investigating the influence of teacher strategies on …investigating the influence of teacher...

Australian Journal of Adult Learning Volume 52, Number 1, April 2012

Investigating the influence of teacher strategies on academic self-efficacy and study behaviour of

students in a tertiary bridging program

Patricia Whannell, Robert Whannell and Bill AllenUniversity of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland

This article describes the findings of an action research project which examined the link between academic self-efficacy and the study behaviours of students in a tertiary bridging program at a regional university in Australia. It describes the gap which exists between students’ instruction in, and knowledge of, being a self-directed learner and the enacting of study behaviours which demonstrate that instruction and knowledge. The intervention employed in the study resulted in significant improvements in many areas of academic self-efficacy and study behaviours and demonstrates the effectiveness of the tertiary bridging program in this regard. The appropriateness of using traditional forms of assessment in tertiary bridging programs is discussed.

40 Patricia Whannell, Robert Whannell and Bill Allen

Introduction

Thepurposeofthisstudywastoexaminetheeffectivenessofaninterventiondesignedtoimprovetheacademicself-efficacyandstudybehavioursofstudentsinacompulsoryacademicskillscourseinatertiarybridgingprogramataregionaluniversity.Theuniversitywherethestudywasconductedprovidesanon-campus,tertiarybridgingprogramasanalternativepathwayforprospectivestudentswhodonotpossessthenecessaryacademicqualificationsfordirectentry.Theparticularchallengesassociatedwiththestudentcohortwhichhadbeenidentifiedwereadiverseagerange,educationalandworkbackgroundsand,generally,thepoorqualityofthestudents’previouseducationalengagementandoutcomesachieved.Coursedatashowedthatapproximately26%ofstudentswhocommencedtheprogramdidnotsubmitthefirstassessmentpiece,whilethemajorityofstudentswhodroppedoutofthebridgingprogramdidsowithinthefirstsixweeksaftercommencement.

Aparticularproblemwhichappearedtobehinderingthesestudentstosuccessfullytransitionintothebridgingprogramwastheirlackofknowledgeofwhatwasrequiredtobeasuccessfulstudentintermsofacademicandstudybehaviours.Itwasconsideredthatashort-comingexistedinthebridgingprogram,inthatstudentswereinstructedinrelationtothetheoryofacademicskills,butwerenotadequatelyassistedtodeveloptheassociatedacademicbehaviours.Thisstudyplannedtoidentifyandunderstandtheneedsofnewstudentsenteringthebridgingprogramanddeterminehowmuchinfluenceateacherandcoursedesigncouldhaveontheiracademicself-efficacyandstudybehaviours.

Theoretical background informing the study

Previousresearch(Whannell,Allen&Lynch2010)inrelationtothebridgingprogramwhichisthesubjectofthecurrentstudyexaminedthesecondaryschoolexperiencesofstudentsuptotheageof23

Investigating the influence of teacher strategies 41

years.TheWhannelletal.studyconcludedthatthesestudentshadexperiencednegativesecondaryschoolingexperiences,largelyfosteredbyteacherswhodidnotseemtocareordidnotprovidetherequiredsupport.Theconsequencesassociatedwithalackofconfidenceandbeliefinacademicself-efficacywhichwouldbeexpectedtoresultfromtheseexperiencesaredescribedbyPajares(1996).Heobservedthat‘efficacybeliefshelpdeterminehowmucheffortpeoplewillexpendonanactivity,howlongtheywillperseverewhenconfrontingobstacles,andhowresilienttheywillproveinthefaceofadversesituations—thehigherthesenseofefficacy,thegreatertheeffort,persistence,andresilience’(p.544).

PhillipsandGully(1997:792)observedthat‘self-efficacyandneedforachievementwerepositivelyrelatedtogoallevel,whichwaspositivelyrelatedtoperformanceincombinationwithabilityandself-efficacy’.Asenseofself-efficacyhasbeenshowntoplayamajorroleinhowstudentsapproachgoals,tasks,andchallenges.Theconceptofself-efficacyisatthecentreofBandura’ssocialcognitivetheory(Bandura1989,1993).AccordingtoBandura’stheory,peoplewithhighself-efficacyaremorelikelytoviewachallengeassomethingtobemastered,ratherthansomethingtobeavoided.Thosestudentswhoidentifythemselvesashavingahighlevelofself-efficacyalsotendtoaimformorecomplexchallengesandhaveafirmercommitmenttoafinalprocess(Bandura&Wood1989;Wilhite1990;Woolfolk&Margetts2010).Studentstendtopre-organisetheirgoalsettinginitiallybythinkingaboutwhattasksneedtobeaccomplished.Individualswhohavea‘highsenseofefficacyvisualisesuccessscenariosthatprovideguidesforperformanceandtheycognitivelyrehearsegoodsolutionstopotentialproblems’(Baharudin&Jan1998:14).Studentswhodonotperceivetheirlevelofefficacytobehighmaytendtoseenewchallengesasproblemsanddwellontheideaofnotknowinghowtohandlesuchscenarios.Self-doubtandfearoffailurearecommonthoughtprocessesforstudentswhoperceivethemselvesaspossessinglowself-efficacy.


Muchoftheliteratureavailableonself-efficacyandtheimportanceofsuchubiquitouspsychologicalprocessesforstudentshasbeengatheredseeminglymoreasatheoreticalnotionratherthanateachingtool.Bandura(1999:29)statesthata‘majorfunctionofthoughtistoenablepeopletopredicteventsandtodevisewaystoexercisecontroloverthosethatareimportanttothem’.Thistypeofskillrequiresamultifactorial,andoftenabstract,levelofcognitivedevelopmentandtheabilitytothinkpredictively.WoolfolkandMargetts(2010)refertoself-efficacyasdifferentfromotherself-specificideassuchasself-concept,self-worthorself-esteem,astheyarguethatself-efficacyisspecifictoaparticulartaskandisfutureorientated.Bandura(1989)describedhowstudentsconstantlyneedtoplannewactionsandweighupprioritiessotoachievetherequiredoutcomes.Henotedthattheseoriginalideasthenneedtobetested,andoftenrevised,againstimmediateorlaterconsequencesoftheiractions.Thiswouldallowstudentstobeginbuildingabankofpastexperiencesofself-efficacyandgoalplanningformulas.

Whiletheliteraturetothispointhasdescribedsomeofthepsychologicalaspectsinvolvedinbeingasuccessfulstudent,animportantaspecttoconsiderishowthesepsychologicalfactorsinfluencetheactualbehavioursthatthestudentengagesin.Biggs(1979:381)describedthecircumstancesthatsurroundstudentsandtheirstudybehavioursas‘therelationshipbetweenstudyprocessesandthestructuralcomplexityoftheirlearning’.Heconsideredstudyprocessesunderthreeindividualelements:utilising,internalisingandachieving.Eachoftheseelementswasidentifiedashavingbothcognitiveandaffectivecomponents,suggestingthateducatorscannotignoretheemotionalexperienceofstudents.Watkins(1982)andBiggs(1979)bothdescribedstudyprocessesasbeingbasedonthepersonalcharacteristicsofthestudentandconcludethatstudentsnoticewhenteachershavealevelofenthusiasmandproficiencythattheybelieveareoptimumforlearning.Studentswhowereinterestedinthesubjectsalsotendedtobeinherentlyhighlyorganised,using


scheduledstudyperiodstocompletetasksontime,sothattheyhadadeliberateprocessfortheirprogress.

Purdie,HattieandDouglas(1996)identifiedthecharacteristicsofgoodself-regulatorsoflearning.Theynotedthatself-regulatorsarecharacterisedaspurposeful,strategicandpersistentintheirlearning,engagedinbehaviourssuchasself-evaluationandgoal-setting,andunderstoodthelong-termrelevanceofoutcomes.ZimmermanandMartinezPons(1986:625)foundthat‘93%ofthestudentscouldbecorrectlyclassifiedintotheirappropriateachievementtrackgroupthroughknowledgeoftheirself-regulationpractices’.Theparticularroleoftertiarybridgingprogramsinprovidingstudentswiththe‘academicliteraciestheyneedinordertotransitiontothenextlevelofstudyasindependent,criticallearners—asstudentswhoknow“howtolearn”’(Rae2008:30)hasalsobeenidentifiedinastudyinNewZealand.

TheconceptsofBandura(1997),PhillipsandGully(1997)andZimmermanandMartinezPons(1986),whenmerged,provideacomprehensivelistoffactorsassociatedwiththeself-regulatedlearner.However,educatorsmustdistinguishbetweentheteachingofthesestudybehavioursandthestudents’actualunderstandinganddemonstrationofthem.Simplybecausestudentshavebeeninstructedontheimportanceandtechniquesofgoal-settingdoesnotmeantheyactuallyknowhowtoself-regulateorhowtoengageintheassociatedbehavioursasaconsequenceofsuchinstruction.

Method

Participantsinthestudywerestudentsinacompulsoryacademicskillscourseinthebridgingprogramattheuniversitywherethestudywasconducted.Acustomdesignedquestionnairewasutilisedandwascompletedinweeks1and10ofthesemesterinthelectureofthecompulsoryacademicskillscourse.Thequestionnairecomprisedaninitialdemographicsection,followedbyanumberofLikert-style


itemsofferingfiveoptionsrangingfromstronglydisagreetostronglyagree.Thequestionnairewascompletedby246respondentsintheweek1datacollection,representinga71%completionrate.Thegendercompositionwas36.7%maleand63.3%female.Respondentagesrangedfrom17to59years,withamodalageof18andmeanageof26(s=10.1).Forty-threepercentofrespondentsindicatedthattheyhadnotfinishedsecondaryschool.Thedemographiccompositionoftherespondentsmatchedthehistoricalenrolmentdata.Thequestionnairewascompletedby102respondentsintheweek10datacollection,with79havingcompletedthequestionnaireonbothoccasionsallowingfortest-retestanalysis.

Studentswereinstructedinrelationtothetheoriesofacademicself-efficacyandself-directedstudybehavioursoverthefirstsixweeksofthesemester.Weeklyclassesinthecourseinvolvedaone-hourlectureandtwo-hourworkshop.Thelecturesintroducedtheoryinrelationtoarangeoftopicsintendedtofacilitateanimprovedacademicself-efficacyinthestudents.Thesubsequenttwo-hourtutorialsinvolvedstudentsinactivitiesandlearningexperienceswhichrequiredthemtoapplyanddemonstrateappropriatebehavioursthatreinforcedthetheoreticalcontentofthelectures.Furthertaskswereseteachweekwhichrequiredthestudentstoengagefurtherwithself-directedstudybehavioursduringtheirhomestudypriortothenextlecture.Thefocusofeachweekislistedbelow.


Table 1: Course content coverageWeek Content CoverageWeek1 Challengesoftransition

Goalsetting

Importanceofasupportivework/study/lifebalance

Differencebetweenstudyprocessestaughtandthestudybehaviourswhichstudentsneedtodemonstrate

PreviousbridgingprogramstudentpresentationWeek2 Locusofcontrolandluck

Positiveself-talk

MotivationandcommitmentinthefaceofadverseexperienceWeek3 Consolidationofweeks1and2

Exercisestoconsolidatepreviousworkonmotivation,goal-settingandself-talk

Weeks4and5 Preparationforthefirstassessmenttaskintheacademicskillscourse

Explanationprovidedtoscaffoldtaskwithformaldraftingcompleted

Applicationofacademicbehavioursaddressedinweeks1to3

Results

Studyparticipantsreportedthenumberofhourstheywouldengagewithstudyandpaidwork.TheresponsesforbothofthesevariablesdemonstratedsubstantialskewingfromanormaldistributionandtheWilcoxanSignedRankTestwasusedtodetermineifanydifferencesexistedinthetest-retestdata.Astatisticallysignificantincreasewasdemonstratedinthenumberofhoursofweeklystudy(Z=-3.37,p =0.001),indicatingthatthecommitmentoftimeforstudyhadimprovedforstudents.Thecommitmenttopaidwork(Z=-0.23,p =0.818)demonstratedverylittlechange.

ThefirstnineLikert-styleitemsaddressedaspectsrelatingtoacademicself-efficacybeliefs.Appendix1showsthemeanresultobtainedforbothdatacollections.Items10and43to65wereincludedtoaddressthestudybehavioursoftheparticipantswith


theresultsshowninAppendix2.BothtablesincludetheresultofaWilcoxanSignedRanksTestwithboldentriestoindicatestatisticallysignificantdifferences.

APrincipalComponentsAnalysiswascompletedoftheLikert-styleitemsusingdirectobliminrotation.Afive-factorsolutionwasidentifiedwithaKaiser-Meyer-OlkinMeasureofSamplingAdequacyof0.862,whichexceedsthesuggestedminimumof0.611(Tabachnick&Fidell1996),whiletheBartlett’sTestofSphericity(p <0.001)indicatedthatthecorrelationmatrixwassuitableforfactoranalysis.Thefinalfive-factorsolutionaccountedfor65.997%ofthesharedvarianceintheitemsmakingupthefactors,asshowninTable2.Theresponsetoitemratioforthefinalfive-factorsolutionwas12.3:1.

Table 2: Variance accounted for by five factors

Component

Initial Eigenvalues

Total % of Variance Cumulative %

1 6.176 30.881 30.881

2 3.055 15.275 46.155

3 1.422 7.110 53.265

4 1.394 6.971 60.236

5 1.152 5.761 65.997

Eachfactorwasnamedbaseduponitsconstituentitems.Table3showsthefactorsandtheirrespectiveCronbach’salphavalues,whichindicateasatisfactorylevelofinternalreliability.


Table 3: Questionnaire scales

Scale No. of Items Cronbach’s Alpha

Socialbehaviours 6 0.857

Assessmentconfidence 3 0.791

Organisation 3 0.720

Behaviourresponsibility 5 0.819

Capacitytocope 3 0.844

Summativescalesweregeneratedbyassigningavalueof1tostronglydisagreeupto5forstronglyagreeandthenaddingtogethereachoftheitemsidentifiedbythePrincipalComponentsAnalysis.Thesocialbehavioursscaledescribedacademicbehaviourswhichwereofasocialnatureandincludeditemssuchas:‘Ilookforwardtomeetingmypeers’,‘Iwillbepartofastudygroup’and‘Iwillcommunicatewithteachers’.Theassessmentconfidencescalewascomprisedoftheitems:‘Writingassignmentsiseasy’,‘Idonotneedmuchguidancewhenwritingmyassignments’and‘Examinationsareeasytopass’.Theorganisationitemsdescribedtheparticipant’sabilitytoorganisethemselvesinrelationtoacademicactivitiesandincludedtheitems:‘Iplanahead’,‘Ienjoybeingorganised’and‘Iknowwhatitmeanstobeorganised’.Thebehaviourresponsibilityscaleincludedanumberofitemswhichdescribedindependenceandresponsibilitywhichhadbeenaddressedintheacademicskillscourse,suchas:‘Iunderstandthattheoutcomesofthiscoursearemyresponsibility’,‘Iwillgotoclassandlectures’and‘Iwilllookaftermyhealth’.Thecapacitytocopescaleincludedthreeitemswhichdescribedtheparticipant’sabilitytocopewiththecontentofthebridgingprogramandincluded:‘Ishouldbeabletokeepupwiththeamountofworkinthe[bridgingprogram]’and‘Ishouldbeabletounderstandthecontentofworkshopsin[thebridgingprogram]’.


Discussion

Participantsreportedahighlevelinrelationtotheircapacitytocopewiththebridgingprogramcontentinbothweeks1and10,whereallmeansareatleast4(SeeItems1–3,Appendix1).Thiscontrastswiththeresponsesinrelationtothoseitemswhichaskthemtoassessaparticularacademicskill.Inweek1,theitemswhichrequirethewritingofassignments(XItem 6=3.10,XItem 7=2.87),passingexaminations(XItem 8=2.99)anddoingoralpresentations(XItem 9=2.77)demonstratedparticularlylowperceptionsofacademicability.Statisticallysignificantimprovementsareshownbetweenthetwodatacollectionsforallitemsrelatedtoacademicself-efficacy,withtheexceptionofItem8(‘Examinationsareeasytopass’)and9(‘Oralpresentationsinworkshopsdonotconcernme’).Themeanresultforbothoftheseitemsreducedslightlybetweenthedatacollections.Thiswouldsuggestthat,whilethestudents’perceptionoftheiracademicself-efficacyhasimprovedasaconsequenceofthecompletionofthecourse,theparticipantsstillreportchallengeswiththecompletionofexaminationsandoralpresentations.Ofparticularinterestisthatastatisticallysignificantimprovementhasbeenidentifiedinrelationtothecompletionofassignments.Academicwritingandreferencingisoneparticularfocusoftheacademicskillscourseandtheimprovementinthisareademonstratespositiveoutcomes.DebenhamandMay(2005:89)describeasimilarsituationwherethe‘firstmilestoneinanenablingprogramforbothstudentsandlecturersisthesubmissionandreturnofthefirstassignments[and]itcanbeasserted…thatthefirstassignmentissurroundedonallsidesbyanxiety’.

Anindependentsamplest-testwasconductedtoassessifanysignificantchangeshadoccurredoverthecourseofthesemesterforthoseparticipantswhohadcompletedbothdatacollections,withtheresultsshowninTable4.


Table 4: Paired samples t-test summative scales

Scale X week1 SD week1 X week 10 SD week 10 t p df

Socialbehaviours 24.72 3.045 25.26 2.90 -1.412 .162 71

Assessmentconfidence

8.37 1.90 9.57 2.57 -3.855 .000 75

Organisation 12.31 1.74 12.58 1.76 -1.743 .085 76

Behaviourresponsibility

22.61 2.08 22.82 2.10 -.781 .438 75

Capacitytocope 12.40 1.42 13.33 1.43 -5.253 .000 77

Itisapparentthattheparticipants’beliefintheircapacitytocopewiththecurriculuminthebridgingcourseandtheirconfidencetocompleteassessmentshasincreasedsignificantly.Ofinterestisthatnosignificantchangehasbeendemonstratedinthebehaviourresponsibilityresult.Thebehaviourresponsibilityscalehasarangeofpossiblevaluesof5to25.Theveryhighmeanresultfortheparticipantswhohavecompletedbothdatacollectionsindicatesthattheyhavecommencedthecoursepossessinganunderstandingoftheresponsibilitiesrequiredtobeasuccessfulstudent.Theresultfortheorganisationscaleisjustoutsidethecut-offforsignificanceatthe95%level.Thiswouldindicatethattheparticipantshavealsoimprovedtheirorganisationalcapacity.

Oftheitemswhichaddressedacademicbehaviours(seeAppendix2),onlyfivedemonstrateastatisticallysignificantimprovementintheperiodbetweenthetwodatacollections:Item10(‘Iintendparticipatinginclassdiscussions’),Item44(‘Ibelievethatstudytechniquesareindividualtoeachstudent’),Item49(‘Iwillstudyregularlyandconsistently’),Item60(‘Iwilltakeupdraftingoptions’)andItem65(‘Iwillcompletemyassessmentontime’).Anumberofitemshavedemonstratedmarkedimprovementsbutarejustoutsidethecut-offforsignificanceatthe95%confidencelevel,whichwouldbeexpectedtochangegivenalargerdataset:Item45(‘Ienjoybeing


organised’),Item50(‘Ihaveorganisedastudy,work,lifebalance’),Item55(‘Iwillbeactiveinclass’),Item57(‘IknowIneedtobeanindependentlearner’)andItem61(‘Ihaveorganisedaquietstudyarea’).

Whilethereisclearevidenceforasignificantimprovementintheparticipants’perceivedacademicself-efficacy,thetranslationofthisintoacademicbehavioursisnotasclear.Thesignificantimprovementsinacademicbehaviourappeartoinvolvepersonalactivitiesrelatingtostudyandparticipation.However,therehavebeennosignificantimprovementsinaspectsrelatingtothosebehavioursassociatedwithpeersandacademicstaff,withnosignificantchangeinItem56(‘Ilookforwardtobecominginvolvedin…campusactivities’),Item62(‘Iwillcommunicatewithteachers’),Item63(‘Ilookforwardtomeetingmypeers’)andItem64(‘Iwillbepartofastudygroup’).Thepairedsamplest-testresultforthesocialbehaviourssummatedscale(XWeek 1=24.72,SDWeek 1=3.045,XWeek 10=25.26,SDWeek 10=2.9,t(72)=-1.412,p=0.162)alsodemonstratednosignificantchange.Consideringtheimportancethatsocialandacademicintegrationisproposedtoplayinsupportingstudentsintertiarystudy(Cabrera,Nora&Castaneda1993;Evans2000;Tinto1975),itwouldappearthatthisareamayneeddevelopmentwithinthebridgingprogram.

Thedatafromthequestionnaireswerecodedtoincludewhethertheparticipanthadcompletedthebridgingprogram.Mann-WhitneyUtestswereconductedtoidentifyanydifferencesintheresponsepatternsforsingle,Likert-styleitemsbaseduponprogramcompletion.Thisapproachwastakeninpreferencetotheindependentsamplest-testduetotheordinalnatureofasingle,Likert-styleitem.ParticipantswhohaddroppedoutoftheprogramdemonstratedalowerresponsepatternforItem1(‘Ishouldbeabletokeepupwiththeamountofworkinthe[bridgingprogram]’)(U=4411.5,NDropped Out=74,NCompleted=140,p=0.041),indicatingthat


theseparticipantshadalowerperceptionoftheirabilitytocopewiththeamountofworkinvolvedinthecurriculum.Testsoftheitemsrelatingtostudybehavioursidentifiedanumberofsignificantdifferencesinresponsepatterns.Theitemswhichdemonstrateastatisticallysignificantdifferencemaybedividedintotwogroups:thoserelatingtoacademicorganisationandthoserelatingtocourseexpectationsandcommitment.Table5liststhoseitemsrelatingtoorganisationwhichdemonstratesubstantialdifferences.

Table 5: Organisation-related item differences based on program completion

No. Item text Mann-Whitney U result

43 Iplanahead U=4454.4,p=0.055

46 Iknowwhatitmeanstobeorganised U=4393,p=0.041

49 Iwillstudyregularlyandconsistently U=4377.5,p=0.031

50 Ihaveorganisedastudy,work,lifebalance U=4111,p=0.006

61 Ihaveorganisedaquietstudyarea U=4008,p=0.015

Table6liststhoseitemsrelatingtocourseexpectationsandcommitment.

Table 6: Course expectations and commitment item differences based on course completion

No. Item text Mann-Whitney U result

58 Ihavehighexpectationsofmyself U=4334,p=0.030

59 Ihavehighexpectationsofmyoutcomesofthiscourse

U=4070,p=0.004

66 Iamcommittedtomystudy U=3722,p=0.001

67 Iamexcitedtobeginthenewchallengeoftertiarystudy

U=4136.5,p=0.026


Theseresultsindicatethattheparticipantswholeavethebridgingprogramperceivedthemselvesaspossessingpoorerorganisationalcapacitiesandhavelowerexpectationsandcommitmenttotheirtertiaryacademicendeavours.

Anindependentsamplest-testwasconductedofthesummatedscalesfortheweek1datacollectionbaseduponprogramcompletionwiththeresultsshowninTable7.

Table 7: Independent samples t-test questionnaire scales

Scale X Complete S Complete X Atrtit S Attrit t p df

Socialbehaviours 24.64 3.165 24.26 3.165 -.826 .410 207

Assessmentconfidence

8.79 2.04 9.04 1.95 .857 .393 212

Organisation 12.38 1.73 11.82 1.75 -2.227 .027 211

Behaviourresponsibility

22.62 2.01 22.03 2.10 -1.971 .050 207

Capacitytocope 12.76 1.56 12.32 1.44 -2.060 .041 159

Similarhighlevelsarerecordedforthesocialbehavioursrequiredtosupportacademicstudyandconfidenceinbeingabletocopewithassessmentforbothgroups,irrespectiveofwhethertheindividualdroppedoutofthebridgingprogramornot.However,significantdifferencesareseenfortheleveloforganisation,behaviourresponsibilityandcapacitytocopewiththecurriculum.

Thedatawerealsocodedtoincludethemeanresultobtainedonthefirstassessmenttasks.Acorrelationalanalysiswasthenconductedofthedatafromtheweek1datacollectiontoexaminetheassociationsbetweenvariables.Someofthevariablesinvolved,forexample,age,hoursofstudyandhoursofweeklywork,demonstratedsubstantialdeviationfromanormaldistribution(usingSpearman’srankordercorrelationcoefficient).ThecorrelationmatrixisshowninTable8.Samplesizesrangedfrom213to243formeasures1to8,and155to


168formeasure9.Thelowersamplesizesinmeasures8and9wereduetothenon-reportingofhoursofstudyandfailuretocompletethefirstassessmenttask.

Table 8: Initial data collection Spearman’s rank order correlation matrix

Measure 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1.Socialbehaviours

-

2.Assessmentconfidence

-.026 -

3.Organisation .358** .098 -

4.Behaviourresponsibility

.602** .070 .435** -

5.Capacitytocope

.219** .388** .297** .361** -

6.Age .037 -.204** -.037 -.099 -.146* -

7.Hoursstudy .150* -.126 .106 .084 .056 .278** -

8.Hourswork .143* -.057 .016 .045 .019 -.080 -.149* -

9.Firsttaskachievement

.020 -.181* .056 -.015 -.100 .484** .180* -.042 -

*Correlationissignificantatthe0.05level(2-tailed)**Correlationissignificantatthe0.01level(2-tailed)

Thecorrelationsindicatestrongassociationsforthebehaviourresponsibilityscale.Thecorrelationsindicatedthatparticipantswhoenteredthebridgingprogramwithahighlevelofresponsibilityfortheirownacademicbehaviourswouldbeexpectedtobemoreorganised( =0.435),demonstrateahigherlevelofsocialinteractionwithstaffandpeerstosupporttheiracademicendeavours( =0.602)andpossessahigherperceivedcapacitytocopewiththecurriculum( =0.361).However,itisalsothecasethatnoneofthesecharacteristicsareassociatedtoanydegreewiththequalityof


achievementonthefirstassessmenttask.Confidencetocompleteassessmentisactuallynegativelyassociatedwiththeachievementresultonthefirstassessmenttasks( =0.-0.181).

Theageoftheparticipantappearsastheprimarypredictorofachievementonthefirstassessmenttasks( =0.484).Whileageandthelevelofachievementwerepositivelyassociated,agewasnegativelyassociatedwithassessmentconfidence( =-0.204)andtheperceptionofthecapacitytocopewiththecurriculum( =-0.146).Theseassociationsindicatethatolderparticipantsactuallyachievedbetterthanyoungerparticipants,buthavealowerconfidenceintheirabilitytodoso.ThisfindingsupportsthatofKrause,Hartley,JamesandMcInnis(2005).Ageisalsopositivelyassociatedwiththehoursofstudytheparticipantintendedtocomplete( =0.278).

Thelackofsignificantpositiveassociationsbetweenthepersonalcharacteristicsoftheparticipants,particularlythelevelofassessmentconfidenceandthecapacitytocopewiththecurriculum,suggeststhattheparticipants’attitudesuponentryinthebridgingprograminrelationtotheiracademiccapacitydonotreflecthowwelltheywillperformacademicallyintheearlyweeksofthesemester.

Thecorrelationmatrixfortheweek10datacollectionisshownasTable9.Samplesizesrangedfrom68to77.

Investigating the influence of teacher strategies 55Ta

ble

9:

Fina

l dat

a co

llect

ion

Spea

rman

’s ra

nk o

rder

cor

rela

tion

mat

rix

Mea

sure

12

34

56

78

9

1.Socialbehaviours

-

2.Assessm

ent

confidence

.153

-

3.Organisation

.59

9**

.088

-

4.Behaviour

responsibility

.610

**.058

.579

**-

5.Capacitytocope

.39

8**

.419

**.4

39**

.372

**-

6.Age

.130

-.114

.051

.061

-.097

-

7.Hoursstudy

.30

5*-.178

.192

.221

.053

.38

1**-

8.Hourswork

.106

-.102

-.039

.061

-.048

-.069

-.009

-

9.Overall

achievem

ent

.26

0*

.140

.220

.253

*.211

.40

7**.2

64

*.036

-

*Correlationissignificantatthe0.05level(2-tailed)

**Correlationissignificantatthe0.01level(2-tailed)


Itisapparentthatacademicbehavioursandattitudesaremuchmorecloselyalignedtothequalityofacademicachievementbythistime.Theoverallacademicachievementisnowpositivelyassociatedatastatisticallysignificantlevelwithsocialbehaviours( =0.260)andbehaviourresponsibility( =0.253).Thelevelsofassociationwithorganisation( =0.220, =0.059)andcapacitytocopewiththecurriculum( =0.211, =0.074)arejustoutsidethecut-offforsignificanceatthe95%confidencelevel.Theassociationbetweenachievementandagewasstillatasimilarleveltothatoftheinitialdatacollection;however,theassociationofachievementwiththeweeklyhoursofstudyhadincreasedsubstantially( =0.264).Olderstudentswerestillreportinghigherlevelsofweeklystudyattheweek10datacollection( =0.381).Itisapparentthatolderstudentsarestillstudyingandachievingathigherlevels(=0.407);however,thenegativeassociationsofagewithassessmentconfidenceandthecapacitytocopewiththecurriculumwhichwerepresentatweek1arenolongerevident.

Thestrengthoftheassociationsbetweenthevariousacademicscaleshasalsoshownageneralincreasetoquitehighlevels,withbehaviourresponsibilitynowcorrelatedwithsocialbehaviours( =0.610)andorganisation( =0.579).Likewise,socialbehavioursandorganisationarehighlycorrelated( =0.599).

Conclusions

Amajorfindingofthisstudyisthelowlevelofconfidencethattheparticipantsdemonstratedinrelationtotheircapacitytosucceedinassessment,particularlythoseinvolvingoralpresentationsandexaminations.Eventhoughtheparticipantsreportedsignificantimprovementsinperceivedacademicself-efficacyoverthecourseofthebridgingprograminmanyareas,theconfidencetoperforminexaminationsandoralpresentationsdemonstratednoimprovementatall.Thestrongcorrelationbetweenachievementandagewhichwas


evidentatbothdatacollectionsalsoindicatesthatthisisaparticularproblemforyoungerparticipants.

Itwasidentifiedthattheparticipantswholeftthebridgingprogrampossessedlowerlevelsoforganisationalcapacityandself-expectationandcommitmenttocompletion.However,itwasalsodemonstratedthattheparticipants’viewoftheiracademiccapabilitiesinweek1werenotindicativeoftheiractualachievementduringtheearlyweeksoftheprogram.Thepositiveassociationbetweentheparticipants’attitudestowardsassessment,theircapacitytocopewiththeprogramcontentandtheiracademicbehavioursonlyappearedattheweek10datacollection.Thislackofawarenessonthepartoftheparticipantsshouldbemadeknowntocurrentandpotentialbridgingprogramstudentsasanaidincommunicatingthattheirperceptionsoftheiracademiccapacitiesintheearlytransitionalperiodoftheprogrammaynotbeaccurateandmustbegiventimetodevelop.

Thisstudyhasprovidedclearevidencetosupportthestancethattheinterventionemployedduringthefirstsixweeksofthesemesterachievedsignificantimprovementsinboththelevelofacademicself-efficacyandstudybehavioursoftheparticipantsofabridgingprogram.However,twoareasaresuggestedforfurtherstudy.Firstly,theroleofassessmentduringtheearlytransitionalperiodoftertiarybridgingprogramsisconsideredtobeveryproblematic.Itisconsideredthattraditionalformsofassessment,particularlyexaminations,maybeinappropriateduringtheearlystagesoftheseprogramsandalternativeformsofassessmentmaybewarranted.TheviewsexpressedbyDebenhamandMay(2005)relatingtotheacademicsilencewithrespecttoteachingwithintertiarybridgingprograms,andassessmentinparticular,arestillapparentinthisregard.Secondly,youngertertiarybridgingstudentswithnegativepreviousexperienceofeducationalenvironmentsandwhoarepossessedoflowerlevelsofself-expectation,commitmentandacademicskillsappeartobeatgreaterriskofattrition.The


techniqueswhichmaybeemployedtokeepthesestudentsengagedforasufficientperiodtoallowtheirskillsandcommitmenttodeveloptoapointthatwillsupportthemintheirtertiaryendeavoursrequiresfurtherresearch.

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About the authors

Patricia Whannell was a lecturer in the Tertiary Preparation Pathway at the University of the Sunshine Coast. She has been involved in the delivery and coordination of the core academic skills course within the program for a number of years. Her current focus of research is the transition period of students in tertiary bridging programs.

Robert Whannell was a lecturer in the Tertiary Preparation Pathway at the University of the Sunshine Coast since its inception in 2006 and has been engaged in teaching introductory, undergraduate mathematics courses. His current research focus is in relation to the transition experiences of tertiary bridging students into undergraduate study.

Dr Bill Allen is a Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of the Sunshine Coast. He is involved in teacher education in the Graduate Diploma and Undergraduate programs, and in


the professional development of practitioners in post-graduate programs at Graduate Certificate and Master’s levels. He has become deeply involved in school education in Indonesia and has led courses in the development of teachers and school leaders there.

Contact details

Patricia Whannell, Faculty of Science, Health and Education, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs Dv, Sippy Downs, Qld 4558Tel: (07) 5430 2841 Email: [email protected]

Robert Whannell, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs Dv, Sippy Downs, Qld 4558Email: [email protected]

Bill Allen, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs Dv, Sippy Downs, Qld 4558 Tel: 07 5430 1282Email: [email protected]

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