Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1993.

Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1993. / Also available in print.

In rural China, when approaching the end of nine-year compulsory schooling, students face four equally popular post-compulsory education decisions (PCED): dropout, work after graduation, vocational high school, and academic high school. The literature tends to simply treat PCED as dichotomous (continue vs. leave school), and there is a geographical research imbalance favoring inner China. An increasing volume of studies also suggest that traditionally recognized factors like socioeconomic status and academic performance are not as influential as before in advancing the schooling. People have started to look at socio-emotional support, such as the promotion of self-discipline and confidence. At present, it is grassroots NGOs (GNGO) who take the major responsibility for providing this type of support in rural China, and there is rare discussion of achievements, let alone evaluation of practical impact. Given the existing problems, the key research questions of this study are: (1) What are the current PCED determinants for China’s rural students? More specifically, what are the PCED determinants for lower secondary students in rural Guangdong, a coastal province? (2) How can GNGO intervention affect PCED by boosting certain subjective factor(s)? The tested treatment is the Lighthouse program, whose one-month summer camp aims to improve student attitudes towards their life, such as making them more confident, organized, and social. The key to answering the first question is to explore a comprehensive list of variables applying to local populations, which cannot be achieved simply through a literature review. When answering the second question, since Lighthouse participation is voluntary, it is important to deal with selection bias, to ensure that any identified Lighthouse impact results from its activities rather than the student characteristics that lead to their participation. To overcome these methodological challenges, I first employed the Delphi approach. Delphi is an iterative process used to collect and distill the judgments of experts using a series of questionnaires interspersed with feedback. It is used to identify possible PCED determinants that are missing in the literature, to determine factors that lead to Lighthouse participation, and to collect discussions about both PCED determinants and GNGO intervention. Based on the Delphi results and literature, I then designed five questionnaires for students, households, teachers, principals, and Lighthouse volunteers. In Jun-Oct 2012, I led seven research assistants in conducting two waves of surveys in eight towns, building a firsthand dataset of 6298 valid observations with imputations. Multinomial logit was used to investigate PCED determinants. It predicted the PCED probabilities, given nine groups of independent variables. Propensity score matching was used to evaluate the program impact. It calculates the treatment propensity for each student based on their characteristics, so the Lighthouse impact can be compared between treated and untreated students of similar treatment propensity. Tests of robustness and heterogeneity were conducted after both methods. Qualitative materials collected from Delphi and on-site interviews were used to explore the causal mechanism. I use relative risk ratios to report the findings of PCED determinants. The findings challenge the existing literature regarding the roles of gender and parental background, further extend knowledge of monetary reward/cost and subjective factors, and confirm new possible determinants that have seldom been investigated in literature. The main model passes the robustness check, and there exist explainable heterogeneity effects. It is notable that education aspiration stands out as a strong PCED determinant, ceteris paribus. Propensity score matching shows that the Lighthouse program mainly affects PCED by boosting educational aspiration for students with high academic performance, although that impact fades gradually if there is no follow-up service. The novelty of the program to local people, volunteer team morale, and volunteer acceptance of Lighthouse training could help explain why increases in aspiration varied across sites. The role-model effect might explain why the increase in aspiration exists, as there are signs that the students tried to copy the volunteer’s schooling decision once trust was built. This study makes three major contributions. It can be translated into comprehensive advocacy for education policies related to PCED, such as dropout prevention and the promotion of VHS. It may also suggest the value of, or at least the required improvement to, China’s educational GNGOs, which are young and remain confined by governmental regulations. Last but not least, this is a unique showcase of how qualitative-quantitative sequential mixed-method works better in exploratory analyses. The study has limitations in timing, missing data, external validity, implementation of research methods, and heavy rely on self-reported questionnaires, but they can be largely eliminated by conducting proper further studies.

This project evaluates a proposed framework designed to support professional learning for teacher educators, focusing on Post Compulsory Education & Training, and particularly practices in Further Education. The intention of the framework is to enhance practice and promote professional recognition for people who support others in becoming or developing as teachers: teacher educators. The project proposal is that this can be achieved through engagement with processes of professional learning (Timperley, 2011) in the form of professional pathways, defined here as professional and individual learning journeys supported by principles and research-based recommendations within a recognised framework of underpinning factors. The theoretical framework for the project is interpretative, based on transformative learning (Cranton, 1994, 2002; ; Mezirow, 1997) with a constructivist epistemology and reflexive ontology (Door, 2014). It builds on previous research (Exley & Ovenden-Hope, 2013) using new data to develop initial ideas through a methodology of creative praxis, representing practices and approaches where reflexive, innovative thinking and impact on the world are equally important. The intention is to arrive at a robust, flexible and well-considered framework designed to support the professional formation and development of prospective, new or experienced teacher educators practicing in the Further Education sector.

<p>Grades and assessment are a natural part in the school's everyday existence, deliberations about equivalent assessment is discussed all the time between teachers, students, home and school. They that in front are influenced of a grade or a judgement are in first hand the students and therefore are the important for the students to know which objectives and grade criteria that apply for them to achieve at the end of years 9. The aim with this survey is to get the knowledge about how a tutor grade family’s student in a preparatory class in stopped of years 9, in Swedish as a second language. Do the students in a preparatory class's get grades or a judgement? This is interesting also in order to know to which grade criteria students in a preparatory class have to achieve in the compulsory education’s later years and to know how a tutor assesses these students on the basis of those objectives and criteria that apply. In my survey, I have been paid from the tutors ' perspectives on how a grade or an assessment gives equivalent for students in a preparatory class and in order to few a better understanding to how man that teachers sets a grade or gives an equivalent judgement to students that possibly have difficulties to achieve the grade criteria in Swedish as a second languages, because of the language. The procedure in this work has been to interview different tutors that work in a preparatory class, from differently multicultural schools in municipality places in Stockholm. During the result account, the tutors' obvious replies are expressed on the basis of those interviews and research questions as been used as aids and that an important basis in order to can to implement this survey. The result in this survey is that students in a preparatory class not sheep a grade since they do not achieve the requirements for validated in Swedish as a second language without the students’ sheep instead a written judgement. This can cause misunderstandings between teachers and students, then the school has a grade criteria for students in a preparatory class's man knows that they cannot to achieve at the same time as these grade criteria is not any teachers strives after. This can contribute to that the students possibly sheep hopes about a grade when one actually know that they can’t because of the language does not have possibility to achieve.</p><p> </p><p> </p>

In 1999, the Swedish Parliament decided to launch an experiment to test the idea of replacing, at the compulsory educational level, the national time schedule with localized control of schedules. This was in keeping with strategies of deregulation, decentralisation and increased local autonomy that had dominated Swedish education policy, particularly since the 1990s. The aim of the thesis is to describe and analyse the initiation, decision, implementation and consequences of this experiment The analytical framework combines several different approaches and theories from the literature on public policy and policy analysis. The framework encompasses four dimensions, which cover the experiment’s origins, local application in the classroom setting and consequences. On the empirical level, findings are based on interviews with 32 municipal school directors, and head teachers, teachers and pupils in three schools participating in the experiment, as well as written sources from schools, municipalities, and the national level. The thesis shows that the policy problem the experiment was intended to resolve was represented in an inconsistent manner: On the one hand, the experiment was perceived as a driving force for change; on the other hand, it was seen as legitimising a change that had already taken place. Furthermore, the experiment was formulated in vague terms, which accorded far-reaching discretionary space to the schools. The program’s causal theory expressed by the policy makers was complex, containing a multifaceted chain of presumptions on a range of activities and processes through which the experiment ultimately would lead to improved opportunities for pupils to reach the educational objectives. Empirically, this prediction proved to be invalid as student achievement did not increase. The degree of implementation at the local level varied according to the comprehension, capability and willingness of those involved to carry out the experiment. The courses of action taken by the schools frequently could have been undertaken within the existing legislative framework, as they mostly concerned new ways of working and organising staff and pupils. An assessment of the objectives attained showed that, even if elements of developmental work corresponding to the direction stated in the policy documents were observed, the experiment did not emerge as the primary explanatory factor for this result Thus, the net impact of the experiment can be questioned. If judged against the criterion of adaptiveness, the results are more successful than if the experiment is assessed according to goal-attainment and the validity of the program theory. The experiment was found to integrate, alter and accommodate itself readily to local needs. The thesis illustrates the complexity of formulating and implementing policy in a decentralised context and points to important aspects in the historical background of the programme, which often tend to be overlooked when policy is analysed and discussed. At the same time, the study sheds light on the significant role played by street-level implementation actors in the educational context.

Grades and assessment are a natural part in the school's everyday existence, deliberations about equivalent assessment is discussed all the time between teachers, students, home and school. They that in front are influenced of a grade or a judgement are in first hand the students and therefore are the important for the students to know which objectives and grade criteria that apply for them to achieve at the end of years 9. The aim with this survey is to get the knowledge about how a tutor grade family’s student in a preparatory class in stopped of years 9, in Swedish as a second language. Do the students in a preparatory class's get grades or a judgement? This is interesting also in order to know to which grade criteria students in a preparatory class have to achieve in the compulsory education’s later years and to know how a tutor assesses these students on the basis of those objectives and criteria that apply. In my survey, I have been paid from the tutors ' perspectives on how a grade or an assessment gives equivalent for students in a preparatory class and in order to few a better understanding to how man that teachers sets a grade or gives an equivalent judgement to students that possibly have difficulties to achieve the grade criteria in Swedish as a second languages, because of the language. The procedure in this work has been to interview different tutors that work in a preparatory class, from differently multicultural schools in municipality places in Stockholm. During the result account, the tutors' obvious replies are expressed on the basis of those interviews and research questions as been used as aids and that an important basis in order to can to implement this survey. The result in this survey is that students in a preparatory class not sheep a grade since they do not achieve the requirements for validated in Swedish as a second language without the students’ sheep instead a written judgement. This can cause misunderstandings between teachers and students, then the school has a grade criteria for students in a preparatory class's man knows that they cannot to achieve at the same time as these grade criteria is not any teachers strives after. This can contribute to that the students possibly sheep hopes about a grade when one actually know that they can’t because of the language does not have possibility to achieve.

This study examines the correlation between the self-perceptions of junior high school students in Kaohsiung city and their academic performance in each major subject area taught under Kaohsiung city¡¦s nine-year compulsory education system. Key research objectives include: Examine the influences of personal variables on junior high school student self-perception and academic performance within the 9-year compulsory education system; and determine correlations between the self-perception and academic performance; and offer practical suggestions can better assist junior high school students to cultivate self-perceptions that are both active and positive. The authors used the ¡§Self-Attitudes Questionnaire¡¨, revised by Mr. Wei-fan Kuo, as a primary data-gathering tool. The subjects of this research were junior high school students (grades 7 through 9). After categorizing schools as ¡§large¡¨, ¡§medium¡¨ or ¡§small¡¨ (based on student population), the authors chose target schools by randomly selecting three (3) from each category. Finally, a computer was used to select at random one class from each of the nine selected schools. Data collected for this study included completed self-attitude questionnaires and students¡¦ semester grade reports. The authors employed one-way ANOVA, Pearson product-moment correlation, gradual multiple regression, and T-Test analysis methodologies to test hypotheses. Research Findings: At present, the overall rating for self-perception among junior high school students studying in Kaohsiung Municipality is higher than the national average. The sex of respondents was found to affect self-perception significantly in all categories and at each level of academic performance. Differing social / economic backgrounds of families had a significant impact on self-perception in all categories and at each level of academic performance, and Study results indicate that level of self-perception is a regressive predictor of academic performance. Based on the above findings, the authors offer the following practical suggestions: I.The academic curriculum should foster the development of a positive and active sense of self-perception in students; II.Effectively managing the factors that influence students¡¦ self-perception can effectively assist in the prevention / rectification of self-perception problems. III.Students coming from families in lower social or economic strata should be afforded special attention and support. IV.Educators should note and attend to the differing needs of individual students in the classroom.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the views of elementary school teachers about their implementation of assessment techniques recommended in the new mathematics curriculum. The study was conducted with 306 elementary school teachers from 29 public schools in Kirikkale, Malatya and Ankara in the 2006-2007 academic year. &lsquo / Opinions about Assessment Questionnaire&rsquo / was used as the instrument for assessing the opinions of the teachers about assessment techniques offered in new mathematics curriculum. The results showed that, teachers did not have negative views towards the implementation of the new assessment techniques in mathematics lessons. However, they needed support from curriculum experts about more suitable implementation of the assessment process. To assess the effects of teaching experience, class size and grade level they teach on the views of the teachers about their implementation of assessment techniques recommended in new mathematics curriculum, the Univariate Analysis of Variance was used. The results revealed that the opinions of the teachers about their implementation of assessment techniques offered in new mathematics curriculum did not show any significant difference according to the experience of the teachers, class size and grade level teachers teach.

Abstract   The purpose of this study is to provide a detailed description of the way fractions are processed in Turkish and Swedish mathematics textbooks. For our investigation of textbooks, we used several theoretical notions  such us different ways of understanding fractions (part-whole, ratio, measure, quotient, decimal and operator), representations (treatment, conversion), making distinctions between routine tasks and problems, classifying contexts of examples and problems in terms of real-life situations, semi-realities, and pure mathematics, and about texts narrative and paradigmatic styles.   Through our analyses of these three textbooks, we have come to a result that shows similarities and differences among the textbooks, regarding the topics included and their sequencing, how the concept of fractions is represented in exercises and examples. The findings are emphasized with figures, tables and diagrams that illustrate the similarities and differences between mathematics textbooks inTurkeyinSwedenas well as the textbooks’ development in Turkey. / Abstrakt   Syftet med denna studie är att ge en detaljerad beskrivning av hur bråk behandlas i turkiska och svenska läroböcker för matematik. I vår undersökning, använde vi flera teoretiska begrepp såsom olika sätt att förstå bråk (del-helhet, förhållande, mått, kvot, decimaltal och operator), representationer (behandling, omvandling), att skilja på rutinuppgifter och problem, att klassificera exempel och uppgifters kontexter i termer av verkliga situationer, semi-verkligheter, och ren matematik, och om texters berättande och paradigmatiska stilar.   Genom våra analyser av dessa tre läroböcker, har vi kommit fram till ett resultat som visar både likheter och skillnader mellan dem, både vad gäller de ingående ämnena och deras sekvensering och hur begreppet bråk har representerats i övningar och exempel. Resultaten beskrivs med bilder, tabeller och diagram som illustrerar likheter och skillnader mellan matematikläroböcker i Turkiet och Sverige och dessutom visar läroböckernas utveckling i Turkiet.