engleski

Learning strategies and school success of the pupils of three primary schools in Split - Dalmatia County

This paper addresses social and emotional competencies indirectly through learning strategies and school success. Socially competent children are also more academically successful and poor social skills are a strong predictor of academic failure (Webster-Stratton and Reid 2004). Academic success is an important source of social comparisons between primary school pupils (Liem et al. 2012.). Therefore, it is even more important to identify learning strategies that can help children to succeed in school. This research aimed to determine if there are differences in the use of learning strategies in relation to age, gender, presence of learning difficulties and school location. Second aim was to determine whether there is a correlation between learning strategies and school grades. 416 pupils from fifth to eighth grade of three primary schools (Spinut - city school, Ostrog - suburb school, Gornja Poljica - rural school) participated in this research. 7 % pupils with learning disabilities who have been integrated in regular classes (custom curricula, individualized approach) also participated. Data was obtained by a questionnaire that contained 30 statements related to learning. The questionnaire was designed specifically for this research. Pupils marked the degree of agreement with the contents of particular claims on a scale of 4 degrees (I completely agree - 4, I mostly agree - 3, I mostly disagree – 2, and I completely disagree - 1). Before this research, parents of pupils were informed about the study and they gave their consent for pupil participation. The results have shown that most of the pupils have a favorable working environment, they are learning without distractions and they do not learn at night. Children with learning disabilities are different from other children in the higher agreement with the following statements: "I find it easier to learn with someone (a friend from class, parents ...)" and "Parents learn with me." Factor analysis has been conducted on answers about the use of learning strategies. Two factors were extracted. The first factor refers to distractions during learning, learning by night and frequency of computer use. The second factor relates to thorough planning and scheduled learning. The results showed that the older pupils are using computers and Internet more frequently and are more exposed to distractions as they learn. Regarding the correlations between the learning strategies and school grades, the highest positive correlations are between the statement' ' I learn at night, after 21 h'' and grades in chemistry and physics. Scheduled learning is associated with grades in mathematics and chemistry. Pupils who have a need to learn with their parents or friends, generally have lower grades in most courses and lower average grade. Also, pupils who daily spend more than 2 hours on the Internet, have lower grades in music and fine arts. The results are discussed in the context of contemporary social environment and the individual needs of different groups of pupils.

learning strategies ; school grades ; primary school ; pupils

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