Confidence of Students in Secondary School Education and College Education - Research Paper Example

? Business research Skills College education is very important for since it improves their political, economical,social and intellectual life. College education prepares students for the job market. It is a transition period where students are transformed into individuals who can be trusted by employees for various activities and tasks. There are significant differences between secondary school education and university/college education. As a result, when students join college, their confidence is usually very low due to the challenges they encounter. A study was carried out to define who students confidence increases as they progress from first year to third year. The study revealed that the general confidence of students increases from first year to third year. Introduction In today’s society, education has a vital role to play in political, economic, cultural, social as well as intellectual life. It has the ability to increase the quality of life for individuals. Tertiary education, also referred to as third level education is particularly essential in improving individuals’ lifestyle. In addition, third level education can help individual secure exciting job opportunities. It represents a crucial transition for students as they join from secondary school and most of them will go out to the job market upon completion. It is a transition from school life to employment. When students join college or universities from secondary school, they are always looking naive and they do not know what to expect at the tertiary level. They do not have any research skills or they have too little if any. For most of the students, it is a dream come true when they join universities and college but their confidence is usually very low (Shapiro, 2009). In fact, some do not have any confidence at all. Studies have indicated that most students who have dropped their studies at the tertiary level always drop while in their first year. There are a number of reasons that can result to the dropouts. One of the reasons is their lack of confidence. Higher education is a complete new experience for them (Burton & Schofield, 2011). For any individual, new experience always have a strong impact and is usually essential determinant of their progress to the next level. First year is a challenging year for many students. It is viewed as a make or break year to them. Students who progress past first year have a higher chance of completing their studies since their confidence builds up as they advance towards the third year. Epistemology This term generally means knowledge. In philosophy, it refers to the scope of knowledge as well as the nature of knowledge (Rescher, 2003). It addresses the ways in which knowledge is acquired. In addition, it gives a distinction between true knowledge and untrue knowledge. Education is all about acquiring knowledge. When a student joins college or university, their main objective is to extend their knowledge so that they can be ready for the job market. Lack of knowledge keeps their confidence at a low level. However, as they acquire knowledge across their 3 years in the university, their confidence increases and they can be ready to work on their own. Their epistemology increases and their confidence also increase in the process. Ontology Ontology refers to the study of the nature of reality or existence. It attempts to explain the entities that exist, how they exist and why they exist (Adelsberger, 2008). This term is usually confused with epistemology. However, it can be used in the context of knowledge sharing where it means specification of a conceptualization. It describes concepts as well as relationships that might exist for a given agent. Ontologies in technology are domains that can be understood by computers and can be used in research. They assist in sharing information within education systems and they also personalized student support. Therefore, ontologies can be effective in improving the students’ confidence (Cumming, Okamoto & Gomez, 1999). Axiology This is the study of value in the field of philosophy. The two values that are mostly studied in axiology are ethics and aesthetics. This topic will seek to address the value of a research or other focus on the purpose of a research. Research can be done in order to develop an understanding of a certain topic. On the other hand, research can be meant to answer questions which might be burning to the individual conducting it (Bahm, 1993). The value of this research is to develop an understanding of how students develop confidence across their three years in college and also answer the question as to whether college education helps students enhance their confidence. Literature Review Student retention at the university is becoming an increasingly concerning issue. Many students who join first year will either drop out before progression to the second year or they fail in the first year. It has become a worrying issue noting that about a quarter of students who join university do not get past that stage. According to Johnston 1997, it is a big challenge to collect data related to why students actually drop or fail to progress to second year. One reliable source of information could be academic staff (Mikk, Veisson & Luik, 2010). They may have knowledge as to why students fail to progress since they interact with them each day while at school and therefore have a chance to understand the state of students. Research has indicated that the issues that can cause students to drop out could either be academic or non- academic. The survey by Johnston 1997 indicates that non- academic problems have been confirmed to cause more drop outs as compared to the academic problems. In addition, non- academic problems are usually complex and difficult to solve. In fact teachers may not be in a position to help students in such situations since most of these problems happen outside school. On the other academic factors that lead to drop outs may be handled at school. However, students have to express their problems so that they can be helped. When students join the university from high school, their confidence is usually low. They find an environment that is completely different and acquainting with it becomes a problem for most of them. The education system at the university is usually different. Here they are expected to do most researches and studies on their own unlike at secondary school where they are guided by their teachers. This challenge leads to students dropping out before they proceed to second year but once they get past first year, their confidence increases and they are more likely to complete the course (Billett & Henderson, 2011). According to Andreatta 2011, it is a unique experience to be in the first year. There are numerous transitions that occur to a student by the time he or she completes their studies. In college, there is personal growth as well as development that occurs and the changes will be vital since they shape the future life of an individual. First year is a significant year since it is the foundation of a student’s college life and perhaps future life after graduation. The decision made at this stage should be very cautious and advised. When a student joins the university, some of the experiences they face may be positive while others are usually challenging. There are the academic experiences which are usually challenging to most students, social interactions as well as experiences that affect the personal lives of students. The challenging experiences affect the students confidence. First years will definitely have a low level of confidence when faced with the challenges of college. A survey conducted in the year 2009 by The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) indicated that over 26% of students who join first year do not turn up for a second year (Andreatta 2011). While some of these students transfer to other students, most of them do not complete their degrees. Most students drop out due to academic issues. The difficulties and the issues that first years face ease up as they progress to the second year and to the third year. Their confidence builds up since they are well acquainted with the new environment having completed a year at college. At that point they understand the college procedures and systems and their confidence and chances of completing their course increases. In fact, most students get low grades in first year due to their lack of confidence but the grades improve n second and third years. Students who take courses that require them to perform some tasks in the laboratory find it challenging while in the first year. Essentially, students gain workplace skills and competencies while in college whether they are distance leaners or on- campus students. Their competence can only be assessed as they participate in laboratory classes. As students perform various tasks in the laboratory, their confidence and competence improves. In the first year, most units do no include laboratory tasks. Laboratory work increases as they proceed to second year. It is then that their confidence will start increasing. In a study conducted by Mosse and Wright at Indira Gandhi National Open University indicated that there is a correlation between students confidence and competence and that there is a relation between confidence and performance (Kennepohl & Shaw, 2010). The study further indicated that the students confidence increases as they proceed from first year to third year. Therefore, confidence is very important since it helps students handle tasks correctly and gain practical skills that are required in the workplace. In addition, it was found out that confidence is vital for student retention (Hecimovich & Volet, 2011). As students gain confidence, their probability of dropping out before completion of their course decreases. Data collected from the study indicated that there is a general increase in the level of confidence as students proceed from first year to third year. It was noted that first years who are in their first semester at college have a low level of confidence as compared to any other groups. The increase in confidence is significant between second year students and third year students. This student has much better performance as evidenced by their grades as their confidence increases. Their competence also increases towards third year and by the time they leave, they are ready to present themselves to employers (Kennepohl & Shaw, 2010). Methodology Data collection to establish who confidence increases as students progress from first year to third year is usually a challenge. Data can be collected from students directly or from the academic staff. For the purpose of this research, data is to be collected from students. Students from various levels were interviewed. The process was a challenge since it is not easy to track students effectively. Qualitative data was collected. This kind of data is vital in understanding the behaviors of students and the reasons as to why they behave the way they do (Bernard & Ryan, 2010). In addition, qualitative data helps in understanding the manner with which decisions are made and the reasons why people make certain decisions ahead of others. Smaller samples were targeted since they help to reduce the level of errors in the analysis and increase the accuracy of data collected. Given the difficulty in tracking students, it was not easy to collect data from large samples and this made qualitative data favourable for this research. It is important to note that quantitative data is rich in description and it has the ability to give an in depth data that will help the researcher understand a situation in a better way (Gibbs, 2007). Data was collected through the distribution of questionnaires which were distributed for students to fill. The questionnaires included questions that were specific and related to their year of study and how that affects their confidence. In addition, interviews were conducted to complement the data collected through questionnaires. Interviews are vital in qualitative data since the interviewer can seek more detailed explanation from the student. The questionnaires were distributed to ten universities and colleges. Distribution of questionnaires was done through email. Students were given two weeks to fill in the questionnaires and return them. Out of the questionnaires that were distributed, 80% of them were returned. Most of the questionnaires returned were those distributed to first year and second year student with the rate of return at 89% while only 78% of questionnaires distributed to third year students were returned. It was assumed that most third year student may not have had much time to fill in the questionnaires due to their projects. The questionnaires distributed to first years, second years and third years were different but all questions asked were related to their level of confidence. Interviews were conducted differently for each group. Groups were sampled according to the year of study of students. Analysis/ Findings The data was then analysed through the help of Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software. These programs apply data coding and therefore, coding was done before the analysis was carried out. The program helps to increase the efficiency of the data and therefore, such data can be used for peer review. Data collection was conducted at the end of first semester. The responses for students at each level were considered and included in the analysis and calculations. The general implication of the results was that confidence generally increases as students proceed from first year to second year and then third year. First year students appeared to be less confident even in answering the questions asked to them by the interviewer. Despite that fact that the questions asked to each group were different, it was clear that the responses differed from first year to third year students. It was revealed that students who are joining first semester in the first year have the lowest level of confidence. As they progress towards the end of their first semester the confidence increases. The reason as to why their confidence is low due to the changes they encounter when they join college. The academic, personal life and social changes contribute to their low confidence. Their grades at the end of the first semester were lowest but as they progress, the grades improve as so does their confidence. The general observation was that students’ confidence increases as they proceed from first year to third year. By the time they reach third year, their grades are much better, they can handle tasks on their own and they are ready to present themselves to employers. Conclusion College level education is a stage where students undergo a series of transition. They are expected to be ready for the job market by the time they complete their course. They experience a life that is completely different from what they were used to in secondary school. First year is the most challenging year for students who are direct from high school. It is the most testing year as well and most students drop out at that level due to the challenges they face. It is difficult for them to adapt to the college environment and hence more than a quarter of them do not proceed to second year. Once students get through their first year their confidence increases and their probability of completing studies is high at that stage. Their grades improve and they are able to carry out tasks on their own. The confidence increases further in third year. By the time they complete third year, students have full confidence and competence and are ready for employment. References List Adelsberger, H. H. 2008, Handbook on information technologies for education and training. Berlin: Springer. Andreatta, B. 2012, Navigating the research university: A guide for first-year students. Boston, MA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. Bahm, A. J. 1993, Axiology: The science of values. Amsterdam: Rodopi. Bernard, H. R., & Ryan, G. W. 2010, Analyzing qualitative data: Systematic approaches. Los Angeles [Calif.: SAGE. Billett, S., & Henderson, A. 2011, Developing learning professionals: Integrating experiences in university and practice settings. Dordrecht [etc.: Springer. Burton, F & Schofield, C. 2011, Student confidence in using and applying research methods whilst studying within a sport and exercise discipline, Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, Vol. 3 Iss: 1, pp.15 – 27 Cumming, G, Okamoto, T, & Gomez , L, 1999, Advanced research in computers and communications in education: New human abilities for the networked society; Amsterdam: IOS Press. Gibbs, G. 2007, Analyzing qualitative data. London: SAGE. Hecimovich, M. & Volet, S. 2011, Development of professional confidence in health education: Research evidence of the impact of guided practice into the profession, Health Education, Vol. 111 Iss: 3, pp.177 – 197 Johnston, V, 1997, Why do first year students fail to progress to their second year? An academic staff perspective, Paper presented at the British Educational Research Association Annual Conference September 11-14 1997: University of York; [online] accessed from < http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/000000453.htm> on April 24, 2013 Kennepohl, D. K., & Shaw, L. 2010, Accessible elements: Teaching science online and at a distance. Edmonton: AU Press. Mikk, J., Veisson, M., & Luik, P. 2010, Teacher's personality and professionalism. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang Pub Inc. Rescher, N. (2003). Epistemology: An introduction to the theory of knowledge. Albany: State University of New York. Shapiro, J. 2009, The inner world of medical students: Listening to their voices in poetry. 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