Page 143 - Secondary school students’ university readiness and their transition to university Els van Rooij

Chapter 5
Table 5.4 Background characteristics of the latent pro les
Characteristic
% of students (number)
% male (vs. female)
% science (vs. humanities & social sciences)
Average GPA
% of students planning
to attend university
Total sample
100 (656) 43.9
57.4
6.68 68.6
Intellectually highly disengaged
7.3 (48) 31.3 40.0
6.55 34.2
Behaviourally and cognitively disengaged
14.2 (93) 68.8 57.4
6.53 67.5
Overall average engaged
36.1 (237) 37.1
53.8
6.70 60.7
Intellectually Overall engaged highly
engaged
21.5 (141)
54.6 32.1 67.3 58.3
6.60 6.89 81.9 80.3
20.9 (137)
e smallest latent pro le (n = 48; 7.3%), scored relatively very low on all intellectual engagement indicators, even approaching the −2 SD point, which is why we referred to this group as intellectually highly disengaged. eir behavioural and cognitive engagement was well below average. In terms of their background characteristics, the intellectually disengaged learners had a relatively low high school GPA, and female and humanities and social sciences students were overrepresented. e second smallest class (n = 93; 14.2%) consisted of students who scored about 1 SD below average on most behavioural and cognitive engagement factors. In contrast to the rst group, however, these students had average intellectual engagement, which is why we called this group behaviourally and cognitively disengaged. is group had a relatively low high school GPA and had the highest percentage of male students (68.8%, while the percentage of male students in the total sample was 43.9). e percentage of science students did not di er from the percentage in the total sample. e largest latent class (n = 237; 36.1%) scored around the average on most factors, hence we referred to them as overall average engaged. eir behavioural and cognitive engagement was higher than their intellectual engagement. Female and humanities and social sciences students were somewhat overrepresented. e average engaged learners had an average high school GPA. e fourth class (n = 141; 21.5%) scored average on most behavioural and cognitive engagement factors and the highest of all groups on intellectual engagement: us, we referred to this group as intellectually engaged. eir scores for behavioural engagement, surface learning and self- regulated learning were a bit below average. Male students and students pursuing the science track were overrepresented in this group. eir high school GPA did
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