CHAPTER IV PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA
1. Demographic Profile of the Student Respondents
Two hundred seventy-nine Sophomore College students of the English Course in Thai Nguyen University were evaluated for their learning performance in three modalities of language using the test instrument designed in this study. Part of the objective of this study is the characterization of the student respondents in terms of their demographic profile. The student respondents were described in terms of gender, parents’ educational attainment, place of origin, and type of school attended (high school).
1.1 Gender. In describing the respondent population gender composition is utilized as one of the basic descriptors. This would provide information about the equality of distribution of both genders. This would establish whether socio-cultural influences dictate and shape the given population or there has been a strong factor like government regulations that alter and introduce gender bias in the population.
The student respondents are described in terms of their gender composition as indicated in Table 2.
Table 2
Gender Profile of the Student Respondents
Gender Frequency Percentage
Male 149 53.41
Female 130 46.59
TOTAL 279 100.00
Based on the table, there is a close distribution of both genders among the student respondents with the males slightly exceeding the females by seven percent. This means that no major gender-biased factors have altered the Sophomore College student population in the Thai Nguyen University.
Furthermore, it implies that the University is a gender-equal University providing non-biased education to both male and female students. The other term for this University environment is co-ed or co-education. This type of environment is considered ideal for maximal learning and avoidance of gender-based prejudices typically affecting exclusive male or exclusive female Universities. Co-education is one of the recently advocated educational
strategies and it looks like this is predominantly practiced in the population under study.
1.2 Parent's educational attainment. As a demographic profile, parent’s education would provide a picture of the respondent’s family background as it is often claimed that learning begins at home. Thus, the training and education of the parents can shape and have a strong influence on how the student respondents think, act and formulate their ambitions. It is believed that a higher educational qualification like a graduate school or special training for the parents would mean more competent trainings, experience and knowledge to guide the students in their studies and career paths.
Table 3 shows the educational classification profile of students’ parents.
Table 3
Parent's Educational Attainment
Parent's Education Frequency Percentage
Others (Elementary, vocational adult education)
Secondary
74
87
26.5
31.2
Tertiary 118 42.3
TOTAL 279 100.00
As reflected in the table, out of 279 respondents there are 118 or 42.3 percent whose parents have tertiary education. This is followed by 87 or 31.2 percent whose parents had secondary education and 74 or 26.5 percent whose parents are educated by other means like vocational, adult education and others. This means that almost half of the student respondents have competent parents to guide them in their learning and pursuit of tertiary education. This is also a good indication for students whose parents are secondary or others in educational level because it indicates the changing motivation of their parents to send them to tertiary education perhaps realizing that doing so would insure the future career and security of their children.
1.3 Students’ place of origin. As a demographic profile, this describes the place where the student respondents come from. It is presumed that the place of origin of respondents can tell whether a strong influence of cultural background shapes the personality of the respondents. It is believed that the more urban, the place of origin is the more cultured and educated the respondents become as they had more access to advanced learning technologies.
Table 4 presents the place of origin profile of student respondents.
Table 4
Place of Origin of the Student Respondents
Place of Origin Classification Frequency Percentage
Bắc Ninh Urban 27 9.68
Hà Nội Urban 15 5.38
Hải phòng Urban 30 10.75
Quảng Ninh Urban 30 10.75
Subtotal 102 36.56
Hà Tĩnh Rural 30 10.75
Nam Định Rural 12 4.30
Nghệ An Rural 18 6.45
Ninh Bình Rural 24 8.60
Phú Thọ Rural 20 7.17
Thái Bình Rural 30 10.75
Thanh Hóa Rural 15 5.38
Vĩnh Phúc Rural 5 1.79
Yên Bái Rural 5 1.79
Điện Biên Rural 18 6.45
Subtotal 177 63.44
TOTAL 279 100.00
As shown in the table the student respondents originated from 14 different places in Vietnam four of which are urban and ten are rural. It can also be noted that 36.56 percent of the respondents come from urban areas and 63.44 or the majority come from rural areas. This implies that most of the respondents grew up and obtained their early education in culturally-immersed
perceived as a possible disadvantage, it can also be considered as a strong motivational force and an interesting development as the families of the student respondents are seeing a strong drive to get educated in urbanized areas.
Also, it can be noted that there is no single province that dominates as the place of origin of the students. The highest frequency score is only 10.75 percent and this was obtained by four provinces namely: Hải phòng and Quảng Ninh, which are both urban, and Hà Tĩnh and Thái Bình which are both rural.
1.4 Type of school attended. This demographic profile tells about the kind of secondary education that the student respondents had, that is, whether its private school or public school. This assumes that private schools are better than private schools because the pedagogic style is much better proportional to the amount of tuition fee paid. Private schools are assumed to be better because there are few students per teacher ratio as compared to public schools and teachers can guide the learning of the students better. This also reflects on the affluence level of the student’s family as private schools would entail more education costs. The student respondents are described in terms of the type of high school where they come from as shown in Table 5.
Table 5
Type of High School Profile
Type of High School Frequency Percentage
Private 12 4.30
Public 267 95.70
TOTAL 279 100.00
As indicated in the table, majority of the student respondents or 95.70 percent had their high school education in public schools. Only 12 out of 279 or 4.30 percent got their secondary education in private schools. This means that majority had to avail of the standardized education program of public schools.
This further reflects on the less affluent status of the student respondents, consistent with the profile on place of origin where most of them come from rural areas.