- 期刊
Does Class Attendance Really Matter? Perspectives of Faculty Members and Students in Two Universities
課堂出席重要嗎？兩個大學的師生觀點
摘要
Student attendance is described as a universal challenge. To ensure quality class attendance, higher education institutions have initiated various measures like mandatory attendance policies and making attendance part of the assessment. However, the effectiveness of an attendance policy depends mainly on how university teachers and students perceive such policy and its significance. This study aimed to examine the perspectives of university teachers and students on factors that influence students to attend or skip classes, the impact of attendance on academic performance, and the overall impact of attendance policies. University teachers (n=36) and students (n=48) in two universities were interviewed. The results revealed that most of the respondents recognized the importance of attendance but had varying viewpoints. Factors affecting students' decision to attend class could be categorized into university- and student-related determinants. The main impact of class attendance was primarily on student learning assessment and achievement. Teachers also adopted a variety of ways to check attendance, including the use of signed attendance sheets and roll call. Both teachers and students suggested that the nature of the discipline and the flexibility of the policy should be considered when making a policy on attendance. Teachers and students hope that teachers can improve their course design to motivate and attract students to attend their classes.
並列摘要
學生出席被視為大學的一個普遍的挑戰。為保證課堂出席的品質，很多大學採取各種措施，如製定出席政策、要求大學教師將課堂出席列入評量的一部分，並提昇出席率。然而，出席政策的有效性主要取決於大學師生如何看待該政策，如出席是否對學業成績有所影響的看法。本研究旨在通過訪談兩所分別位於澳門與葡萄牙的大學之師生共84人（教師36人，學生48人），以了解兩校師生對以下面向的看法：影響學生出席或缺席的因素、出席對學業成績的影響以及出席政策的相關影響。本研究發現：一、大多數受訪教師與學生都認同出席的重要性，但觀點各有不同；二、影響學生決定出席與否可分為大學與學生面向的因素；三、出席率的主要影響顯現在學生的學習評量與期末成績上；四、大學教師採用簽到、點名等多種方式確認學生的出席；五、大學師生建議在制定出席政策時，應考慮學科的性質和政策的靈活性，也期待教師改進課程設計，以激勵並吸引學生出席與參與課堂。