IMPORTANT LEARNING DIMENSIONS INFLUENCING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS LEARNING AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION
The main aim of this study was to determine the opinions of the undergraduate students and faculty members on factors that affect student learning and academic achievement. The sub aims of this study were to:
1) Develop a mean rank ordering of the 23 dimensions affecting learning, for both the students and faculty, and determine the similarities and differences between the two populations.
2) Determine whether the differences between student and faculty opinion on the dimensions were statistically significant.
3) Determine that what faculty can do help undergraduate students’ learning.
4) Propose some suggestions for Turkish Higher Education Council (YÖK), faculty of education, faculty members and further research and project on the effective teaching and learning in higher education, and the further academic planning.
To determine some of the important learning dimensions influencing academic performance within the classroom environment a questionnaire as a survey of 23 items was applied to 168 undergraduate students and 45 faculty members at the Department of Primary Education of Faculty of Education of Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University (Turkey) during the fall 2003 semester.
The statistical techniques having been used in this study were the following:
a) Frequence and percent;
b) Mean score and arithmetic mean;
c) “t” test for the difference of the means;
d) One-way analysis of variance;
e) Kruskal-Wallis procedure on the difference of the medians;
f) Non-parametric statistical method; and
g) Test-retest method.
The results showed that in 10 instructional dimensions there was a statistically significant difference between two populations. The positive t value indicated that the mean score for the students was higher than the mean score for the faculty member. This was true for 6 of the 10 dimensions. But both gave low importance to dimensions such as the hour of day class meet, required or selective lectures, textbook, course supplements and faculty members’ concern for students as individuals.