FACTORS OF INFLUENCE INTO THE STUDENTS DECISION ON CHOOSING THE DIRECTION OF STUDIES IN THE REPUBLIC OF KOSOVA
Abstract
Every year, students who complete the high education, and who intend continuing their post-secondary education, are faced with the problem of selecting the direction of studies. The selection process of conducting studies usually starts years ago, and many factors are involved in this process. Identification and analysis of factors that influence the selection process of direction of studies by students was the purpose of this research. To identify the factors that have greater weight in determining the direction of studies by students, 1345 high school students in Kosova were surveyed using a questionnaire prepared for this purpose. These data provided descriptive information, quantitative and statistical interpretation. The statistical analysis of the data is made by using the SPSS software. Findings from this study indicate that a significant number of factors are taken into account by students during this process. Economic factors proved dominant during data analysis. Also a qualified majority of respondents would choose a public institution to further their education. Students in determining the direction of studies are mainly based on their inclinations and less on academic skills they have shown during their High school. A big impact in this process have parents, however the final decision is made by the students. About a third of respondents had difficulty or distraction in determining the direction of studies. About the fifth of them are not sure concerning their decision. At the end of this research we describe the implementation of an application which helps the interested sides; such are the students, parents and mentors in this process of decision making.
Keywords
References
- Johnson, R- J., & Chapman, D. W. (1979). An assessment of college literature: Does the high school senior understand it? Research in Higher Education. 11(4), 309-319. Galotti, K. M. (1999). Making a “major” real-life decision: College students choosing an academic major.Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 379- 387. Barry Wellman & Keith Hampton, (1999), Living network in a Wired world, Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 28, No. 6, November 1999. Porter, S. R., & Umbach, P.D. (2006). College major choice: An analysis of person-environment fit. Research in Higher Education, 47, 429 – 449. Malgwi, C. A., Howe, M. A., & Burnaby, P. A. (2005). Influences on students’choice of college major. Journal of Education for Business, 80, 275-282. Litten, L. (1982). Different strokes in the applicant pool: Some refinements in a model of student college choice. Journal of Higher Education, 53(4), 383-402. Kealy, M. J., & Rockel, M. L. (1987). Student perceptions of college quality: The influence of college recruitment policies. The Journal of Higher Education, 58(6), 683-703. Hossler, D., Braxton, J., & Coopersmith, G. (1989). Understanding student college choice. In J. C. Smart (Ed.) Higher education and research. Volume V. (pp. 213-288) New York: Agathon Press. Yazici, S., & Yazici, A. (2010). Students’ Choice of College Major and their Perceived Fairness of the Procedure: Evidence from Turkey. Educational Research and Evalutation, 16(4), 371-382. Hossler D. (1999). Promising practices in recruitment, remediation, and retention . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Murtagh, N., Lopes, P.N., & Lyons, E. (2011). Decion Making in Voluntary CareerChange: An Other-Than-Rational Perspective. The Career Development Quarterly, 249-263. Paulsen, M. B. (1990). College choice: Understanding student enrollment ,George Washington University. Cabrera, A. F., & Nasa, S. M. L. (2000). Understanding the college-choice process San Francisco, Jossey-Bass Publishers. Ilanfeldt, W. (1980). Achieving optimal enrollments and tuition revenues; A guide to modem methods of market research, student recruitment, and institutional pricing. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass. Kotler, P., & Fox, K.F.A. (1995) Strategic marketing for educational institutions. Engelwood Cliffs, NJ, Prince Hall. MASHT (2012) http://www.masht-gov.net/advCms/?id=20,1764,82,6,2012&lng=Alb. ASK (2013) ask.rks-gov.net/arsimi/publikimet/doc_download/1120-statistikat-e-arsimit-2012-2013. Smart C. John, (2008). Higher Education: Handbook of theory and research. Volume XXIII. Published by Springer.
Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
-
Journal Section
Research Article
Publication Date
September 1, 2016
Submission Date
September 1, 2016
Acceptance Date
-
Published in Issue
Year 2016 Volume: 5