The effect of gender, age and prior achievement in determining success in an environmental sciences course

Data on three cohorts of students (445) enrolled in environmental sciences courses at Southern Cross University, NSW, Australia were analysed to determine factors related to students' success in seven units in the course. The factors examined were gender, age at entry to university, and prior results in secondary education. Success was measured in 4 categories (Withdraw or Fail; Pass; Credit; Distinction or High Distinction). Units examined included two "hard" or mathematical sciences, two life sciences, two social science/ management subjects and a self-directed learning project which resulted in production of a small thesis. Results were analysed using Loglinear analysis. The most significant factor in the analyses was age at first entry, with older students having significantly lower failure rates in first year units, and higher rates of credits and/ or distinctions in almost all units. Gender was a significant factor in three units, with female students attaining higher grades in two units and males with a high entry score receiving higher grades in the third. HSC entry grade was a significant factor in three units. Students with a higher HSC were generally more successful in the early parts of the course, but the differences were not significant for units later in the course. All students regardless of age, gender and HSC performed equally well in the self-directed learning project, suggesting that by their third year, and for a self-directed project, differences due to age and success at secondary school no longer influenced students' grades.

Introduction

While there have been numerous reports on the failure of women to choose science courses in tertiary education (Fraser and Giddings, 1987; Baldwin, 1990), this does not usually apply to the biological sciences, which have high female participation rates, and are generally perceived as gender-neutral, relative to subjects such as mathematics and physics (Kahle, 1987). There is little information concerning the success of women in the "harder" or more mathematical sciences, relative to biological or social sciences.

The data concerning the influence of gender on approaches to study show no clear trend. In a comprehensive review by Richardson and King (1991) reports of approaches to study by males and females showed that in some studies females took the "deep" approach and males took the "surface" approach and in others the reverse was true. In addition, Richardson (1993), found no gender differences to approaches to study of social science students. Plomin and Foch (1981) suggested that gender differences were statistically significant but were of little consequence when compared with differences between individuals.

With increasing participation rates in tertiary education in Australia (Anderson, 1992), there has been concern that increased student numbers and the movement of universities to mass education will result either in a reduction of standards of courses, or failure of students with lower tertiary entry standards to successfully complete units and courses. There have been few studies which indicate a close relationship between prior performance and success in tertiary education, although Manning et al. (1993) reported a significant correlation between NSW TER score and Grade Point Average for more than 2,000 tertiary students. Other studies have indicated no clear relationship between the two.

Many factors potentially affect student success at tertiary education, including differences between genders, prior achievements in secondary education, and age at entry. The aim of this study was to examine success rates for seven units in a range of disciplines within the Coastal Management degree and to analyse the relationship between age at entry, gender and prior achievement in secondary school as predictors of success in these units.

Methods

Independent variables

Dependent variables

The units were selected from four general areas:

1. Mathematical or "hard " sciences (Chemistry CH201) and Quantitative Analysis MA211);
2. Biological Sciences (Biology BL201 and Marine Biology BL203);
3. Management and applied science (Land Use Planning GG207 and Coastal Resources and their Management GG205);
4. Self-directed learning (Integrated Project GG211)

Procedure for data analysis

Subject	Helmert	(i) WF v P,C,D-HD (ii) P v C,D-HD (iii) C v D-HD
HSC	Deviation
Age	Deviation
Sex	Deviation

Results

Effect	Independent variable Contrast	Dependent variable Contrast W/F v P,C,D-HD	Dependent variable Contrast P v C,D-HD	Dependent variable Contrast C v D,HD
Age	Old v Young	BL201 MA211 CH201	BL201 BL203 MA211 GG207	GG205
Gender	Male v Female		BL203 GG207	GG207
HSC	Low v High	BL203 CH201	BL201 BL203
Age v Gender	OvY* MvF
Age v HSC	OvY* HighvLow
Gender v HSC	MvF* HighvLow
AgevGendervHSC	OvY* MvF* HvL		GG207 CH201
* (Significant effects: z > 2.000. P<0.05) * Effects superseded by higher order interactions on same contrasts not shown.

Age

Gender

Entry standard

Interactions

Discussion

Overall there was very little effect of gender on success in tertiary studies. Females performed slightly better in two units (one biological, one management) and some males performed slightly better in Chemistry. There was no clear pattern of greater success of women in the social sciences and of men in the mathematical or biological sciences which may reflect their preferences for these courses in many studies. Once enrolled in the compulsory science units available, women generally performed as well as males.

Success in secondary education was a good predictor of success in tertiary education for the first part of the course, when students with high entry scores were more successful in three units. In the latter part of the course, students are older, so perhaps the effect of maturity are more important and override the effects of prior education. Manning et al (1993, in Killen 1994) observed that HSC correlated strongly with grade point average in tertiary studies, but with mature age students, HSC was poorly correlated with grade point average, consistent with the results of the present study where age was the primary determinant of performance.

However, a confounding factor is that the course is structured so that the first half of the course comprises largely science-based units, while many more social science and management units are presented in the second half of the course (Dutton et al. ,1995). It is possible that students with high secondary school results are more successful at the science units, but that there are fewer differences in social studies.

In a study of Commerce students, Keef (1992) reported that prior academic performance was a good predictor of pass rate at university. Across the whole university, he found that there was a significant interaction between prior ability and gender; females with low prior ability performed better than expected in their university studies.

In the Integrated Project, a self-directed project generally undertaken in the final semester of the course, age, entry and gender did not affect student's success. Younger students with relatively low secondary school results do as well as other students in this unit. It may be that students skill and abilities have "levelled out" by the end of the course. Students select their own project and as a result are likely to have increased interest and self-motivation. The assessment for the Integrated Project is well aligned with the unit objectives and may explain better student performance (Biggs, 1996). This unit is highly valued as an educational tool by both staff and students (unpublished results of course review, 1996).

There are a number of implications of this study for teaching of environmental sciences:

1. Although there were some gender differences noted in subject areas there was no clear relationship between gender and success at tertiary studies for a cohort of students enrolled in a range of disciplines, indicating that gender-specific teaching approaches are not necessary at this time.

2. The significance of age at entry as the most significant factor in this study is important, given government decisions in recent years to give preference in tertiary studies to recent school-leavers. It would appear that many students would greatly benefit from a period of time between school and tertiary studies, and start their degrees with greater maturity, and possibly motivation.

3. In the present study, success in secondary education was a strong indicator of subsequent success in tertiary studies only for the first few years of the course, or for the science-based units (the two cannot be separated in the present study). If these results were found to be more general, it would indicate that the reduction in entry level into tertiary education in recent years with the movement to mass education will not necessarily result in a lowering of the standard of graduates. Students with lower entry standards did as well as better qualified students by the end of their degree course.

References

Baldwin, G. (1990). Gender roles in education: Who is missing out? HERDSA News, 12(2), 10-11, 13.

Biggs, J. (1996). Assessing learning quality: Reconciling institutional, staff and educational demands. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 20, 5-15.

Dutton, I., Saenger, P. and Gartside, D. (1995). Integrated coastal management education: The experience of the Centre for Coastal Management. p 523-532. In O. Bellwood, H. Choat and N. Saxena (Eds), Recent Advances in Marine Science and Technology '94. James Cook University Publ. pp754.

Fraser, B. J. and G. J. Giddings (1987). Gender issues in science education. Monograph in the Faculty of Education Research Seminar and Workshop Series, Curtin University of Technology.

Kahle, J. B. (1987). Images of science: The physicist and the cowboy. In B. J. Fraser and G. J. Giddings (Eds), Gender issues in science education, p1-12. Monograph in the Faculty of Education Research Seminar and Workshop Series, Curtin University of Technology.

Keef, S. P. (1992). Pass rates in the first year of university study: the effects of gender and faculty. Higher Education Research and Development, 11(1), 39-44.

Killen, R. (1994). Differences between students' and lecturers' perceptions of factors influencing students' academic success at university. Higher Education Research and Development, 13(2), 199-211.

Manning, E., Killen, R. and Taylor, A. (1993). Predictive validity of various sets of HSC scores, and the ASAT, for performance in certain faculties at the University of Newcastle, NSW. Admission of students into higher education: A collection of recent research papers. Tertiary Entrance Procedures Authority Research Series, Number 2, 36-46.

Plomin, R., and, Foch, T. T. (1981). Child Development, 52, 383-385.

Richardson, J. T. E. (1991). Gender differences in responses to the approaches to studying inventory. Studies in Higher Education, 18, 3-13.

Richardson, J. T. E. and King, E. (1996). Gender differences in the experience of higher education: Quantitative and qualitative approaches. Educational Psychology, 11, 363-382.

Appendix 1: Chemistry 3-way interaction

Appendix 2: Land use planning 3-way interaction

Authors: Murray Cullen, Vicki Harriott, Stephanie Knox, Mike Whelan Faculty of Resource Science and Management, Southern Cross University PO Box 157, Lismore NSW 2480, Australia Helen Saenger, Teaching and Learning Unit Southern Cross University, PO Box 157, Lismore NSW 2480, Australia Lyndon Brooks, Graduate Research College, Southern Cross University PO Box 157, Lismore NSW 2480, Australia Murray Cullen (066 203636) mcullen@scu.edu.au [066-212669 Fax] Vicki Harriott (066 203772) vharriot@scu.edu.au [066-212669 Fax] Stephanie Knox (066 203771) sknox@scu.edu.au [066-212669 Fax] Mike Whelan (066 203637) mwhelan@scu.edu.au [066-212669 Fax] Helen Saenger (066 203165) hsaenger@scu.edu.au [066-223180 Fax] Lyndon Brooks (066 203965) lbrooks@scu.edu.au [066-223180 Fax] Please cite as: Cullen, M., Harriott, V., Knox, S., Whelan, M., Saenger, H. and Brooks, L. (1996). The effect of gender, age and prior achievement in determining success in an environmental sciences course. Different Approaches: Theory and Practice in Higher Education. Proceedings HERDSA Conference 1996. Perth, Western Australia, 8-12 July. http://www.herdsa.org.au/confs/1996/cullen.html