Impact of writing proficiency and writing center participation on academic performance
International Journal of Educational Management
ISSN: 0951-354X
Article publication date: 11 May 2015
Abstract
Purpose
Given that there exists in the literature relatively little research into the effectiveness of writing centers at universities, the purpose of this paper is to show the impact of university writing centers on first-year business seminar student writing.
Design/methodology/approach
This quantitative study involved 315 first-year undergraduate business students. Logistic and quantile regression analysis was used to test two hypotheses.
Findings
Results indicate that student intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors positively influenced the likelihood that a student visits the center. Student grades on writing assignments were significantly higher for students who visited the writing center but only for students who scored in the top 40th percentile of the grade distribution.
Practical implications
Writing centers should try to reach all students not only those who are naturally motivated. Most importantly, centers should find ways to help students in the lower portion of grade distribution since these students presumably require sustained help.
Originality/value
This paper suggests that writing centers helped only students at the top of the grades distribution which may be valuable to universities in assessing impact of writing centers and help in the efforts to improve student writing. However, this effect can only be uncovered using quantile regression. Therefore, this research has demonstrated the potential usefulness of quantile regression as a predictive and explanatory tool in assessment.
Keywords
Citation
Bielinska-Kwapisz, A. (2015), "Impact of writing proficiency and writing center participation on academic performance", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 29 No. 4, pp. 382-394. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-05-2014-0067
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited