A Study of the Effectiveness of an Introductory Computer Course on Students’ Performance and Attitude

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to determine whether the introductory computer course in Preparatory Year Program (PYP) influences students’ performance and attitude towards computer studies in Qassim University, Saudi Arabia. The instrument employed for examining the attitude towards computer studies is Computer attitude scale (CAS) by Loyd and Gressard. A questionnaire is prepared for investigating students’ perceived computer skills. This paper is an analysis of the computer attitudes and skills of all students enrolled in PYP. Measures were taken at two points during the course: at the beginning of the course and at the end of the course. A paired sample t-test is applied using SPSS, version 21 to find the significant difference in the attitude and skills. This study concluded that in computer knowledge, and in promoting positive attitudes towards computer skills, the PYP program achieves significant increases in these areas. The course proved to effectively improve students’ attitude and skills.