameworks: modality and related concepts -- Research design and methodologies -- FTDs in the ACAD and BB corpora -- Learner's use of FTDs in discoursal context and their individual repertoires -- Conclusions and implications.<br>While natural interaction is one of the important components that lead to successful language learning (Vygotsky 1978, 1986), communication in classroom practice in Thailand is mostly teacher-centered and not genuinely interactive. Online group communication is different because it allows learners to exercise interpersonal communicative skills through interaction and meaning negotiation, as in reciprocal speech situations. At the same time it gives learners time to think and produce language without having to face the kind of pressure they feel in face-to-face classroom discussion. The language learner's competence is thus likely to be enhanced by opportunities to communicate online, and to be more visible there than in academic contexts, although there is a dearth of experimental research to show this. One way of investigating the pedagogical potential of bulletin board discussions is to focus on the interpersonal linguistic devices used in textual interactions (Biber 1988). -- The purpose of this research is to find out whether students communicating online in bulletin board writing will exercise their repertoires of linguistic fine-tuning devices (hedges, modals, and intensifiers) more extensively than when writing academic essays. This was expected because hedges, modals and intensifiers are likely to be found in interactive discussions (Holmes 1983), while academic tasks do not create such an environment. Though hedges and modal devices are also found in academic genres (Salager-Meyer 1994, Hyland 1998), those used tend to be academic in function rather than communicative. -- In order to compare the frequency and variety of the fine-tuning devices used by learners in the two mediums, data was gathered from 39 Thai students of English at Kasetsart University, from (1) their discussions in online bulletin boards and (2) their academic essays. Tasks were assigned on parallel topics in three text types (narrative, explanatory, argumentative) for both mediums. The amount of writing was normalized to create comparable text lengths. Measures used in the quantitative analysis included tallying of the types and tokens of the experimental linguistic items, with the help of the AntConc 2007 computer concordancer. Samples of written texts from the two mediums were also analyzed qualitatively and compared in terms of their discourse structure (stages, moves and speech acts), to see which functional segments support or prompt particular types of pragmatic devices. -- The findings confirm that in electronic bulletin boards the students exercise their repertoires of fine-tuning devices more frequently, and use a greater variety of pragmatic functions than in academic essays. This is probably because online discussion fosters interactions that are more typical of speech (Crystal 2006), and its structure allows for a series of interpersonal moves which have no place in academic tasks. Text-type also emerged as a significant factor: writing argumentative texts prompted greater use of modals and intensifiers than the narrative and explanatory ones. Thus students' communicative competence showed itself most fully in the argumentative online assignments, and was not so evident in academic and expository essays. Frequent use of modal and intensifying elements was also found to correlate with the students' English proficiency grades, and how regularly they wrote online. This incidentally shows the importance of exposure to L2 in language acquisition, and that lower-proficiency learners need more opportunities to exercise their L2 resources in interactive discourse, in order to develop competence in using them. -- These research findings support Long's (1996) 'Interaction Hypothesis', that learners learn best in situations that cater for interaction; and Swain's (1985) 'Output Hypothesis', that learners need the chance to exercise their language naturally in a variety of contexts -through academic tasks as well as social interactions, which are equally important for language education. Extended performance opportunities undoubtedly feed back into the learner's communicative competence.<br>Mode of access: World Wide Web.<br>xi, 389 p. ill
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Xiong, Zhao Ning. "Cross-cultural adaptation and academic performance : overseas Chinese students on an international foundation course at a British university." Thesis, University of Bedfordshire, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10547/287381.
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The aim of the present research study was to examine the cross-cultural adaptation experiences of overseas Chinese students studying on an International Foundation Course (hereafter IFC) at Luton University, in an attempt to: 1) gain a better understanding of the sociocultural adjustment difficulties and psychological adjustment problems experienced by the Chinese students and their perceived importance in adapting to sociocultural events in the new environment; 2) to examine factors that are related to the students' sociocultural adjustment, psychological adjustment and academic performance; 3) to explore the strategies used by the students for handling obstacles; 4) to integrate research perspectives from different fields (e.g. cultural adaptation, international education), and to re-assess current theoretical models in the light of this. To gain new insights into the dynamic and multi-dimensional nature of cross-cultural adaptation, this two-phase, sequential mixed method study was designed firstly to obtain quantitative results from a sample of the IFe Chinese students and then to follow up a few of the students and their teachers to explore those results in greater depth. In the first phase, a total of 126 of the students participated in the cross-cultural adaptation survey. In the second phase, twenty of the respondents of the earlier survey and seven of the IFC teachers were invited for a semi-structured in-depth interview. Results of the survey indicated that the IFC respondents regarded themselves as having "slight to moderate difficulty" in coping with the new culture, more specifically, interactions with people of other nationalities were perceived as more difficult than the academic demands, which in turn were seen as more difficult than daily life demands. With regard to psychological adjustment, most of the IFC students did not have clinical depression symptoms. Psychological adjustment was found to affect academic performance (measured by GPA). An examination of the students' GPA showed that more than half of the students had a GPA in the 'bare pass' category and half of the respondents had negative perceptions of the university, many of whom regarded the university to be worse than they expected. Results of the in-depth interviews from the students and teachers corroborated and added some further insights to the findings of the survey. After discussing the empirical findings in relation to the relevant theories and research studies, a number of recommendations are offered respectively for international students, for staff working with international students and for university authorities.
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Huañec, Huañec Paucar Cynthia Lila, and Leon Valery Isabel Ayma. "Association between self-reported bruxism and the academic performance in students of a Private University of Lima – Peru." Bachelor's thesis, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC), 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10757/655990.
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Objective: Evaluate the association between self-reported bruxism and academic performance in students at a university in Lima, Peru.
Materials and methods: A total of 203 students were evaluated in this study, between the ages of 19 to 35. Self-reported bruxism was measured using the 'Bruxism Assessment Questionnaire'. Likewise, academic performance was evaluated using the Approval Index Scale. In addition, other variables were included such as employment status, socioeconomic level, stress, anxiety, among others. The association of variables were factored in using the chi-square test and the logistic regression presented the unadjusted and adjusted analisis.
Results: The frequency of self-reported awake bruxism and sleep bruxism was 53.20% and 36.45%, respectively. Evidence revealed there was a statistically significant association between awake bruxism with stress and anxiety, and sleep bruxism with anxiety. Students with high academic performance (OR=2.36; IC del 95%:1.06-5.23) and low academic performance (OR=5.72; IC del 95%:1.28-25.57) were found to be more likely to have awake bruxism than those with medium academic performance.
Conclusions: This study revealed a statistically significant association between self-reported awake bruxism and academic performance. However, in the future it is suggested to carry out a study with focus only on students with bruxism and with a larger sample of participants with low academic performance to confirm the association found between these variables.<br>Objetivo: Evaluar la asociación entre bruxismo autorreportado y rendimiento académico en estudiantes de una universidad privada de Lima, Perú.
Materiales y métodos: Un total de 203 estudiantes con edades comprendidas entre 18 a 35 años fueron encuestados en esta investigación. Para la evaluación del bruxismo autoreportado se aplicó el cuestionario ‘Bruxism Assessment Questionnaire’. Asimismo, el rendimiento académico se evaluó mediante la escala de Índice de Aprobación (IA). Además, se incluyeron otras variables como situación laboral, estrés, ansiedad, entre otros. La asociación de variables se realizó mediante la prueba Chi cuadrado y para el análisis crudo y ajustado se utilizó la regresión logística.
Resultados: Se encontró una prevalencia de bruxismo de vigilia de 53.20% y de bruxismo de sueño de 36.45%. Se evidenció asociación estadísticamente significativa entre bruxismo de vigilia con estrés y ansiedad, y bruxismo de sueño con ansiedad. Se halló que los estudiantes con rendimiento académico alto (OR=2.36; IC del 95%:1.06-5.23) y rendimiento académico bajo (OR=5.72; IC del 95%:1.28-25.57) tienen más probabilidades de presentar bruxismo de vigilia que aquellos con rendimiento académico medio.
Conclusiones: En el presente estudio se halló asociación estadísticamente significativa entre bruxismo de vigilia autorreportado y rendimiento académico. No obstante, a futuro se sugiere realizar un estudio a los estudiantes con presencia de bruxismo y con un mayor tamaño muestral de participantes con rendimiento académico bajo para afirmar la asociación encontrada entre dichas variables.<br>Tesis
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Dlamini, Sipho Solomon. "The role of psychosocial factors in academic performance of first year psychology students at a historically white university." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5150.
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The success rate of students in higher education has been a cause for concern in South Africa (Letseka & Maile, 2008; Department of Higher Education and Training, 2015). This has been particularly concerning for first-year students, where the rate of attrition is especially high (Letseka, Cosser, Breier, and Visser, 2010). A number of factors have been identified in past research as having an effect on academic performance, which influences attrition and graduation. These factors include age (Justice, & Dornan, 2001), gender (Buchmann, & DiPrete, 2006), socio-economic status which is confounded by race (Letseka & Breier, 2008), type of educational background (Spreen, & Vally, 2006), and whether a student is a domestic or international student (Li, Chen, Duanmu, 2009), social capital (Young & Strelitz, 2014), whether the student is a first language speaker of the language of instruction at the university (Snowball, and Boughey, 2012), student wellbeing (Quinn, & Duckworth, 2007), locus of control (Findley, & Cooper, 1983), and frequency of lecture attendance (van Wallbeek, 2004). The study was conducted at Rhodes University, a small historically white South African institution. For this study, academic performance was measured using the participant’s midyear exam results for an introductory psychology cause, a course that straddles faculties. Of the 690 students registered for the course, 361 (52%) completed an electronic survey that explored the various factors associated with academic performance. A hierarchical regression analysis indicates that pre-university factors (age, gender, race, nationality, language, type of school, and socio-economic status) were the only significant predictors of academic performance, contributing 11% of the effect. Race and nationality, when all the other factors were controlled for, were the only predictors of academic performance. The implications of these findings pose troubling questions of the institutional culture at the university.
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Terry, Bryan J. Padavil George. "Relationships between race, sex, and academic performance of federal work-study employees." Normal, Ill. Illinois State University, 1999. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ilstu/fullcit?p9960427.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 1999.<br>Title from title page screen, viewed July 31, 2006. Dissertation Committee: George Padavil (chair), Ramesh B. Chaudhari, William J. Pearch, Victor J. Boschini. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-110) and abstract. Also available in print.
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Al-Nabhani, Hilal Zahir Abdullah. "Factors influencing the academic performance of undergraduate students of Sultan Qaboos University (Oman) learning in English, with special reference to attitude, motivation and academic self concept." Thesis, University of Hull, 1996. http://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:3938.
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Many official papers and research studies suggest that the low academic performance of science students in Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in Oman may be due to their being taught in a foreign language, namely English. This belief has prompted the researcher to embark on the present endeavour. Since it would be impractical to investigate within a study of this scale all possible factors relating to the problem, three factors highlighted by previous studies, namely, attitudes, motivation and academic self-concept, were chosen as the focus for this work.This study is a modest attempt to explore the intricacies of the multidimensional nature of attitudes, self-concept and motivation and their relationship to academic performance. Sex, level of education (first and fourth year stages), and also the main subject differences, were also investigated in relation to the above variables.Thus,this study attempts to fulfil the following objectives:1- ascertaining what relationships, if any, exist between attitude, academic self-concept and motivation of students learning science in English.2- finding out to what extent the above variables are mutually influential.3- proposing recommendations.The study is limited to the SQU science students, with the sample taken from the five relevant colleges in the university. Three questionnaires were developed and administered to 565 students of both sexes, drawn from the first and fourth years. 39 lecturers were also interviewed.The study is divided into seven chapters, ending with the appendices to the study, and an introductory chapter which deals with relevant contemporary issues.The principal conclusions reached are:1- A significant correlation was found between students' academic performance and their attitude, self-concept and motivation towards learning science in English.2- A significant difference was found between male and female students in their academic self-concept towards learning science in English, but no significant differences regarding their attitude and motivation in learning science through English.3-Significant differences were found among students of different colleges in their attitudes and academic self-concept towards learning science in English,but not in their motivation towards learning science in English.4- A significant difference exists in attitude academic self-concept and motivation of first and fourth year students. Fourth year students had more positive attitudes and higher academic self-concept than those of the first year, but lower motivation.Recommendations proposed include:1- Building a good relationship between the teaching staff and the students;establishing a counselling body and friendly ecology in the colleges; and providing more positive feedback, which might all help to improve students' academic performance.2- The university administration and lecturers must begin to create an atmosphere more encouraging of female students' attitudes, motivation and academic self-concept.3- Closer ties should be forged with the female students, and more attention paid to them and their problems, as well as developing extra-curricula activities.
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Hill-Jones, Mary L. "An examination of the prevalence of obesity and student performance in a low socioeconomic school district." Diss., Mississippi State : Mississippi State University, 2008. http://library.msstate.edu/etd/show.asp?etd=etd-06252008-162902.
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Groenewald, Johannes Pieter. "Contextual factors impacting on research performance at a young Australian university." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2020. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2372.
Full textAbstract:
High-quantitative and quality research performance is critical to the reputation and success of a university and plays a vital role in developing the socio-economic status of a country. There is, however, limited knowledge about the contextual factors that impact on research performance, especially in universities that are new or not yet research-intensive. One such young university is the Another New Research University (ANRU), the setting for this research. To become competitive and sustainable, especially young universities, need to increase both the quality and volume of their research to improve research performance.
The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify and explore which contextual factors impacted on academics’ research performance at ANRU. The research drew on organisation development and phenomenological theoretical perspectives to make sense of the socially constructed realities of the participants’ lived experience of their research work. A purposefully selected stratified sample of 31 participants was interviewed to explore their experiences of research. The participants included research-active academics and research leaders from both the Humanities and the Natural Sciences Executive leaders were also included as participants. Academics from the departments in the Humanities (DOH), Sciences (DOS), and leaders (RLC) provided three datasets. The transcribed datasets were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) as the primary technique supported by analysis techniques advocated in grounded theory.
Reported experiences led to the identification of three contextual themes, namely: personal, work and external contexts. These contexts comprise 11 contextual factors in total from the three independent cases. Participants rank-ordered these factors to indicate which three factors most facilitated, and which three factors most hampered, their research. The three most facilitating factors, overall, were the personal profile, academics’ interactions, both from the personal contextual theme, and community impact from the external contextual theme. In contrast, the factors that constrained research performance the most, namely financial resources, work content, and environmental capability were all from the work contextual theme. Data from the six high impact factors revealed distinct differences amongst the different academic levels and between the two broad disciplines. The contextual work theme highlighted the most apparent differences.
Not only did the study contribute new insights about the personal context and external context to the commonly studied work context domain, but it also highlighted the potential and compounded impact that these three contexts could have on research performance. Experiences reported by the participants led to insights about the wellbeing of academics being affected by role identity issues and competing demands. These role identity issues were mainly because of approach-approach conflicts amongst professional, teaching and research sub-identities nested in the academic role.
The results from this research have allowed the development of a theoretical framework and a high-performance adaptive model that could guide the implementation of comprehensive and integrated strategies to improve research performance at mainly young universities.
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Taylor, Jeannette. "The impact of performance indicators on the work of university academics: a study of four Australian universities." Thesis, Taylor, Jeannette (1999) The impact of performance indicators on the work of university academics: a study of four Australian universities. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, 1999. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/340/.
Full textAbstract:
In 1988, the Australian Federal Government released the document Higher Education: A Policy Statement which was intended to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the higher education sector. This paved the way for the application of performance indicators (Pls) across higher education, most notably the creation of a link between Pls (called the Composite Index) and the research component of the annual government funding to universities. Although PIS for teaching became popular, funding for the teaching component was not directly attached to PIS and remained largely based on student enrolments.
The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of university academics in Australia on the effects of research and teaching as a result of the introduction of funding based on research Pls. The academic literature suggests that Pls can bring about desirable effects but it also warns that their imposition, particularly by the government on universities, may lead to unintended and undesirable effects, such as goal displacement and strategic manipulation, which may be designed to enhance apparent research performance. To guide the investigation, it was hypothesised that the government's Pls which focus on research will be integrated into the universities' internal policies; will encourage universities to place a high priority on the research activities funded by the Pls; will lead to significantly more paperwork; will contribute to a significant change in the approach to research but not to teaching; and will result in academics adopting negative attitudes towards Pls.
Two basic sources of information were obtained to evaluate these hypotheses. First, the administrations of selected universities were consulted, and staff interviewed, to gauge the degree of change that had been implemented by the universities. Second, a questionnaire was constructed in order to assess academics' attitude towards Pls, and their perceptions of an association between Pls and their institutional reward system. The questionnaire also assessed changes in research, teaching and paperwork activities.
The universities selected characterised the different kinds of universities found in the Unified National System of the Australian higher education system. One hundred and fifty-two academics from these universities were surveyed by the questionnaire. Thirty percent of these academics participated in a structured interview. The disciplines from which the academics were selected for participation included arts/humanities, science, and professional studies which included a natural science based profession and a social science based profession. In addition, a case study of one of these universities was carried out.
The institutions were found to have reorganised their internal policies to incorporate and focus on the Pls in the government's Composite Index. The academics surveyed were generally found to have negative attitude towards their institutional Pls, although staff of higher rank had relatively more positive views. Reasons for their dissatisfaction included the inability of Pls to capture the various dimensions of academic work and privileging research over teaching. For a majority of the academics, the introduction of Pls was associated with a rise in paperwork load and a change in the approach to research in terms of focusing on publications and external research grant applications, particularly those counted in their institutional PI-based funding schemes. The time devoted to these activities, as well as the number of publications and grants for which they were expected to apply, have significantly increased. It was found that staff did use various strategies to maximise their PI scores, such as writing shorter papers in order to increase the quantity of publications. The proportion who changed their approach to teaching was also sizeable; most of them were concerned about getting students through their courses with minimum fuss by having lower ambitions for students and pandering to their superficial needs. However, the proportion who changed their teaching was significantly less than those who changed their research. One possible reason could be the lack of special incentives to increase their emphasis on teaching.