Thesis (M Med (Family Medicine)) -- University of Limpopo,2011.

This field study is a critical analysis of early streaming in Singapore. Primary school pupils are streamed at the end of Primary 3 on the basis of their performance in achievement tests in English, Mathematics and Second Language. The streaming policy is based on eugenic and economic premises. The policy-makers believe that intelligence is largely determined by genes, and that the quality of human resources is a vital factor for nation building. The study identifies the ideological position of the policy-makers by unpacking some of their major assumptions about humans, society, knowledge, school and curriculum, and reveals the ideological underpinnings of inherited differences in IQ and meritocracy which support this policy. The study also examines the inequality of advantage of this form of streaming. The findings of the pre-primary study and the study on dropouts show that unnatural inequalities do affect the performance of pupils in achievement tests and their desire to stay on in school. The analysis of the planning and management of the change shows that different reactions of principals, teachers and parents can have different effects on pupil motivation and learning, with grave social implications.

Research in the development of historical understanding in students has demonstrated that the use of primary source documents engages students in a more meaningful way in the study of history (Barton, 1997c; VanSledright, 2002; Wineburg, 2001). To determine if this research was supported in a local context, I conducted a series of lessons with a class of seventh grade students using primary source documents to answer the central research question: To what extent is the development of historical understanding in students enhanced by the use of primary documents? After learning about Louis Riel and engaging with a series of primary source documents, the students used the documents to answer the question: should Louis Riel have been convicted of treason at his trial in 1885? From the class, the responses of ten participants were coded using VanSledright’s (2002) four reading strategies, ranging from comprehension strategies to more sophisticated intertextual evaluations. This case study reveals that while students struggle to work at the higher levels of historical reading, the use of primary source documents enhances student self-efficacy in social studies. This study also accentuated the need for students to be specifically taught the necessary literacy skills to decode and interpret documents in isolation and intertextually.

What constitutes quality of learning in primary care? A social systems view of that central question regards the relationships between dimensions of learning, purposes of primary care, and quality of practice. The question of learning quality was approached in three ways. First, perceptions of learning quality were elicited through recorded interviews with fifteen participants representing diverse roles in a primary care medical clinic. Analysis of the interviews indicated learning sources, factors, and functional dimensions of learning. Second, because learning is constituted in a social practice, the social context of learning in primary care clinics was modeled with qualitative systems diagrams. This exposed systemic barriers and facilitators of learning in practice. Third, learning is directed toward fulfilling the purposes of primary care. The nature of those purposes is not well articulated. A framework of seven core purposes was developed from the perspective of systems phenomenology. This framework extends the biopsychosocial framework in several regards. Perceptions of learning quality, the structural situation of learning in clinical practice, and the core purposes of primary care, all contribute to a social systems understanding of what constitutes learning quality, and how primary care organizations might procure it and assess it. Systems phenomenology represents a significant innovation in social systems science methods. / Graduation date: 2002

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Regis University, Denver, Colo., 2006. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Feb. 20, 2006). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Also available in print.

This study is aimed at exploring the professional ¡§license¡¨ system of primary and secondary school teachers in our country. The main study method adopted in the study is document analysis, primary and secondary school teachers¡¦ professional ¡§license¡¨ system and teachers appointment system are taken as research subject, with additional related administrative rules for accessory explanation; comparative method is also adopted in this study to make a comparison of the accreditation system of primary and secondary school teachers and other domestic professions as well as that of primary and secondary school teachers in U.S.A. The result of teacher professional accreditation system explored in this study is arranged, analyzed and concluded after related studies performed. It¡¦s discovered after the analysis and comparison of documents: 1.There¡¦s distinction lies among certificate, practice license and ¡§license,¡¨ and the said ¡§license¡¨ is different from that of doctor, psychologist, social worker, lawyer and accountant. 2.The government persuades teachers to join the professional ¡§license¡¨ system is meant to solve the problems of wandering and unqualified teachers principally. 3.To perform teacher professional ¡§license¡¨ system, the advantage is complied with social public expectation, but the disadvantage is that it has become the tool for government to regulate and instruct teachers. Suggestions for follow-up researchers: Expect that the follow-up researchers would perform further study and dissertation on the roles and function played by both government and teacher professional organization in promoting primary and secondary school teachers¡¦ professional ¡§license¡¨ system upon the discussion of it in our country, to make the said system more matured and completed and administer to teacher profession promotion.

The purpose of the study was to investigate relationships between teacher self-concept and pupil reading achievement at the first and second grade levels. Research has verified the relationship between teacher self-concept and pupil self-concept as well as between pupil self-concept and reading achievement. A logical extension would seem to be that teacher self-concept is related to pupil reading achievement. However, this assumption does not appear to have been thoroughly investigated. This study was designed to investigate that relationship.The subjects included 275 pupils and the thirty-two teachers to whom these pupils were assigned in first and second grades. The sample was drawn from four elementary schools in a large midwestern city. Criteria for selection of schools included random assignment of pupils to both first and second grade self-contained classrooms during the 1977-78 and 1978-79 school years.Instruments employed in the study included the Index of Adjustment and Values administered to assess global self-concept of teachers. The discrepancy score (Self-Ideal Self) was used as a basis for classifying teachers into groupings designating range of discrepancy from minimal to maximal. The SRA Assessment Survey Achievement Series, administered to pupils as part of the regular testing program within the school corporation, provided the data on reading achievement.After teacher discrepancy scores were computed, rank ordered, and subdivided into three sections for each grade, these were designated as minimal discrepancy score (Mi DS), medium discrepancy score (Me DS), or maximal discrepancy score (Mx DS). Nine groups representing the nine possible combinations of teachers grouped by discrepancy scores were devised. The reading achievement scores obtained by pupils at the end of second grade were then placed into the appropriate groups based on the designations of their first and second grade teachers. Mean reading achievement scores and standard deviations for pupils in each group were computed.The following null hypotheses were tested:1. No significant relationships exist between teacher self-concept and pupil reading achievement when pupils are identified on the basis of assignment in first and second grades to teachers manifesting varying degrees of discrepancy between self-concept and ideal self-concept.2. No significant differences exist in the reading achievement of pupils having had either a first or second grade Mi DS teacher and pupils who did not.3. No significant differences exist in the reading achievement of pupils having had either a first or second grade Mx DS teacher and pupils who did not.4. No significant differences exist in the reading achievement of pupils having had a Mi DS first grade teacher and pupils who did not.A one-way analysis of variance technique comparing the differences of the means within and between groups was employed. No significant differences were found. Therefore, none of the four null hypotheses was rejected.The most obvious conclusion to be drawn was that teacher self-concept, when assessed by the IAV which provides a global measure, revealed no significant relationship to pupil reading achievement. However, it is possible that several dimensions of self-concept exist and variables demonstrated in the classroom may not have been adequately measured by the self-concept instrument. Also, it is possible that the self-concept's of other, more significant adults such as parents exert a greater influence on children's reading achievement than the self-concept of the teacher. It was recommended that further studies be conducted to investigate these implications.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Lehigh University, 2000. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 193-203).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Lehigh University, 2000. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references.