Factors related to the perceived educational experiences of junior high school students

• Main Author: Paddock-Colbourne, Ruby
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 1993
• Subjects: Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://research.library.mun.ca/5022/; https://research.library.mun.ca/5022/1/Paddock-Colbourne_Ruby.pdf; https://research.library.mun.ca/5022/3/Paddock-Colbourne_Ruby.pdf

This study examined the perceived educational experiences of Newfoundland junior high school students to determine how gender, age, academic ability, grade level, grade retention, parental education, parental occupation, and area of residence related to those experiences. -- The research sample was 676 students in grades 7 (34%), 8 (31%), and 9 (35%). Urban and rural areas were represented equally, and 45% were male and 55% female. They represented 41 classes, 14 schools, and nine school board districts. -- The instruments used were a four part student survey questionnaire, and a teacher form on which student academic ability and performance were reported. The internal consistency of the student form was .92. -- The Statistical Social Science Computer Program, SPSSX, was used to analyze data collected. The procedures employed were: (a) one-way analysis of variance followed by the Student Newman-Keuls post hoc multiple comparisons procedure, (b) generation of a correlation matrix, (c) stepwise multiple regression analysis, and (d) descriptive statistics. -- The factors found to influence students' perceived educational experiences, as identified by research questions posed, were: (a) academic ability, (b) parental education, (c) gender, (d) age, and (e) area of residence. The factors found to have little influence were: (a) grade level, (b) grade retention, and (c) parental occupation. A need for changes to school climate, teaching methods, extracurricular offerings, and other areas for school improvement were identified by descriptive statistics' procedures. Significant relationships among aspects of students' perceived educational experiences, as represented by categories of the dependent variable, also were identified using multiple regression analysis. -- Findings of the study resulted in 20 recommendations for practice in junior high schools, three recommendations for policy, and suggested eight areas for further research.