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Brief Research Report - An Analysis of the Relationship Between Secondary and Tertiary Psychology Performance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 October 2015

Cynthia Fan  and
Bernadette Hood
Cynthia Fan*
Affiliation:
Victoria University of Technology
Bernadette Hood
Affiliation:
Victoria University of Technology
*
Department of Psychology, Victoria University of Technology, St Albans Campus, P.O. Box 14428, Melbourne Mail Centre, Melbourne 8001, Cynthia Fan@psychology @vut.edu.au
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Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) secondary psychology course in preparing students for studying psychology at a tertiary level. First semester results of 228 first year psychology students at Victoria University of Technology were analysed. Of these students 60 had completed VCE Psychology in 1992. No significant differences were observed in overall semester one psychology performance between students who had completed VCE Psychology and those who had not. Regression analysis suggested that VCE aggregate score was a better predictor than the VCE Psychology score of overall performance in the first year psychology course. Subsequent correlation analyses demonstrated that VCE Psychology scores correlated significantly with tertiary psychology examination results but not with coursework requirements. VCE aggregate scores correlated with both examination and coursework requirements. These results suggest that completion of VCE Psychology does not advantage students entering tertiary psychology courses and educators need to analyse both the content and process of both secondary and tertiary psychology courses to facilitate more effective articulations for students.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Educational and Developmental Psychologist , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , May 1995 , pp. 25 - 29
Copyright
Copyright © Australian Psychological Society 1995

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References

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