Analysis of some factors influencing the performance of college students: An example of Computer Science education

Introduction. In recent years, the structure and content of training of specialists of further education have significantly improved. The increased popularity of the secondary vocational education system is evidenced by the fact that more than half of the Russian teenagers after graduating from the main stage of secondary school become applicants of technical schools and colleges. In order to manage students’ education more effectively, among other measures, it is necessary to diagnose the motivation of enrolled students at the stage of admission to the educational institution and to identify the degree of awareness of their future career choice, as these factors directly depend on the success of educational programmes.

The aim of the article was to reveal the trends of influence of students’ results at the Basic State Exam (OGE – the exam, which is taken when finishing education in the 9th (final) form of comprehensive school) on the level of knowledge of Computer Science in colleges and to find out the subjective reasons of students’ preferences for the secondary vocational education system to continue studies and to enter a profession.

Methodology and research methods. In the course of the study, a review and generalisation of the content of scientific sources related to the problems of professional choice and training motivation were used. Diagnostics of motivation of college students in Moscow, Moscow region and the regions of Russia was conducted through the methods of testing, surveys and anonymous questioning. Processing of the obtained data was carried out by the methods of correlation, variance and regression analysis; the degree of statistical reliability of the results was evaluated by calculating the Student’s t-test and the Fisher’s F-test.

Results and scientific novelty. The authors have calculated the numerical indicators of relationship between students’ academic performance in computer science and the Basic State Exam taking, the reasons for choosing the secondary vocational education and the specialty. Constructed graphs and approximating curves prove the fact that the success degree when learning the certain discipline in college results from the assessment within the discipline taken at the Basic State Exam in school. In the regions of Russia, this factor guarantees a higher level of knowledge on Computer Science – by about 20%, and in the Moscow region – by 10%. The statistics on respondents’ professional orientation were collected. A regression model, demonstrating the impact of students’ motivational attitudes on their training in the subject discipline, is presented. It was found out that the motives “subsequent admission to a specialised university”, “obtaining a profession”, “business attitude to a profession” and “prestige of a profession” have the most positive influence in this context. The variance analysis confirmed the determinism of the learning outcomes by the reasons for the choice of secondary vocational education and profession. It is concluded that the reasons for the low or medium students’ performance include not only their weak motivation for education, but also the state of the entire education system, including the institutions of the Basic State Exam (OGE) and the Unified State Exam (EGE – high school final and university entrance exam taken upon completion of the 11th form), as well as the lack of clear criteria for the admission of applicants to the institutions of secondary vocational education. To get a specific specialty, the desire to study, its informed choice and prestige of profession positively affect students’ learning outcomes in Computer Science education.

Practical significance. The research materials can be useful for teachers of secondary vocational education and for specialists involved in career guidance.

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