If you want to know why students fail, just ask them
Carita DeVilbiss1, Valerie J Rice, Linda Laws
1Army Medical Department Field Element, Army Research Laboratory, Fort Sam Houston, TX, USA.
U.S. Army Medical Department Journal
|December 25, 2010
Summary
Student academic struggles are often linked to external factors like teaching methods and pace, not just personal issues. Poor sleep significantly impacts academic performance, with failing students reporting less sleep than their peers.
Area of Science:
- Educational Psychology
- Student Success Studies
- Academic Performance Research
Background:
- Self-reported data on academic failure can be unreliable due to potential bias.
- Understanding external factors influencing student success is crucial for program improvement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify external reasons for academic success or failure in a training program.
- To compare self-reported data with peer-reported data for validation.
Main Methods:
- Surveyed four groups: students who failed (F), their peers (F-P), students who passed (P), and their peers (P-P).
- Analyzed data using chi-square and t-tests (P < .05).
- Focused on external factors: class structure, instructors, support systems, and sleep.
Main Results:
- Few discrepancies between student and peer reports.
- Positive factors: individual attention, strong support systems, and unit bonding.
- Negative factors: difficulty focusing during long classes, ineffective teaching methods, fast pace (for failing students), and insufficient sleep (3-4 hours for failing students vs. 5-6 hours for others).
Conclusions:
- External factors significantly influence student academic outcomes.
- Identified organizational strengths and student-specific challenges.
- Findings can inform administrative goal-setting and program adjustments to reduce attrition.
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