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1
Svensson, Linn, and Sara Waern. "Knowledge of and attitudes to sexually transmitted diseases among Thai university students." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för folkhälso- och vårdvetenskap, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-202708.
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Sexually transmitted diseases are a major problem among adolescents in Thailand, and seeing that unprotected sex is a growing trend, awareness must be increased. The aim of this study was to examine Thai students’ knowledge of and attitudes to STDs as well as if there are any differences in gender regarding these questions. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out at a private university in Bangkok, Thailand. The Health Belief Model was provided as theoretical framework. A questionnaire was answered voluntarily by 150 students, both male and female. The results showed that the students had low level of knowledge on STDs and their attitudes showed that they have many misconceptions regarding these issues. The study also showed that Thai students want to learn more about STDs and wish to receive this information from school. No major difference in gender was found. This study shows that additional education on STDs is needed among Thai adolescents. Further research in this area is acquired to get a wider perspective of Thai students’ knowledge on STDs, to help prevent future spreading of STDs.Sexuellt överförbara sjukdomar är ett stort problem hos ungdomar i Thailand och eftersom oskyddat sex är en växande trend bör detta uppmärksammas. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka thailändska studenters kunskap om och attityder till sexuellt överförbara sjukdomar. Studien önskade även undersöka huruvida det fanns någon skillnad mellan könen. En deskriptiv tvärsnittsstudie gjordes på ett privat universitet i Bangkok, Thailand. Health Belief Model användes som teoretiskt ramverk. Ett frågeformulär besvarades frivilligt av 150 manliga och kvinnliga studenter. Resultatet visade att studenterna hade bristande kunskaper om sexuellt överförbara sjukdomar. Deras attityder visade att studenterna hade många felaktiga uppfattningar i frågan. Studien visade även att de thailändska studenterna vill lära sig mer om sexuellt överförbara sjukdomar och önskar att få denna information ifrån skolan. Studien visade inga stora skillnader mellan könen. Denna studie visar att ytterligare kunskaper om sexuellt överförbara sjukdomar hos thailändska ungdomar behövs. Ytterligare forskning inom området är önskvärt. Detta för att få ett bredare perspektiv om thailändska studenters kunskaper om sexuellt överförbara sjukdomar, för att bidra till att förebygga ytterligare smittspridning.
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Dhanarattigannon, Jiraporn. "Thai college students' response to nontraditional writing instruction in a Thai university." [Gainesville, Fla.] : University of Florida, 2008. http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/UFE0022021.
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Bohlcke, Diane. "A Study of the Cultural Interaction Between Thai Students and North Texas State University." Thesis, North Texas State University, 1986. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc332094/.
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Because international students are an increasingly significant aspect in American colleges and universities and on the North Texas State University campus in particular, this study was undertaken to explore the intercultural clash which Thai students at North Texas State University experience. Twenty-two Thai students were interviewed in depth using the oral history method. Ten faculty and administrators who work with international students were interviewed concerning their observations of Thai students. The information gleaned from these thirty-two interviews and from an examination of the basic socio-cultural differences between Thailand and the United States resulted in the isolation of the following basic difficulties. 1. Thais do not have command of written and oral English. 2. Americans do not have an appreciation of foreigners and lack tolerance in everyday exchanges with them. 3. Thais avoid becoming involved in American society. 4. Thais are not efficiently prepared for the American classroom. 5. American instructors do not appear prepared to handle the problems of Thai students. The study also developed a number of suggested solutions: 1. Raise the consciousness of Americans concerning Thai students; 2. Provide more effective ways of improving oral and listening skills in the English proficiency of Thai students beginning with American-directed programs in Thailand and including a revamping of the Intensive English Language Institute; 3. Provide studies in American culture for Thai students which would require them to become acquainted with this society; 4. Develop in Americans an appreciation of foreign culture and an international awareness; perhaps even a formal international cultures program should be initiated; 5. Involve Thai students with Americans in crosscultural activities: encourage membership in campus organizations, invite them to speak at civic and educational occasions, develop the host family program; 6. Provide effective services for Thai students especially through the International Office; and 7. Set tuition and entrance regulations based on goals of the university not on whether it will include or exclude international students.
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Phothongsunan, Sureepong. "Attitudes of Thai university students towards native English speaking teachers and Thai English teachers." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.414047.
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Tungthongchai, Ouaypon. "Subjective well-Being and sport participation among Thai university students." Doctoral thesis, Faculdade de Desporto da Universidade do Porto, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10216/56308.
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Tungthongchai, Ouaypon. "Subjective well-Being and sport participation among Thai university students." Tese, Faculdade de Desporto da Universidade do Porto, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10216/56308.
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Buranapatana, Maliwan, and n/a. "Enhancing critical thinking of undergraduate Thai students through dialogic inquiry." University of Canberra. Education & Community Studies, 2006. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20070119.155045.
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This thesis sets for itself the task of testing the viability of a dialogic model of
learning as a methodology for teaching critical thinking in reading and writing to
undergraduate students of Thai in Thailand. To this end, we conducted an
experiment involving twenty-one undergraduate students of Thai at KhonKaen University, Thailand. This study presents the intellectual background of the
pedagogic framework supporting the experiment and a discussion of its outcomes.
The assessment of the results of the experiment focuses on the forms of evidence
resulting directly from this pedagogic framework. The study concludes with a
number of considerations for future research in critical thinking which our project
helped us to identify.
For the purpose of our work, we adopt the model of dialogic learning which
involves students in looking for perspectives enabling them to challenge, and as a
result to enhance, the relevance of the understandings in which they frame their
interactions. The process is dialogic because it involves students in working with
different points of view by identifying challenging perspectives, constructing
conflicting arguments and exploring the strategic potential that the interaction of
these arguments may have on the students? initial assumptions. In this sense, the
concept of dialogue that we use refers to the methodology of students? inquiry
(learning), rather than a specific form of linguistic genre. In our view, this
definition is suitable to all fields of inquiry considering that each field deals with
evaluation of the strategic (enabling) power of its assumptions.
In the course of this work, we establish the relevance of the above concept of
dialogic inquiry against a multitude of ideas regarding the suitability of different
approaches to the teaching of critical thinking. We illustrate that, typically,
teaching approaches value questioning as a means for generating reasoned
arguments. However, the originality of the dialogic model used in this thesis lies
in its ability to focus pedagogic environments on students? strategic engagement
in social interactions, rather than on the process of questioning alone.
Consequently, in our study we assess the quality of students? learning by
identifying the contexts indicating the quality of students? social engagement.
These included gauging the community?s interest in the students? project, the
depth of students? exploratory work, their ability to work together and students?
own personal involvement in their project. These outcomes helped us to reflect on
the quality of the teaching model which we designed in order to promote the
critical thinking process.
The emphasis on students? strategic engagement in social interactions allowed us
to break away from the conventional concerns with the link between classroom
learning and real-world tasks. Instead, our students engaged in the task of creating
a Thai News Network (TNN), an Internet-based broadcasting channel, involving
students in generating for themselves the meaning of the objectives of their
academic subject in the contexts of challenges that they experienced when
creating the channel and its (news) articles. Our data analysis shows that the
concept of a Thai News Network proved very successful despite the conventional
beliefs that Thai students would find it difficult to be critical thinkers. As we
demonstrate throughout the entire thesis, the main issue in teaching critical
thinking is not, as it is often assumed, to ask students to critique the teacher or
other authority texts. Rather, it is to create conditions enabling students to
identify, and to work with, conflicting perspectives in order to create for
themselves increasingly better informed and more inclusive strategies for acting in
the world. This may not be an original purpose, but our study offers an original
pedagogic framework for facilitating this objective.
8
Skulkhu, Jaruwan. "Computer Literacy Levels and Attitudes toward Computers of Thai Public University Students." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1989. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc330671/.
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The purpose of this study was to investigate and analyze computer literacy and general attitudes toward computers of students at Thai public unversities. The comparative study of computer literacy levels and attitudes toward computers among Thai students with various demographic classification was performed followed by the study of relationships between the two variables among the samples. A fifty-eight-item questionnaire was adapted from the computer literacy questionnaire developed by the researchers at the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium. The items were designed to assess knowledge and attitudes relative to computers. The questionnaire was administered to a random sample of 492 students who took at least one computer course from thirteen public universities in Thailand. Statistical tests used to analyze the data included t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and Pearson product moment correlations. Based on the research findings, the following conclusions were drawn: (1) Thai university students exhibited a moderate computer literacy level. (2) While a higher proportion of female students enrolled in computer classes, male and female students reported similar computer literacy levels. (3) Graduate students had higher computer literacy levels than did other students from different educational levels. (4) Academic majors and academic performance (GPAs) were also factors affecting computer literacy levels. Education majors displayed higher computer literacy levels than mathematics majors and science majors. (5) Students with higher GPAs had higher levels of computer literacy than the groups with lower GPAs. (6) Computer literacy was not age dependent. (7) Generally, Thai university students showed positive attitudes toward computers. (8) Males and females both showed positive attitudes toward computers. (9) Graduate students exhibited more positive attitudes toward computers than all other groups. (10) The groups of students with lower GPAs displayed lower positive attitudes toward computers. (11) There was a strong positive relationship between students' knowledge and their attitudes toward computers. It is recommended that computer education should be viewed in relation to its contribution to educational process as a whole. It should be relevant to the local environment, work, individuals and. society needs sis well as development of positive attitude toward manual skills. More research is needed in the areas of teacher education, evaluation techniques to assess students' progress in a new teaching context, and ethical values relative to computers.
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Suwanarak, Kasma. "Effectiveness of student rating forms of teacher evaluation : perceptions of Thai university students and teachers." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2007. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.438362.
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Stridh, Sandra, and Solvind Hammar. "Knowledge of Human papillomavirus (HPV) and attitudes towards HPV-vaccine among Thai female university students." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för folkhälso- och vårdvetenskap, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-214748.
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Introduction: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection and causes 529.000 cases of cervical cancer every year. Nowadays, there are vaccines available to prevent infection. Knowledge of HPV influence the attitude towards the vaccine and is therefore a factor of accepting the vaccine. Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the knowledge of HPV and attitudes towards HPV-vaccine among Thai female university students. Method: Descriptive and cross-sectional study with quantitative method using a questionnaire. Purposive sampling was used. The sample consisted of students from two different universities in Bangkok, Thailand and out of the 201 students whom filled in the questionnaire, 192 questionnaires were used. Result: There were 64.6% of the participants that had heard of HPV previously. Of these, the most common source of information was health professionals. The HPV-vaccine was known by 42.6% of the participants and 17.4% had taken the vaccination. Over 90% of the participants had a poor or moderate knowledge of HPV. In total, most of the participants in the sample were found to have a positive level of attitude towards the vaccine (72.4%). Almost all participants wanted to know more about HPV and the HPV-vaccine and 88.5% thought it was necessary for them to get the vaccination. Conclusion: As some gaps in knowledge among the participants were shown, the information to young women should be improved and aim to increase the motivation towards the use of preventive methods, such as taking the HPV-vaccine.
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Bell, Joyce. "Cross-cultural aspects of reading practices: a longitudinal study of Thai and Indian/Bangladeshi postgraduate students' metacognitive and framing abilities when reading at an Australian university." Thesis, Bell, Joyce (2002) Cross-cultural aspects of reading practices: a longitudinal study of Thai and Indian/Bangladeshi postgraduate students' metacognitive and framing abilities when reading at an Australian university. Professional Doctorate thesis, Murdoch University, 2002. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/280/.
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This research aimed at understanding the reading practices of two groups of international postgraduate students across three semesters. The research was underpinned by a conceptual framework incorporating metacognitive concepts with framing theory. The methodology involved individual interviews using academic text and pair think-alouds followed by retrospective interviews using general-interest texts. The interviews and pair think-alouds took place at an Australian university with Thai and Indian Bangladeshi postgraduate students and at university campuses in Thailand and India.
The data selected from the interviews and pair think-alouds revealed significant changes in reading practices between first and third semester at an Australian university and the participants' awareness of these changes. The participants' reflections also provided some explanation for the differences in their cognitive and metacognitive strategy use.
The research study was important because, at the postgraduate level, students are faced with complex text interpretation processes. International students, in addition,have to make a significant cultural/study shift; not only do they have to become accustomed to the reading of academic texts using discipline-specific patterns but often have to adjust to different conventions used by authors from cultural backgrounds other than their own. Little is known, in particular, about Thai and Indianmangladeshi postgraduate students' reading experiences in their own countries or how their reading practices change during study at an Australian university.
The research findings suggest a dynamic, multi-dimensional, developmental framework for conceptualising international postgraduate students' reading practices in first semester at an Australian university, and the changes in reading practices and the educational and socio-cultural influences on these changes by third semester; the findings, in addition, can inform the debate on literacy levels in the cross-cultural academic environment and can contribute to discussions on such pedagogical issues as reforming of curricular structure, the internationalisation of curricula and the development of more culturally sensitive supervisory frameworks.
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Bell, Joyce. "Cross-cultural aspects of reading practices : a longitudinal study of Thai and Indian/Bangladeshi postgraduate students' metacognitive and framing abilities when reading at an Australian university /." Access via Murdoch University Digital Theses Project, 2002. http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20070509.131040.
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au, joysi@iprimus com, and Joyce Bell. "Cross-cultural aspects of reading practices : a longitudinal study of Thai and Indian/Bangladeshi postgraduate students' metacognitive and framing abilities when reading at an Australian university." Murdoch University, 2002. http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20070509.131040.
Full textAbstract:
This research aimed at understanding the reading practices of two groups of
international postgraduate students across three semesters. The research was
underpinned by a conceptual framework incorporating metacognitive concepts with
framing theory. The methodology involved individual interviews using academic text
and pair think-alouds followed by retrospective interviews using general-interest
texts. The interviews and pair think-alouds took place at an Australian university with
Thai and IndianBangladeshi postgraduate students and at university campuses in
Thailand and India.
The data selected from the interviews and pair think-alouds revealed significant
changes in reading practices between first and third semester at an Australian
university and the participants' awareness of these changes. The participants'
reflections also provided some explanation for the differences in their cognitive and
metacognitive strategy use.
The research study was important because, at the postgraduate level, students are
faced with complex text interpretation processes. International students, in addition,
have to make a significant cultural/study shift; not only do they have to become accustomed to the reading of academic texts using discipline-specific patterns but
often have to adjust to different conventions used by authors from cultural
backgrounds other than their own. Little is known, in particular, about Thai and
Indianmangladeshi postgraduate students' reading experiences in their own countries
or how their reading practices change during study at an Australian university.
The research findings suggest a dynamic, multi-dimensional, developmental
framework for conceptualising international postgraduate students' reading practices
in first semester at an Australian university, and the changes in reading practices and
the educational and socio-cultural influences on these changes by third semester; the
findings, in addition, can inform the debate on literacy levels in the cross-cultural
academic environment and can contribute to discussions on such pedagogical issues
as reforming of curricular structure, the internationalisation of curricula and the
development of more culturally sensitive supervisory frameworks.
14
Nomnian, Singhanat. "Positioning in multilingual classrooms : a case study of Thai students in a British university." Thesis, University of Leicester, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/3962.
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The rapid growth of international students in UK higher education increases linguistic diversity in academic and social contexts in a British university, and that raises issues regarding the extent to which multilingualism influences interactions and inter-relationships between tutors and international students within classroom settings. This study explores the factors affecting the ways Thai students position themselves in relation to their tutors and peers with regard to oral participation in pre-sessional EAP and postgraduate classrooms. The data were collected from seven Thai students by means of semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and English speaking logs from July 2005-April 2006. Drawing upon Creese and Martin's (2003) multilingual classroom ecologies, Pavlenko and Blackledge's (2004) identities in multilingual contexts, this study reveals how the construction of the Thai students' identities is influenced by linguistic ideologies and power relations existing within classroom settings and the wider socio-political environment. Based on positioning theory (Davies and Harré, 1990; van Langenhove and Harré, 1999), the data analysis uncovers four key factors affecting Thai students' positioning in the pre-sessional classroom. These factors include tutors' teaching styles and methods, as well as their implicit expectations about student participation which significantly impact on Thai students' involvement in class and group activities. Classmates also play a crucial role with regard to Thai students' willingness to engage in class discussions which is related to their relationships and the Thai students' attitudes towards their classmates' linguistic diversity. Thai students' personal identities and agency are vital in their decisions to take up participative subject positions in order to achieve their academic goals. There is also an interplay between social interactions outside the class and Thai students' language use within the class. In MSc Marketing classrooms, there are three additional factors, including lecturers' linguistic diversity, the perception of students from other business disciplines, and the large class size, which crucially determines the extent to which Thai students want to take part in class and group discussions. This study suggests EAP tutors acknowledge the status of English as an international language to enhance international students' classroom participation. It is also vital to improve the attitudes of students and academic staff regarding social inclusion and tolerance towards international students who bring about a positive, intellectual and social climate within the British university landscape.
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Wongphothisarn, Janchai. "An Investigation into Thai EFL University Teachers and Students Perceptions towards Language Learning Autonomy." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.499604.
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Kongsak, Sasikarn. "World literature in English as a means of cultural enrichment for Thai university students." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2008. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.494521.
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Honsa, Somchoen. "Self-assessment in writing : a study of intermediate EFL students at a Thai university." Thesis, Lancaster University, 2011. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.578069.
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This study investigates the implementation of self-assessment in writing by intermediate EFL students at a university in Thailand. The participants included 16 students who took English Course Level 5 at the university and two native speakers who rated the students' essays. The student participants were divided into two groups, control and experimental. The students in the control group were asked to self-assess, as an editing process, their essays but without using self-assessment checklists. They did not have self-assessment training. The students in the experimental group were asked to self- assess, also as an editing process, their first essays without any access to self-assessment checklists or training. Then they were trained to self-assess the second and third essays using the self-assessment checklists. Finally, they self-assessed the fourth essay using the checklists only. All four essays of the 16 student participants were graded by the two native speakers. Then the student participants and the ~o native speakers were interviewed. All of them also answered questions in the reflective journals. The results from the data collected from the interviews, reflective journals and the essay scores were triangulated to find out how each participant perceived the benefits of self- assessment in writing, what the differences were between the participants who had self- assessment training and those who did not, how was the students' writing affected by self-assessment, and what the common obstacles to students' self-assessment in writing were.
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Singhasiri, Wareesiri. "The effects of reading and writing strategies on summaries written by Thai university students." Thesis, University of Essex, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.327062.
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Boonsuk, Yusop. "Thai university students', teachers' and program administrators' construction of nativeness in English language teaching." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2016. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/394824/.
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As English has been rapidly expanding its function and scope beyond geographical, social and racial boundaries, it is thus perceived as a bridge that connects multilingual and multicultural groups of people and serves their needs on both national and international levels. Consequently, the number of people (especially from the Outer and the Expanding Circle countries) who prefer to learn and teach English is steadily increasing every year. In English language teaching (ELT), however, non-native English speaking teachers (NNESTs) are frequently challenged, questioned, discriminated against, and endure prejudice from some educational stakeholders, even if they are qualified to teach English. The concept of the ideal English as a second or foreign language teacher and whether they should be a native or non-native English-speaker has been discussed intensively in ELT environments, including Thailand where this study was conducted. In order to gain a deeper understanding of this issue, the main aims of this study are to investigate the perceptions of Thai University students, native English speaking teachers (NESTs), non-NESTs, and English program administrators (EPAs) towards the construction of nativeness and its relationship to the teaching effectiveness of English teachers. To provide a clearer picture, characteristics of effective English teachers and perceptions of educational stakeholders towards differences between NESTs and NNESTs are also examined. Within this study, 301 students answered the questionnaire,while 35 participants participated in the semi-structured individual interviews (16 students, 7 NESTs, 8 NNESTs, and 4 EPAs). Mixed-research methods (quantitative and qualitative) were used to elicit the data from the participants. To achieve the aims of the study, the students’ questionnaires and semi-structured individual interviews were employed as research instruments. Descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized to analyze the data collected from the questionnaire, whereas content analysis was employed to analyze the data collected from the interviews. The findings from the study illustrate a challenge to the cultural stereotype towards the Inner Circle country groups of people who employ English as their mother tongue and who are perceived by the majority of the outsiders (the Outer and Expanding Circle people) as an ideal or model of English teaching. In this study, the majority of the participants perceive that English no longer belongs to any particular country, nationality or external appearance. They illustrate that every English user has the right to claim ownership of English and to utilize it in the way they prefer without looking back or considering the native speaker norms. Additionally, the findings indicate that there is no relationship between the native backgrounds of the teachers and their teaching effectiveness or ineffectiveness. In other words, factors, such as, NESTs and NNESTs' birthplaces, their nationalities, the first languages they speak or their external appearance are no indication of whether they are qualified or unqualified English teachers. From the perspectives of the participants, whether a person is an effective or ineffective English teacher should be evaluated individually by looking at their Personal characteristics, Pedagogical characteristics, Cultural sensitivity, Linguistic characteristics and Professional characteristics, as the main evaluation criteria. However, the findings also reveal that NESTs and NNESTs are constructed differently by the participants according to five aspects; Cultural sensitivity, Linguistic characteristics, Pedagogical characteristics, Personal characteristics and Hiring practices, although there is no implication that one is superior to the other. Furthermore, discriminatory hiring practices, which favour NESTs, are still reported due to external pressures.
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Chuayachoowong, Maneerat. "An exploration of students' learning experiences : The early stage of internationalisation at a Thai University." Thesis, University of Bristol, 2010. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.528068.
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Uthaipattrakoon, Kasama. "Linguistic analysis of English texts for academic purposes and material design for Thai university students." Thesis, Uthaipattrakoon, Kasama (1989) Linguistic analysis of English texts for academic purposes and material design for Thai university students. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, 1989. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/51510/.
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The problems facing students of English as a foreign language in Thailand have received little attention, particularly at advanced levels. There is a desperate need for appropriate teaching materials taking account of students’ academic background and needs. Current linguistic and methodological theories should be applied to the preparation of appropriate syllabuses and course materials with full consideration of the realities of the teaching situation. At the decision-making level of Thai universities a vigorous argument is in progress as to whether English for Academic Purposes (EAP) should replace General English to what extent and at what levels.
This thesis aims to establish systematic and practicable criteria for applying linguistic analysis to the design and preparation of teaching materials. It attempts to resolve the problems relating to linguistic applications in particular situations. The current English teaching situation in Thai universities is described with a focus on Silpakorn University. A survey was first made of students’ language needs as perceived by teachers of a number of academic disciplines and by the students themselves. A questionnaire was designed to assess the students’ specific requirements faculty by faculty with a view to relating these to teaching objectives. This highlighted the need for sophisticated reading skills in the foreign langauge.
A detailed linguistic analysis of academic reading texts was then carried out to specify the most relevant problem areas. Halliday’s Systemic-Functional Grammar proved to be the most appropriate and sensitive linguistic model for taking account of the multidimensionality of language and pinpointing how language performs its communicative functions in various genres of academic texts. However, it is necessary to extend the analysis beyond sentence level to the larger patterns of written discourse structure. This is made possible by recent theoretical work in discourse analysis to which this thesis attempts to make a contribution. The linguistic and rhetorical patterns observed have been illustrated in diagrams which can be extended to help structure language teaching syllabuses as demonstrated in the design of a pilot EAP course based on scientific texts selected from among those recommended by subject specialists at the university. This incorporated the general characteristics of scientific texts and the dominant linguistic skills required for satisfactorily completing reading assignments.
A further important factor to be considered was students of English. A survey of recent research in contrastive analysis of Thai and English and of error analysis made it possible to pinpoint the most relevant features for practice in terms of students’ known difficulties.
The significance of such extralinguistic factors as grading, selection, organisation, the specification of learning situations and learning objectives was also taken into account in preparing the pilot materials. Four modules were designed and tested in a pilot teaching experiment carried out in normal teaching conditions at Silpakorn University. A detailed evaluation of this pilot project indicated that the adopted approach holds promise for the future design of teaching materials for EAP although a number of significant modifications will be required in longer term work to be carried out by a team of linguists and teachers in the Silpakorn English Language Department.
The thesis demonstrates the appropriacy of a functional linguistic analysis for the design of language teaching materials as long as due regard is paid to the specific features of the learning situation.
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Gahrén, Jason, and Karin Nyström. "The characteristics of HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination among Thai university students : A questionnaire study." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för folkhälso- och vårdvetenskap, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-200318.
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Introduktion: Nyligen utkomna rapporter visar en ökning i incidensen för nya HIV-infektioner i Thailand och HIV är fortfarande ett av de största hälsoproblemen. Anledningarna till denna utveckling är flera och HIV/AIDS-relaterad stigmatisering och diskriminering poserar som en av de största. Syfte: Syftet med föreliggande arbete var att undersöka karaktärsdragen gällande HIV/AIDS relaterad stigmatisering och diskriminering bland thailändska universitetsstudenter, samt att undersöka förekomsten av eventuella skillnader mellan könen. Metod: En deskriptiv tvärsnittsstudie genomfördes på ett universitet i Prathomthani provinsen, Thailand. Ett bekvämlighetsurval användes. 150 studenter, både män och kvinnor, deltog och svarade på frågor om karaktärsdragen gällande HIV/AIDS-relaterad stigma och diskriminering. Resultat: En låg nivå av rädsla för smittöverföring och sjukdom observerades av majoriteten av studenterna, även om bristande kunskap gällande smittöverföring observerades. Både hög och låg associering med skam, skuld och dom rapporterades och mest utmärkande var frågorna för kvinnliga prostituerade och promiskuitet. Även lågt personligt stöd för diskriminerande åtgärder och principer, och lågt stöd för upplevelse av samhällets inverkan av diskriminerande åtgärder eller politik rapporterades. Slutsats: Studenterna hade en låg nivå av rädsla för smittöverföring och sjukdom, dock uppvisades bristande kunskap gällande smittöverföring. Studenterna rapporterade hög nivå av skam, skuld och dom relaterat till kvinnlig prostitution. Resultaten implicerar behov av vidare interventionsprogram med fokus på kunskap.Introduction: Resent reports indicate an increasing incidence rate of HIV in Thailand and it is still one of the main public health problems. The reasons for this development depend on many different factors where HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination acts as one of the major ones. Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the characteristics of HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination among Thai university students and to investigate if there is any difference in the characteristics with regard to gender. Method: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at a university in Prathomthani Province, Thailand. A convenience sample was used. The 150 students, both male and female, participated to answer questions concerning the characteristics of HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination. Results: Fear of transmission and disease was reported rather low level by the majority of the students, though inaccurate knowledge regarding transmission was observed. The level of shame, blame and judgment were low and high, most distinctive concerning women prostitutes and promiscuity. Low levels of personal support of discriminatory actions and policies, and perceived community support of discriminatory actions or policies were reported. Conclusion: The students had a low amount of fear of transmission and of the disease, though they still demonstrated a lack of knowledge regarding transmission. Women prostitutes related to shame blame and judgment were reported high level by the students. The results imply the need for further intervention programs focusing on information.
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Subphadoongchone, Pramarn. "Writing in the disciplines of science : dissertation writing experiences of postgraduate students in a Thai university." Thesis, University of Leicester, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/9625.
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This study reports on Thai science students’ experiences in writing their master’s dissertations in English in a Thai university. Situated in an interpretive, qualitative case study design, the study implements a theoretical framework drawing on the notions of communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998) and imagined communities and investment (Norton, 2000, 2001). The research participants were five master’s students and their paired dissertation supervisors recruited from three master’s programmes in science disciplines where the medium of instruction was Thai. The students, however, wrote their dissertations in English. Data were derived from questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, collaborative conversations, writing samples, and documents produced by the university. The findings revealed that the students’ preference for writing their dissertations in English encompassed their negotiation and shaping of their social identities and investment in their communities of practice. The students reported that they put a great deal of effort into preparing themselves to cope with the perceived linguistic demands of dissertation writing. However, they perceived that their preparation, to a certain extent, was unsuccessful, attributing this to the university’s lack of appropriate language support and their unfamiliarity with autonomous language learning. The students’ negotiation with the demands of writing their dissertations during the writing-up stage reflected their multidimensional engagement in different literate activities of their communities of practice. This included making use of authoritative written artefacts, accommodating their supervisors’ expectations, and developing a linguistic repertoire through interacting with other members of their communities, particularly those from their local, immediate, interactive communities of practice. This study articulates the various needs in understanding dissertation writing practices and other interconnected academic literacy practices as socially and ideologically constructed in a local, immediate milieu. The study also provides EAP practitioners with pedagogical implications for planning, preparing and delivering dissertation writing support for science postgraduate students. It also suggests that dissertation supervisors should initiate an open dialogue with their students during the supervision process and engage in collegial discussions with their colleagues in order to co-construct effective supervision practices.
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Noonkhan, Khampee. "EFL writing development among Thai university students : "do students benefit from the explicit inclusion of discourse structure to develop their writing?"." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2012. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/367119/.
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The objectives of this study are to assist Thai university students to develop their writing by using a teaching approach that focuses on the introduction of discourse within a genre approach based on the teaching and learning cycle of Feez (1998). This approach is considered suitable for an approach to teaching writing focused on discourse, because its design requires English language teachers to consider the importance of the whole text. It allows students to view texts as a whole, not in separated sentences, especially when they organise and connect ideas during writing. The study draws on both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The quantitative approach concentrates on the development of the students‟ writing by comparing the mean scores from the initial and final writings of students. Forty students were requested to complete four writing assignment during the course. The data were analysed by employing a pair sample t-test to compare initial and final scores. The iii qualitative approach deals with how peer feedback helps promote reader awareness and the attitudes of students and teachers. The qualitative data were gathered by various instruments, such as questionnaires, interviews, students‟ reflective writing, peer feedback, and so on. The results of the study revealed that: 1) students can perform better in writing ability, demonstrated from the overall scores. There is significant difference (p<.05) between the overall mean score in the final assignment and the initial assignment; 2) students are concerned about how to provide sufficient information for the readers. They understand the role of the writer, which is to provide more information for the readers, and are aware of the role of the reader; 3) the use of peer feedback is beneficial for students, and it also promotes student awareness of the sense of audience; 4) The attitudes of the students and teachers were positive towards teaching that focused on discourse structure. The students found that it was useful for them, because they realised how to connect and organise cohesive text; 5) most of the teachers noted that it was beneficial to be introduced to the way of teaching writing through approach focusing on discourse structure. 6. The modified version of Feez‟ cycle of teaching and learning is beneficial and support students to improve their writing through the course. 7. Portfolio assessment is an effective measure that helps students gauge their progress and allows them to see their writing improves in later drafts. 8. Students‟ reflective writing helps them promote their awareness of readers during the course.
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Hongsa-ngiam, Anusak. "An investigation of physics instructors' beliefs and students' beliefs, goals and motivation for studying physics in Thai Rajabhat Universities." Connect to thesis, 2006. http://portal.ecu.edu.au/adt-public/adt-ECU2007.0011.html.
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Thampradit, Pattaraporn. "A study of reading strategies used by Thai university engineering students at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang /." Available to subscribers only, 2006. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1147196751&sid=2&Fmt=2&clientId=1509&RQT=309&VName=PQD.
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Tassana-ngam, Issariya. "The effect of vocabulary learning strategies training on Thai university students' word retention in the second language classroom." Thesis, University of Essex, 2004. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.409983.
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Tapinta, Pataraporn. "Exploring Thai EFL University Students' Awareness of Their Knowledge, Use, and Control of Strategies in Reading and Writing." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2006. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5429/.
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The purpose of this research was to conduct case studies to explore and describe Thai university students' awareness and application of cognitive and metacognitive strategies when reading and writing in English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL). Four participants, including two high and two low English language proficiency learners, were selected from 14 students enrolled in a five-week course called English for Social Sciences offered at Kasetsart University in Bangkok, Thailand in 2005. The major sources of data for the analyses included the transcripts of the participants' pair discussions, think-aloud protocols, interviews, and daily journal entries. In addition, field work observations, reading and writing strategy checklists, participants' written work, and the comparison of the pretest and posttest results were also instrumental to the analyses. The interpretive approach of content analysis was employed for these four case studies. Findings were initially derived from the single-case analyses, and then from cross-case analyses. Major findings revealed that strategic knowledge enhanced these English-as-a-foreign- language (EFL) learners' proficiency in English reading and writing. However, applying elaborative strategies for higher-level reading was challenging for most of the participants. Two crucial factors that impeded their development were the learners' uncertain procedural and conditional knowledge of strategy uses and their limited English language proficiency due to limited exposure to the second language (L2). The teacher's explanations and modeling of strategies, the participants' opportunities to discuss strategy use with peers, and extensive practice positively enhanced their development. Additionally, the learners' schema and knowledge of text structures played significant roles in their development of the two skills. These English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners also developed metacognitive awareness and strategy applications, but not to the level that always enhanced effective regulation and control of their reading and writing behaviors. Combining reading and writing in English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) instruction promoted the learners' awareness of the relationships of certain strategies for the two skills, and developed their literacy skills holistically.
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Hongsa-ngiam, Anusak. "An investigation of physics instructors' beliefs and students' beliefs, goals and motivation for studying physics in Thai Rajabhat universities." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2006. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/35.
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Students' interest in physics seems to be decreasing at all levels of education in most countries including Thailand. This problem is likely to be influenced by physics teaching and learning processes. Instructors' beliefs influence teaching strategies whereas students' beliefs, goals and motivation influence learning strategies. The investigation of factors influencing teaching and learning will provide useful information for improving the teaching and learning of physics. This research aims to explore physics instructors' beliefs about teaching and learning physics, students' beliefs, goals and motivation for studying physics in Thai Rajabhat universities. A questionnaire was administered to instructors who teach introductory physics courses in Rajabhats throughout Thailand at the beginning of second semester in 2002. Questionnaires were administered to first year students who enrolled in introductory physics courses at two Rajabhat universities in the south of Thailand at the beginning and the end of that semester. Four case studies were conducted with instructors and students at the two Rajabhats during the semester.
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Na, Nongkhai Angsu-orn. "An investigation into English language motivation of Thai university students : understanding students' motivation over time, and their visions of future L2 selves, through narrative inquiry." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2017. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/19828/.
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This qualitative study explores 16 Thai university students’ motivation to learn the English language over time through narrative inquiry. The students’ general attitude and orientation towards the English language, their motivational trajectories during their past English learning experiences, and their visions of their future second language (L2) selves were investigated. This study adopted a holistic approach to explore student motivation, with research methods dedicated to exploring the students’ past experiences (through Language Learning Histories), and the students’ concepts of their present and possible future selves (through semi-structured interviews). Adopting non-linear and socio-dynamic perspectives in understanding motivation, this study employed various theoretical frameworks, including self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan, 1985), the person-in-context relational view (Ushioda, 2009), the complex dynamic systems perspective (Dörnyei, 2009b), and the L2 Motivational Self System (Dörnyei, 2005, 2009a), to help conceptualise students’ motivation. The findings reveal that the instrumentality or utilitarian value of the English language played a significant role in fostering Thai students’ positive attitudes towards English. International posture (Yashima, 2009), personal interests, and a combination of different motivations were also found to associate with the students’ positive attitudes towards English. The results also show that the students’ motivation was complex and dynamic. Three broad patterns of motivational trajectories were identified among the students. The findings indicate that motivational changes across time was strongly related to their situated or immediate learning environment, critical incidents, and their cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1986). The data suggest that while the students’ sense of ‘ought-to L2 self’ was associated with a fear of being unemployed and the pressure of Thailand’s integration into the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015, their sense of ‘ideal L2 self’ was strongly triggered by their imagined future careers, desires to go abroad, and international posture. Through examining dynamic changes in the students’ motivation, as well as exploring the ways in which the students identified themselves with the language in the future, this study adds to the knowledge base, aiding both L2 students and practitioners to understand and be aware of students’ different dispositions in language learning. This study also suggests pedagogical improvements in English language teaching in the context of Thailand.
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Kittidhaworn, Patama. "An assessment of the English-language needs of second-year Thai undergraduate engineering students in a Thai public university in Thailand in relation to the second-year EAP program in engineering." Morgantown, W. Va. : [West Virginia University Libraries], 2001. http://etd.wvu.edu/templates/showETD.cfm?recnum=2020.
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Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2001.Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 122 p. : ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 92-97).
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Damnet, Anamai. "Enhancing acquisition of intercultural nonverbal competence : Thai English as a foreign language learners and the use of contemporary English language films." Thesis, full-text, 2008. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/2023/.
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This study investigates aspects of the teaching and learning of intercultural nonverbal competence by university students majoring in English in Thailand and starts from the position that intercultural nonverbal competence is an important, but neglected area within English language teaching for international communication. Five aspects of nonverbal communication where there are pronounced differences between Thai and native English norms are investigated: facial expressions, eye contact and gaze, bodily communication, kinesics (touching), and vocalic communication.
The study employs a range of qualitative and quantitative approaches in conducting classroom research on the learning and teaching of nonverbal communication within university EFL speaking and listening skills classes. Seventy-three second year undergraduate students majoring in English were randomly assigned to and participated in one of two different teaching interventions both of which involved the use of the same four American and Australian contemporary films. The experimental intervention involved explicit teaching of nonverbal communication and the other more traditional one provided exposure to the same native speaker interactions in the same four films, but with classroom activities focused on linguistic and pragmatic features arising from the films.
Adopting a quasi-experimental pre and posttest design the study includes three phases of data collection: (1) pre teaching assessment, (2) teaching phase, and (3) post teaching assessment. The pre and post teaching assessments cover students’ attitudes towards, understanding of and ability to employ nonverbal communication when communicating in English in intercultural contexts. The post teaching assessment covers these same areas together with additional qualitative data collection about students’ experiences of participation in the study. Data analyses include use of analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) and within group t-tests.
The study reveals that in comparison with students from the control group students from the experimental group who had participated in the explicit teaching of nonverbal communication had:
(a) more positive attitudes towards nonverbal communication of English native speakers,
(b) a higher level of understanding of nonverbal communication of English native speakers
(c) a higher level of ability to apply nonverbal channels in communication appropriately in role playing interaction with an English native speaker,
and, in addition,
(d) most students from both groups felt positive about the opportunities that practising role plays and viewing contemporary English language films provided for them to enhance their intercultural acquisition of nonverbal competence in communicating in English with native speakers.
Qualitative data supported the quantitative findings and also indicated that students in the experimental group had achieved a deeper and more explicit understanding of the role of nonverbal communication in interactions in English, whilst also demonstrating a strong sense of what might be acceptable in an English language context with English native speakers and what is acceptable with fellow Thais. Furthermore, the results highlight that it is not essential for nonnative speakers to stay/study abroad in English as native language speaking countries in order to improve their communicative and intercultural nonverbal competences to levels approximating that of native speakers. Films and role play, when used appropriately, may provide effective native speaker modeling and opportunities for practice.
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Shezi, Siphesihle Elton. "Factors that influence university students’ career decisions." Thesis, University of Zululand, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10530/1490.
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A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Clinical Psychology) in the Department of Psychology at the University Of Zululand, South Africa, 2013The study used a mixed methods methodology to investigate the factors that influence university students’ career decisions. This was motivated by the fact that students in disadvantaged communities are challenged by the negative socio-political conditions that resulted from the South African Apartheid system and these conditions limited the resources for people in disadvantaged communities. As more opportunities became available, it is vital that students entering tertiary education are equipped with the necessary skills and support to make informed career decisions. The sample consisted of 155 third year students from four faculties at the University of Zululand. Data was collected using a questionnaire. The data was analysed using a systematic approach. The results indicated that the factors influencing influence university students’ career decisions are the students’ educational background, home background, parental marital status parental occupation socio- economic status, the love for their careers, financial aid and high employment opportunities. The dissertation concludes that appropriate career education and guidance are essential for previously disadvantaged tertiary education students in order for them to maximize the opportunities available to them.
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Morgan, Ruth C. "Factors of Resilience that Support University Art and Design Students." ScholarWorks, 2016. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/2074.
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Graduation rates in bachelor's degrees in the United States continue to be lower than stakeholders expect, despite the many advantages of college completion. This phenomenological study investigated the interplay between resilience, coping strategies, and college completion for undergraduate art and design students in an effort to improve graduation rates. The purpose of this study was to address gaps in the literature regarding art and design students' resilience and academic success. Findings were interpreted using 3 conceptual frameworks: resilience theory, Bronfenbrenner's ecology of human development, and Dweck's theory of mindsets and self-beliefs. Research questions guiding this study addressed the external and internal factors that support resilience, the most stressful situations students faced while attending the university, and the coping strategies students used to manage stress, regain resilience and graduate. Data collection included individual semi-structured interviews with 11 graduating seniors and an alum from a single public university in the eastern United States. Data were supplemented by individual semi-structured interviews with 1 faculty member and 2 campus counselors from the same university who had extensive interactions with art and design undergraduates. Key results from the data analysis found that supportive relationships with peers, access to financial aid, stress-free living environments, motivation, tenacity, and self-efficacy were important factors for academic success. The most stressful situations students reported were studio critiques, a lack of compatibility with roommates, and health issues. This study promotes positive social change by providing information for stakeholder's use in bolstering students' resilience in order to manage stress and improve college completion rates.
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Fletcher, Wayne N. "The production of a video tape that will give Kutztown University students broader knowledge of campus activities." Instructions for remote access. Click here to access this electronic resource. Access available to Kutztown University faculty, staff, and students only, 2000. http://www.kutztown.edu/library/services/remote_access.asp.
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Law, Claude James. "Are university students better prepared for higher education than are community college students?" Diss., The University of Arizona, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/187513.
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This study was undertaken with the primary objective of determining whether community college students were as well prepared for success in higher education as students who began their advance training in a university. A relatively small southwestern state university and an adjacent community college were chosen as the site for this study. Classes at each institution were selected on the basis of content similarity given the fact that no two classes were exactly alike. The study then examined the differences and similarities between the course content and the students in them. The primary focus was on the students, first to determine if the respective groups from the community college and from the university represented the same or different populations. Criteria for this aspect of the study included social characteristics, performance, motivation and aspirations. Demographic data were also gathered to provide a general basis upon which to make a comparative analysis of the participants. The respective learning environments were then examined for comparability of content, teaching styles, bias and others. Significant similarity was found in a number of criteria, but it was clear that community college students generally came from a lower class, did less well in high school and seemed to improve rapidly. However, without further analysis it cannot be determined if the community college students are capable of survival in the academic environment of a university. Competency exams in the academic areas are suggested as a method of validating the knowledge and preparation of the community college students.
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Hossain, Akhlaq. "Mobile Learning: Factors That Influence University Students’ Intention to Use Smartphones." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2015. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc822806/.
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This study investigated the factors that influence university students’ intention to use a smartphone. The study proposed and validated a research model based on the technology acceptance model (TAM). The TAM was modified and extended with four new constructs: social norms, perceived enjoyment, perceived value and ease of access. The constructs for the instrument of the study were adapted from previous related studies which had validated the instruments. Data were collected from 110 participants via a survey. The collected data were analyzed using hierarchical multiple-regression using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS version 22.0). The model demonstrated a good fit where six independent variables together contributed 56.2% of the variance to the outcome or prediction. The results of the analysis were used to test a set of research hypotheses and to answer research questions. The following independent variables were found to be significant in determining university students’ intention to use mobile devices: perceived usefulness, social norms, perceived enjoyment, perceived value and ease of access. The control variables gender and degree level and the independent variable ease of use were not significant predictors. The results of this study may be useful to understand which factors are more important to the students. This understanding can be utilized by the University administrators for developing policies related to mobile learning and by the IT departments for planning organizational technology services.
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Borden, Jonathan P. "Predicting baccalaureate degree attainment| A university admissions model that includes transfer students." Thesis, Spalding University, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3642715.
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The purpose of this study was to report a more inclusive postsecondary graduation rate figure, improve the ability of postsecondary institutions to predict the likelihood that a student will graduate, and to help address challenges presented by the United States President and by the Kentucky General Assembly. The more inclusive graduation rate calculation is in contrast to the prevailing National Center for Education Statistics' (NCES) Graduation Rate Survey (GRS) calculation. The calculations used in this study incorporated data from the National Student Clearinghouse's (NSC) StudentTracker systems. The research population used in this study consisted of students who initially enrolled at the University of Louisville (UofL) in academic years 2000-01, 2001-02, or 2002-03. Using a more inclusive graduation rate calculation that counted a student as having graduated from any postsecondary institution, not just the institution where they initially enrolled yielded a graduation rate that was 10 percent higher for the research population than was reported under the prevailing methodology. The study created a Graduation Likelihood Model (GLM) to predict the likelihood that a first-time, full-time bachelor-degree-seeking student will graduate within six academic years. Eight independent variables were examined through chi-square and logistic regression (logit). The eight variables examined were gender, race/ethnicity, ACT, High School Grade Point Average (HSGPA), public high school (HS) vs. private HS, HS distance from campus, state/federal-grant/scholarship financial aid, and federal loan financial aid. In addition to running chi-square and logit on each variable, the procedures were run on the variables after they were included in four distinct categories: demographic, academic, pre-postsecondary academic and financial aid. The chi-square results showed that with the exception of HSGPA there was an association, albeit small, between the variables and successful graduation. All variables including HSGPA are to be used in the GLM, which can be used by postsecondary institutions to predict, at the time a student applies to the institutions, the likelihood that a student will graduate within six academic years. The GLM and the new calculation of graduation rates relate to initiatives set out by both the state of Kentucky and current US President Barack Obama. The new calculation provides a better way of assessing student achievement. At the time of initial enrollment, the GLM can be used to identify students, who may need additional assistance to obtain their degrees. .
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Moleli, Malehlohonolo Florence. "Protective factors that could foster resilience in first year students." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2005. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&.
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Large numbers of students tend to experience failure and dropout in their first year at university. The fundamental aim of this research was to explore protective factors that could foster resilience amongst first year students. It is hoped that resilience research can give young adults the skills and support to survive academic challenges with the help of the university. This study undertook to determine resilience traits that could contribute to academic success. Students who enrolled at the University of the Western Cape for the first time during the year 2003 participated in this study.
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Jenkins, Anthony L. "Assessing Factors that Distinguish First-Generation College Students from Non First-Generation College Students at an Urban Comprehensive University." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/26607.
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The purpose of the study was to compare a freshman cohort of first and non first-generation college students enrolled in an urban university and to identify characteristics that distinguish the two groups in terms of selected demographics, pre-college behaviors and beliefs (expectations and personal traits). Moreover, the study sought to identify variables whose distribution indicated a significant difference between the two groups and rank those variables by order of the strength of association.
Data analysis for this study consisted of a combination of chi-square and descriptive discriminate analysis using logistic regression. Chi-square analysis was the preliminary statistical procedure used in this study. I relied on a sequence of chi-square analyses to help identify a list of statistically significant variables to be used in the subsequent descriptive discriminate logistic regression model. Descriptive discriminate analysis was used because its primary function is designed to reveal projected differences among groups (Huberty, 1994).
The results revealed seven important characteristics (Reading for pleasure (Hpw0111), Household income (Income), Asked teacher for advise (Act0114), Rate computer skills (Rate0103), Get a bachelorâ s degree (Futact11), Change major field of study (Futact01) and Obtain recognition by colleague (Goal0103) were commonly statistically significant student characteristics across all race/ethnicity groups, and three (Gain a general education (Reason05), High school grade point average (HSGPA) and Felt overwhelmed (Act0110) were unique to one or some of the groups. These variables can also be viewed as predictors that help identify the likelihood that a student is first-generation. Results of this study had implications for the practice of high school guidance counselors, student and academic affairs practitioners and specifically support services personnel and financial aid officers.Ph. D.
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Appiah, Eric Kweku. "Factors that Impact International Students’ Learning of Introductory Physics at Georgia State University." Digital Archive @ GSU, 2011. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/phy_astr_theses/13.
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This study uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative enquiry to focus on determining the most salient factors that affect international students’ learning of introductory physics in Georgia State University. For purposes of the study, “international students” were defined as those who attended high school in a country other than the US. These students comprise a significant portion of the physics courses at Georgia State, and this study was motivated by the desire to support their success. The study involved a collaboration with the newly emerging Physics and Astronomy Education Research Group who has recently begun the routine collection of student learning data in all of its introductory physics courses. The factors considered in the research design were informed by the literature on student learning for all students while including the possibility of new factors emerging in interviews with international students. Factors probed included students’ previous study of mathematics, previous study of physics, language issues, pedagogical differences (i.e., style of teaching, classroom culture & environment) between GSU and the student’s country of origin. For international students who are proficient in English, classroom environment and culture (pedagogy) emerged as the most important factor. For International students who are not very proficient in English, language remains the most important factor. The effect of language issues on international students’ learning of physics turned out to be more complex than originally considered. Some students understood instructors differently depending on what country the students come from and on what country the instructor comes from. Instructor office hours and general accessibility for addressing questions emerged as especially important options for international students who felt uncomfortable asking questions in front of the whole class. An unanticipated outcome of the study was to discover how the vast differences in the structure of high school mathematics education in non-US countries has serious implications for the way we advise and query international students in physics vis-à-vis their academic background before entering Georgia State. Moreover, the study revealed that students who had taken a high school physics course generally scored no better than those who had not taken a high school course on a pre-test of conceptual knowledge in physics. However, students who had taken a physics class in high school had dramatically higher learning gains when given a post-test near the end of the Georgia State physics course. This phenomenon suggests that more consideration should be given to prior course-work in combination with a diagnostic pre-test to advise students about which math and physics courses to take when they arrive at Georgia State.
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Akins, Cassie L. "Experiences and motivational factors that influenced Ball State University students to stay enrolled." Virtual Press, 2005. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1318607.
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Though much research is available on student persistence and attrition, few studies asked students to describe their experiences and motivational factors that influenced them to stay enrolled. This study at Ball State University helped researchers to understand these factors so that they could better work with matriculating freshmen and reduce freshmen drop-out. Qualitative research methodology resulted in data being gathered via personal interviews with students who were identified as matriculating freshmen living in the university residence halls during fall and spring of the 2004-2005 academic year. A semi-structured interview guide was created and modified. Data were collected in March, April, and May of 2005. The researcher analyzed the data by identifying thematic connections among the data according to guidelines presented by Seidman (1998).The researcher concluded that the goal of a powerful job and the recognition by parents and families motivated students to attend college and graduate. Students believed their motivations were internal, but based on their responses, the motivations were external to them. A better career and parental recognition were forms of external motivations. The factors at Ball State University that encouraged students to stay enrolled varied from individual involvement to characteristics of the institution. Programs like Orientation and Freshman Connections did not seem to have much of an impact on students' adjustment.Department of Educational Leadership
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Lindsley, Todd W. "A Multimedia Intervention to Increase the Likelihood That University Students in Need Will Utilize Counseling Services." DigitalCommons@USU, 2013. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/2032.
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The primary objective of this study was to create and test an intervention designed to increase students’ positive attitudes toward utilizing mental health services. A review of the literature was conducted to establish the guidelines for creating an intervention that would effectively influence attitudes while being relatively easy to customize and adapt to different settings. The content of the intervention was informed by the literature, reviewed by a panel of experts, and tested with a focus group of students before being finalized. In order to test the effectiveness of the intervention, and experimental study was designed which included an experimental and control group. The control group had the same experience as the experimental group except for the content of the intervention. The control group intervention provided general health information related to topics such as diet and exercise.Student underutilization of counseling services on college campuses is a well- recognized phenomenon. By improving student attitudes toward seeking counseling, it is hypothesized that more students who could benefit from such services would indeed seek them out. This is particularly important as the rates of suicide and serious mental illness on college campuses has increased over the years. Students who receive appropriate treatment for mental health concerns often experience significant improvement. Those students whose mental health is improved may perform better academically than those who remain untreated. Healthier students have the opportunity to be more productive and successful members of the campus community.The intervention was designed to be low cost so that it could be updated and tailored for different institutions. It was also created to be disseminated over the internet to reduce obstacles for students who may wish to view it. The intervention included music, narration, pictures, and animated text to capture the attention of the viewer. The production was accomplished using low-cost software that does not require expert skills to operate.The intervention showed significant effects on the first two subscales of the attitude measure (i.e., psychological openness and help-seeking propensity), but did not show statistical significance on the third (i.e., indifference to stigma) or on the intent to seek counseling measure (ISCI). Future studies could explore improvements to the current intervention and could examine the effects of the intervention over time (i.e., longitudinal design).
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Jones, Tunisa La'Sure. "Factors that influence individual differences in female sexual response in a college-aged population." Click here to access thesis, 2008. http://www.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/archive/spring2008/tynisa_l_jones/jones_tynisa_l_200801_ms.pdf.
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Thesis (Ed.D.)--Georgia Southern University, 2008."A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science." Under the direction of William D. McIntosh. ETD. Electronic version approved: May 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-71) and appendix.
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Sheik, Ismail Arifa. "Factors that affect the persistence of Master of Occupational Therapy students at Stellenbosch University." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/86200.
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Thesis (MOccTher)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The retention and throughput rates of postgraduate students are a national and an international concern. There is a tendency for postgraduate students, irrespective of which Master of Occupational Therapy programme they are registered for, to have difficulty in completing the thesis or research assignment, resulting in delayed throughput or non-completion. This study aimed to understand and describe from the postgraduate student’s perspective, what factors facilitated or hindered the completion of the Master of Occupational Therapy programmes. Qualitative research using a phenomenological design was used in order to obtain a rich description of the students’ lived experiences in the M-programmes so as to gain insight into their experiences. Purposive sampling was used and data was generated by means of in-depth, one-to-one interviews. The findings have shown that numerous factors in various combinations at different points in time during the study period shaped the experience of the mature, female, part-time postgraduate student. Participants were intrinsically motivated to engage in studies as they desired the growth in their professional knowledge and skills. The experience of supervision varied depending on how the student and supervisor were matched and on the student’s expectations and needs of the relationship. The development of critical thinking and writing skills required effort and time, which influenced the postgraduate student’s motivation, retention and throughput rate. Within the work environment very little negotiation for study opportunity was possible. Although this negotiation was far more likely within the home and with family, household and family responsibilities persisted over the long study period of two or more years. This study has shown that the main hindrances to the completion of studies are the lack of time and the demands of the multiple roles that the mature, female part-time postgraduate student has to contend with.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die volharding en deurvloeikoers van nagraadse studente is nasionaal sowel as internasionaal ‘n bekommernis. Daar is ‘n tendens vir nagraadse studente om te sukkel met die voltooing van die tesis of navorsingsopdrag, afgesien van die Meester in Arbeidsterpie program waarvoor hulle gerigestreer is. Die doel van hierdie studie was om vanuit die nagraadse student se perspektief, die faktore wat die voltooing van die Meester van Arbeidsterapie programme fasiliteer of verhinder te verstaan en beskryf,. Kwalitatiewe navorsing met ‘n fenomenologiese navorsingsontwerp is gebruik om ‘n ryk verduideliking van die student se ervaringe van die M-programme te bekom om sodoende insig in hul ervarings te kry. Daar is van ‘n doelgerigte steekproef gebruik gemaak en data is gegenereer deur middel van in-diepte een-tot-een onderhoude. Die bevindinge het getoon dat verskeie faktore in verskillende kombinasies op verkillende tye gedurende die studie-periode die ervaring van die deelnemers as volwasse, vroulike, deeltydse nagraadse studente bepaal het. Nagraadse studente was intrinsiek gemotiveerd om te studeer omdat hulle wou groei ten opsigte van hul professionele kennis en vaardighede. Hul ervaring van studieleiding is bepaal deur hoe gepas die studieleier vir die betrokke student was en ook van die student se verwagtinge en behoeftes van die studieleier-student verhouding. Die ontwikkeling van kritiese denke en skryfvaardighede het inspanning en tyd vereis, wat die nagraadse student se motivering, volharding en deurvloeikoers beïnvloed het. Min onderhandeling vir studie-geleenthede was moontlik binne die werksomgewing. Alhoewel hierdie onderhandeling meer moontlik binne die huis- en familie omgewing was, het huishoudelike en familie verantwoordelikhede steeds voortgegaan oor die lang studie tydperk van twee of meer jare. Hierdie studie het bevind dat die grootste hindernisse vir die voltooiing van studies die tekort aan tyd en die eise van die meervoudige rolle waarmee die volwasse, vroulike deeltydse student worstel is.
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Graham, Levar Desmond. "Factors that influcence African Americans to enroll in agricultural science programs." Master's thesis, Mississippi State : Mississippi State University, 2007. http://library.msstate.edu/etd/show.asp?etd=etd-11092007-163003.
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Dickerson, John Randall. "The factors that influence the graduation rates of community college transfer students and native students at a four-year public state university." Diss., Mississippi State : Mississippi State University, 2008. http://library.msstate.edu/etd/show.asp?etd=etd-10232008-142646.
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Meier, Lori T. "“Isn’t That for Grad Students?” Exploring Curriculum Studies with Elementary Undergraduates at a Regional University." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2015. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/5906.
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Laidlaw, Clinton Thomas. "Pedagogical Approaches and Instructional Content that Predict Increased Acceptance of Biological Evolution in University Students." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2020. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/8519.
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Evolution is the central organizing theory of biology. Without evolutionary theory, biology becomes a somewhat tangential assemblage of facts about living organisms, which is precisely how it is viewed by many students. Many teachers teach evolution in a limited capacity or avoid it entirely due to fear of opposition, lack of confidence in their own understanding, or lack of acceptance of the theory themselves. When evolution is not taught, or is not accepted, it cannot be utilized to make sense of the field, and is quickly forgotten by students. While some studies have shown a correlation between instruction about evolution and acceptance of evolution, many have not. Understanding which instructional factors, both pedagogical and conceptual, contribute to increases in evolution acceptance are paramount if we are going to make biology education more cohesive and applicable beyond the context of the course itself. To better understand what these factors may be, I utilized curriculum that I developed previously to teach introductory biology to non-biology majors that incorporated evolution as the organizing structure and appeared to produce considerable increases in acceptance of evolution based on the lack of hostility and pushback from the students in the course. I verified that the curriculum as taught produced increases in acceptance of evolution using the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) instrument as a measure of acceptance, and by asking students on the final exam what their position had been before instruction and if it had changed as a result of the course. Both measures revealed a considerable increase in evolution acceptance. Using a full factorial experimental design, tested three major pedagogical approaches that have all been hypothesized to contribute to increasing evolution acceptance: Constructivist-inspired vs Behaviorist-inspired, active vs less active instruction, and reflexive journaling vs not journaling. While all possible combinations of treatments showed statistically significant increases in evolution acceptance, there was no statistically significant difference between any of the treatments or combinations of treatments. Also, using Thematic Analysis, we coded and analyzed the responses that students provided as to the concepts from class that played a role in their having changed or not changed their positions on evolution as reported on the final exams, and in their reflexive journals which provided a valuable window into the concepts that we might emphasize or choose to remove or deemphasize in the future to maximize the probability that student acceptance of evolution will increase following instruction.
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Bopape, Morongwa Annamarie. "Factors that influence the through-put rates of masters students at the University of Limpopo." Thesis, University of Limpopo, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/2194.
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Thesis (MPA) --University of Limpopo, 2018South African Universities are faced with the pandemic issues of student‟s through-put. The postgraduate intake at higher education doesn‟t correspond with the completion rate. South Africa is relatively the lowest in higher education success rate compared to other countries. This study aimed at investigating factors contributing to postgraduate students through-put at Turfloop Graduate School of Leadership (TGSL), in the University of Limpopo. This study adopted a quantitative descriptive research design. Questionnaire were utilised to collect data from master‟s students and academic staff at TGSL. Data was gathered through structured questionnaire from 42 master‟s students. Semi-structured questionnaire were used to gather data from five experienced academic staff members. The study utilised simple random sampling and judgemental or purposive sampling. Descriptive analysis was used and data was analysed using Statistical package for social science (SPSS). The findings reveal that the number of students graduating from the three programmes within TGSL is increasing from time to time suggesting a decline in supervision backlog. The study indicated that most master‟s students take more than maximum duration of three years to complete their study as these students have completed their modules (course work) and remain with research project. Despite these and other academic support provided by the university, masters students encounter certain challenges that influence their academic performance. The major factors influencing through-put include: Lack of commitment; personal issues such as workload; lack of support from spouse and family members and poor time management; lack of personal interest and hard work on the part of students; lack of focus; poor time management; inadequate writing skills; lack of time. Most students are working and may not have adequate time to consult their supervisors. This study has made recommendations to further improve master‟s students‟ through-put. Based on the findings and conclusions of the study it is recommended that students should be self-disciplined; committed to their studies. Students should put more effort on their mini-dissertation and attend the writing retreats organised by the university to improve their writing skills.