Solving the mystery about the factors conditioning higher education students' assessment: Finland versus Spain

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to compare the assessment in two subjects of the Business Administration Degree between Finland and Spain and, second, to test whether there are factors such as gender, age, subject, students’ motivation, or preferences that may have an impact on the assessment.Design/methodology/approachA survey was designed for students enrolled in Statistics and Financial Accounting subjects in the two universities, and multivariate statistical analysis were run.FindingsFirst, coursework marks are higher than the final examination marks. In both universities and subjects, learning is enhanced by student involvement in coursework activities that are directly related to the learning outcomes. Second, there are differences in assessment by culture, gender, and type of subject. Finnish students are more used to work in teams and apply varied teaching resources than Spanish students.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample size and the analyses are from two subjects in two universities. More similar studies are needed to generalize the findings.Practical implicationsThere are several implications for Higher Education. First, university policymakers should design training courses on the good implementation of new assessment processes and criteria in order to align learning objectives and assessment criteria. Second, teachers from different countries should openly discuss their manner of assessment and promote creativity and innovation in their methodologies to assess learning outcomes. Third, students should engage with deeper learning and competence development in subjects. This will contribute to their future employability.Originality/valueOur findings not only question the concept of assessment validity and the compulsory relationship between assessment and learning but also provide suggestions to improve assessment criteria.

Improvement of Learning Performances With Increased Guidance in Research-Based Learning

“…It is especially important to replicate the study in other countries because earlier research shows that cultural differences in students' perceptions towards collaboration may affect their learning performances (Akpinar et al, 2015). There can also be differences in the assessment of learning outcomes due to cultural differences, which future research should also take into consideration (Del Campo et al, 2020). A second avenue for future research is to study the impact of the new guidance scheme separately on the learning performances of high-achieving and low-achieving students.…”

“…This results in the creation of an inclusive research-based academic community, which benefits all stakeholders (Smith & Rust, 2011). Active engagement of students in projects improves their learning performances (Del Campo et al, 2020). In RBL, This is especially true for low-achieving students (Kogan & Laursen, 2014).…”

Design of Machine Learning Based Model to Predict Students Academic Performance

“…(7) According to the major goal of this study, we will compare the estimations of business administration degree completion rates in Finland and Spain, as well as examine the influence of characteristics such as gender, educational level of students, and student motivation or priority on these estimates. One of the primary goals of the study is to achieve classification (8).…”

Fuzzy Logic and Machine Learning-Enabled Recommendation System to Predict Suitable Academic Program for Students

“…Both of these considerations are at the center of our study [10]. Students' performance in two disciplines, such as a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, should be evaluated in Finland and Spain.…”