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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 9, No. 3
Publication Date: March 25, 2022
DOI:10.14738/assrj.93.12054. Yan, M., Shia, A., & Badiane, K. (2022). A Study on the Teaching System to Promote Learning by Competition–A Case Study of the
Business School of Lingnan Normal University. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 9(3). 226-234.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
A Study on the Teaching System to Promote Learning by
Competition–A Case Study of the Business School of Lingnan
Normal University
Miaoru Yan
Student, Business School, Lingnan Normal University
Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China
An-Shin Shia
Associate Professor, Business School, Lingnan Normal University
Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China
Kemo Badiane
Assistant Professor Nanfang College of Sun Yat-Sen University
882, Wenquan Avenue, Guangzhou, China
ABSTRACT
The cultivation of high-quality talents with applied innovation is a fundamental task
with undergraduate teaching in colleges and universities. Subject competition plays
a significant role in promoting and practicing in the cultivation of undergraduate
students. Based on the analysis of the current situation of subject competition and
teaching in the Business School of Lingnan Normal University, this paper
investigates the enthusiasm of business school students to participate in subject
competition in the form of a questionnaire and puts forward the problem of
disconnection between theoretical and practical teaching at this stage. The data
analysis of the results of the questionnaire survey and the review of relevant
materials put forward solutions to various problems and provide a reference for
the integration of practice and theoretical teaching of local college subject
competitions.
Keywords: Discipline competition; Talent training; Theory, and practice; Teaching reform
INTRODUCTION
Subject competition could be defined as “training people’s intelligence and will, and students’
logical thinking ability and independent problem-solving skill thro ugh competitions” [1]. Thus,
it is considered as practical and innovative activities to achieve educational goals and teaching
purposes [2]. It is based on the close combination of classroom teaching through competitions
to discover and solve problems, and enhance students' comprehensive qualities, such as
independent learning, independent innovation and teamwork activities [3, 4, 5]. Over the past
few years, as the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance have clearly incorporated
the project quality to strengthen the work of subject competitions into teaching practice and
the reform and innovation of talent training models, it can be seen that innovative talents have
become the current talent training goal of the Ministry of Education [6, 7]. That is to say, talent
training should focus on practice, and it is necessary to take academic competitions as the
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Yan, M., Shia, A., & Badiane, K. (2022). A Study on the Teaching System to Promote Learning by Competition–A Case Study of the Business School
of Lingnan Normal University. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 9(3). 226-234.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.93.12054
carrier, let students become the main body, and apply the theoretical knowledge learned to
practice, so as to achieve the purpose of cultivating applied innovative talents [8,9]. Under such
a trend, the level of holding subject competitions as an indicator to evaluate the teaching quality
and scientific research ability of colleges and universities has been paid more and more
attention by major colleges and universities [10, 11, 12].
In line with the current college teaching system that focuses on cultivating economic
management talents and innovative and creative talents, business discipline competitions have
become a major feature of the college [13]. At present, there are more than 10 business
competitions organized by the School of Business in each academic year. The types of
competitions undertaken are diverse and wide-ranging [14], such as "Guangdong Province
Challenge Cup College Students' Extracurricular Academic Science and Technology Works
Competition and Entrepreneurship Plan Competition, National College Student Competition,
Management Decision Simulation Competition, and Guangdong Innovation and
Entrepreneurship Competition and so on. Provincial and national competitions hosted by
business schools, students mainly from business schools have achieved good results in these
business competitions [15, 16]. According to statistics, our hospital has won a national award
in 2020, such as the first prize for the national semi-final of the First National Supply Chain
Competition, and three national awards in 2019, such as the 2019 Tenth Guangdong Province
Innovation and Entrepreneurship National Grand Prize, etc. However, the subject competition
has been a great opportunity for the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance to
cultivate applied and innovative talents in the past two years [17, 18, 19], 347 students
(including students from other colleges) participated and won awards in the business discipline
competition in 2019. There are 450 award-winning students (including students from other
colleges). The number of students participating in 2019 has decreased compared with 2018. It
can be seen that under the wave of innovative talent training, the development momentum of
academic competitions in the college has slowed down, and there is a problem of declining
participation in academic competitions [20, 21].
In view of the current decline in the enthusiasm of Lingnan Normal University Business School
(hereinafter referred to as Lingnan Business School) in holding disciplinary competitions, a
survey was mainly launched to the students of Lingnan Normal University Business School on
the enthusiasm of students to participate in subject competitions. The findings showed that
problems in the process of holding subject competitions come up with solutions to the existing
problems of business school subject competitions, improve the subject competition system,
enable students to actively participate in subject competitions, integrate textbook knowledge
into practice, increase their in-depth grasp of theoretical knowledge, and practice promoting
learning through competition [22, 23]. The purpose of teaching training and testing teaching
achievements led to the reform of practical teaching, and finally realizing the cultivation of
innovative talents in colleges and universities and improving the quality of teaching [24].
METHODOLOGY
Research Object and Questionnaires
In this questionnaire survey, 600 questionnaires were distributed to the Business School
students in the form of online questionnaires, of which 583 were valid questionnaires [25]. The
students who participated in the survey included students majoring in E-commerce (20.07%),
hotel management (16.47%), financial accounting (15.95%), international trade and economy
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(13.72%), information management, information system (13.04%), business administration
(7.2%), logistics management (9.09%), and marketing (4.46%). Male students accounted for
19.38% and female students (80.62%) of which 283 freshmen (48.54%), 218 sophomores
(37.39 %), 79 juniors (13.55%), and 3 seniors (0.51%) [24]. The sample structure of the survey
is shown in Table 1 as follows.
Table 1. Distribution of Respondents by Grades
Grade Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior Total
Number
of
students
283 218 79 3 583
Ratio% 48.54% 37.39% 13.55 0.51% 100%
SUBJECT COMPETITIONS SURVEY DATA ANALYSIS
Status of the Participants in the Subject Competition
According to the questionnaire, among the 583 questionnaires, 90.05% of the students
expressed their willingness to participate in the subject competition, but only 35.85% of the
students actually participated in the subject competition, 20.58% of students considered it is
very meaningful, 72.21% of students think it is very meaningful, but it has improved, 6.35% of
students think it is not meaningful, and 0.86% of students considered it as meaningless. About
the way the students like to participate in the competition, 23.5% of the students like individual
participation, and 76.5% of them like team competitions. As to whether students are willing to
participate in a competition that they are good at, 33.45% of students were happy to participate,
56.6% of Students are willing to participate, 8.75% of students being indifferent, 1.2% of the
students were not happy to participate. About how to prepare for signing up for the
competition, 56.78% of students prepared carefully and do their best, and 39.97% of the
students will spare time to prepare, 2.4% of students occasionally prepared, 0.86% of the
students were not prepared. With regard to the main purpose of participating in the subject
competition, 24.36% of the students were to obtain honors and certificates, 46.16% of the
students were to experience the competition process and gain experience, and 18.01% of the
students were to gain a deeper understanding through the competition. In terms of subject
knowledge, 3.77% of students are self-motivated and improved their learning motivation, and
7.72% of students expressed their interest to participate in the competition. According to the
above questionnaire data, it can be further seen that the students’ low enthusiasm for
participating in subject competitions is related to factors such as colleges and subject
competition systems, improve the subject competition system and teaching quality by
promoting learning through competition, and cultivate high-quality innovative practical talents
to improve the teaching mechanism of colleges and universities [26, 27].
Factors Preventing Students’ Participation in Subject Competitions
Among the students surveyed, 31.56% believed that the reasons for their participation in the
subject competition depended on their ability, 24.7% on their interest, 9.26% on their schedule,
33.28% on their psychological status, and 1.2% on other reasons. As for the way of learning
about the subject competition, 37.05% of the students passed through the relevant university
documents, 14.25% of the students learned through teachers or classmates, 18.7% were
through the publicity of running classes, 26.07% were through the WeChat friends’ circle or on
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Yan, M., Shia, A., & Badiane, K. (2022). A Study on the Teaching System to Promote Learning by Competition–A Case Study of the Business School
of Lingnan Normal University. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 9(3). 226-234.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.93.12054
campus, and 3.95% were through other means. Ways for the students to participate in subject
competition are shown in Figure 1 as follows.
Figure 1. Ways for Students to Participate in Subject Competition
With regard to the main resistance to participation in subject competitions, 26.76% of students
did not have time to participate, 14.41% were due to the cumbersome registration process for
the subject competitions, 30.7% to the difficulty of the subject competitions, 22.3% to the lack
of teammates, 1.2% to the lack of prizes, and 4.63% filled out other reasons, such as perceived
lack of ability about themselves, or knowing they were not able to participate in the
competition. About 9.43% of the students believed that the competition was not well
publicized, 22.64% considered it as inadequate, 37.64% said that they were not able to do so,
lack of self-confidence and restraint, 23.67% of the students thought it was due to lack of a
sound system and professional instructor guidance, 6.69% of the students thought it was their
own weak awareness of learning and competition. About the problems existing in the subject
competition, lack of confidence, and restraint, 23.67% of the students thought it was due to the
lack of a sound system and the guidance of professional instructors, and 6.69% of the students
thought it was their own weak awareness of learning and competition. For the problems
existing in the subject competition, the lack of venues and infrastructure accounted for 49.4%,
55.92% of the students chose to invest in insufficient funding in small scale. About 62.09% of
the students believed that the subject competition lacked standardized management systems
and guarantees, 50.09% believed that the subject competition was not high in value, and 1.89%
of the students chose others. Reasons for students' low enthusiasm to participate in the subject
competitions are exhibited in Figure 2 as follows.
Figure 2. Reasons for Students' Low Enthusiasm to Participate in Subject Competitions
3.95%
26.07%
18.07%
14.24%
37.05%
0.00% 5.00% 10.00%15.00%20.00%25.00%30.00%35.00%40.00%
Others
Cirle of Friends or...
Class publicity
Chat with others
School related softwares
Know ways to play competitions
6.69%
23.67%
37.56%
22.64%
9.43%
0.00%5.00%10.00%15.00%20.00%25.00%30.00%35.00%40.00%
Weak awareness of integrating learning into...
Lack of guidance from professional teachers
Lack of self-confidence and introverted
Lack of ability
The competition publicity is not in place
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COUNTERMEASURES AND SUGGESTIONS FOR PROMOTING THE TRAINING OF APPLIED
INNOVATIVE TALENTS
Developing Students' Interest as a Driving Force in Subject Competitions
Interest is the best teacher. To improve students' initiative and enthusiasm in participating in
subject competitions is mainly to improve students' interest in participating in competitions.
Only when students are interested can they be motivated and give full play to the enthusiasm
of students in subject competitions [28]. In order to increase students’ interest in participating
in the competition, starting from the admission of freshmen, various publicity methods should
be increased [29, 30]. Colleges, sponsors, and organizers should improve the incentives for
students. When publicizing, they should introduce the content of the competition and the
degree of rewards in detail and use various channels. Carry out publicity, for example, by
formulating interesting activities, small games or promotional videos related to the competition
to increase the breadth and depth of competition in communication and attract students to
participate in the competition [31]. At the same time, we increase the publicity of the policies
of colleges and universities to encourage students to participate in subject competitions and
introduce the achievements of outstanding students in previous years [32, 33]. The
employment status of outstanding graduates who have participated and won awards will be
vigorously reported, and students who have achieved results in scientific and technological
innovation competitions and various innovative activities will be given extra points in various
evaluation activities, such as academic excellence [34].
Optimize the Teaching Mode and Increase the Innovative Practical Teaching
Subject competition has become an effective way to cultivate students' innovative ability,
“expand their knowledge, improve their practical ability and innovation ability, and cultivate
their professional ability and comprehensive quality”[32] and at the same time makes students
clearly aware of their own deficiencies in professional knowledge and skill training. Colleges
and universities should integrate the relevant subject competitions training into the teaching
content of courses, incorporate the cultivation of innovative ability into the training plan of
professional talents, and give full play to the guiding role of subject competitions in the selection
of course content [35]. Colleges and universities should strengthen practical teaching in the
teaching process and adopt teaching methods such as case method teaching and learning and
project-based teaching to cultivate students' innovative thinking ability [17]. Small
competitions, gradually cultivate students' practical skills, allow students to accumulate some
experiences and achievements, and improve their self-confidence in participating in the
competition.
Improve the Competition System and Create Good Study Techniques
Optimize the game mode. When the subject competition is held, it should be less formalized,
avoid similarity, and be more practical and innovative, and innovate the competition mode to
diversify the competition system and form [3]. Competition organizers should update the type
and model of the competition on the basis of previous good experience, link it with subject
knowledge in a targeted manner, encourage inter-professional competitions and cross-college
competitions, set up a competition system that combines team and individual competitions to
improve the possibility of students’ participation in the competition.
Simplify competition format. 1Reasonably scheduled the competition holding time, such as
holding competitions in stages according to the students' study courses and teaching plans to
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Yan, M., Shia, A., & Badiane, K. (2022). A Study on the Teaching System to Promote Learning by Competition–A Case Study of the Business School
of Lingnan Normal University. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 9(3). 226-234.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.93.12054
reasonably arrange the subject competition holding time during the competition process, the
participants' display time is flexible, such as no time limit for the defense. 2The registration
process is simplified. For example, if a competition group is formed, the willing participants
joining the group will be regarded as successful registration, and the cadres will collect brief
registration information. 3Conduct pre-competition training for participants, such as the pre- competition for professional instructors or previous experienced participants to organize
lectures, experience sharing and training sessions. 4Invite professional judges, cooperate with
enterprises, and invite enterprise personnel to be competition judges, universities and
enterprises jointly holding competitions can be closer to the actual needs of the current society.
5After the competition, summarize and collect feedback. After the competition, organizers
hold a summary meeting, conduct a survey of participants and spectators, collect feedback,
improve the deficiencies in the competition, and record them in the competition archives for
the next competition to be held as an experience reference. Reasons Why Students Participate
in Subject Competitions are exhibited in Figure 3 as follows.
Figure 3. Reasons Why Students Participate in Subject Competitions
Build Effective Software and Hardware Platforms and Mechanisms to Support Students'
Participation in Subject Competitions
In terms of soft environment, colleges and universities should establish four platforms, namely,
the subject competition information platform, the students’ learning discussion platform, the
instructor communication platform, and the subject competition cross-teaming platform. Use
the subject competition information platform to promote various subject competitions in a
timely manner, improve the publicity of subject competitions, and enable students intending to
participate in the subject competition information platform to learn about the details of the
subject competitions. Use the students’ learning and discussion platform to create an
innovative learning atmosphere where everyone is proud to participate in subject
competitions, so that students feel the difference between participating and not participating,
using 70% of the participating students to drive 30% of the students to participate and create
a good competition atmosphere. Using the communication platform for instructors who play a
crucial role in subject competitions. An innovative teacher can use his/her professional
knowledge and resources to guide and stimulate students' innovative practice thinking and
bring out a group of students with innovative practical skills. Use the cross-teaming platform of
46.14%
24.36%
18.01%
7.72%3.77%
Experience the competition process and increase experience
Obtain honor and certificate
Deepen the understanding of subject knowledge through the competition
Focus on participation
Motivate yourself and improve learning motivation
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subject competitions to encourage students in different academic majors and different colleges
to cross-integrate, join forces, and cooperate in unity, so as to give full play to the strengths of
team members and tap into students’ potential. In terms of the hard environment, colleges and
universities should increase the investment in subject competitions and the basic equipment
investment in cultivating students' innovation and entrepreneurship [36], improve the gold
content of subject competitions, build innovative practice platforms, open laboratories, and
build basic learning tools and workbenches with various subjects. The innovative studio of the
facility provides a powerful hardware environment for students to actively participate in
subject competitions [28].
CONCLUSION
Talent is the first resource; innovation is the first driving force [38]. Perfecting the talent
training quality standard system, innovating the talent training model, strengthening the
practice and educating people, and promoting collaborative innovation require the Ministry of
Education, schools, and competition organizers to pay attention to each other, and to cooperate
with each other to improve the subject competition system [32]. To enable students to combine
theory with practice, cultivate their good self-learning ability in the competition, form their own
independent understanding in the continuous accumulation of knowledge, learn to look at
problems from a new perspective, and achieve the purpose of promoting learning through
competition[37], so that students become high-quality comprehensive, innovative and practical
talents needed by the society, and improve the quality of talents training in colleges and
universities.
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