Managing Underperformance in Higher Education - Research Paper Example

Managing Underperformance in Higher Education Name Institution Background It is known about universities that they are the custodians of the society’s intellectual value and standards. They represent the peak of the achievement ladder in academic value and hence the integrity of these institutions has to be protected more like the pupil of an eye. Most of the people think of universities and people who manage to join them as the cream of the society. They are a place where people who have abilities are gathered and hence for them to eventually post poor results as seen in the low GPA aggregates do not reflect a good state of things in these valued institutions. The concern over poor grades among students in universities is not confined to one institution but is perhaps a national issue of Saudi Arabian higher education. It is something that has affected other universities as well and this has to necessitate inquests into the entire matter of quality, methodology, materials and lecturers or instructors who teach in the institutions. This is what motivates this study that will use a sample survey carried out in King khaled University to just demonstrate the extent of the problem, how it is being experienced and from the discussions propose any solutions to the issues that will be identified. Hypothesis The research as pointed out earlier is a response to the academic underperformance in universities using a sample of a branch of Khaled University’s at Besha. The research therefore has a hypothesis that centers on the significance of standards and quality of education in universities which guides the manner in which this research was conducted. It is as stated below; “The standards of university education and quality of instruction need to be improved and sustained” Motivation for the research Khaled University is one of the leading universities in Saudi Arabia and there is no doubt its significance in higher education is high. Most students at the university have in the past been complaining about the poor results they continue to record yet they qualified to take the various courses they pursue at the university. It might be difficult to understand how a large number of students taking various courses that they qualified to undertake can fail to perform above average. This is a vital issue that has to be solved urgently so as to save the integrity of this significant institution and its reputation. Nothing would worst damage a university’s reputation than the production of either half-baked graduates or those that are failures at the end of their courses. The job market is shrinking and competition for the few available jobs is stiff. It therefore is a big injustice to students if they are left to perform poorly and eventually are unable to get jobs as they are unable to compete effectively on the job market (Franco-Santos, Rivera & Bourne 2014, p. 8). Given the implications of poor performance not just on the reputation of the institution but on the very future of the graduates, it only makes sense that initiative be taken to diagnose the state of things in the university from the level of the school of business which has been affected the most by poor performance. Literature Review Educational institutions are the main venues for preparing qualified individuals to meet the needs of the current and future market demands in different domains. In addition, preparing high quality human resource is a priority in most countries these days. That is, poor performance in educational institutions has been a hot topic in the recent years. Before commencing the discussion of the problem of students poor performance, it might be fruitful to start with defining key terms in this study such as performance, underperformance and performance management. Performance is defined as “The accomplishment of a given task measured against preset known standards of accuracy, completeness, cost, and speed” (Galinsky, Maddux, Gilin, & White, 2008, p. 339). Underperformance, on the other hand, can be defined as the failure to perform or to accomplish a set of defined goals. Performance management is defined as “the process through which supervisors and those they lead gain a shared understanding of work expectations and goals, exchange performance feedback, identify learning and development opportunities, and evaluate performance results” (“Overview of Performance Management,” 2014). The following paragraphs review some of the literature that pertain to the study and the analysis of performance management in educational institutions: Performance Management and Improvement Performance in educational institutions has attracted the attention of many scholars. For instance, Ozga discusses the notion of performance in educational institutions. She mainly discusses performance management and measurement in Scotland. In her study, Ozga is concerned with whether or not the measures of performance measurement used by policy makers are reliable to measure the performance of students and the impact of those performance measurements on students and teachers. Ozga’s approach is descriptive as she explores the current measurements used by the management and policy-makers in Scotland. Ozga indicates that policy-makers in the Scottish context focus on quantified performance or achievement and they “place less emphasis on those priority areas such as values and citizenship, or inclusion and equality where progress is more difficult to assess and measure” (Ozga, 2003, p. 2. She argues that performance management should focus only on quantified performance. That is, teachers and teaching institutions should follow ‘teaching to the test’ approach where students’ performance is measured by their results in the test. Bulawa (2014), analyses the implementation of a performance management system (PMS) in Botswana. His study analyses the daily experience of the senior management team, which include school heads, deputy school heads and heads of houses, in order to see the “perceptions of the senior management team about the implementation process of the PMS in Botswana”. In addition his study tries to reveal “the perceptions of the senior management team regarding impediments to their capacity to implement the PMS” (Bulawa, 2014, p. 2). He uses grounded theory as proposed by Corbin & Strauss (1990) to collect qualitative data. He argues that this methodology “provides researchers an opportunity to interact with and gather data directly from their research participants to understand a phenomenon from their perspectives” (Bulawa, 2014, p. 6). The researcher interviewed school heads, deputy school heads and heads of houses “about the perceptions regarding the implementation of the performance management in senior secondary schools” ((Bulawa, 2014, p. 6). He finds that the implementation of the PMS in senior secondary schools has proved a major challenge to the senior management team. He concludes that PMS did not fit in the school context and did not achieve the goals intended by the management. Mapesela & Strydom (2005) conducted a very interesting study on performance management of academic staff in South African higher education. The analysis of the study relies on performance management practices of 3 different institutions. The researchers adopted a qualitative case study research methodology to collect the data. Interviews were also conducted with universities staff members. The study reported that there are many similarities in the experiences of the three institutions with regard to performance management (Mapesela & Strydom, 2005, p. 4). The researchers argue that “performance management is always going to be a complex and difficult reality” (p. 6). They also indicate that “typical business approaches to performance management would not work in higher education” (p. 6); however, existing performance management models can be adapted to meet the needs of higher education institutions. The researchers also pointed out that the development of the complex performance management systems should be built on collaboration between management experts and academic staff on order to be successful. Franco-Santos, Rivera, & Bourne (2014) analyzes institutional performance management of UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in order to provide insights aimed at “informing practice and policymaking in the area of institutional performance management in UK HEIs”( Franco-Santos et al., 2014, p. 10). As for their research methodology, they used case studies to look at the performance management mechanisms in six universities. To do so, the researchers interviewed 110 key individuals from the institutions including vice presidents and front line staff in central services. They also designed an online survey and surveyed staff working in 162 UK HEIs. As a third step, the researchers combined the data from the interviewed and the surveys with publicly available data, from the National Student Satisfaction survey, the last Research Assessment Exercise, the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), and the Universities and College Union’s (UCU) academic staff wellbeing survey. Based on the data analysis, the researchers found that performance management mechanisms UK HEIs are classified into two categories: stewardship-based and agency-based (65). They indicate that the Stewardship approach “focuses on long-term outcomes through people’s knowledge and values, autonomy and shared-leadership within a high trust environment” while Agency approaches “focus on short-term results or outputs through greater monitoring and control” (p.7). The researchers reported that most UK HEIs adopt a hybrid approach combining both stewardship and agency approaches; however many institutions are heading towards the adoption agency mechanisms. They conclude that “there is not a ‘once size fits all’ performance management approach for all institution and for all staff”(8) rather, institutions should adapt performance management approaches depending on the goal or purpose. Almoallim, Aldahlawi, Alqahtani, Alqurashi, & Munshi (2010) conducted a very interesting study to investigate the difficulties that face medical school students at Umm Alqura University in Saudi Arabia. The research targeted to identify the most important problems as mentioned by the students in order to propose solution to enhance their performance. The researchers used questionnaire, which was answered by 165 second-year medical and medical science students. The researchers reported that one of the serious difficulties that face the students is poor English language skill. Almoallim et al. (2010), relied on self-reporting as a method for data collection, questionnaire answered by students only, and they did not survey instructors to see what they think of the student’s performance. This may affect the reliability of the information collected. Some students may not know the reasons behind their low performance. One would argue that including instructors in the survey might help get more reliable data. It was clear that the reviewed literature focuses on performance management and measurement of either the staff member of educational institutions or faculty member. Some other studies focus on looking at the current performance management approaches adopted by certain institutions to provide policy makers with best practices for performance management. Few studies discuss the notion of students’ performance as a management dilemma in educational institutions. Even the studies that discuss the notion of student performance focus on locating the reasons behind students’ poor performance and did not try to propose any solutions, which is considered as an important task for management. Methodology The research was based on qualitative methodology that was majorly explorative. The methodology was such that it sought to understand the whole situation of underperformance in the school of business. The use of questionnaires as a research tool and interviewing as a methodology shows the concern of the research to just understand the circumstances that influence results in the school. By having to use questionnaires the research will not be as empirical as would have been if the methodology was one that was qualitative. The concern of the research methodology will be targeting the root causes of the poor performance in the school from the viewpoint of students and instructors. The questionnaires that were used were those that have been tested for use in similar researches about organizational performance adapted from survey monkey. This was instrumental in helping guarantee validity and consistency of the results. The questionnaires were effective in helping reach to a larger number of participants to give their responses on the matter in their convenience. Participants Being a survey that was based on quantitative methods, participants were picked randomly without specific delineations of age. However, student participants had to have identifications in order to confirm they belong in the school of business so as to avoid having participants who cannot relate to the situations of performance in the target section of the university. Interviews were mainly conducted on class representatives of the semester and instructors who spoke on the various issues that may be leading to the kind of results being realized at the moment in the school. Results and Analysis The results were drawn from the information collected in the interviews and that posted on surveymonkey questionnaires as responses. Notable about the results is that many of the participants to a percentage of 42.86% admitted that what they have to do outside school has often been affecting their performance. Besides this, many students also spent only between 3-6 hours studying in a whole week. Those who spent more than 10hours in study related activities in a week accounted for only 13.79% of the participants. Those who spent 6 hours and less account for over 50% of the participants who responded on the question about how much time they allocated to studies. It is noteworthy about the participants that a majority of 40.00% agreed with the statement that “I think teachers are qualified and well-educated to teach in the business school.” A further 13.33% strongly agreed with the statement which brings the total to over half of the participants who gave a response on the statement. A staggering majority of 76.67% were of the opinion that more grades have to be allocated to small assignments such as homework, presentations and such. On a related prompt, participants of a proportion equal to 46.67% proposed the inclusion of papers as part of the tests that measure performance while an overriding 63.33% favored homework assignments for the same purpose. On the feeling of students about grading, a significant 26.67% of the participants disagreed with the statement that ‘I think the grading system is appropriate to the undergraduate level’. A further 30.00% were of a neutral stand on the issue while only slightly over 40% agreed with the statement that the grading system was appropriate for the undergraduate level. Those who had a feeling that their level of success in school has an implication on their future career were over 63% of the participants. There were expressions of sentiments about the need to cater for individual differences in the learning and concerns over the need to improve the instructional methods as well as ways of evaluating the learners since they have an overlying implication on their performance. Discussions This is one of the most explicit researches on some of the issues that may be affecting the performance of students in Khaled University from the perception of students in the school of economics. Education in University as a higher level institution needs to support personal initiative among learners. This is because at this level, students will have started engaging in various social activities and economic ones as well as political. They therefore may experience problems with the balancing of their study hours with other responsibilities which eventually reflects in poor performance. It is therefore can only be prudent of curriculum planners to ensure that the evaluation strategies be adjusted to consider this fact (Ozga 2003, p. 16). This means that using sit-in tests may not translate to perfect results. This is why the suggestion that are expressed in the questionnaires hold true. The use of such evaluation strategies as homework or take away papers can be a good way of allowing the students, especially those who have many engagements time to organize themselves and submit assignments that are well worked out. Learners can also be engaged in such other measurement tests as projects, presentations in class among other activities that are graded which can be a helpful alternative that is just as efficient yet flexible in accommodating the dynamics of the various types of students in the university educational system. The instructional methods should also be adjusted to be gradable. This can include such avenues of measuring performance as participation in class activities, the level of activeness in discussions and commitment to attending lessons. This is vital in helping learners be prompted to be initiative takers in matters that concern their education and performance. It is common in many universities nowadays due to the swelling number of students to only rely on lecturing which one of the least effective instructional methods to apply on university students. This is also because it will not respond to the specific needs of individual learners as raised by some learners in the survey. By use of alternate instructional methods especially those that are learner centered, the students may be made active participants in the teaching-learning process (Ozga 2003, p. 16). By using the methods of lecturing and the dishing out of handouts and dictation only makes learners passive and receptive rather than givers as well who have ability to contribute to their own learning. This is the reason as to why assignments, discussions, project work and group work are vital instructional strategies that can get learners to benefit from the resources in the university and from each other. It is vital that the feedbacks after evaluation be timely and well graded. The reservations about the quality of grading can be cleared through the appropriate integration of peer grading where learners can either evaluate themselves or their classmates which makes them have a better confidence in the whole educational system at the university. Delimitation and Implication While the results of this study are of prime significance if they are put to use, there are certain issues that have to be considered before putting them to full application. One of the major weaknesses of the research is its entire qualitative orientation. This has compromised its empiricism and its consistency. The results of this study may not be the same in a similar study in another school or even in the same institution. This means that the generalization of the study has to be carefully implemented. Its major strength is that it perfected on the exploration of circumstances around performance from both the perspectives of learners and students. However, this can be improved if future researches can have some experimental elements that may involve variable manipulation. This can be helpful in coming out with clear recommendations on how best to solve the problem of poor performance among students in institutions of higher learning and especially universities. Conclusion The standards of education in institutions of higher learning depend on the curriculum, qualification of teachers and the teaching learning activities applied. From this research, it comes out rather clearly that the manner in which the content is delivered to learners has to be such that it encourages initiative taking among learners to be active participants in the teaching-learning process. The curriculum, instructional methods as well as the strategies of evaluation have to alighned to the fact that university students have other varying activities outside school. This may affect their concentration on academic matters and hence as a way to help them post better results, use of measurement strategies other than the traditional testing would help improve their performance. It is only when students are made to be active searching for knowledge rather than just receiving that they can benefit from the University education. This means that the reliance on lecturing as a method of instruction in universities only serves to make students be out of touch with the content. This is the reason as to why this research would strongly recommend the use of learner-centered methods that include the use of class discussions, group work and projects which in a way also cater for the individual differences among students. It would also be beneficial if the grading system had a higher percentage of marks gotten through homework assignments, participation in class activities, term papers among other measurement avenues which will boost the performance of learners. A change in instructional methods and the accompanying measurement and evaluation strategies are what will influence the setting of better standards of performance in universities and the offering of quality curriculum that unlocks the potential of learners to perform better in the various courses they undertake. List of References Almoallim, H., Aldahlawi, S., Alqahtani, E., Alqurashi, S., & Munshi, A. (2010). Difficulties facing first-year medical students at Umm Alqura University in Saudi Arabia. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 16, 1272–1277. Bulawa, P. (2014). Impediments to senior management team s ( SMT ) role of implementing the performance management system ( PMS ) in senior secondary schools in Botswana. International Journal of Current Research and Academic Review, 2(3), 1–18. Corbin, J. M., & Strauss, A. (1990). Grounded theory research: Procedures, canons, and evaluative criteria. Qualitative Sociology, 13, 3–21. Franco-Santos, M., Rivera, P., & Bourne, M. (2014). Performance Management in UK Higher Education InstitUtions: The need for a Hybrid Approach (p. 71). London. Retrieved from http://www.som.cranfield.ac.uk/som/dinamic-content/news/documents/PerformanceManagementinUKHigherEducationInstitutions.pdf Galinsky, A. D., Maddux, W. W., Gilin, D., & White, J. B. (2008). Why it pays to get inside the head of your opponent: the differential effects of perspective taking and empathy in negotiations. Psychological Science : A Journal of the American Psychological Society / APS, 19, 378–384. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02096.x Mapesela, M., & Strydom, F. (2005). Performance management of academic staff in South African higher education: a developmental research project. In Trends in the management of human resources in higher education (pp. 1–9). Paris. Overview of Performance Management. (2014). Florida, The University of South. Retrieved October 29, 2014, from http://usfweb2.usf.edu/human-resources/Talent-Management/pdfs/overviewperformancemanagement.pdf Ozga, J. (2003). Measuring & Managing Performance in Education. Retrieved from http://www.ces.ed.ac.uk/PDF Files/Brief027.pdf (Franco-Santos, Rivera & Bourne 2014) Read More