It has been claimed that homework is an effective means of developing good study habits (Cooper, 1994) and fostering positive attitudes (Marzano & Pickering, 2007) and self-responsibility (Brown, in Plato, 2000). If we are to believe this, then we need to ensure that all learners have equal or at least similar opportunities to gain these…

The emergence of what is increasingly becoming known as the knowledge age implies that higher education should prepare students to be, primarily, knowledge workers. This proposition triggered a small scale study in which structured interviews were carried out with 25 second-year undergraduates registered for a psychology module on motivational…

In a course on biological psychology and neuropsychology, study questions were provided that also appeared as test questions in the course exam. This method was introduced to support students in active processing and reproduction of the study texts, and study planning. Data were gathered to test the hypothesis that study question use would be…

This study investigated the impact of students' conceptions of constructivist learning activities on academic achievement and drop-out. Although constructivism represents an influential view of learning, studies investigating how students conceptualize this perspective have not been conducted before. A structural equation modelling approach was…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to inform international student study strategies as well as course design and instructional approach. Design/methodology/approach: Multiple research methods are applied, starting with exploratory data analysis, principal component analysis, confirmatory ordinal factor analysis, then recursive regression.…

The Approaches to Study Inventory was completed by 316 of a sample of 473 Australian nursing students. Construct validation supported two orientations to study: meaning (deep learning) and reproducing (surface learning). Lack of change in orientation from the first to the third year suggests a need to nurture deep-level learning. (SK)

The historical black universities (HBUs) in South Africa were established by the apartheid government to serve black students banned from attending segregated white-only universities. These universities were poorly funded compared to the white-only universities. The poor funding affected their output (research and postgraduates) adversely. With…

This study examined the relationship between problem-solving ability and study behavior of secondary school students in Southwestern Nigeria. A total of 430 SS 3 students randomly selected from fifteen secondary schools in Southwestern Nigeria participated in the study. A Problem-Solving Inventory and a Study Behaviour Inventory were employed in…

This paper introduces the idea of the perceived curriculum from the student's viewpoint. Based on this, students' perception of opportunity to learn is measured and a process indicator developed for use in school effectiveness research and school evaluation. The Essential Skills of the New Zealand Curriculum are used as the foundation for the…

Purpose: This paper seeks to look at the usage of the internet by students, academics and university administrators as part of their normal working day. It investigates whether access to computer facilities and the mode of study have any influence, or whether other factors need to be considered when providing services. Design/methodology/approach:…

A sample of 48 college students prepared for in-class examinations using two web-based study conditions. The A condition used web-based study groups and the B condition used web-based quizzes. The Index of Learning Styles positioned students on four dimensions of learning style (active-reflective, visual-verbal, sequential-global, and…

Several studies have emphasised the importance of addressing social and emotional factors in facilitating adjustment to tertiary education. This article describes the Skills for Success in Science programme at the University of Cape Town. The broad aims were life skills development and improved adjustment which are assumed to underpin academic…

The objective of this paper is to describe and analyse the role that study groups might play in improving the entrepreneurial competencies of farmers. The most important competencies are described. Emphasis is placed on group learning processes and participatory approaches. Theories of adult learning and extension paradigms in relation to our…

Findings are presented from a study of undergraduate students' experiences of understanding in first-year engineering. At the end of their first year of study 86 Swedish students of electrical engineering and computer science were asked to reflect in writing on their experiences of studying and learning. Fifteen of them also took part in…

Many recent studies of student learning are grounded in a theoretical framework which is experiential and describes learning from the learner's perspective or "from the inside". A research project on student learning in the Open University has followed a group of 30 students through their first year of university study. Students were…