Exploring how general and vocational students perform in computer science courses

Sammanfattning: Academic competence is fundamentally based on study skills. For various learners and across a variety of academic content areas, effective study abilities are linked to desirable outcomes. In order to determine the level of study skills, a small-scale descriptive study was conducted on undergraduate students who enrolled in CS engineering study at a university in Bangladesh. For the study, Feni University, Bangladesh was selected where general students and vocational students get admission for their CS engineering undergraduate study. The study explored differences in how general students and vocational students applying the various study skills to attain academic achievement. The study also investigated the status of study skills and their relationship with the academic achievement of students. Mixed methods research design was employed for the study where data was collected through semi-structured interviews and selected CS engineering undergraduate course’s final exam. Interviews with 10 general students and 10 vocational students were conducted and available for this study. Student’s final exam data from five courses that were taught between 2019 and 2020 are considered for quantitative data. Both descriptive and statistical techniques were used to analyse the data. Thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative interview data and statistical analysis was used for the quantitative data. The study found that most students have good memory skills and yet, they lack critical and creative thinking skills. The results of this study can form the basis for intervention programs that target improving student’s study skills and their subsequent academic performance.