published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / abstract / Humanities / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The purpose of this research was to determine whether student academic achievement in college computer science programs in the Republic of China (ROC) could be predicted by factors reported to be effective in US studies. The relationship between these factors and course performance in computer science programs was examined. Gender differences were also interrogated. Sophomore, junior, and senior students enrolled in five universities offering computer science programs in the ROC constituted the population. A researcher-designed questionnaire was used to collect background information. Validity and reliability issues were addressed by the conduct of validity assessment, questionnaire pilot testing, and interviews with selected pilot test subjects. Scores from the College Entrance Examination (CEE) and college computer science courses were accessed through university registrar's offices. A total of 940 questionnaires were collected, representing more than 81% of the population. From data analysis, the predictive powers of CEE test scores in relation to subsequent college performance appeared to be limited. The CEE math component was negatively correlated to performance in college computer science programs. The positive relation of math ability to academic achievement in complete computer science programs was confirmed. High school overall achievement as well as math course averages were identified as effective performance predictors for college computer science programs. Prior computer experience showed no conclusive relationship to subsequent performance in college computer science courses. The close relationship between performance in beginning computer science courses and performance in complete computer science programs was validated. Significant linear prediction models with limited predictive powers (R2 ranged from 0.19 to 0.30) were generated for overall performance, but not for introductory computer science course performance. Model predictive powers were significantly improved (R2 range from 0.59 to 0.63) when performance in introductory computer science courses was included in the models. Significant gender differences were not found for CEE performance, prior computer experience, and prediction models. However, female subjects outperformed male counterparts in course performance at both the high school and college levels. / Graduation date: 1996

published_or_final_version / Nursing Studies / Master / Master of Nursing in Advanced Practice

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

With the increasing use of forgiveness interventions as therapy and educational programmes, a lot of studies have been conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the interventions. However, most of the existing intervention studies do not consider the cultural elements in forgiveness. The current study aimed to fill this gap by conducting research on forgiveness interventions in Chinese cultural context. The researcher devised a forgiveness programme by integrating the programme based on Enright-Process-Model with another programme based on Chinese cultural values. To examine the effects of the forgiveness programme on the participants’ forgiveness attitudes and other psychological variables, a 3-phase study design combining quantitative and qualitative approaches was adopted. In Phase I, the reliabilities and validities of the instruments (i.e., Decisional Forgiveness Scale, Emotional Forgiveness Scale, and Batson’s Empathy Adjectives) were examined with the sample of 194 college students (114 males and 80 females) in Nanjing. The instruments were used in the intervention studies (Phase II and Phase III). In Phase II study, two 4-session forgiveness programmes which were based on the Enright psycho-social process model and the Chinese cultural values respectively were conducted for 24 college students in Zhuhai. Based on both the quantitative and qualitative findings of the two brief programmes, a 10-session forgiveness programme integrating Chinese cultural values and the Enright Process Model was devised and implemented among 28 college students in Zhuhai (16 in experimental group and 12 in control group; 2 males and 26 females) in Phase III, the main study. The findings disclosed that gains in forgiveness attitudes in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group. The improvement in the experimental group was maintained at the follow-up test after 3-month. Gains of state-anxiety in the experimental group, meanwhile, were marginally higher than those of the control group, while gains of empathy and self-esteem had no significant differences between groups. The qualitative findings further revealed the participants’ understandings of forgiveness and the strategies that influence forgiveness. The strategies facilitating forgiveness included engaging in perspective taking, taking self-responsibility, cultivating empathy, having positive thinking, and stopping rumination. In contrast, repeated offences, severe hurt experience from the offence, no apology from the offenders, and no continued relationship are perceived as factors that hinder the participants’ forgiveness. In addition, Chinese values of harmony and face were found to be pertinent factors influencing participants’ decision to forgive. The implications of the findings are discussed. Theoretically, the integration of the Enright Forgiveness Process Model and Chinese cultural values was effective in promoting forgiveness attitudes and psychological well-being with Chinese participants in the collectivist cultural setting. Practically, elements such as reconciliation need to be included in the forgiveness interventions with Chinese participants. Chinese educators are suggested to use the experiential psycho-social approach rather than the indoctrinatory approach to cultivate the value and strategies of forgiveness. The limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are also presented. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Tertiary institutions across the world continue to seek ways to enhance not only the knowledge students gain during a degree course but also the generic skills that they develop. Employers today assume discipline knowledge in graduates and are looking for skills that enable graduates to be work ready. Deep learning, which focuses on understanding rather than memorizing, has been shown to enhance better understanding and conceptualization of academic materials as well as better development of generic skills (e.g. analytical and problem-solving skills). Most researchers in the past have examined student learning in relation to deep learning, separately in the Students’ Approaches to Learning (SAL) and Achievement Goals (AG) perspectives. The present study therefore investigated how constructs from the SAL perspective: perceptions of course learning environment and approaches to learning, and constructs from the AG perspective: achievement goals, work together to enhance student learning and lead to more positive learning outcomes. Single-point-in-time and longitudinal studies were conducted among undergraduate students of a university in Hong Kong using paper and online survey through class visits and email, respectively. There were 849 and 651 students included in the single-point-in-time analyses of Study 1 and 2 respectively. A total of 183 cases were included in the longitudinal study. Analyses of structural equation modeling were conducted, and the results showed that achievement goals mediated the relationship between students’ perceptions of course learning environment and approaches to learning. This mediating relationship as a result could influence students learning outcomes in terms of GPA and perception of the development of generic skills. In particular, students’ perceptions of good teaching helped to promote the adoption of mastery goals which facilitated use of a deep approach to learning, as a result, were related to the perception of better development of generic skills. Students’ perceptions of a heavy workload promoted the adoption of performance-avoidance goals which encouraged use of a surface approach to learning and related to a lower GPA. Analyses of variance were used to compare students with single goal and multiple goals adoptions (i.e. adopting both mastery and performance-approach goals) in relation to approaches to learning and learning outcomes. The results demonstrated that adopting single mastery goals is beneficial in promoting a deep approach to learning, GPA and perception of better development of generic skills. Overall, the present study has demonstrated that the inclusion of achievement goals in the SAL perspectives provides a more comprehensive picture of the learning process among university students. To promote better learning outcomes, instructors should emphasize on understanding rather than memorization, develop mastery of knowledge and skills as their purpose for learning, avoid heavy workload, and enhance their teaching by adopting strategies such as explaining things clearly, providing helpful feedback and understanding the difficulties that students have in their learning. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy