Are secondary school students from the Middle East independent learners?

Abstract

Several factors influence the quality of higher education, inputs such as quality of students and teachers, the curriculum and the pedagogy. The purpose of our research was to examine whether there were any differences in learner autonomy as measured by self-directed learning readiness (SDLR) between secondary school students who entered medicine with a local Bahraini school certificate and those students who entered with an international school certificate. Using a modified questionnaire we identified how elements such as self-management, desire for learning, self-control and total SDLR scores varied in relation to the student’s previous exit award: ‘A’ levels (or equivalent) or Bahrain Secondary School (BSS) certificate. BSS certificate students had a significantly lower mean standardised desire for learning score (63.5) compared to those entering with ‘A’ levels or equivalent (73.6; p=0.003). BSS certificate students also had a significantly lower mean total self-directed learning readiness score (192.3) compared to those students with the ‘A’ levels and equivalent (214.5; p=0.015). When we controlled for all the other factors, secondary school award certificate was the only independent predictor of self-control (standardised beta 0.4; p=0.02) and SDLR (standardised beta 0.36; p=0.043). Social shifts and changing economic workforce requirements both regionally and globally are driving an increased interest in higher education in the Middle East. Students who exit with a local secondary school certificate are finding it difficult to prepare themselves for independent learning in medical school. This poses a challenge for higher education institutions bringing a more learner autonomous type of curriculum to the Middle East