This study examined the effectiveness of two types of assistive technology for writing instruction of students with Down syndrome in British Columbia. Students received either Clicker 5, a symbol-supported writing software program; or Co:Writer, a word prediction software program designed to support written output. Data collection was conducted between January-June 2007 (Year 1) and October-May 2008 (Year 2). Clicker 5 was provided to 43 students in Year 1 (17 of whom also participated in the study during Year 2) and was designed to support early and emergent literacy development. Co:Writer was provided to 18 students in Year 1 (2 of whom also participated in the study during Year 2) and was designed to support text writing. Each month during both school years, teachers were asked to complete an on-line survey with questions related to their impressions of the impact of the technology and other variables. Students in the Clicker group produced 10-minute monthly writing samples about a selected topic using a Clicker grid designed by the research team. Students in the Co:Writer group produced one handwritten and one Co:Writer-supported 10-minute writing sample every month about the specified topic. Data were analyzed with regard to writing rate, spelling accuracy (Co:Writer group only), and quality (measured both analytically and holistically). Results for dependent measures of writing for the Clicker group were variable but provided some support for the use of symbol-supported writing software for producing meaningful written output. The Co:Writer group was more accurate with regard to spelling and grammar while using Co:Writer compared to handwriting. The results are discussed in terms of the practical implications, limitations, and areas for future research.

Thesis (MTESOL)--University of South Australia, 2000

This thesis is about border crossing. Literary Journalism is a border-crossing writing genre claiming ground in fields as diverse as science, mathematics, memoir, travel and culture. The established academic discipline of anthropology is also crossing borders as styles of writing ethnography are changing and being challenged. This work is situated at the meeting point of these two genres. It examines how literary journalism can be used to write about culture for a wider audience beyond the academic community. The defining characteristics of literary journalism – documentable subject, exhaustive research, novelistic writing techniques, voice and attention to underlying meaning – signal strengths and possible limitations to its use in writing about culture when measured against the demands of academic ethnographic writing. The requirements for research and writing about culture are examined from the perspectives of literary journalism and ethnography in Part 1 of this thesis. To explore literary journalism’s suitability to write about culture, research was conducted among the Rejang people of Sumatra. Part Two of the thesis, titled Family Strength, is presented as an example of a literary journalist approach to recording culture. It is the result of five fieldtrips to Sumatra to gather data about members of four generations of Pak Taher’s family group in the village of Kelobak in the early 21st century. Each section of Family Strength tells the story of Pak Taher’s relatives, highlighting changes within the lifetime of family members, including gender roles, religious values, the influence of education, generational change and farming practices. The work is not an exhaustive treatment of Rejang culture but records culture as several “slices of life”.

The BarOn EQ-i model of emotional intelligence and Factor 1 of Hare’s Psychopathy Checklist-Revised: Screening Version were used to assess emotional literacy and callous-unemotional traits in sixty female offenders. Findings suggest that female offenders show significant emotional literacy deficits compared to the normal population especially in areas of empathy, social responsibility and interpersonal relationships. This association was examined further in relation to criminal history variables; seriousness and chronicity. Emotional literacy was predictive of criminal history, but not offender type. Contrary to expectations, callous-unemotional traits only showed a few relations to emotional literacy namely, significant correlations between PCL: SV Factor 1 score and aspects of problem solving. Violent offenders with high callous-unemotional traits showed significantly more emotional literacy deficits than non-violent offenders with high callous-unemotional traits, especially in interpersonal and adaptability emotional literacy areas. Interestingly those that demonstrated suicidal ideation regardless of offence type showed the poorest emotional literacy abilities and were more likely to show higher levels of callous-unemotional traits. The implications and recommendations for future research as well as the limitations of the study are discussed.

This thesis is an investigation into processes of gendered subject production in literate practices in school settings. Focusing on student writing in geography, the study explores gender differences in written texts with a view to asking what is differently at stake for girls and for boys in 'becoming literate' in school geography. The study is an ethnographic case study of a geography classroom, focusing in particular on contexts for the production of two texts which are subject to close textual analysis. Drawing on a range of theoretical and methodological perspectives: curriculum studies, linguistics and feminist theory, the thesis argue that classrooms are sites of multiple and competing discourses. Student texts are oriented discursively and generically in different ways. These orientations both reflect and produce wider discursive alignments within the discipline of geography and elsewhere. The thesis investigates the politics of these differences. Part I builds a detailed account of the Year 11 geography classroom as a set of curriculum contexts within which students' literate practices are located. Readings are produced of the official curriculum resources, focusing in particular on the syllabus and the classroom textbook material. The spoken language dynamics of the classroom are investigated in terms of the materiality of processes of speaker positioning along gender lines in the production and negotiation of geographical meanings. Part II produces detailed readings of two student essays: one by a girl, one by a boy. Differences between the two are investigated, drawing links between the texts and the discursive contexts of their production and reception. The argument is made that the two texts enact a significant gender difference in and through different geographies. Part III discusses the consequences of the thesis findings for contemporary debates about literacy pedagogy. This includes a critique of one dominant framework within which the notion of 'critical literacy' is being engaged: that of educational linguistics. Finally, the argument is made that existing accounts of 'subject-specific literacy' need to be expanded to engage two senses of the word 'subject': both the specificity and multiplicity of the discourses of subject-disciplines and the concomitant production of different human subject positions through textual practice. To investigate the implications of this, theories of literacy pedagogy, it is argued, need to engage more substantially with available theories of the subject, such as feminist theories, while at the same time engaging sophisticated analytics for the exposure of the material workings of discursive practices in school-literate productions.

Substantial sums of money are invested by governments in state, national and international testing programs. Australia in particular engages at all three levels. There are number of purposes served by these programs. One of these is to report student performance against standards. Standard setting exercises with respect to a particular assessment are commonly used by testing programs where there is a requirement to determine the point at which it can be said that students have demonstrated achievement of a standard. Several methodologies have been devised that use expert judgements to derive a numerical cut-score on an achievement scale. A commonly used standard setting methodology is one proposed by Angoff (1971). The kernel of the Angoff procedure is the independent judgement of the probability that a minimally competent person can or cannot answer a dichotomously scored item correctly. This methodology typically involves three stages: orientation and training, a first round of performance estimation followed by feedback, and then a second round of performance estimation. In the orientation session, judges are asked to define a hypothetical target group. This definition is dependent upon the judges’ tacit understanding of the standard. For example, in the context of a mathematics test, judges would be asked to agree the skills the students should be expected to have mastered. Then they would be asked to envisage a student with those skills and to estimate the proportion of a hypothetical group of equally competent students (as defined by the expected standard) who would answer each item correctly. This proportion is the estimate of the required probability. Then the sum of these probabilities is taken as the raw cut-score on a test composed of the items. Several studies, however, question the validity of the Angoff methodology because of the finding that judges were unable to perform the fundamental task required of them: to estimate the probability a student would answer an item correctly, (Shepard, 1995) even for groups of students who are well known to them (Impara and Blake, 1996). In addition, standard-setting exercises invariably take place in situations where the reporting of educational standards has a high profile and is of political importance. To address the accountability requirements that accompany such a task, a wide range of stakeholders are invited to act as judges in the exercises. Inevitably, however, variability between the judges conception of the standard, as represented by the cut-score set by each of them, causes concern. Can the public have confidence in the standard set if the judges themselves cannot agree? Several studies report the introduction of further rounds of performance estimation and more refined feedback in an attempt to obtain greater consistency between the judges’ ratings (Impara and Blake, 2000; McGinty and Neel, 1996; Reckase, 2000). In more recent studies Green, Trimble and Lewis (2003) report a study in which three standard setting procedures were implemented to set cut-scores and which required judges to synthesise the results to establish final cut-points. Green et al report studies such as Impara and Blake (2000) where convergence of results among multiple standard settings are used as evidence of validity of cut-scores, but note that while convergence may occur to a reasonable degree when variations of the same method are used, there are few reports of convergence when different procedures are used. The distinguishing factor between the standard-setting exercises reported in the literature, which rely on judges’ tacit understanding of the standard and this study, is the existence of an explicitly and operationally defined standard. In 1996 the Australian Ministers for Education agreed to a national framework for reporting of student achievement in literacy and numeracy and arising from this decision was the drafting of benchmark standards against which the achievement of students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 could be reported. The benchmark standards are articulated in two components. Criteria describe the skills that students need to have acquired if it is to be said that they achieved the standard and sample work exemplify these criteria. The setting of standards independently of placing them on a scale permitted a more rigorous assessment of the effects of different designs on the setting of cut-scores. Two different standard-setting methodologies have been employed in this study to translate descriptions of the standards into cut-scores. One draws on the Angoff method and involves the use of a rating scale. Judges consider the items of a test and indicate the probability that a student at the cut-score will answer each item correctly. The probabilities are in increments of 0.10, ranging from 0.0 to 1.0. The sum of the probabilities that a judge gives to the items is taken as the raw score cut-score from that judge. The second study involves a method of pairwise comparison of the same items together with items that are operationalised to be benchmark items. The judge has to decide which of each pair of items is the more difficult. The results of the two benchmark setting designs appear to support findings from other standard-setting exercises reported in the literature. Namely, i. Judges were unable to estimate absolute item difficulty for a student of prescribed ability. ii. Where two different designs were used, there is no convergence in results. iii. Ratings from different judges within each design varied widely. To indicate the resultant discrepancy in setting the benchmark on the same test, the rating methodology gives a value of 16.08 and the pairwise a value of 7.10 on ostensibly the same scale. A closer examination of the judges’ ratings, however, suggests that despite the evidence of dramatically different cut scores between the two exercises, the judges were highly consistent in their interpretation of relative item difficulty. Two lines of evidence indicate this high level of internal consistency: (i) the reliability index for the pairwise data; and (ii) the correlation between the item estimates obtained from the rating and pairwise exercises, which was 0.95. In addition, the correlation of the relative item difficulties with those obtained from students responding to the same items was a satisfactory 0.80 and 0.74 for the ratings and for the pairwise designs, respectively. The high correlation between judgements across the two exercises, in conjunction with the relatively high correlation of the item difficulties from the judges’ data and from the student data, suggests that problems observed in the literature do not arise because judges cannot differentiate the relative difficulties of the items. Accordingly, the unit of scale as assessed by the standard deviations of the item difficulties were calculated and examined. The standard deviation of the items from judges in the likelihood design was half that of the item difficulties from the student responses, and the standard deviation of the items from the pairwise design was over twice that of the student scale. The substantial difference between the standard deviations suggests a difference between the units of scale, which presents a fundamental problem for common equating. In general, and in the literature, it seems that the unit of scale as evidenced from the standard deviations is not considered and it seems that it is simply assumed that the unit of scale produced by the students and the judges is the same and each design should be the same. Then if the results of different modes of the data collections do not arrive at the same or very similar cut-scores, it is not considered that this might be only a result of different units of scale. In retrospect, it is not surprising that different formats for data collection produce different units of scale, and that different cut-scores result. In addition, it is not surprising that these might also produce a different unit of scale from that produced by the responses of the students. The reasons that the different designs are likely to produce different units of scale are considered in the thesis. Differences in the unit of scale will inevitably have an impact on the location of the benchmark or cut-score. When the difference in standard deviation is accounted for, and the cut-scores are placed on the same scale as that produced by the students, the two exercises provide similar locations of the benchmark cut-score. Importantly, the thesis shows that these locations can be substantiated qualitatively as representing the defined standard. There are two main conclusions of the study. First, some of the problems reported in the literature in setting benchmarks can be attributed to difference in the units of scale in the various response formats of judges relative to those of students. Second, this difference in unit of scale needs to be taken into account when locating the standard on the student scale. This thesis describes in detail the two cut-score setting designs for the data collection, and the transformations that are necessary in order to locate the benchmark on the same scale as that produced by the responses of the students.

This study used interpretive research techniques to investigate the factors which affect the computer literacy of secondary students. The necessity that students to be prepared for life and work in a computer technology based society is widely acknowledged and has highlighted the importance of computer literacy in the high school curriculum. While the definition of computer literacy varies widely, this study defined computer literacy in terms of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to use computers to facilitate the completion of necessary tasks presently associated with life and required to enhance perceptions of the future use of computers. If schools are to achieve the aim of encouraging students to use computers to help them solve problems and complete tasks, it is important that educators know the factors which affect this use. This study involved an investigation of: student-computer interaction; the development of knowledge, attitudes and skills associated with computer use; and the present and perceived future utilization of computer technology.A variety of data were collected from a Year 8 class which was observed for a year as it participated in a computer literacy course. The data sources were: classroom observation; student interviews at the beginning and end of the course; an attitudes questionnaire; a background questions sheet; and student mathematics and computing class grades. In addition, to test assertions which emerged during the study, a group of Year 12 students was interviewed and data were collected from four Year 8 students who were given experience on a more state-of-the-art computer system than those used by the computer literacy class. All students involved in the study were drawn from a large, secondary senior high school situated in a middle to upper class suburb of Perth, Western Australia. From the analysis and interpretation ++ / of these data, nine assertions emerged. The assertions were classified in terms of: students; computers; learning environment; and concept development.The study found that students entering secondary school tend to have attitudes which are conducive to the use of computers. The Year 8 students enjoyed using computers and showed little anxiety in terms of computer-phobia. These students valued the use of computers and were confident in using computers when clearly instructed and not confronted by major obstacles. However, almost half of this group of students indicated a lack of confidence in some situations, particularly where they felt that they may do something to damage the computer. Almost all students were keen to learn about computers. As a result, most students in this group of Year 8 students had the attitudes most educators would recommend for enhanced learning and computer use.Three assertions were concerned with factors relating to computer hardware and software. The major obstacles to students' use of computers were: unreliability of hardware; lack of student keyboarding skills; and the use of abstract concepts in software design. Students lost confidence in using computers and undervalued their use when unreliable hardware was used. The use of a mouse by the students using the state-of-the-art computer demonstrated a means of overcoming a lack of keyboard skills. Finally, students had difficulty when using command driven software which incorporated abstract naming and design structures. Where concrete design features were incorporated in the software design, as was the case in the software used by the students on the state-of-the-art computer, students found the computers easier to use, thereby enhancing their perceptions of the value of computers.Four assertions concerned student learning environments. The environments which made significant ++ / contributions to student computer literacy were the school and home, with school being the dominant environment. Prior experience with, and learning about, computers at school and home were found to be associated with feelings of confidence and enjoyment with regard to using computers. The major influence of the home on student computer literacy was through the attitudes communicated by parents, which largely reflected their own use of computers at work. In addition, it was found that the perceptions students have of the value of the activities they are required to complete using computers, and the extent to which the computer improves the completion of those activities, are determinants of students' perceptions of the overall value of computer technology.The final assertion concerned student learning and concept development. Students entering secondary school have little knowledge of how computer systems work or how they are used. Therefore, they do not have a well developed concept of a computer and computer use. Students are amenable to the concept of computers as information processors as they develop knowledge from their interaction with computers. It was found that an important facet of this interaction concerned the degree to which students anthropomorphized computers and differentiated themselves from computers. As a result, students develop knowledge relevant to computer use with little understanding of how computer systems work.The findings of this study have implications for educational policy, teaching practice, and further research. It was recommended that schools need to develop computer literacy policies that provide students with specialist courses and, at the same time, give students experience at using computers across the curriculum. In addition, schools need to consider the purchase of more state-of-the-art computer hardware and software even ++ / where this may reduce student hands-on time. This study stressed the need for teachers to utilize and enhance the positive attitudes displayed by students towards the use of computers. At the same time, computer literacy teachers need to be concerned with the development of useful knowledge which is not based on technical knowledge of computer systems. Finally, this study recommended the need for further research to verify the findings and to further investigate student-computer interactions and student perceptions of future uses of computers.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of North Texas, May, 2007. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Murdoch University, 1992. / Thesis submitted to the School of Humanities. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 270-285).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Education, 2001. / Bibliography: leaves 145-159.