hrvatski

The influence of secondary education on the level of academic achievement of the first year physical therapy students

Purpose: The aim of this research is to determine the influence of different types of secondary education on the level of academic achievement in the course Clinical kinesiology which is a part of the first year study programme of physical therapy at the University of Applied Health Studies in Zagreb. Relevance: The assumption behind the research is that there is no significant influence of the type of secondary education on how successful students are in completing the Clinical kinesiology course in the first year of their studies. Clinical kinesiology course in the first year of physical therapy study programme integrates general medical knowledge and is also the first professional course of study which makes it a good indicator of how well students perform in their first year of study. Participants: The examinee sample consists of 269 first year students of physical therapy divided into groups G1 and G2. Group G1 consists of students which graduated from secondary school for physical therapists, where syllabus comprises general medicine subjects and practical training. Group G2 is divided into three subgroups (G2-G, G2-M, G2-D). Subgroup G2-G consists of students who finished comprehensive schools and they do not possess any previous vocational knowledge, while subgroup G2-M consists of students who attended a nursing school and subgroup G2-D are students who have graduated from some other vocational secondary school whose syllabus includes health care subjects. The entire G2 group, including the subgroups as well, did not have any physical therapy training while subgroup G2-G did not have any health care subjects at all during their secondary education. Methods: The data about the influence of secondary education on the level of academic achievement in the course Clinical kinesiology has been gathered from the results of a preliminary exam at the end of the first semester and the exam at the end of the academic year. How successful the students are has been evaluated by using grades from 1 to 5. Analysis: The results have been analysed by a t-test and a variance analysis. Results: The results of the research indicate that in the Clinical kinesiology preliminary exam the students from group G1 (the ones that finished the secondary school for physical therapy) had a certain advantage, and this advantage is significant when compared to groups G2-M and G2-D, which include students who attended a nursing school or a vocational secondary school with health care subjects. In relation to G2-G group of students who have no previous formal vocational knowledge (students who attended comprehensive schools), group G1 did not exhibit any significant differences in knowledge and skills in preliminary testing results. Furthermore, no significant differences were identified in the final exam between the groups G1 (students who finished a secondary school for physical therapy) and other subgroups ; G2-G (comprehensive school), G2-M (nursing school) and G2-D (other types of secondary schools). No differences in the results were found between the subgroups as well. Conclusions: The research confirms the assumption that the type of secondary school the students of physical therapy attended does not affect how well they perform in the Clinical kinesiology course. Implications: The application of research results is intended to improve curriculum and increase academic achievement of the first year physical therapy students.

srednjoškolsko obrazovanje; klinička kineziologija; fizioterapija

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