Factors Contributing to Academic Performance of Students in a Tertiary Institution in Singapore

S. Valli Jayanthi¹, Santhi Balakrishnan¹, Angela Lim Siok Ching², Noor Aaqilah Abdul Latiff¹ and A.M.A. Nasirudeen^1,

¹School of Health Sciences, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, 535 Clementi Road, Singapore

²Alexandra Hospital-Jurong Health Services, 378 Alexandra Road, Singapore

Cite this paper:
S. Valli Jayanthi, Santhi Balakrishnan, Angela Lim Siok Ching, Noor Aaqilah Abdul Latiff and A.M.A. Nasirudeen. Factors Contributing to Academic Performance of Students in a Tertiary Institution in Singapore. American Journal of Educational Research. 2014; 2(9):752-758. doi: 10.12691/education-2-9-8

Abstract

This study was conducted to examine different factors influencing the academic performance of students in a tertiary institution in Singapore. The main method of data collection was a semi-structured questionnaire administered to 144 students. The specific objectives of the study were to determine if factors such as gender, age, nationality of student, part-time employment, extracurricular activities and interest in pursuing higher studies affected academic success. The study also examined the learning methods used by students and how these affected their academic scores. The students’ cumulative Grade Point Average (cGPA) was used as a measure of academic performance. The data were analyzed quantitatively and the results showed that factors such as gender, nationality of student, co-curricular activities and an interest in pursuing higher degrees affected students’ academic scores. The use of past year examination papers as a learning method improved students’ academic scores compared to other methods.

Keywords:
school education academic performance tertiary institution Singapore education Singapore students

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References:

[1]	Crosnoe, R., Johnson, M. K., & Elder, G. H. (2004). School size and the interpersonal side of education: An examination of race/ethnicity and organizational context. Social Science Quarterly, 85(5), 1259-1274.
[2]	Farooq, M.S., Chaudhry, A.H., Shafiq, M., and Berhanu, G. (2011). Factors affecting students’ quality of academic performance: A case of secondary school level. Journal of Quality and Technology Management, 7, 1-14.
[3]	Cambridge University Reporter. (2003). Indicators of academic performance. Available: http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/reporter/2002-03/weekly/5915/ [Accessed Feb. 12, 2014]
[4]	Romer, D. (1993). Do students go to class? Should they? Journal of Economic Perspectives, 7(3), 167-174.
[5]	Aripin, R., Mahmood, Z., Rohaizad, R., Yeop, U., &Anuar, M. (2008). Students’ learning styles and academic performance.22nd Annual SAS Malaysia Forum, 15th July 2008, Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
[6]	Haist, S. A., Wilson, J. F., Elam, C. L., Blue, A. V., &Fosson, S. E. (2000). The effect of gender and age on medical school performance: An important interaction. Advances in Health SciencesEducation, 5(3), 197-205.
[7]	Heinesen, E. (2010). Estimating class-size effects using within-school variation in subject-specific classes. The Economic Journal, 120(545), 737-760.
[8]	Mlambo, V. (2011). An analysis of some factors affecting student academic performance in an introductory biochemistry course at the University of the West Indies. Carribean Teaching Scholar, 1, 79-92.
[9]	Ali, S., Haider, Z., Munir, F., Khan, H., and Ahmed, A. (2013). Factors Contributing to the Students Academic Performance: A Case Study of Islamia University Sub-Campus. American Journal of Educational Research, 1, 283-289.
[10]	Borde, S. F. (1998). Predictors of student academic performance in the introductory marketing course. Journal of Education for Business, 73, 302-307.
[11]	Meece, J. L., & Jones, M. G. (1996). Gender differences in motivation and strategy use in science: Are girls rote learners? Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 33, 393-406.
[12]	Hedges, L., & Newell, A. (1999). Changes in the Black-White gap in achievement scores. Sociology of Education, 72(2), 111-135.
[13]	Alton-Lee, A., &Praat, A. (2001). Explaining and addressing gender differences in the New Zealand compulsory school sector. Wellington: Ministry of Education. Available: http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/12141/Explaining_and_Addressing_Gender_Differences.pdf [Accessed Feb 18, 2014].
[14]	Mullis, I. V. S., Martin, M. O., Gonzalez, E. J., & Kennedy, A. M. (2003). PIRLS 2001 international report: IEA’s study of reading literacy achievement in primary schools. Chestnut Hill, MA: Boston College.
[15]	Woodfield, R., & Earl-Novell, S. (2006). An assessment of the extent to which subject variation in relation to the award of first class degree between the arts and sciences can explain the ‘gender gap’. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 27(3), 355-372.
[16]	Portes, A. and Rumbaut, R.G. (2001) Legacies: The Story of the Immigrant Second Generation. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
[17]	Portes, A. and Rumbaut, R.G. (2005). “Introduction: The Second Generation and the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study” Ethnic and Racial Studies, 28(6), 983-999.
[18]	Kroneberg, C. (2008). “Ethnic Communities and School Performance among the New’ Second Generation in the United States: Testing the Theory of Segmented Assimilation.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 620, 138-160.
[19]	Yousef, D. A. (2011). Academic Performance of Business Students in Quantitative Courses: A Study in the Faculty of Business and Economics at the UAE University. Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 9, 255-267.
[20]	Nasirudeen, A.M.A., Koh, W.N.J., Lau, L.C.A., Lim, L.S., and How, A.L. (2014). Acculturative stress among Asian international students in Singapore. Journal of International Students, 4, 363-374.
[21]	Chu, A. M., Yeh, E.K., Klein, N.A., Alexander, A.A., & Miller, M.A. (1971). A study of Chinese students’ adjustment in the U.S.A. Acta psychological Taiwanica, 13, 206-218.
[22]	Dozier, S. B. (2001). Undocumented and documented international students. Community college review, 29(2), 43-54.
[23]	Rienties, B., Beausaert, S., Grohnert, T., Niemantsverdriet, S., and Kommers, P. (2012). Understanding academic performance of international students: the role of ethnicity, academic and social integration. Higher Education, 63, 685-700.
[24]	Desmedt, E., and Valcke, M. (2003). Learning style awareness: why would it work? Paper presented at the Proceedings of the Eighth Annual European Learning Styles Information Network Conference, University of Hull, UK.
[25]	Norman, G.(2009). When will learning style go out of style? Advances in Health and Science Education, 14, 1-4.
[26]	Coffield, F., Moseley, D., Hall, E., Ecclestone, K. (2004). Should we be using learning styles? What research has to say to practice. London: The Learning and Skills Research Centre.
[27]	Fielding, M. (1994). Valuing difference in teachers and learners: building on Kolb's learning styles to develop a language of teaching and learning. Curriculum Journal, 5, 393-417.
[28]	Lujan, H.L., and DiCarlo, S.E., 2006. First-year medical students prefer multiple learning styles. Advances in Physiology Education, 30, 13-16.
[29]	Cuthbert, P.F. (2005) The student Learning Process: Learning Styles or learning approaches? Teach. Higher Education, 10, 235-249.
[30]	Alkhasawneh, I.M., Mrayyan, M.T., Docherty, C., Alashram, S., and Yousef, H.Y. (2008). Problem-based learning (PBL): assessing students' learning preferences using VARK. Nurse Education Today, 28, 572-579.
[31]	Isman, C.A., and Gundogan, N.U. (2009). The influence of digit ratio on the gender difference in learning style preferences. Personality and Individual Differences, 46 (4), 424-427.
[32]	Meehan-Andrews, T.A. (2009). Teaching mode efficiency and learning preferences of first year nursing students. Nurse Education Today, 29, 24-32.
[33]	Fleming, N.D., and Mills, C. (1992). Not another inventory, rather a catalyst for reflection. To Improve the Academy, 11, 137-149.
[34]	Hruska-Riechmann, S., and Grasha, A.F. (1982). The Grasha–Reichmann student learning style scales. In: Keef, J. (Ed.), Student Learning Styles and Brain Behaviour. National Association of Secondary School Principals, Reston, Va, pp. 81-86.
[35]	Holloway, J.H. (1999). Research Link / Extracurricular Activities: The Path to Academic Success? Understanding Youth Culture, 57, 87-88.
[36]	Silliker, S., & Quirk, J. (1997). The effect of extracurricular activity participation on the academic performance of male and female high students.The School Counselor, 44, 288-293.
[37]	Gerber, S. (1996). Extracurricular activities and academic achievement.Journal of Research and Development in Education, 30(1), 42-50.
[38]	Marsh, H. W., &Kleitman, S. (2002). Extracurricular activities: The good, the bad, and the nonlinear [Electronic version]. Harvard Educational Review, 72, 464-512.
[39]	Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 191-215.
[40]	Zimmerman, B., Bandura, A. & Martinez-Pons, M. (1992). Self-motivation for academic attainment: The role of self-efficacy beliefs and personal goal setting. American Educational Research Journal, 29, 663-676.
[41]	Fraenkel, J.R., &Wallen, N.E. (1996). How to design and evaluate research in education (3rd Ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
[42]	Polit, D.F. and Beck, C.T. (2006). The content validity index: Are you sure you know what’s being reported? Critique and recommendations. Research in Nursing & Health, 29, 489-497.
[43]	Kathuri, N. J, and Palls, A. D. (1993). Introduction to educational research. Egerton University Education Book series.
[44]	Sutherland, W.J., Spiegelhalter, D. &Burgman, M.A. (2013). Twenty tips for interpreting scientific claims. Nature, 503, 335-337.
[45]	Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates.
[46]	Lao, R. C. (1980). Differential Factors Affecting Male and Female Academic Performance in High School, The Journal of Psychology, 104, 119-127.
[47]	Leonard, D. K. and Jiang, J. (1999) Gender Bias and the College Predictors of the SATs: A Cry of Despair, Research in Higher Education, 40, 375-407.
[48]	Ceballo, R., McLoyd, V., &Toyokawa, T. (2004). The influence of neighbourhood quality on adolescents’ educational values and school efforts. Journal of Adolescent Research, 19, 716-739.
[49]	Wainer, H. and Steinberg, L. S. (1992) Sex Differences in Performance on the Mathematics Section of the Scholastic Aptitude Test: A Bidirectional Validity Study, Harvard Educational Review, 62, 323-336.
[50]	Newman-Ford, L., Lloyd, S., & Thomas, S. (2009). An investigation in the effects of gender, prior academic achievement, place of residence, age and attendance on first-year undergraduate attainment. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 1, 13-28.
[51]	Richardson, J.T.E. (1994). Mature students in higher education: academic performance and intellectual ability. Higher Education 28.Kluwer Academic Publishers.The Netherlands.
[52]	Fredricks, J.A., & Eccles, J.S. (2006). Is extracurricular participation associated with beneficial outcomes? Concurrent and longitudinal relations. Developmental Psychology, 42, 698-713.
[53]	Gardner, M., Roth, J., & Brooks-Gunn, 1. (2008). Adolescents' participation in organized activities and developmental success 2 and 8 years after high school: Do sponsorship, duration, and intensity matter? Developmental Psychology, 44, 814-830.
[54]	Bandura, A. &Schunk, D. (1981). Cultivating competence, self-efficacy, and intrinsic interest through proximal self-motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 41, 586-598.
[55]	Felder, R.M. (1993). “Reaching the Second Tier: Learning and Teaching Styles in College Science Education,” J. Coll. Sci. Teaching, 23, 286-290.