There is a wealth of research showing the demotivating effects of prejudice on the academic achievement of historically marginalized social groups. However, there is a lack of research involving Metis students. The purpose of the present study was to examine how the task performance and attitudes of Metis post-secondary students can be influenced by prejudice. Data from 165 Metis post-secondary students were analyzed. The participants were asked to role play applying for a job with a non-Aboriginal employment manager, who may or may not have held negative attitudes towards Aboriginal people. The study involved a 2 X 3 research design. The participants were categorized into two groups: High and low Metis identifiers. They were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (1) Prejudiced (manager held negative attitudes about Aboriginal people); (2) Unknown attitudes (students were not given any information about the manager’s attitudes), and; (3) Non-prejudiced (manager thought favourably about Aboriginal people). The participants completed a battery of questionnaires, the scores of which functioned as dependent variables: the Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT) was used to assess verbal fluency, and to infer motivation; the Selection Attitudes (SA) Scale was used to assess the students’ expectations of being hired, the value they placed on being hired, their motivation to perform the verbal task, as well as their beliefs about the manager’s sense of fairness; and the Stereotyping of Whites (SW) Scale which assessed the extent to which the participants stereotyped the non-Aboriginal employment manager. The Metis Identity (MI) Scale was used to categorize the participants into high or low Metis identifiers. As a preliminary procedure, a psychometric investigation was conducted on the Metis Identity (MI) and Selection Attitudes (SA) Scales. The investigation found the MI Scale to be a reliable measure of high or low Metis identity. The SA Scale consisted of four subscales: expectations, valuing, motivation, and fairness. The valuing subscale was shown to be unreliable and therefore removed from the SA Scale. The primary analysis tested six research hypotheses, which considered the extent to which the high and low Metis identifiers responded to the questionnaires within each of the three research conditions (Prejudiced, Unknown attitudes, Non-prejudiced). It was hypothesised that, while the reactions of the high and low Metis identifiers would not differ significantly in the Prejudiced condition (i.e., where the possibility of prejudice was likely and imminent), the reactions of the high identifiers would be significantly more negative than the reactions of the low identifiers in the Unknown and Non-prejudiced conditions (i.e., where the possibility of prejudice was either ambiguous or unlikely). The hypotheses were not supported. Although there were no significant interaction effects that would support the hypotheses, there were several main effects for both the Metis identity and Prejudice factors. The high Metis identifiers reported more motivation and overall optimism about being hired than did the low identifiers. There were also several main effects for the Prejudice factor. Participants in the Prejudiced condition reported less of an expectation of being hired than those students in either the unknown attitudes or non-prejudice conditions. The participants in the Prejudiced condition also reported less motivation to perform the verbal fluency task to the best of their ability than did the participants in the unknown attitudes condition. The participants in the Prejudiced condition also stereotyped the manager more negatively than those participants in the other two, less threatening conditions. Even though the participants in the Prejudiced condition reacted more negatively to the possibility of prejudice than did those in the Unknown attitudes and Non-prejudiced conditions, whether the participants were high or low Metis identifiers did not significantly influence their reactions. In addition to the primary analyses, multiple regression analyses were performed with the COWAT and motivation as dependent variables. The analysis found that length of post-secondary education, reported motivation, and perceived fairness predicted the COWAT. The Selection Attitudes (SA) Scale and Metis Identity (MI) Scale predicted reported motivation. The study showed that Metis post-secondary students can react negatively to perceived prejudice, especially when it appears to be likely and imminent. However, their reactions may have little to do with whether they are high or low Metis identifiers. Since the perceived possibility of prejudice can influence Metis post-secondary students, it is important for non-Aboriginal educators to be aware of their attitudes and beliefs about Metis students in order to better appreciate how these beliefs can influence their students for the better or worse.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfilment requirement for the Degree of Master of Education in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2009. / The performance of learners in national tests and examinations is broadly used as an indicator of the effectiveness of the school (Naidu, Joubert, Mestry, Mosoge & Ngcobo, 2008:39). According to Bernard (1999:28) learners test results have become such an accepted indicator of school performance that for manY,a school with high test scores is per force a good school. Often, academic results constitute the only criterion by which the success of a school is measured even to the extent that solely on this basis schools are labelled as effective or ineffective, resulting in unpleasant outcomes for the school regarded as 'failing' schools (Naidu etsl, 2008:39). This trend is manifested in Lesotho in the uproar generated by publication of case (Grade 12) examination results (setot, 1999:2).

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master Of Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies at the University Of Zululand, 2018 / The aim of the study was to investigate reasons for the poor Academic performance of Grade 12 learners in accounting in the Zululand districts. The main aim was addressed by exploring literature to gather information on perspectives on Accounting teaching and the way these problems are approached globally. A qualitative approach was used to investigate factors that affect learner’s performance. Five schools were selected in the Zululand districts. Ten teachers were interviewed. The data were analysed and findings revealed that Grade 12 learners’ performance is inadequate. In order to make a quantum leap and to arrive at creative solutions to the challenges, participants were interviewed regarding the phenomenon. The findings reveal that teachers have inadequate necessary teaching skills and that the subject is sometimes taught by teachers who do not dispose of the necessary expertise in Accounting. Schools also lack resources and economic deficits hamper quality teaching in the rural areas. The main recommendations arising from this study suggest that the Department of Basic Education should also review the time allocated per period to extend the time spent on Accounting. The focus should be also on Grade 10 and 11 Accounting learners to lay the foundation for teaching and learning Accounting in Grade 12. Accounting teachers should be provided with stronger content workshops, at least twice per term.

Beginning prior to the foundational study conducted by Felitti et al. (1998), individuals of all ages have been exposed to a variety of traumatic events that had the capacity to alter overall functioning in a variety of ways. Children and adolescents are a vulnerable subset of individuals who are often exposed to various types of trauma which has the capacity to impact academic, behavioral, and social/emotional functioning (Cohen, Berliner, & Mannarino, 2010). The adverse effects related to trauma exposure in children and adolescents have been correlated with externalizing and internalizing disorders, and decreased academic performance (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). An individual’s proximity, or closeness, to traumatic events has also been correlated with increased negative outcomes to include meeting diagnostic criteria for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). There is a gap in the literature, however, in determining the relationship between proximity to traumatic events and its impact on academic functioning in elementary students. The present study sought to analyze the relationship between PTSD symptomology and academic achievement in elementary students while determining if proximity was a moderating factor in the hypothesized relationship. Participants included 81 children in Grades 3 through 5 enrolled in elementary schools in a school district in the Southeastern United States. Linear regression analyses indicated the hypothesized relationship between PTSD symptomology and academic achievement was nonsignificant. However, when proximity was included as a moderator the increase in variance of explanation of the relationship was noted to be significant. Implications of these results suggest that inclusion of proximity as a pertinent contributor to adverse reactions may be imperative in engaging in prevention, intervention, and postvention strategies for elementary students exposed to trauma.

No description available.

The intent of this study was to examine the relationship between media multitasking orientation and grade point average. The study utilized a mixed-methods approach to investigate the research questions. In the quantitative section of the study, the primary method of statistical analyses was multiple regression. The independent variables for the study were media multitasking orientation, gender, age, and income. The dependent variable for the study was grade point average. Three out of four independent variables, namely, media multitasking orientation, gender and age were statistically significant predictors of grade point average. In the qualitative section of the study, seven participants were interviewed to determine how individual differences in media multitasking orientation manifest themselves in academic settings.

M.Ed. / The aim of this study is to determine the role of pre-existing levels of digital literacy on the academic performance of students who are enrolled for the National Diploma Information Technology at the University of Johannesburg. The majority of students entering the University of Johannesburg are black and come from schools and communities which do not enjoy the same technologically rich environments as that of their counterparts, yet on entering their first year of studies, they are expected by lecturers to perform at the same level as those from advantaged backgrounds. Students enrolled in 2008 were targeted, using a mixed methods study that incorporated both quantitative and qualitative data to illuminate the factors related to digital literacy that may have influenced the students’ likelihood to succeed in the Information Technology modules. The data that were collected were brought in relation to the students final marks for the subject Information Systems 1 Module A (Computer Concepts). It emerged that the computer literate students performed significantly better during the first semester compared to the computer illiterate students. The computer illiterate students indicated that the lack of computer experience influenced their ability to pass computer related subjects; however, it was not the only limiting factor as socioeconomic factors also played a role. Other results showed that students battled to keep up with the fast pace with which subjects were lectured. The students’ level of the English language is a predictor of their success in the Diploma and more than 70% of students were unable to use the Internet.

This research explored the relationship between an earlier-year technical course and one later year technical course, for students who graduated between 2010 and 2015 with the degree of bachelor of engineering. The research only focuses on the courses in the program of Electrical Engineering at the University of Victoria. Three approaches based on the two major factors, coefficient and enrolment, were established to select the course grade predictor including Max(Pearson Coefficient), Max(Enrolment), and Max(Pi) which is a combination of the two factors. The prediction algorithm used is linear regression and the prediction results were evaluated by Mean Absolute Error and prediction precision. The results show that the predictions of most course pairs could not be reliably used for the student performance in one course based on another one. However, the fourth-year courses are specialization-related and have relatively small enrolments in general, some of the course pairs with fourth-year CourseYs and having acceptable MAE and prediction precision could be used as early references and advices for the students to select the specialization direction while they are in their first or second academic year. / Graduate

Abstract The Ministry of Education in Taiwan adopted a funding program in 1991 to encourage private universities and colleges to improve their academic performance through developing their own medium-term plans. This thesis tends to study the effect of the funding program on the academic performance of universities and colleges in Taiwan. A data envelopment analysis is conducted to examine the degree of improvement in faculty and teaching resources for 17 universities and colleges that participated in the funding program. Major conclusions in this study are as follows: 1) The academic performance of private universities and colleges was significantly improved after the implementation of the funding program. 2) The Ministry of Education put a limitation on the use of the fund in 1995. However, the academic performance of universities and colleges improved insignificantly after following the limitation. 3) As a matter of fact, the limitation on the use of the fund distorted the distribution of university resources so that the teacher/student ratio, ¡§the percentage of full-time faculty members with Ph.D.¡¨ and ¡§the average research expenditure per full-time faculty member¡¨ were decreased.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between aerobic activity and academic performance through stress reduction using a student recreational facility. Research indicated that learning in college tends to focus on the academic aspects of the undergraduate experience - the classroom, laboratory, and the library - not other factors potentially affecting academic performance (Kuh et al., 1991). Forty women were randomly selected from the undergraduate population at Texas A&M University in order to analyze the relationship between aerobic activity and academic performance by measuring perceived stress levels. All participants completed an on-line stress questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), every three weeks. Exam scores from an introductory sociology course and an educational statistics course were used for data analysis also. The experimental group (exercise group) used twelve weeks of regular aerobic exercise, while the control group (non-exercise) remained sedentary. During the twelve-week period, all participants self-reported data for additional qualitative data. Research findings of this study included: 1. The main benefit from aerobic activity was that women who exercised regularly felt more positive about academics and non-academic activities than women who did not exercise regularly. 2. There was no statistical significant difference between exam scores and academic performance of women who exercised regularly and those who did not exercise regularly. 3. There was no statistical significant difference between stress levels of women who exercised regularly and women who did not exercise regularly. Based on the findings of the study, researcher recommendations include: 1. Continue to investigate the changing demographics of college students - namely, age, sex, and non-traditional students. This study was limited to fulltime women between the ages of 18-24. Men and part-time students need to be included in a comparable study, providing campuses with more data that reflects the entire student population. 2. Explore additional areas in sociology and psychology that address exercise behavior trends in college students. Results from this study indicated that there are many variables, including stress, that affect college students in the behavioral sciences that can be attributed to differences in physical activity between sedentary and non-sedentary people. 3. Analyze health factors, which include amount of exercise, nutrition, and sleep patterns.