Examining Factors Relating to Classroom Attendance and Performance

This study examined the relationship between four class attitudinal variables and how it correlates to class attendance and performance. A questionnaire was administered to 134 undergraduate students at a medium sized college in Taiwan. The data included questions about the participant’s rating of the level of difficulty of the course (Difficulty), the topics covered in the course (Topics), their motivation towards attending the course (Motivation), and whether or not the participants felt that the course is practical and useful to their future (Practicality). The results of the Pearson correlation coefficients showed that 4 out of the 15 correlations were statistically significant. These included the negative correlation found between motivation and topics; and practicality and topics. The finding that none of the variables were significantly correlated to course attendance and course performance suggests that the strongest predictor of success of a course was based on the student’s level of attendance. This was in accordance with the literature review. The discussion in the conclusion provided some pedagogical implications for what teachers can do in their classrooms to increase class attendance.

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