engleski

Some Pre-entry Factors in Relation to the Underrepresented Groups in the Field of Information and Communication Technology in Higher Education

The objective of this paper is to define connections of social and economic status and secondary education as pre-entry factors to results achieved in higher education (HE) in the area of Information and Communication Technology. The measures have been analysed in the context of variables relating to the underrepresented group of students. The research included investigating the pre-entry factors referring to educational disadvantages related the type of completed secondary school. Social and economic status variables include size of residence during secondary school education (as a pre-entry factor), and availability of the Internet during the period of higher education and type of enrolment (full time or part time) as post-entry factors. Apart from that, the factors were further considered in the context of gender differences connected to the results achieved in Mathematics 1 Course. The research included almost 300 first-year students of Information Systems in the field of Organization and Computer Sciences. It has undergone few changes during the last two years to comply with the Bologna process, such as improvement of monitoring and evaluation of students. Part time students were included together with the full time ones, which enabled participation of many students from different parts of the country. The results show that the type of completed secondary school and the quality of curricula (pre-entry factors) are statistically important predictors influencing certain indicators of success for the first-year students of Mathematics 1. Better results have been noticed in students coming from grammar schools and technical schools compared to vocational schools, probably due to a more extensive course curriculum. The social status variables such as size of residence during secondary education as a pre-entry factor and availability of the Internet during studies as post-entry factors were not a statistically significant predictor for success in HE in the field of information and communication technology. Social and economic status variables (full time vs. part time students) are connected to the course results in the sense that full time students achieved better results. The interesting point is that gender differences are related to certain indicators of the course and show that female students study more and are more motivated to fulfil their tasks than male students.

underrepresented groups; pre-entry factors; communication

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