Gender issues related to graduate student attrition in two science departments

This study explored the gender issues that contributed to the differential attrition rate of men and women graduate students in two science departments (biology and chemistry) at a large research university. Departmental records were used to compute the student attrition rate while surveys from 170 students, and interviews with 32 of them, were used to explore students' perspectives on the reasons affecting the attrition of men and women graduate students in each department. Analysis of the data indicated a significantly larger student attrition rate in chemistry than in biology. In each department the attrition rate for women was also significantly larger than the attrition rate for men. The study uncovered different gender issues, in each department, related to the significantly larger attrition rate for women students.     

Is the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) a good predictor of academic achievement? Examining the mediating role of achievement-related classroom behaviours

Studies have shown that the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ)—which provides a measure of student approaches to learning—is a relatively weak predictor of academic achievement. The present study sought to explore whether students’ achievement-related classroom behaviours, as observed by teachers, can be used as a mediator between student approaches to learning and academic achievement. The SPQ was administered to 1,608 students enrolled in six different diploma programmes offered by a polytechnic in Singapore. Data were analysed by means of correlation and path analysis. In line with existing studies, the results revealed that student approaches to learning was a weak predictor of academic achievement. However, achievement-related classroom behaviours turned out to be a significant mediator between student approaches to learning and academic achievement, effectively doubling the explained variance in academic achievement. Implications of these findings for using the SPQ are discussed.     

The student departure puzzle: do some faculties and programs have answers?

University attrition prevention strategies are typically generic, centrally managed, whole of university strategies that have emerged from an examination of whole of university attrition data. This paper takes an intra‐organisational comparative approach, through the examination of faculty and program attrition rates of students who joined an Australian university in the first term of 2004. The faculty with the highest attrition had a rate two‐and‐a‐half times that of the faculty with the lowest rate, and in programs with 40 or more students enrolled the program with the highest attrition had a rate over five times that of the program with the lowest rate. The paper identifies five practical implications of these findings and concludes that investigating the causes of these differences will help in understanding student attrition. It also suggests that universities wishing to reduce student attrition may benefit from adopting integrated and situated strategies that take into account faculty and program differences.     

Helping Hong Kong business students to appreciate how they learn

Hong Kong students enrolling in the tertiary sector exhibit tendencies to passivity and non-participation. There is also some evidence that, in common with other countries, the tertiary educational environment in Hong Kong may encourage the adoption of inappropriate approaches to learning. A programme was developed within the first year of a business studies degree with the purpose of enhancing students’ approach to learning. This was attempted by making them aware of different approaches, giving them the analytical tools to examine their own conceptions of and approaches to learning and by involving them in different forms of learning experience. Most students conceived ofieaming as a quantitative increase in knowledge. They exhibited similar patterns in respect of SPQ scores to other Hong Kong students, scoring slightly higher than their Australian peers with respect to “deep” and “achieving” approaches and slightly lower on the “surface” approach. Evaluation of the programme was based on a range of sources including unprompted views using the “slip” technique, course evaluation questionnaires and a second administration of the SPQ at the beginning of the students’ second year. The evaluation shows that student reaction to the programme was mixed, though with an overall balance in favour. The SPQ results showed.that although the mean scores for the “surface” approach rose and those for the “deep” and the “achieving” approach fell, they did so to a much lesser extent than on similar programmes.     

Does higher education promote independent learning?

There is general consensus in the literature that the goal of education is to increase the students' capacity to learn, to provide them with analytic skills and to increase their ability to deal with new information and draw independent conclusions. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the extent to which higher education does promote these abilities which can be summarised as independent learning. Quantitative data from the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) and qualitative data (semi-structured student interviews) from a tertiary institution in Hong Kong are compared with similar findings from institutions in other parts of the world. The relationship between demographic variables and the SPQ sub-scales appears to follow a pattern consistent with results from elsewhere. As students become older they are less likely to adopt a surface approach and more likely to adopt a deep one. However, there is a decrease in the use of a deep approach from first to third year of a course, suggesting that education at this tertiary institution does not promote independent learning. Possible explanations are derived from the literature and the student interviews. Implications for the structure of tertiary education in Hong Kong are discussed.     

Where have all the students gone? Participation of doctoral students in authentic mathematical activity as a necessary condition for persistence toward the PH.D.

The mathematics community in the U.S. has become concerned about the state of doctoral education, including concerns about high attrition rates and the small numbers of women and students from some racial and ethnic groups. This paper proposes a model of doctoral student persistence and attrition, in which student participation in the life of the department and discipline lead to increased student integration, which is crucial for students' success. Ten faculty members and eighteen graduate students were interviewed about their interests,conceptions, and experiences within mathematics, in a case study of one mathematics department. In this department, students experienced four types of obstacles to their participation: obstacles stemming from the program structure, obstacles to participation in class, obstacles to participating with faculty outside of class, and obstacles stemming from faculty beliefs about teaching and learning. Implications for the retention of mathematics doctoral students are discussed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Chickering's Seven Principles of Good Practice: Student Attrition in Community College Online Courses

As online enrollments escalate, so does concern about student attrition rates. There is an abundance of literature addressing student success in online courses, particularly using constructivist learning theories to create engaging learning experiences. Also emerging from the literature is the Seven principles of good instructional practice by Checkering and Gamson as an accepted rubric for evaluating effective online instruction. This study focused on whether the use of instructional strategies as measured by the seven principles had an effect on student attrition rates in online courses. Full and part-time faculty at three community colleges in Virginia who taught online course(s) in the last three semesters completed an online survey to determine the extent to which they used instructional strategies reflecting the constructivist-based seven principles in their online courses. Scores from the survey were then compared to the attrition rates in their courses. Results indicated both groups strongly used instructional strategies reflecting the seven principles of good practice in their online courses with full-time faculty scores ranging a bit higher. When the results for the principles were examined individually rather than as a set, both groups scored lower on principles reflecting innovative instructional strategies. No relation between the extent to which faculty reported using those instructional strategies and student success as measured by attrition rates were found. However, a moderate relation was found with the third principle, “encourage active learning.” This indicated that faculty who made strides toward actively engaging students found some success in reducing student attrition.     

Action research and reflection on student approaches to learning in large first year university classes

This paper presents an action research approach to exploring methods of improving the learning styles and outcomes of first year university students within large class environments. The genesis of this project stemmed from an observation that entire tutorial groups were often lethargic in their approach to learning. Following a survey of learning styles, students were exposed to more student-centric teaching styles within tutorial groups, with a view to encouraging deeper student learning and self-regulated learning behaviours. Although the project was successful in motivating students' participation in class activities, no noticeable change to a sustained deeper learning style became evident. The findings suggest that simply motivating students to participate in class does not necessarily alter overall learning styles, at least in the short term. This suggests that the process of “unlearning” previous learning styles may pose a significant problem for instructors and it appears likely that the process of changing from surface to deep learning may require more than a single course intervention. However, there is some evidence that student-centred and self-regulated learning results in a more positive learning experience for both students and teachers. The article concludes with a model of proposed relationships uncovered by the research which deserve further exploration in the quest to provide greater levels of student satisfaction with their higher education experiences.     

Expanding Learning Opportunities for High School Students With Distance Learning

The purpose of the Synchronous Interactive Video Conference Distance Learning pilot program was to use emerging technologies to expand learning opportunities for students at an urban public high school. Through grant funding, students were able to enroll in Advanced Placement and foreign language courses through an online learning provider. Using case study methodology, the pilot program was thoroughly examined through the analysis of multiple sources of data such as surveys of multiple stakeholders, interviews of program administrators, and the examination of student course documentation. The attrition rate was high at 61.9%. The combination of insufficient time for planning and preparation, lack of support for students, and poor communication was detrimental to the program.     

Controlling the didactic relation: a case in process engineering education

A case study was conducted during 1994–2013 on several groups of process engineering students to see what was needed to transform a single course from a teacher-centred to a student-centred learning environment (SCLE). Development work was done incrementally, using Herbart's didactic triangle as a theoretical framework. The effects of the changes in learning environment were analysed using quantitative (student attendance, pass rate, attrition, grades) and qualitative data (student feedback). Guiding the didactic relation, i.e. the studying done by students, by continuous assessment was found to be very useful. Using SCLEs that emphasise student responsibility and activity in learning has been found in this case to enhance student learning considerably.     

POTENTIAL CHANGES IN PROSPECTIVE CHEMISTRY TEACHERS’ BELIEFS ABOUT TEACHING AND LEARNING—A CROSS-LEVEL STUDY

This paper presents a cross-level study of German student teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning chemistry. It covers different stages of their teacher training program. The study is based upon drawings of teaching situations, which were analyzed using an evaluation pattern developed using grounded theory. The qualitative scales analyze beliefs about classroom organization, teaching objectives, and epistemological beliefs. Data were collected from university freshmen, student teachers midway through their university teacher education program, and recently graduated teachers who had just finished their university program and are gaining experience as full-time teachers. The initial results reveal that the freshmen in our study profess very traditional beliefs about teaching and learning (characterized by teacher-centeredness and an understanding of learning as receptive consumption). The other two groups of trainees hold more modern beliefs about teaching and learning, which are in line with modern educational theory. Comparing the latter two groups shows that the student teachers midway through training appear to have the most modern teaching beliefs. Implications for teacher education will be addressed.     

Creating a connection: tackling student attrition through curriculum development

The issue of student attrition (where students leave a programme of study for any reason) is maintaining a high profile across the higher education sector and is a key concern for those delivering nurse education. Many authors have pointed out the cause for concern that student nurse attrition raises and its impact on the higher education institution (HEI), on the student body generally, on partners in practice, and on the student who leaves. The reasons that student nurses leave their programmes of study are similar to the reasons that other students leave (financial, personal, academic, lack of support, etc). For student nurses there are also issues with their experiences in practice. It is clear that with all student attrition, the reasons for leaving are complex in nature. It must be accepted that there are some issues that cannot be addressed by HEIs, but that ways to tackle attrition and to enhance student retention must be high on the agenda of any education provider. Individual programmes of study can utilise approaches to curriculum development that aim to enhance the student experience. The introduction of an enquiry‐based learning strand to the curriculum of one pre‐registration nursing programme aims to address some of the reasons for student attrition, namely: lack of support, poor academic performance, lack of study skills, disillusionment and low motivation, lack of confidence, and the theory‐practice gap resulting in stressful practice experiences. Enquiry‐based learning (EBL) is not seen as a panacea for student attrition, but it is seen as a positive way in which to enhance the student experience.     

Approaches to learning,their context and relationship to assessment performance

Relationships between approaches to learning, as measured by the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ), prior knowledge of subject area, and performance on a multiple-choice test following a 15 × 2 hour unit in basic psychology were investigated. Subjects were 105 first year tertiary students, of mean age 19.9 years, and predominantly female (82.9%). Approaches to learning were unrelated to assessment performance, and prior knowledge did not relate to a deep approach although it did predict performance. The findings were interpreted in terms of additional elements in the teaching-learning process, and the role of the SPQ was seen as a stimulus to thinking about that process.     

Learning Autonomously: The learners' perspectives

This research project was primarily concerned with undergraduate students' attitudes and expectations of autonomous learning and their readiness for such a learning approach. The underlying assumption of the study is that students' attitudes towards and preparedness for autonomous learning will determine the level of autonomy that they could achieve in the learning process. The paper will report on the significant findings and the reflective observations which I hope will help both curriculum planners and teachers to think of ways to develop student autonomy in their specific context.     

Cross‐Validated Prediction of Academic Performance of First‐Year University Students: Identifying Risk Factors in a Nonselective Environment

Early prediction of academic performance is important for student support. The authors explored, in a multivariate approach, whether pre‐entry data (e.g., high school study results, preparative activities, expectations, capabilities, motivation, and attitude) could predict university students’ first‐year academic performance. Preregistered applicants for a bachelor's program filled out an intake questionnaire before study entry. Outcome data (first‐year grade point average, course credits, and attrition) were obtained 1 year later. Prediction accuracy was assessed by cross‐validation. Students who performed better in preparatory education, followed a conventional educational path before entering, and expected to spend more time on a program‐related organization performed better during their first year at university. Concrete preuniversity behaviors were more predictive than psychological attributions such as self‐efficacy. Students with a “love of learning” performed better than leisure‐oriented students. The intake questionnaire may be used for identifying up front who may need additional support, but is not suitable for student selection.     

Teacher–student negotiations during context-based chemistry reform: A case study

Teachers participating in curricular reforms, especially reforms based on constructivism, are expected to bring about change in their teaching approach. This is often a difficult, complex and intensive process, and demands a radical reculturing of the classroom. This is also the case for social constructivist reforms in chemistry education, which are based on a context-based approach. Educational change is a social and interactional process, and during this change teachers will engage in negotiations with their students about the reform. These teacher–student negotiations have a profound impact on the succeeding of the reform. This study explores the teacher–student interactions during the reform that shape and alter the context-based chemistry approach. We focused on two teachers, of whom it was found in an earlier study that one of them succeeded in implementing the reform, while the other one struggled. By following them for one school year, in which in-depth qualitative data was collected through various instruments, we developed insights about the teacher–student negotiations that influenced the educational reform. Three themes emerged from the data: “agency of learning,” “vulnerability,” and “care.” The differences that were found between the teachers regarding these themes help explain why and how the reform can become a success and why the reform often fails to change classroom practice.     

The effect of integrated course and faculty development: Experiences of a university chemistry department in the Philippines

It is widely recognized that lectures continue to dominate college chemistry instruction, especially in developing countries, and that lectures limit student intellectual engagement. To address this concern, a General Chemistry course in a Philippine university was reconstructed to implement an instructional cycle consisting of three phases: a plenary or mini‐lecture, seatwork activity, and a summary or closure. An expert instructor coached the instructors to improve their teaching. Two instructors were involved in pilot implementation and 13 instructors in a large‐scale implementation. This article describes the instructors’ adoption of the instructional cycle using qualitative and quantitative methods that involved multiple data sources. The instructional cycle and intensive coaching enabled most instructors to change their practices, shift their focus from teaching to learning, and enhance their knowledge of student learning difficulties. Nine instructors were able to significantly change their teaching and apply meaningful student seatwork in their lessons. These nine instructors used student seatwork and activities 30–70% of the time, whereas previously 90% of the time involved lectures. Videotape records showed that more than 70% of the students were continuously on task. Four instructors had considerable difficulties in applying the new approach but also had difficulties with conventional lectures. The project constituted the start of a departmental reorientation with a focus on effectiveness of teaching and learning. Subsequently the faculty and course development model developed in this study was used to revise other courses. The theory of Rogan and Grayson proved useful in describing the change processes.     

The relationship of deep and surface study approaches on factual and applied test‐bank multiple‐choice question performance

With the advent of online test banks and large introductory classes, instructors have often turned to textbook publisher‐generated multiple‐choice question (MCQ) exams in their courses. Multiple‐choice questions are often divided into categories of factual or applied, thereby implicating levels of cognitive processing. This investigation examined the influence student study approaches have on performance of shallow compared to deep, cognitive process outcomes measured by scores on factual versus application MCQ test bank questions respectively. Fifty‐six introduction to psychology students, aged 18–52 years, completed a modified version of the Revised Two‐Factor Study Process Questionnaire (R‐SPQ‐2F) to access deep or surface study approaches. Mid‐term and final exam MCQ were equally divided between factual and application questions from the textbook publisher test bank. Overall, students performed significantly better on factual MCQ, with older students achieving higher factual and applied scores. Results suggest younger students tend to use a surface approach to study, with reproduction of what was taught to meet minimum requirements. With age statistically controlled, analyses demonstrated that the surface learning approach negatively impacts MCQ performance on questions categorised as factual and applied more than a deep learning approach benefits MCQ performance.     

Making Connections: Learning and Teaching Chemistry in Context

Even though several studies have reported positive attitudinal outcomes from context-based chemistry programs, methodological obstacles have prevented researchers from comparing satisfactorily the chemistry-learning outcomes between students who experience a context-based program with those who experience a content-driven program. In this narrative inquiry we are able to address the question: how do the recalled experiences of a student and her teacher in context-based and concept-based chemistry programs compare? From the student’s unique perspective of experiencing both programs with the same teacher, we have constructed our collective account around four themes; namely, the extent to which the student makes connections between chemistry concepts and real-world contexts, developing research independence through engaging in extended experimental investigations related to contexts, learning chemistry concepts through contexts, and conceptual sequencing in a context-based program. The student reported real-world connections between chemistry concepts and contexts, found her engagement in the context-driven tasks interesting and productive, and identified connected sequences of concepts across the contexts studied. Despite difficulties for teachers who are required to shift pedagogies, the student’s lived experiences and outcomes from a context-based program provide some encouragement in working through these issues.