SENIOR SEMINAR GROUP79YIU Chong Man Rex 1155029357

LAW Kwan Sing 1155031163

LEUNG Tsz Ho Terry 1155031497

LAU Sui Fan Elisabeth 1155043216

UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: REALITY VS IDEALITY

Agenda• Research Background• Methodology

• Survey• Interview

• Consequence• Limitation(s)• Q&A

Background

1. Observations

- high rate of class skipping

- many “deadline fighters”

- poor academic atmosphere

- cases of transfer of major

Background

2. Personal struggle

- same experience happened to myself

- similar situation among friends

Linkage between academic atmosphere & mismatch of interests vs. reality

Research purpose

1. To understand the root of the poor academic atmosphere in universities - major mismatch

2. To evaluate the consequence of such problem

3. To raise the awareness of the deflected academic atmosphere in Hong Kong

Research questions

1. Why is absenteeism so common in Hong Kong’s universities?

2. Is “major mismatch” common among university students?

3. What would be the consequences of such phenomenon?

Hypothesis

1. The poor academic atmosphere indicates a general lack of interest towards the courses.

2. The lack of interest suggests a “major mismatch” which is the reason behind the absenteeism and truancy problem in universities.

Definitions

1. Absenteeism

- persistent, habitual and unexplained absence from school(Brooks, 1997, as cited in Bond, 2004)

Definitions

2. Truancy

- any intentional unauthorized or illegal absence from compulsory education

Definitions

3. Course mismatch

- choice of students’ major does not match with their true will of preference

- strength/interest mismatch

Definitions

4. Plagiarism(homework copying)

- wrongful appropriation and stealing and publication of another author’s language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions(Simpson and Weiner, 1989)

Criteria in judging academic atmosphere

1. frequency of absenteeism/truancy

- relate to:a. attentionb. effortc. importance

2. class participation

- shows involvement

- students’ interest

Criteria in judging academic atmosphere

3. time spent on the courses

- time as measuring unit

- shows importance

Criteria in judging academic atmosphere

4. Plagiarism(homework copying)

- indicator for uninvolvement

- a noticeable rising trend

Criteria in judging academic atmosphere

4. Plagiarism(homework copying)

- statistics from University Grants Committee

Year Cases reported(undergraduate & postgraduate program)2001/02　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 33 cases2002/03　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 41 cases2003/04　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 66 cases2004/05 (til 15 April, 2005) 　　 22 cases

Criteria in judging academic atmosphere

Based on the 4 criteria => poor academic atmosphere

Methodology

1. Survey

2. Interview

SURVEY ANALYSIS

Purpose• Any correlation between the academic atmosphere and

major mismatching?• Whether major mismatching would lead to poor academic

atmosphere in the university• Reasons of absenteeism• Overview of the academic environment in the university in

Hong Kong• Whether major mismatching is general among university

students

Survey information• Sample size: 360• 17 Questions• All are currently studying in university (not limited in Hong

Kong)• 9 Universities are included, Mainly study in the CUHK

(73%)• Studying in year 1 to year 4, most of which are in senior

years

1. Which university are you studying in?

8%6%

73%

1%2%3%

1%1% 4%

Non-local HKU CUHK OU

CityU HKUST BU Ied

PolyU

2. Which year are you studying in?

11%

31%

52%

6%

Year1 Year2 Year3 Year4

3. Which faculty are you studying in?

14%

14%

2%

8%28%1%

14%

12%6%

Engineering Arts Law

Social science Business Education

Science Medicine Others

4. Arrange the following in the order of importance when selecting the major.• 5 factors: Grades, Interest, Career path, Expectation from

eldership, Fame of the university

4. Arrange the following in the order of importance when selecting the major.• Most important: Interest (43%), Fame (18%), Grades

(17%), Career (17%), Expectation(5%)• Important: Grades (26%), Career (25%), Interest (21%),

Fame (19%), Expectation (9%)• Important + Most important:

• Interest (27%)• Grades (23%)• Career (23%)• Fame (19%)• Expectation (8%)

4. Arrange the following in the order of importance when selecting the major.• Most not important: Expectation (59%)• Not important: Expectation (46%)

5A. Is the major you currently studying your first choice?• Yes (70%)• No (30%)

5B. If not, why? 19%

7%

41%

19%

15%

Interest Expectation GradeCareer Fame

• Grades (41%)• Career (19%)• Interest (18%)

6A. Have you ever thought to have a transferal of major?• Yes (16%)• No (84%)

6B. If yes, why?• Interest (88%)• Career (12%)

Possible reasons for transferal of major

• Not really having interest on their major• Experience the difference of their expectation and the

reality• Incentive to change their major in pursuit of their real

interest

7. Do you have the habit of skipping class?

• Yes (42%)• No (58%)

8. Reason why you would skip the class?

• Out of interest (45%)• The teaching style of the lecturer (31%)• The time slot (17%)• Others (7%)

• Peers accompanying• Venue

9. How focused are you when you are attending the class? (Max = 5)

1 2 3 4 50

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

9. How focused are you when you are attending the class? (Max = 5)• Mean: 2.878• Sample variance: 0.8986691• Sample size: 360• T-statistics: 57.598• P-value: ~0 for mean = 0

• Rejecting the null hypothesis: Mean = 0

9. How focused are you when you are attending the class? (Max = 5)• Those who answered yes in Q5 would have the following

statistic:Mean: 3.075

• Those studying in the major they want would be more focused in their lessons

• Those who answered no in Q5 would have the following statistic:Mean: 2.417

10. How focused do you think your classmates are? (Max = 5)

1 2 3 4 50

50

100

150

200

250

300

10. How focused do you think your classmates are? (Max = 5)• Mean: 3.36• Sample variance: 0.541752• Sample size: 360• T-statistics: 86.49988• P-value: ~0 for mean = 0

• Rejecting the null hypothesis: Mean = 0

Comparison between Q9 and Q10

Mean: 2.81Slightly Skewed to left

Mean: 3.36Skewed to right

Implication: Interviewees find themselves less focused than the classmates

1 2 3 4 50

50

100

150

200

250

300 1 2 3 4 50

20406080

100120140160

11. How much time do you spend on studying on every week on average? • Mean: 4.2111 hours• The time suggested by the CUHK, around 1 hour per

credit in a week on average (assumed around 12 hours)

< 3 4 - 6 7 - 9 10 - 12 >130

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Hours

11. How much time do you spend on studying on every week on average? • Those who answer yes in Q5, their mean study time is:

5.080 hours• Those who answer no in Q5, their mean study time is:

2.183 hours

• Trivially, those studying in the major they want would spend more time in their study

• The academic atmosphere should be better for them

12. What is the major reason for you to study?

• Grades (69%)• Knowledge (30%)• Parents’ supervision (1%)

• Most students now study with the incentive to have a better grading rather than to gain knowledge

• Though it is not representative since the students could have several incentives at the same time, it can still reflect the values within students themselves

• Grades seem more important than knowledge

12. What is the major reason for you to study?

Distribution for those who answered yes in Q5:• Grades (65%)• Knowledge (35%)

Distribution for those who answered no in Q5:• Grades (78%)• Knowledge (19%)• Parents’ supervision (3%)

• More obvious for those who is not studying the major they want the most

13. Do you think “selecting wrong major” is a general phenomenon?• Yes (72%)• No (28%)

• Surprisingly, the majority of the students think that the phenomenon of “selecting wrong major” is general.

14. Would you select other major if you have another chance?• Yes (63%)• No (37%)

• Conduct an interview with student who had a transferal of major to investigate deeply and specifically

Brief summary for the survey• From Q9, students with major mismatching tend to less

focus on class and result to poorer atmosphere• From Q8, lack of interest is the major reason of

absenteeism• From Q11, students are paying less effort on studies than

the university expect• From Q13, students agree that “major mismatching” is

common

INTERVIEW1. Interviewee

2. Content & Analysis

3. Conclusion

4. Limitation

• 1 CUHK undergraduate (major in PHYS)

• 2 CUHK alumni (major in MATH & PACC)

• 1 current physics teaching assistant

1. Interviewee

INTERVIEW1. Interviewee

2. Content & Analysis

3. Conclusion

4. Limitation

CUHK Undergraduate( Mr. Ken Fung)

CUHK Undergraduate( Mr. Ken Fung)

• Class participation• Assignment performance• Academic performance • Interest on major• Career path

Mr. Ken Fung (PHYS)• Around 100% attendance• Hand in assignments on time • GPA > 3.0• Interested in his major• Will find a job in the education industry

Mr. Francis Chan (MATH)

CUHK Alumni(Mr. Francis Chan & Mr. Peter Tso)• Class participation• Assignment performance• Academic performance • Interest on major• Current occupation

Mr. Francis Chan (MATH)• Nearly never attend his lectures• Seldom hand in his assignments• Third class honors after graduation• Not strongly interested in his major• Want to find a job in creation industry

Mr. Peter Tso (PACC)

Mr. Peter Tso (PACC)• Nearly never attend his lectures• Plagiarism• Below average in his academic performance• Not interested in his major at all• Expectation from his parents• Occupation: Disciplinary Forces

Mr. Jason Chui (TA)

Physics teaching assistant(Mr. Jason Chui)• Class participation• Assignment performance of students• Academic performance of students• Interest of students on the course• Self comparison

Mr. Jason Chui (TA)• Around 60% attendance• Moderate plagiarism• Good midterm performance• Most of the students are interested• Better atmosphere in the past

INTERVIEW1. Interviewee

2. Content & Analysis

3. Brief summary

4. Limitation

3. Brief summary of interview• Interest Academic performance

• Career path Major selection

3. Brief summary of interview• Opinion of interviewees

-Situation from now versus Past

-Situation in Hong Kong versus Others

INTERVIEW1. Interviewee

2. Content & Analysis

3. Brief summary

4. Limitation

4. Limitation of the interview• Sample size is small

• All interviewees come from CUHK

• All interviewees are male

1. Why is absenteeism so common in Hong Kong’s universities?

- general lack of interest

- major mismatch

Answering research Question 1

2. Whether “major mismatch” is common among university students?

- indeed common

Answering research Question 2

Reasons for major mismatch

1. Monetary career over personal strength/interest

- ignore own potential

2. Deceived by romanticization of the job on TV

- Creates illusion

Reasons for course mismatch

3. parental influence & expectation

-based on their perception

-assert influential forces

3. What would be the consequences of such phenomenon?

Answering research Question 3

Consequence

1. Delayed promotion and graduation

- High chance of poor performance

- Increased chance of failing the course

- Eventually causes deferral

Consequence

2. Lowered self-esteem

- Fall behind

- Negative mentality

Consequence

3. Lessened employment potential

- Less likely to do well in the profession

- Negative factor to employers

Consequence

4. Increases the risk of school dropout

- Failing of courses

- Failed to meet basic academic requirement

Consequence

5. Negative effect on career development

- Realization after graduation

- Lack related academic background of the true right job

- More time needed to explore and develop career path

Consequence

6. Failed to utilize and wasted true talent of individuals

- Neglect true potential

- Wasted without proper exploration

Limitations of research

1. Confined to atmosphere of CUHK

2. Ignored other possible contributing factors(geographical, human factors…)

3. Limited sample size

4. True reason for absenteeism varies from individuals to individuals

Q&A SESSION