When we look at landmark legislation that significantly impacted the face of education in our country, we often think of events such as the passage of the Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, whereby students with disabilities would now be brought into our public school system and educated alongside of their non-handicapped peers. We may also think of the landmark decision in Oliver L. Brown et. al. v. The Board of Education of Topeka (Kansas) in 1954, abolishing legalized racial segregation within the United States public school system. In 2006, the ground significantly shifted again for educators-at least those in the state of Michigan.
Abstract The successful professional integration of higher education graduates is closely linked to the quality of students' training during their university studies and their motivation to engage in the process of training and developing professional and transversal competences. Academic success can be defined either in terms of the high academic achievement of a well-established academic pathway or by reference to the extent of academic results achieved during training, during university studies and in line with training requirements. Definitions of academic success differ, due to different perspectives of analysis. Approaching academic success from an analytical perspective integrates categories of factors that explain academic success as a process. The present article aims to present a register of factors influencing academic success and to explain their influence on student personality and successful academic career shaping. Categories of factors related to the internal and external learning environment were considered, such as personal/individual, social, economic, cultural, educational and psychological. Academic success among students is moreover explained by reference to the management of learning activities implemented by students and aspects related to the flexibility dimension of learning in the academic space, with positive implications on it. Academic success is also explained by considering academic standards and the achievement of these standards as a measure of assessment. The philosophy of defining academic success identifies the concept as being a relative one. In this sense, student satisfaction with one's own academic performance can integrate academic success. From an academic perspective, high academic achievement, objectively measured, characterises academic success.
The predictors of academic success usually include aptitude and previous achievement measures. The present study used a modified version of Rusbult and Farrell's (1983) commitment questionnaire to predict final grades in a university setting. As part of a larger study on the relationship between attitudes and study behaviors, 39 students completed the five parts of the Rusbult and Farrell questionnaire. Responses were then correlated with three dependent measures: a final course grade in calculus, grade point average (GPA), and the grade in a humanities course. Results showed that adjusted R2 of .38 and .40 were obtained with the first two criteria. The implications of using affective variables for predicting academic achievement are discussed.
When we look at landmark legislation that significantly impacted the face of education in our country,we often think of events such as the passage of the Education of All Handicapped Children Act of1975, whereby students with disabilities would now be brought into our public school system andeducated alongside of their non-handicapped peers. We may also think of the landmark decision inOliver L. Brown et. al. v. The Board of Education of Topeka (Kansas) in 1954, abolishing legalizedracial segregation within the United States public school system. In 2006, the ground significantlyshifted again for educators-at least those in the state of Michigan.
Dans cet article, nous examinons, à l'aide d'un ensemble de données couplées, les déterminants de la persévérance et de la réussite scolaires à l'université. Parmi ces déterminants, les notes obtenues au secondaire jouent un rôle nettement plus importants que la nature du programme universitaire, le sexe, l'entourage et les caractéristiques de l'école secondaire fréquentée. Le revenu moyen dans l'entourage et le classement de l'école secondaire fréquentée à des tests standardisés ont ainsi peu de liens avec la réussite à l'université. Ces résultats soulèvent des questions intéressantes sur ce qui permettrait d'expliquer la variation des notes à l'école secondaire et sur la combinaison de facteurs – liés à l'individu, à la famille et à l'école secondaire fréquentée – qui influe sur les résultats à l'université.
Abstract Mental health problems represent a potentially important but relatively unexplored factor in explaining human capital accumulation during college. We conduct the first study, to our knowledge, of how mental health predicts academic success during college in a random longitudinal sample of students. We find that depression is a significant predictor of lower GPA and higher probability of dropping out, particularly among students who also have a positive screen for an anxiety disorder. In within-person estimates using our longitudinal sample, we find again that co-occurring depression and anxiety are associated with lower GPA, and we find that symptoms of eating disorders are also associated with lower GPA. This descriptive study suggests potentially large economic returns from programs to prevent and treat mental health problems among college students, and highlights the policy relevance of evaluating the impact of such programs on academic outcomes using randomized trials.
Since the passage of the federal legislation known as No Child Left Behind, school districts are under increasing pressure to decrease high school dropout rates and to increase high school graduation rates. There is a critical need for schools to develop and implement programs designed to maximize academic success for all high school students. The purpose of this present research was to investigate the perceptions of high school teachers and high school students about barriers to high school student academic success. For purposes of this study, high school academic success is defined as the completion of all high school diploma requirements within the usual four-year time span. Data for this study were obtained through individual face-to-face interviews with eight high school teachers and two focus group interviews of students. Data analysis focused on the identification of barriers to high school student academic success. Factors related to the following contexts emerged as recognizable academic success barriers: (a) the individual student, (b) the family, and (c) the educational institution. Teachers and students recognized high school student dropout risk factors to include low prior academic achievement, being over age for grade level, failure to accrue credits, and poor quality communications between the school and the home. The researcher concluded that both participant groups are aware of many academic success barriers. Study findings suggest that all stakeholders wishing to improve academic outcomes should become familiar with potential success barriers and take action to alleviate those amenable to change. Study data suggest that improved relationships among the following could potentially improve academic outcomes for students, and for at risk high school students, in particular: (a) teacher - student, (b) teacher - parent, (c) school - community. This study has policy and practice implications for public high schools and secondary school educators.
