SACM - United Kingdom
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://drepo.sdl.edu.sa/handle/20.500.14154/9667
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Item Restricted Expanding our understanding of the uses of Modern Standard and Hijazi Colloquial Arabic in Education: A Study Exploring Learners’ Attention, Academic Performance, and Language Attitudes in Saudi Arabia(University of Sussex, 2024-07) Alamir, Sarah; Blair, Andrew; Alkabani, FerasThis study investigates how the use of Hijazi Colloquial Arabic (HCA) and Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) in oral instruction affects students' sustained auditory attention and academic performance and their attitudes towards both varieties in education. To form a clear picture of how effective both varieties are, the results of a nine-week pre-post-test classroom experiment, a follow-up questionnaire, and interviews were used for analysis. First, two groups of undergraduate female students (aged between 20 and 27) assigned to the 'History of the Americas' module at Umm Al-Qura University and a professor were selected for the experiment. One group had 29 students, whereas the other had 25. One group was instructed in MSA, and the other in HCA. The study findings showed that both HCA and MSA oral instruction improved the students' ability to sustain auditory attention, leading to better academic performance, with HCA instruction being slightly more effective. In addition, the disparities in automaticity and language execution between HCA and MSA were negligible. When it comes to attitudes, both HCA and MSA groups had more positive perceptions of MSA. Their actions, however, did not reflect their beliefs and feelings. Their attitudes and the underlying reasons could be grouped into six and five categories. Globally speaking, standard codes in diglossic contexts receive positive attitudes despite the changing social circumstances, while societal changes impact colloquial codes’ perceptions. These results implicate the field of higher education in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries when considering using Colloquial Arabic codes (CAs) as a medium of instruction, as they should go hand in hand with MSA. This can be done by further research and modifying language policies to promote the coexistence between the two codes, combining them in instruction according to contexts and the psychological aspects instructors want to provoke, and using non-featured CAs, such as the educated HCA or White dialect.50 0Item Restricted Who Will Succeed in Dental School? Predictors of dental school performance(2023-06-05) Alsharafi, Eman Mohammed A; Hallam, Jennifer; Manogue, Michael; Nicholls, GailBackground: Selection of students with the highest potential of success is a very challenging process because selection is carried out among a highly academically qualified pool of applicants exceeding the number of places available. Additionally, evidence about the incremental and predictive validity of admission assessments and personal attributes assessed at admission is limited. Objectives: To address this, a systematic review for evidence of the predictive validity of selection methods was completed, the incremental and predictive validity of admission assessments and whether any of the assessments are biased towards or against certain individuals were then investigated. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study using data of four cohorts at the University of Leeds, School of Dentistry. Data analysis included univariate and multivariate analysis. Outcome measures included academic and clinical performance. Predictor measures included personal statement, BMAT and MMI scores in addition to the socio-demographic characteristics of participants. Results: Hierarchical regression models revealed that BMAT was the only admission assessment that contributed significantly in increasing the variance. Sections 3 and 2 were the most predictive. Additionally, MMI and BMAT significantly predicted on course 3rd to 5th year clinical practice and 2nd to 3rd year academic scores. Empathy, communication, insight and presentation stations were the most predictive of students’ performance. None of the admission assessments showed evidence of bias against gender, widening participation or ethnic groups. Conclusion: The findings demonstrated evidence of incremental and predictive validity of BMAT as an admission test. They also revealed the necessity to re-evaluate the MMI structure, particularly the skills assessed and the tasks used to assess them, to improve its validity. The research has also highlighted the need to identify and provide appropriate support to individuals at greater risk of low performance and the necessity for adequate admissions data management at the University to facilitate future studies.30 0