Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Academic Performance”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,225 records · Page 68Linked to original sources

The use of solvents and other drugs among children and adolescents from a low socioeconomic background: a study in São Paulo, Brazil.

This paper describes the pattern of solvent and other drug use among a sample of 1,836 students from a low socioeconomic background, aged 9-18 years. Nearly 24% of the respondents reported lifetime use of solvents and 4.9% used them within the past 30 days. The more common ones were a mixture of chloroform and ether popularly known as "lança-perfume" (35.9%), acetone (33.9%), gasoline (31.9%), fingernail polish (30.3%), and glue (25.2%). The use of solvents was associated with poor academic performance, being employed, and heavy alcohol consumption among close relatives. Marijuana was the next most often used drug, followed by tranquilizers (3.6% and 2.6%, respectively). Males, compared to females, were more likely to report the use of solvents and marijuana. The use of sedatives was more common among females.

Achievement↗

Cigarette smoking among Chinese adolescents and its association with demographic characteristics, social activities, and problem behaviors.

The rate and pattern of cigarette smoking were assessed using data collected in 1991 from 1,040 6th, 8th, and 10th grade youth in Beijing, People's Republic of China. One-fifth of the youth reported having ever smoked cigarettes. The rate of smoking appears to increase with advancing age and is associated with poorer academic performance and participation in unstructured activities and other problem behaviors. In contrast to data from European and United States youth, smoking is significantly more prevalent among males (29%) than among females (11%, p < .0001). The data underscore the need for smoking-prevention programs targeting Chinese early adolescents.

Achievement↗

Drug use and lifestyle among college students in Austria and the United States.

Using an anonymous questionnaire, we assessed the prevalence of alcohol use and illicit drug use among 545 college students in Innsbruck, Austria in 1995. The questionnaire also assessed various aspects of students' lifestyles, including academic performance, college activities, career plans, visits to a psychiatrist, and sexual activity. We compared these results with those obtained using the same questionnaire at a similar American college in 1989. We found that the prevalence of virtually all forms of illicit substance use was much higher among the American students. In both Austria and the United States, however, we found few differences between drug users and nonusers on most measures of lifestyle, with the exception of hetero-sexual activity.

Adult↗

Interactions of language and cognition in deaf learners: from research to practice.

It is well established that deaf children begin school lagging in general language skills relative to hearing peers, and that deaf and hearing students differ with regard to literacy and other academic skills. These domains are typically treated separately, by different groups of researchers, with little consideration for common factors that might underlie them. It appears, however, that both of these situations might reflect differences in conceptual and content knowledge, as well as linguistic knowledge, between and among deaf and hearing learners. Such differences would clearly contribute to observed patterns of academic performance, and might have rather specific consequences for the development of language and literacy. A review of relevant research indicates interactions in concept-related language and cognitive processes among deaf learners, interactions that would be expected to influence language and literacy skills and potentially provide avenues for improvements in both.

Cognition↗

Veterinary school admission interviews, part 2: survey of North American schools.

A study of veterinary school admission interview practices across the USA and Canada was conducted in 1999. All 31 schools responded. INTERVIEW USE: Eighty-four percent of the veterinary schools interview applicants. Veterinary schools are more likely to interview resident than non-resident applicants (62% interviewed >or=49% of their resident applicants, while 77% interviewed or=77%). The five most common characteristics and skills the veterinary admission interview is intended to assess are communication skills, maturity, motivation for and interest in veterinary medicine, interpersonal skills, and knowledge of the veterinary profession (>or=92%). The least common characteristic or skill the veterinary admission interview is intended to assess is academic performance (23%). INTERVIEW FORMAT: Veterinary schools are most likely to offer one interview to a candidate (83%). A panel interview with between two and three interviewers is the predominant format employed (92%). The interview is of 20-45 minutes duration (88%), most commonly 30 minutes (50%). Interview questions most often address experiences in veterinary medicine, general background, and strengths and weaknesses (>or=85%). The level of interview structure is low to moderate (73%). The cold or blind interview (where interviewers are denied access to all or part of the written application) is employed by 50% of the interviewing veterinary schools. INTERVIEWERS: Interviewing veterinary schools assign interviewing to faculty veterinarians (100%). Some level of interviewer training is usually provided (87%); the most common mode of training is distribution of printed material (86%). SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The veterinary admissions interview is similar to that employed by schools of medicine, optometry, and dentistry, with the exception that veterinary schools are more likely to use panel interviews, to fix the interview weight in selection decisions, and to employ a cold or blind interview (these differences provide an opportunity to increase interview reliability and validity). Interview reliability and validity can be further improved by increasing interviewer training and interview structure, ensuring that the interview's format is consistent with its purpose, and identifying behavioral characteristics that are consistent with successful practice.

Canada↗

Surgery of epilepsy associated with focal lesions in childhood.

OBJECT: Surgery in children with epilepsy is a new, evolving field. The important practical issues have been to define strategies for choosing the most suitable candidates and the type and optimal timing of epilepsy surgery. This study was undertaken to elucidate these points. METHODS: To identify the factors that correlated with outcome, the authors analyzed a series of 200 children (aged 1-15 years (mean 8.7 years) who underwent surgery between 1981 and 1996 at the Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades. In 171 cases (85.5%) the epilepsy was medically refractory and was associated with focal cortical lesions. Surgery consisted of resection of the lesion without specifically attempting to identify and remove the "epileptogenic area. "In the group of children whose seizures were medically refractory, the mean follow-up period was 5.8 years. According to Engel's classification, 71.3% of these children became seizure free (Class 1a,) whereas 82% were in Class I. A multivariate statistical analysis revealed that among all the factors studied, the success of surgery in a patient in whom there was a good clinical/electroencephalogram/imaging correlation depended on the patient's having undergone a minimally traumatic operation, a complete resection of the lesion, and a short preoperative seizure duration. After the surgical control of epilepsy, behavior disorders were more improved (31% of all patients) than cognitive function (25%). The patient age at onset, duration and frequency of seizures, intractability of the disease to therapy, and seizure characteristics were correlated with cognitive, behavioral, and academic performance pre- and postoperatively. Multivariate statistical analysis revealed that cognitive dysfunction correlated highly with the duration of epilepsy prior to surgery, whereas behavioral disorders correlated more with seizure frequency. CONCLUSIONS: These data must be taken into account when selecting patients for surgical treatment and when deciding the timing of surgery. Early surgical intervention allows for optimum brain development.

Adolescent↗

American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA) Spring 2004 Reference Group data report (abridged).

Assessing and understanding the health needs and capacities of college students is paramount to creating healthy campus communities. The American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA) is a survey instrument developed by the ACHA in 1998 to assist institutions of higher education in achieving this goal. The ACHA-NCHA contains approximately 300 questions assessing student health status and health problems, risk and protective behaviors, access to health information, impediments to academic performance, and perceived norms across a variety of content areas, including injury prevention; personal safety and violence; alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use; sexual health; weight, nutrition, and exercise; and mental health. Twice a year, the ACHA compiles aggregate data from participating institutions in a reference group report for data comparison. Results from the Spring 2004 Reference Group (N = 47,202) are presented in this article.

Adolescent↗

Development and evaluation of the Sleep Treatment and Education Program for Students (STEPS).

University students report significantly worse sleep quality than the general population. Sleep problems are related to increased health concerns, irritability, depression, fatigue, and attention and concentration difficulties, along with poor academic performance. Clinical research indicates that psychoeducational interventions are among the most effective methods for improving sleep quality in the general population. Similar studies for university students are lacking. In this study, the authors describe the development of the Sleep Treatment and Education Program for Students (STEPS) and evaluate its effectiveness with a double blind, experimental design. Students in the treatment group reported significantly improved sleep quality and sleep hygiene behaviors at 6 weeks posttreatment.

Adolescent↗

Student assistance program: a new approach for student success in addressing behavioral health and life events.

College health centers, whether large or small, often find it challenging to provide counseling and supportive services for all students (including remotely located students) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Student assistance programs (SAPs) are services provided to students through a contractual arrangement to the university or college as a part of student services. The goal is to address psychosocial concerns that may interfere with academic performance within the realm of short-term counseling. These services range from traditional behavioral health concerns about stress and depressive reactions to how to find child care with foreign-speaking services. In this article, the authors describe a method to provide such short-term counseling to a 2,200-student health-science campus. They present data from 1 year of service as well as the benefits and limitations.

Counseling↗

American College Health Association National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA) Spring 2005 Reference Group Data Report (Abridged).

Assessing and understanding the health needs and capacities of college students is paramount to creating healthy campus communities. The American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA) is a survey instrument developed by the ACHA in 1998 to assist institutions of higher education in achieving this goal. The ACHA-NCHA contains approximately 300 questions assessing student health status and health problems, risk and protective behaviors, access to health information, impediments to academic performance, and perceived norms across a variety of content areas (eg, injury prevention; personal safety and violence; alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use; sexual health; weight, nutrition, and exercise; mental health). Twice a year, the ACHA compiles aggregate data from participating institutions in a reference group report for data comparison. Results from the Spring 2005 Reference Group (N = 54,111) are presented in this article.

Adolescent↗

The role of attributional retraining and elaborative learning in college students' academic development.

In the present longitudinal study, the authors examined the impact of attributional retraining (AR) techniques on academic motivation and achievement for college students who are either frequently or infrequently using elaborative learning strategies. During the 1st semester, 203 students completed an initial questionnaire assessing elaborative learning followed by 1 of 3 treatment conditions (No AR, Writing AR, Aptitude Test AR). Results indicated improvements in students' end-of-year perceptions of control, success, and emotions, as well as course-specific and overall academic performance for those receiving either AR format, with "high elaborators" showing higher levels on these measures than "low elaborators." The authors discussed the importance of elaborative and attributional processes underlying the effectiveness of the AR treatment and the potential utility of individualized AR techniques in the college classroom.

Achievement↗

Student-instructor relationships in nursing education.

The nursing instructor who assumes a colleagial or facilitator role in the student-instructor helping relationship assists students to learn and develop both personal and professional competence. In an attempt to attain power, female faculty members may exert power over students, causing students to feel threatened, powerless, and incompetent. Research studies indicate that there is a direct correlation between a student's self-concept and academic performance. When an instructor manifests open communication with students and demonstrates an interest in their learning, the instructor may facilitate a positive self-concept in students and enhance their cognitive abilities. Nursing practice is based on utilizing therapeutic communication, which is authentic, open, and personal. Students may acquire these skills and simultaneously increase their competence in nursing practice more readily when faculty members serve as role models in a helping relationship through sharing and developing trust. By applying the principles of the helping relationship, nursing instructors may facilitate students' personal and professional growth.

Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate↗

Relationship between college success and employer competency ratings for graduates of a baccalaureate nursing program.

This expost facto correlational study sought to determine which measures of academic success in one class of BSN graduates predicted their competence as employees one year after graduation, as judged by their employers. The relationship between pre-entrance test scores, clinical experience grades, GPA, State Board Test Pool examination scores, and employer competency ratings were also determined. In keeping with the literature in fields other than nursing, the findings suggest that there may be little relationship between academic performance in a nursing program and subsequent job performance as a nurse, even though verbal ability may be predictive of success in school. While significant positive correlations were found between pre-entrance test data and final grade point averages, as well as pre-entrance test scores and State Board Test Pool examination scores, there was little evidence that pre-entrance test scores were predictive of nursing abilities. Isolated correlations were found between the clinical components of some nursing courses and specific nursing abilities. Using multiple regression analysis, no clinical course grade was found to be a significant predictor of the mean employer competency rating. Significant predictors were found for only four of the individual nursing abilities, with the clinical component of Leadership in Nursing being the most frequent and best predictor.

Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate↗

Legal implications of academic dismissal and educational malpractice for nursing faculty.

Recent legal decisions affect nursing education not only in the area of academic dismissal but also in the area of educational malpractice. Nursing faculty may be caught in an interesting "catch-22" phenomenon. There exists a possibility where an educator may be sued for both failing, and not failing, a student. An incompetent graduate may sue for inadequate education, and a dismissed student may sue the faculty member for failing to treat the student in a logical and reasonable manner. Although courts have recognized that faculty members are uniquely qualified to observe and judge all aspects of their students' academic performance, nursing instructors have a double responsibility; one to the client and the other to the student. Clinical nursing faculties must meet a standard of care with respect to the client and a standard of conduct with respect to the student.

Civil Rights↗

Critical thinking and nursing education.

This study evaluated the impact of nursing education on students' critical thinking abilities, as measured by the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WG). In addition, the WG and the NLN Pre-Admission Test were related to GPA and NCLEX. A sample of 108 AS and BS students at the University of Hawaii School of Nursing were tested at entry and exit. AS and BS students showed comparable improvement in critical thinking ability. NCLEX was best predicted by the GPA, which in turn summed up effects of WG and NLN. The results confirm the efficacy of nursing education in improving critical thinking skills and suggest that the GPA is more important than the WG in predicting the NCLEX. The latter effect was more prominent in the BS group. Further investigation of the role of critical thinking in nursing and academic performance is suggested.

Age Factors↗

Are you prepared to S.A.V.E. your nursing student from suicide?

According to the most recently available data presented in the Statistical Abstract of the United States 1994 (United States Bureau of the Census, 1994), 17,100 young Americans (15 to 44 years old) died in 1991 due to suicide. At no other time during the life span were suicide rates so high. Suicide among college and university students is estimated by some to be 50% higher than for other Americans of comparable age (Westefeld & Pattilo, 1987). Not only is suicide considered by many authors to be the number one health problem on the nation's campuses (Mathiasen, 1988), but the suicide rate for this population has tripled over the past 25 years (Hardin & Weast, 1989). Professional nursing students could perhaps be at an even higher risk for suicide than other college students. Manicini, Lavecchia, and Clegg point out that "[n]ursing students are more doubtful than other college students about their academic performance. They encounter stress in adjusting to a rigorous program of theory and practice. The reality is often far different from a prospective student's image of it" (cited in Lampkin, Cannon, & Fairchild, 1985, p. 148). Because of the longevity of contact hours spent with nursing students in both lecture and clinical milieus, nursing faculty are in a uniquely favorable position to identify and assess those students who appear to be at risk for suicide. In addition, as most nurse educators provide supportive relationships, rich with caring and trust for their students, distressed students are usually open to talking to a faculty member. If a suicidal risk is found during the assessment interview, the faculty member should then provide an immediate referral for further psychiatric evaluation and intervention. To assist faculty in the quick recall of the essential components of this helping process the acronym S.A.V.E. is used: 1. S: Suicidal behaviors. 2. A: Assessment interview. 3. V: Value student. 4. E: Evaluation-Referral.

Adolescent↗

Risk and protective factors among high school students on the US/Mexico border.

OBJECTIVE: To study risk and protective factors for alcohol-related problems among high schools students in El Paso, Tex. METHODS: A total of 1366 high school students from 16 different high schools in El Paso, Tex, participated in an anonymous questionnaire regarding alcohol use and alcohol-related behaviors. The sample was 70% Hispanic. RESULTS: Results showed that academic performance, peer influence, parental attitudes, and age at first consumption of alcohol were important predictors of drinking among border youth. CONCLUSION: Risk factors contribute to alcohol use among high school students.

Adolescent↗

The effect of a 13-hour curriculum to improve residents' teaching skills: a randomized trial.

BACKGROUND: Although resident physicians often teach, few trials have tested interventions to improve residents' teaching skills. A pilot trial in 2001-2002 found that 13 trained resident teachers taught better than did untrained control residents. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a longitudinal residents-as-teachers curriculum improves residents' teaching skills. DESIGN: Randomized, controlled trial from May 2001 to February 2002 (pilot trial) and March 2002 to April 2003. SETTING: 4 generalist residencies affiliated with an urban academic medical center. PARTICIPANTS: 62 second-year residents: 23 in the 2001-2002 pilot trial and 39 more in 2002-2003; 27 of the 39 participants were medicine residents required to learn teaching skills. INTERVENTION: A 13-hour curriculum in which residents practiced teaching and received feedback during 1-hour small-group sessions taught twice monthly for 6 months. MEASUREMENTS: A 3.5-hour, 8-station, objective structured teaching examination that was enacted and rated by 50 medical students before and after the intervention. Two trained, blinded raters independently assessed each station (inter-rater reliability, 0.75). RESULTS: In the combined results for 2001-2003, the intervention group (n = 33) and control group (n = 29) were similar in sex, specialty, and academic performance. On a 1 to 5 Likert scale, intervention residents outscored controls on overall improvement score (post-test-pretest difference, 0.74 vs. 0.07; difference between intervention and control groups, 0.68 [95% CI, 0.55 to 0.81]; P < 0.001) by a magnitude of 2.8 standard deviations and on all 8 individual stations. The intervention residents improved 28.5% overall, whereas the scores of control residents did not increase significantly (2.7%). In 2002-2003, 19 intervention residents similarly outscored 19 controls (post-test-pretest difference, 0.83 vs. 0.14; difference between intervention and control groups, 0.69 [CI, 0.53 to 0.84]; P < 0.001). Twenty-seven medicine residents required to learn teaching skills achieved scores similar to those of volunteers. LIMITATIONS: The study was conducted at a single institution. No "real life" assessment with which to compare the results of the objective structured teaching examination was available. CONCLUSIONS: Generalist residents randomly assigned to receive a 13-hour longitudinal residents-as-teachers curriculum consistently showed improved teaching skills, as judged by medical student raters. Residents required to participate improved as much as volunteers did.

Curriculum↗