The effect of secondary school study skills preparation on first‐year university achievement

Although many studies have revealed the importance of study skills for students' first‐year performance and college retention, the extent of the impact of study skills preparation on students' academic achievement is less clear. This paper explores the impact of pre‐university study skills preparation on students' first‐year study experiences, academic achievement and persistence. The setting for this study is a large law school in the Netherlands which attracts students from more than 100 schools for secondary education. The results show that the perceived study skills preparation concerning time management and learning skills does have a positive impact on college students' first‐year study behaviour and academic achievement. However, the study also shows that the impact of perceived college preparation is far less important for college retention than other factors such as satisfaction about the chosen degree programme and tutorial attendance.     

Effect of acquisition rates on off‐task behavior of kindergarten students while learning sight words

Assessing a student's acquisition rates (ARs) is a reliable way to determine how many new words should be taught in one lesson without reducing retention. Exceeding a student's AR can result in frustration and problem behaviors. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of AR on the off‐task behavior of kindergarten students while participating in a commonly used sight‐word instruction video. Participants included 39 kindergarten students whose ARs were assessed before showing the sight‐word video. Behavior was measured as on‐ and off‐task using momentary time‐sampling with 10‐s intervals. Results indicated that students' time off task increased after exceeding their ARs, with a noticeable immediate increase. The implications and limitations of these results are discussed.     

INSTITUTIONAL SELECTIVITY AND INSTITUTIONAL EXPENDITURES: Examining Organizational Factors that Contribute to Retention and Graduation

Many institutions of higher education increasingly are concerned with retention and graduation rates. Focusing on private Baccalaureate Liberal and General colleges and universities, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between institutional selectivity and institutional expenditures and retention and graduation rates. Framed by Berger’s (2001–2002) view that organizational behavior can impact student departure, this inquiry examined if expenditures for instruction, academic support, student services, facilities, institutional support, and institutional grants (i.e. student financial aid) could predict retention and graduation rates at baccalaureate-granting institutions. Institutional selectivity and institutional expenditures, specifically those that directly contributed to students’ academic integration, were found to contribute significantly to retention and graduation rates. Recommendations are suggested, including using the results to inform resource allocation strategies that can enhance retention and graduation rates.     

Students’ reasoning about electricity: combining performance assessments with argumentation analysis

Our study monitored the cognitive and motivational effects within different educational instruction schemes: On the one hand, teacher‐centred versus hands‐on instruction; on the other hand, hands‐on instruction with and without a knowledge consolidation phase (concept mapping). All the instructions dealt with the same content. For all participants, the hands‐on approach as well as the concept mapping adaptation were totally new. Our hands‐on approach followed instruction based on “learning at work stations”. A total of 397 high‐achieving fifth graders participated in our study. We used a pre‐test, post‐test, retention test design both to detect students' short‐term learning success and long‐term learning success, and to document their decrease rates of newly acquired knowledge. Additionally, we monitored intrinsic motivation. Although the teacher‐centred approach provided higher short‐term learning success, hands‐on instruction resulted in relatively lower decrease rates. However, after six weeks, all students reached similar levels of newly acquired knowledge. Nevertheless, concept mapping as a knowledge consolidation phase positively affected short‐term increase in knowledge. Regularly placed in instruction, it might increase long‐term retention rates. Scores of interest, perceived competence and perceived choice were very high in all the instructional schemes.     

Preventing retention: First grade classroom instruction and student characteristics

Retention is a frequently used strategy to support children who are struggling academically. However, the strategy is costly, and research findings with regard to positive outcomes are mixed. This study examined whether efficacious reading instruction might reduce rates of retention in first grade. We also evaluated the reading instruction the students received compared with children with similar reading and vocabulary skills who were not retained. Additionally, we examined the impact students' self‐regulation may have on grade retention. Findings reveal that it was significantly less likely for students to be retained at the end of first grade if their teacher was implementing more efficacious reading instruction. Moreover, there were substantial differences in the literacy instruction provided for children who were and were not retained. Finally, students in the efficacious reading condition who were retained exhibited significantly weaker self‐regulation skills than did their matched‐promoted peers. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Using the PSSC Laboratory Course in the First Year of College

Summaries

English

In the physical sciences, laboratory instruction has always taken place alongside classroom instruction. Undergraduate physics education has been a mixture of theoretical and experimental instruction, where the theoretical part plays the dominant role. The freshman laboratory holds a prominent role because it is the place where the student acquires the skills and attitudes that will help him understand the advanced subjects.

The freshman laboratory is particularly important in countrieswhere the student's instruction in experimentation is practically non‐existent at the secondary‐school level. In these cases, where the freshman laboratory is the student's first exposure to experimental science, we are particularly concerned that together with learning the ‘right’ things the student should develop the ‘right’ attitudes; as the ‘right’ attitudes can encourage curiosity and motivation for lifelong learning.     

Impact of grade retention and school engagement on student intentions to enrol in higher education in Portugal

Grade retention and inequalities that derive from grade retention can influence student school trajectories and careers. Grade retention can discourage students from education, and increase school failure and dropout. This study explored the relationship between grade retention and student intentions to enrol in higher education. We also studied the role of school identification and behavioural engagement in this relationship. The analysis is based on a sample of 1,089 students (grades 6 to 10) from Portugal, one of the European countries with the highest rates of grade retention. We employed multilevel probit regression modelling with random intercept and fixed slopes to explore both the individual and school level effects of grade retention. The analyses showed that retained students had a lower probability of intent to enrol in higher education and that there was a contextual effect of the number of retained students in the school, on students' probability of intent to enrol in higher education. This association was partially explained at the individual level by students' school identification. Retained students presented lower levels of school identification, which in turn results in lower probabilities of enrolling in higher education. Student behavioural engagement was not associated with grade retention nor student intentions. Our findings suggest the need for interventions that foster students' school identification to overcome the adverse effects of grade retention.     

Do Pre‐entry Interventions such as ‘Aimhigher’ Impact on Student Retention and Success? A Review of the Literature

This paper reviews the potential impact of pre‐entry widening access interventions on student retention and success in higher education. It thus addresses two contemporary policy concerns: What is the impact of pre‐entry widening access interventions; and how can we improve student retention and success? A review of academic and practitioner literature finds limited research about the impact of pre‐entry interventions in general and very little on the impact of pre‐entry interventions on students' retention and success in higher education. A review of the research, however, identifies the importance of factors which pre‐entry interventions address: pre‐entry decision making, expectations about higher education and academic preparation. To date, however, the impact of pre‐entry interventions on retention in higher education has been largely ignored. Thus pre‐entry activities, such as Aimhigher, should be evaluated for their impact on student retention. The paper offers an outline evaluation framework, including evaluation topics and suggested key performance indicators to bridge this gap.     

Toward College Success: Internalizing Active and Dynamic Strategies

Abstract. This article describes a university course, Methods of Inquiry, that teaches strategies and techniques for students to become self-regulated learners and thereby enhance their active and dynamic approach to school. The purpose of this study was to examine if this course was successful in increasing the students' learning strategies. Pre- and post-tests were administered to 680 students over four semesters, and results verify that the course did significantly increase the students' learning strategies. Demographic variables were shown not to have a significant impact on student learning strategies. This article concludes with a discussion of the transferability of this skill and the benefits it has to high education retention rates.     

Concurrent enrollment in lecture and laboratory enhances student performance and retention

Laboratories have been a cornerstone in teaching and learning across multiple scientific disciplines for more than 100 years. At the collegiate level, science laboratories and their corresponding lectures are often offered as separate courses, and students may not be required to concurrently enroll in both. In this study, we provide evidence that enrolling in an introductory laboratory concurrently with the corresponding lecture course enhances learning gains and retention in comparison to students who enroll in the lecture alone. We examined the impact of concurrent versus nonconcurrent enrollment on 9,438 students' withdrawal rates from and final grades in the general chemistry lecture at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor using multiple linear and binary logistic regression analyses, respectively, at a significance level of 0.05. We found that concurrent enrollment in the lecture and laboratory positively impacts (1) the odds of retention in the lecture by 2.2 times on average and (2) final lecture grades by up to 0.19 grade points on a 4.0 scale for the lowest‐scoring students according to university‐level mathematics and chemistry placement exam scores. These data provide important results for consideration by curriculum advisors and course planners at universities that do not require concurrent enrollment in general chemistry as well as other science courses. In the face of current budget cuts that threaten to shorten or eliminate laboratory experiences altogether at multiple educational levels, this study demonstrates the value of laboratories in promoting science learning and retention. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 659–682, 2012     

The freshman course: A curricular schema

Research on college students indicates that (a) attrition is greatest during and at the end of the freshman year and (b) retention is associated with the degree to which a student is integrated socially and academically. Recently, freshman courses have been introduced to increase the integration of students into college environments. The core components are informal contact with peers and faculty or staff, a small group setting, and cognitive and affective learning. A classification system for freshman courses formulated from dominant themes that emerged from a review of current practices of 20 colleges and universities is reported. Characteristic features and analogous programs of the interdisciplinary, developmental and utilitarian approaches are presented.     

Service-Learning's Impact on Developmental Reading/Writing and Student Life Skills Courses

Designed to investigate the impact of service-learning on developmental-level students' success and retention, this study reports the results of pre-and postcourse surveys with service-learning and nonservice-learning sections of developmental courses at Miami-Dade College. Knowledge gained, course pass rates, and both in-class and semester-to-semester retention are reported.     

An Investigation of the Profiles of Satisfying and Dissatisfying Factors in E‐Learning

ABSTRACT Various factors influence e‐learners' feelings of satisfaction and dissatisfaction with their e‐learning experience, but from an extensive search with six major academic research databases we did not find any research that demonstrated comprehensive profiles of satisfying and dissatisfying factors in e‐learning. We conducted a qualitative study to initiate the effort. We used Thorndike's law of effect and Herzberg's motivation‐hygiene theory as the conceptual frameworks for our study. Thorndike's law of effect applied to human psychology suggests that people would try to avoid annoying stimuli whereas they would try to preserve satisfying stimuli. Herzberg's motivation‐hygiene theory suggests that different factors influence extreme satisfaction and extreme dissatisfaction on the job. Using the two theories as the conceptual frameworks, we revealed profiles of satisfaction‐dissatisfaction factors in e‐learning by analyzing extant data of course evaluation obtained from 17 e‐learning courses. In this article, we provide recommendations on how other e‐learning institutions might utilize the research findings to optimize their e‐learning programs and we discuss the potential impact of such interventions on overall institutional outcomes such as learner retention.     

Team-based Introductory Research Experiences in Mathematics

Abstract

As part of Middle Tennessee State University’s (MTSU’s) initiative to improve retention of at-risk STEM majors, they recruit first-time, full-time freshman STEM majors with mathematics ACT scores of 19 to 23 to participate in MTSU’s “Mathematics as a FirstSTEP to Success in STEM” project (FirstSTEP). This article overviews MTSU’s FirstSTEP research approach and demonstrates that introductory, early research experiences can be successful for mathematics projects. At the end of their freshman year, mathematics students can develop a foundation to conduct mathematical research, increase depth of content knowledge, and build confidence in their technical abilities.     

From retention to satisfaction: New outcomes for assessing the freshman experience

To meet higher education's challenge of accountability from a customer-satisfaction perspective, one urban institution has developed an integrated approach to studying the freshman-year experience in order to develop comprehensive outcome measures for assessing freshman success. Multiple sources of data (freshman satisfaction survey data, enrollment data, and academic performance data) are integrated into a database that provides the institution with a comprehensive set of outcome indicators and a model of the freshman experience. This institution used the integrated data set to develop models of freshman retention. In order to focus more clearly on customer satisfaction, models of student satisfaction were developed to determine critical components in freshman satisfaction.     

Did the Recession Impact Student Success? Relationships of Finances,Staffing and Institutional Type on Retention

Economic recessions impact higher education institutions in complex ways. Several analyses have examined the influence of the 2007–2009 recession on tuition, enrollments, revenues, and expenditures, but the connection of these resource allocation patterns to a student success outcome—namely, retention—is limited. This study examined relationships among institutional expenditures, tuition, and staffing patterns on first-year retention rates at private and public institutions in 2007, 2009 and 2011: before, during, and after the economic recession. Private and public institutions increased tuition during this time period and increased expenditures. Expenditures most directly educating students (i.e. instruction) and institutional selectivity were positively associated with retention. However, public and private institutions differed in how they allocated their expenditures. That the findings correspond with past research investigating relationships between resource allocation and retention illustrate principles of the resource dependency theory (Pfeffer and Salancik 1978): institutions impacted by external economic changes, adjust revenues, staffing, and expenditures during economic changes.     

College Counseling and Student Retention:

Although it is commonly believed that college counseling positively affects student retention and further, that there are convincing data and evidence to support such a belief, an extensive literature search found no objective evidence at all on the relationship of a counseling center's conventional one-to-one counseling and therapy activities with short-term student retention. Two program evaluations which attempt to relate one-to-one individual counseling and psychotherapy to student retention rates at an urban regional state university are discussed. Changes in attendance rates, such as dropping out or retuning between quarters are the criteria used to evaluate program effects for both studies. The first study searched for discernible statistically significant effects. Three-quarters of comparisons of upperclassmen found conceivable retention advantages of students receiving counseling center services over a base-rate group. Yet the freshmen results suggest that counseling may be associates with student attrition, not retention. The second study investigated the relationship between retention and possibly relevant presenting problems and demographic variables of students undergoing individual counseling. No attendance differences among counseled students were found due to age, gender, or presenting problem. Following a discussion of the results, suggentions for future research are presented. A longitudinal, quasi-experimental controlled study of the impact counseling on student retention is clearly needed.     

The students-recruiting-students undergraduate engineering recruiting programme

The students-recruiting-students (SRS) programme is an outreach programme developed to recruit high school students into the Industrial Engineering Department at the University of Arkansas. The four phases of this programme from development to on-campus, off-campus and post-admission recruiting are detailed in this paper along with 7 years of programmatic results. The goals of this paper are to introduce the SRS concept, encourage successful development of similar recruiting programmes and increase freshman enrolment in engineering. The SRS programme has more than doubled the department's freshman enrolment over the last 8 years.     

Comparing public and private high schools using three SAT data sets

Proponents of private schooling claim that private high schools, on the average, more effectively promote measured academic achievement than public high schools. They have also argued that private high schools increase high school completion rates and improve college enrollment rates among high school graduates. Their antagonists, typically, hold that there is little or no difference between public and private high schools with respect to any of these outcomes. We address two of these school effectivenes issues by applying multiple-regression analysis to two SAT data sets for Florida and a national SAT data set. We ask whether there are differences between public and private high schools in promoting achievement as measured by the high-profile SAT verbal and math tests. At the same time, we are asking, at least implicity, if either public or private high schools provide an SAT soore advantage in promoting college enrollments. Our analysis finds a consistent advantage for public high schools with respect to SAT math attainment. For high schools generally, however, it seems clear that school effects outweigh the impact of socially ascribed traits, such as race, ethnicity, gender, and social class.     

‘I'm not a computer person’: Negotiating participation in academic Discourses

While there is little doubt that technology is, in many ways, central to the college student experience today, the expectations of students and colleges vis‐à‐vis technology may not always be the same. This research explores the role of technology in the lives of today's college students, particularly within the institutional context of the university, and asks the question: What role does technology play in a freshman college student's participation in the academic Discourse of her institution? This paper focuses on the Discourse analysis of one student, Nichole, a focal participant in a semester‐long, qualitative study of 34 undergraduate students at a university in the northeastern United States. Nichole's general dislike of technology places her in opposition to assumptions about the ‘typical’ Net Gen student; results indicated that the ways in which Nichole used technology in her personal life conflicted with her participation in the pro‐technology academic Discourse of her institution. For Nichole, the disconnect between the institutional expectations for technology use and her personal technology practices resulted in the need to negotiate another layer of complexity on the path to academic success.