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Cheltenham BournsideSchoolSixth Form CentreWarden Hill RoadCheltenhamGlos [email protected]

Liceo Scientifico Statale „Vito Voltera“Via G.B. Milani, 3760044 Fabriano (AN) [email protected]

I.E.S. BIDEBIETA BH1Lehendakari Agirre 9748970 Basauri [email protected]

Kiuruveden yläasteNiuemistenkatu 974700 KiuruvesiITÄ – [email protected]

Masarykovo gymnázium, Příbor Project Socrates-Comenius

Results - May 2005 1

Masarykovo gymnázium, PříborJičínská 528742 58 PříborČESKÁ [email protected]

Cheltenham Bournside

School

Sixth Form Centre Warden Hill Road

Cheltenham

Glos GL515EF

Liceo Scientifico Statale „Vito Voltera“Via G.B. Milani, 3760044 Fabriano (AN) ITALY


Questionnaire (circle chosen answer)

Sex male female

Residence town/city village

Form: 1st. 2nd. 3rd. 4th.

Highest education achieved by parents: Father: primary vocational training secondary higherMother: primary vocational training secondary higher

From the questions choose one which best corresponds to your feelings and opinions (points of view)

1. I decided to study at the grammar school (I was mostly influenced by?)a) myselfb) parent’s advicec) my older friend’s adviced) my teacher’s advice at the primary school and careers advisor e) visiting Masarykovo gymnázium’s “Open day”

2. Transition: primary school to secondary schoola) I didn’t notice any differences in preparation for lessons b) My preparation for lessons is a bit longer than for lessons at the primary

schoolc) My preparation for lessons is more intensive nowd) It takes me 3 hours or more to prepare myself for lessonse) I don’t need to prepare for school except to do my homework

3. Relations to classmatesa) I didn’t have any problems with making new friendsb) I’ve missed my previous classmates from the private schoolc) I made new friends quite quickly d) I have my best friends in other classes/groups at this grammar schoole) My best friends are from other schools, they don’t study at this grammar

school

4. Did anybody help you to overcome transition difficulties?a) No, I didn’t need any helpb) Yes, the teachers at the grammar school helped mec) Yes, my class teacher and the careers advisor at this grammar schoold) Yes, my parents, relatives and friendse) Nobody helped me , even if I needed the help



5. After graduating grammar school I would like toa) Continue to study at university in the Czech Republicb) Continue at university abroadc) Continue at a higher education colleged) Find a job in the Czech republic e) Find a job abroad to improve my language skills

6. Information about studying at university I’ve receiveda) From mass media [magazines, internet]b) From consultations with careers advisor c) From teachers d) From “Open days ” at the universitiese) From my relatives [parents, friends/schoolmates]

7. My seminars / optional subjects I chose / will choosea) According to information gained from older classmatesb) According to my teachers´ recommendation c) According to consultations with the career adviser about my future career d) According to my parents´ recommendation e) Independent of on any recommendations -only according to my own favourite

subjects

8. With the study at MGP I ama) Very happyb) Happyc) satisfiedd) unhappye) I wouldn’t choose MGP again (= very unhappy)

9. In connection with the university entrance exams I find the study at MGP a) Adequate preparation for the university entrance examsb) In addition I take consultations with teachersc) In addition I attend preparatory courses to university entrance exams, pay

for extra private lessons

d) It’s very important for me to be accepted at university so I use all the above possibilities

e) I don’t prepare myself for university entrance exams

10. Why I’ve chosen the study to study at this particular school (MGP)

a) I consider this grammar school to be very good at preparation for the university entrance exams

b) This grammar school is closest to my homec) I wasn’t accepted at my first choice of secondary school d) I didn’t care about what type of secondary school I had



e) I didn´t want to study at MGP

11. Which extra international curricular activities, that you were involved with, will help you

make the transition to university (project activities – Socrates project 2001-2004, Yomag

project; exchange stays; class trips England Germany, France; seminars in Marienberg)

If circle, write the mark 1-5-( the rate:1,2,3,4,5:* 1-the best, 5-the worst)

a) Socrates project 2001-2004b) Yomag.net projectc) exchange stays (England, Italy)d) school trips (England, Germany, France)e) seminars in Marienbergf) others

12. Extra-curriculum activities I have taken part in, have helped me :

If circle, write the mark 1-5-( the rate:1,2,3,4,5:* 1-the best,2-the worst)

a) To show the importance of learning/mastering a foreign languageb) To develop independence, tolerance, self-confidencec) To improve your computer skills (Information Technology)d) To develop awareness of world-wide problems (health, environment)e) To be prepared to dealing with unknown/new surroundings



Total

Czech RepublicBoys Girls Total

33 45 78

FinlandBoys Girls Total

25 21 46

EnglandBoys Girls Total

33 46 79

SpainBoys Girls Total

18 5 23

ItalyBoys Girls Total

42 42 84



Residence

Czech RepublicTown Village

44 34

FinlandTown Village

22 24

EnglandTown Village

7 71

SpainTown Village

19 4

ItalyTown Village

53 31



Level of education - FATHER

Czech RepublicPrimary Voc. Secondary Tertiary

0 21 28 29

FinlandPrimary Voc. Secondary Tertiary

4 30 1 1

EnglandPrimary V.O.C. Secondary Tertiary

24 23 2 20

SpainPrimary Voc. Secondary Tertiary

0 6 9 3

ItalyPrimary Voc. Secondary Tertiary

10 12 35 25



Level of education - MOTHER

Czech RepublicPrimary Voc. Secondary Tertiary

0 13 35 30

FinlandPrimary Voc. Secondary Tertiary

0 21 4 11

EnglandPrimary Voc. Secondary Tertiary

0 18 31 25

SpainPrimary Voc. Secondary Tertiary

0 21 28 29

ItalyPrimary Voc. Secondary Tertiary

9 7 43 23



INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS – PUPIL COMPOSITION, LOCATION & BACKGROUND

Extrapolating from the responses given by those students sampled in the questionnaire, the 5 schools involved in the project showed certain differences when it came to their composition.

The Spanish school was the only one to have a higher percentage of boys to girls, with a very marked ratio of 3:1. In Italy, the Czech Republic and Finland the gender break-down was roughly equal, while in England there was a slightly higher number of girls.

The sample of pupils from the Spanish school indicated a largely urban in-take of students while the situation was completely reversed in England with under 10% resident in towns. The Czech, Finnish and Italian schools would seem to attract pupils from both their own town and the surrounding area. (There may well be a degree of inconsistency in these results as the understanding of what constitutes a ‘village’ or ‘town’ will obviously vary from one country to the next.) As to the educational background of the students’ parents, there were distinct cultural or national differences. In Finland the vast majority of parents had received a vocational education, while in England there was three-way split between vocational training, secondary and tertiary studies. In the Italian school the most common level of education received was at secondary level, with less than a third of parents having had a tertiary education, and only one in eight having been vocationally trained. The Czech school alone showed a preponderance of parents who had enjoyed a third-level education, particularly amongst the fathers. (No results were available on this topic from the Spanish school.)



1. I decided to study at the grammar school (I was mostly influenced by?)1, myself 2, parent´s 3, older friend´s advice 4, primary teacher´s advice 5, Open day

Czech Republic Boys Girls Total1 32 22 552 7 3 103 2 8 104 3 4 75 0 0 0

Finland Boys Girls Total1 0 0 02 0 0 03 0 0 04 0 0 05 0 0 0

England Boys Girls Total1 17 28 452 9 15 243 3 1 44 0 0 05 2 2 4

Spain Boys Girls Total1 15 5 202 0 0 03 2 0 24 0 0 05 1 0 1

Italy Boys Girls Total1 33 34 672 3 4 73 1 3 44 4 1 55 2 2 4



QUESTION 1: WHAT INFLUENCED YOU TO STUDY AT THE SCHOOLWhile there was no information from the Finnish school in relation to this question, the vast majority of the pupils from the other 4 schools clearly indicated that they had made the decision on their own. Their was a certain degree of influence from parents, but this was not particularly significant, except in England were almost a third of the students had been swayed by the opinions of their parents.



2. Transition: primary school to secondary school1, No difference 2, Longer preparation 3, Lore intensive preparation 4, 3 hrs+ 5, No preparation

Czech Republic Boys Girl Total1 8 4 122 14 18 323 9 25 344 0 0 05 0 0 0

Finland Boys Girl Total1 5 11 162 2 4 63 1 2 3 4 0 0 05 10 8 18

England Boys Girl Total1 4 7 112 10 18 283 15 13 284 0 0 05 4 6 10

Spain Boys Girl Total1 2 0 22 7 2 93 7 3 104 1 0 15 1 0 1

Italy Boys Girl Total1 3 0 32 6 4 103 20 24 444 6 18 245 7 0 7



QUESTION 2: THE EASE OR DIFFICULTY OF THE TRANSITION FROM PRIMARY SCHOOLThe results from the Finnish school, indicating little or no difference between primary school and secondary school for almost all the pupils, are certainly at odds with the other four schools. Pupils in these schools clearly indicated that they found studying recorded longer and more detailed preparation with the Italian pupils finding the experience noticeably more difficult. Whereas, for the most part, the Finns, English, Czechs and Spanish didn’t find that more than three hours preparation was required per day, almost a third of the Italian pupils indicated that they had to spend this amount of time each day to make themselves ready for their lessons.Across the schools, there was little or no difference between how boys and girls found the adjustment.



3. Relations to classmates1, No problems 2, Missed classmates 3, New Friends quickly 4, Friends in other classes5, Friends at other schools




Spain

Boys Girl Total1 12 3 152 1 0 13 1 0 14 1 2 35 3 0 3




QUESTION 3: RELATIONSHIP WITH NEW CLASSMATES Interestingly, the only school where a large percentage of pupils missed their former classmates was the Finnish one. Over 40% of the Finns expressed this view, whereas the figure elsewhere was never more than a handful of kids. At the other four schools almost all the pupils had no problems and/or quickly made new friends easily. In the Czech and Italian schools none of the pupils found that they missed their classmates from primary school.The results of the questionnaire also indicate that there were no marked differences between how boys and girls experienced the transition to a new school and the prospect of getting on with new people.



4. Did anybody help you to overcome transition difficulties?1, No needed 2, Teachers 3, Form teacher 4, Friends, family 5, None given








QUESTION 4: HELP GIVEN WITH THE TRANSITIONThe pupils’ answers indicated that there wasn’t a significant number who needed any support or help. However, when it was required, the response to this question may school show certain social/cultural differences between the countries with family and friends playing a much more important supportive role in Italy and the Czech Republic. In Italy, particularly, the difference was significant with 29 pupils stating that help came from this source, as opposed to only 6 who turned to members of the teaching staff for assistance. Among the five schools, a lot more Italian and Czech pupils found they got more help externally than from within the school itself --- whether from form teachers or individual subject teachers. In England about 60% of those who sought help approached their teachers, with this figure rising to over 80% at the Spanish school.



5. After graduating grammar school I would like to1, Czech uni. 2, Foreign uni. 3, Further education 4, Friends, family 5, None given








QUESTION 5: PUPILS’ AMBITIONSThe responses to this question did show quite a marked difference between pupils’ intentions for future study and/or careers. Although university was the most popular option in all the countries, further education at a lower level was also a very popular choice amongst the Finns, English and Spanish.

The choice of university as the next step in their academic careers, however, was the over-riding ambition of the Czech pupils, with only one student out of seventy-eight seeking a career immediately after finishing school. The Czechs were unique in this regard, with no other option proving popular in any way. In Italy, Finland and England a university career was also far and away the most common choice with almost 50% of the Finns and 25% of the Italians who wanted to go on to university looking to study abroad. In the other 3 countries the desire to study at a foreign university was barely expressed.

In Spain there was effectively a three-way split between the options of university, further education or work. Leaving school to find employment was also the preference of about 15% of the English and Finnish and 10% of the Italian pupils.



6. Information about studying at university I’ve received1, Mass media 2, Careers advisor 3, Teachers 4, Open days 5, Friends, family

Czech Republik Boys Girl Total1 28 33 612 8 13 213 6 0 64 6 12 185 5 6 11







QUESTION 6: INFORMATION AVAILABLE ABOUT UNIVERSITY STUDYThis area of school life proved to be the one where national differences were most pronounced. In the Czech Republic and Italy pupils used the mass media to find out the information they needed, whereas this source played no role whatsoever in Finland and only a negligible one in Spain and England. The predominant source of information in England was through the system of university open-days, but teachers and specialized careers teachers had significant input in disseminating information. (For some reason, of the seventy-nine English pupils surveyed, there were only responses provided from thirty-six of them.) In none of the other schools did open-days play more than a minor role, and a very limited one in Finland, Spain and Italy.

The importance of careers teachers in the Finnish school was much greater than any of the other four countries, accounting for 80% of the Finnish students surveyed. In the Czech school their contribution was evident, with about 15% of pupils getting information through that channel, which was in marked contrast to the Italian pupils who received only a minimal amount of information at their own schools.

The Spanish school alone displayed evidence of a system where form teachers (or subject teachers) had a major contribution in informing their pupils about what different universities had to offer. With regard to the influence of friends and family, the Italian students were the only ones who benefitted significantly from advice and information offered from this quarter; for the Spanish, Finns and English it was almost non-existent as a source of information for the pupils.



7. My seminars / optional subjects I chose / will choose1,Schoolmates 2, Teachers 3, Careers advisor 4, Friends, parents 5, On my own








QUESTION 7: PUPILS’ CHOICE OF EXTRA SUBJECTSIn the Czech Republic and England the pupils were clearly responsible for making their own decisions, with a limited amount of influence from the other sources. In Spain, although almost a third of students made up their own minds, but the input of teachers was much more pronounced.The Finnish school was the only one where the over-riding influence came from classmates, accounting for why almost 70% choose their extra subjects. Interestingly, none of the Finns said they chose their extra subjects just on their own without any outside influence. There was no data available from the Italian school on this topic. (Again, responses were only given by thirty-six of the seventy-nine English pupils surveyed.)



8.With the study at MGP I am1,Verry happy 2, Happy 3, Satisfied 4,Unhappy 5,Very unhappy








QUESTION 8: STUDENTS’ LEVEL OF SATISFACTION WITH THEIR SCHOOLIn all 5 schools the majority of the pupils were content with the education they had received. At the Finnish school not one pupil expressed dissatisfaction with their school, and at the Spanish only three students from a sample of twenty-three said they found the experience less than enjoyable. At the Czech and English schools a small, but worrying, number of pupils --- about 10% and 12% respectively --- were not content with their stay at the school. The results from the Italian school were markedly different, however. Roughly half of the pupils were not satisfied, with almost 30% stating that they had a very unhappy time at the school. Amongst the girls at the school the figure was incredibly high with over 50% saying they were unhappy, and seventeen of the forty-four girls surveyed stating that they were very unhappy during their time at the school.Of the five schools, only the Czech one had, as the most common response in the questionnaire, pupils who were very happy with their studies.



9.In connection with the university entrance exams I find the study at MGP 1, Adequate prep. 2, Add Consultation 3, Private lessons 4, All of the above 5, No prep. at all

Czech Republic

Finland

England

Spain

Italy

Boys Girls Total1 16 32 482 2 0 23 4 3 74 2 2 45 7 1 8

Boys Girls Total1 11 14 252 12 11 233 9 6 154 0 0 05 0 0 0

Boys Girls Total1 9 15 242 3 5 83 1 2 34 1 2 35 1 0 1

Boys Girls Total1 6 0 62 1 3 43 1 0 14 3 0 35 7 2 9

Boys Girls Total1 28 15 432 0 3 33 1 2 34 3 8 115 9 7 16



QUESTION 9: PREPARATION PROVIDED FOR UNIVERSITY ENTRANCEOne might expected from the answers given to Question 8 that the Finnish students would, on the whole, have been largely content with the preparation for their university entrance exams provided by their school but this does not seem to be the case. Surprisingly, 60% of those surveyed said that they were in need of further teacher consultation or extra tuition.

The results of the Czech grammar school were something of a curate’s egg --- the vast majority said they thought the preparation given was adequate, with only a small proportion having to resort to extra assistance from outside school. However, 10% of the pupils, all but one of whom were boys, felt that they had received no real preparation whatsoever.

The most encouraging results were certainly from the English school were the overwhelming majority said that their school provided them with adequate preparation for university, and only one student was extremely disappointed with the support he had received. (The only caveat is that there were only responses from thirty-nine of the seventy-eight who completed the survey. The fact that forty pupils chose not to respond to this question may be significant in itself. Perhaps, as they say, discretion really is the better part of valour!)

Another surprise was evident in the findings of the Italian school. The majority were satisfied with the service provided by the school and only one fifth required extra tuition or consultations. Moreover, although over half of the pupils had said they were unhappy at the school, only about 20% were dissatisfied with the level of preparation they had received for university. This result, in conjunction with the responses from Question 2, may well indicate that the intellectual demands placed on them by the school were the main sources of their unhappiness. Of the twenty-four girls who had earlier stated that they were unhappy during their time at the school, only seven of them now said that the school hadn’t prepared them adequately for their university entrance exams.

The Spanish pupils’ responses clearly show that they felt let down by the level of preparation provided by their school. Only a quarter thought they had been adequately prepared, with almost a third requiring extra help and roughly 40% saying that the school had failed to prepare them in any way at all for the exams they had had to sit.



10. Why I’ve chosen the study to study at this particular school (MGP)1, Good reputation 2, Closest to home 3, 2nd choice 4, Didn´t care 5, Had to








QUESTION 10: REASON FOR CHOOSING THEIR SECONDARY SCHOOLIn all four of the schools that supplied data, the reputation of the establishment was paramount in the minds of pupils --- particularly in Italy, Spain and the Czech Republic. Distance from home certainly played a role, albeit a minor one in Spain and Italy, but for the Czechs, and the English particularly, it was significant. Indeed, at the English school it was the deciding factor for over 40% of the pupils when making their choice.The information supplied by the Italian school was telling in the extreme, showing that, alone of all the schools, a relatively large number of the students felt they had had to study there. Thirteen of the kids, from a sample of eighty-two, said that they had had no choice in the matter and a further two stated it had been their second-choice school. When we compare this figure of fifteen with the overall total of twenty-seven pupils who expressed extreme unhappiness during the time they spent at the school (in Question 8), it may go some way to explaining the earlier result. No information was supplied by the Finnish school on this issue.



11.Which extra international curricular activities,that you were involved with,will help you make the transition to university1,Socrates 2, Yomag 3, Exchange stays 4,Schools trips 5,Seminars 6,Other

Czech Republik Boys Girl Total1 3 3 62 8 8 163 1 2 34 15 14 295 3 7 106 9 9 18

Finland Boys Girl Total1 0 0 02 0 0 03 0 0 0 4 0 0 05 0 0 06 0 0 0

England Boys Girl Total1 2 3 52 2 1 33 3 2 54 0 0 05 3 3 66 0 0 0

Spain Boys Girl Total1 0 0 02 0 0 03 0 0 04 0 0 05 0 0 06 0 0 0

Italy Boys Girl Total1 1 2 32 4 1 53 5 2 74 10 16 265 2 1 36 0 0 0



QUESTION 11: HELP FROM INTERNATIONAL EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIESNo information was provided by the Finnish or Spanish schools in relation to this question.The level of response from the English school was so small --- only nineteen responses from a sample of seventy-nine --- that it is probably hazardous to extrapolate anything at all. (Even by assuming that the sixty students who chose to remain silent did so because they thought that no extra-curricular activity had helped them in any way, may be an erroneous conclusion.) Similarly, only forty-four of the eight-four Italian pupils who completed the survey responded.The only comment, perhaps, worth making is that not one English pupil who did respond thought they gained anything from participating in a school trip. This fact goes strongly against the experience of the Czech and Italian pupils who ranked it as the single most significant activity in helping prepare them for the more independent life that university study life invariably brings. Disappointingly, the Socrates project was not felt to be of particular importance by pupils and although a few of the Italian and English students felt that they had benefitted greatly from exchange stays, this was certainly not the case for the Czechs. The role of school seminars was recognized by a sizeable number of Czech and English students alike as preparing them for university conditions of study.The most interesting finding at the Czech school, perhaps, was the significance attached to the work entailed in conceiving, planning, drafting and re-drafting articles for publication in Yomag, and this may indicate a greater degree of satisfaction with work when pupils claim full ownership of it.



12. Extra-curriculum activities I have taken part in, have helped me 1, Learning 2, Personal skills 3, IT skills 4, Social awareness 5, New challanges








QUESTION 12: HOW I HAVE BENEFITTED FROM EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIESNo information was supplied by the Finnish school for this question.Once again there was a very low level of response from the English pupils, but of those who did grace us with an answer almost half were certainly of the opinion that extra-curricular activities were most effective at developing personal/social skills. Of the four schools, the English students were alone in indicating this, and it may have something to do with the emphasis placed on sport in British schools that this proved to be the most popular response.However, amongst the Spanish and Italians the development of personal skills was also important, ranked as the second most popular choice, and third among the Czechs. The most consistently significant factor, however, for pupils was the development that they felt had resulted from studying their subjects in greater detail and depth. It was the single most important benefit for a third of the Spanish and a fifth of the Italian pupils. The Czech pupils also considered it of real importance with over a third of them stating it was what they had gained most from while engaged in extra-curricular activities.However, it was the personal satisfaction and confidence that comes when meeting new challenges that proved to be most rewarding area for the Czech students and this was echoed to some degree by the Italians; the English and Spanish, curiously did not rank it highly at all. Gaining awareness or insight into social problems was not felt to be very important by any one particular school, and in Spain it was never once mentioned as an area where pupils had profited. Even in the Czech and Italian schools it was never of paramount importance for more than 12-15% of the students.It is probably not surprising that, in this day and age when personal computers are as ubiquitous as cars, only a small percentage of the pupils felt that their IT skills had developed significantly because of their involvement in extra-curricular activities. Having to encourage teenagers to use computers has to be, surely, as redundant as exporting sand to the Arabs, or saunas to the Finns, tapas to the Spanish, cappuccino to the Italians, beer to the Czechs, or umbrellas to the English.


Download - ITALY I.E.S. BIDEBIETA BH1 SPAIN FINLAND ČESKÁ …est.indire.it/upload/05-ITA01-S2C01-00735-2-prod-002.pdf · Masarykovo gymnázium, Příbor Project Socrates-Comenius

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