This thesis quantified risks of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg) in the diet of First Nations peoples residing on-reserve in the province of Ontario, Canada. Data was obtained from the 2011-2012 First Nations Food, Nutrition, and Environment Study (FNFNES) and Health Canada to construct total diet studies and probabilistic assessments. Results indicated that the majority of the population is at low risk of exceeding the reference values for these contaminants. Average exposures of Pb and Hg were higher than the general Canadian population (1.7 and 1.6 times greater, respectively), whereas Cd was 59% lower than the Canadian average. The upper percentiles of the population exposure distributions were characterized for contributing food items to assist risk management strategies. For cadmium exposures, smokers had elevated exposures compared to non-smokers. Women of childbearing age had lower dietary MeHg exposures than the total population and were largely below the reference value.

It is stated in the School Act that the Swedish school should work towards providing an education of equal quality. Teachers are confronted with ethical considerations when assessing and grading. The study aims to clarify the opinion of teachers in the later part of lower secondary school and teachers at upper secondary about the knowledge requirements and how their teaching works to achieving an equal assessment in the school. The survey material consists of qualitative semi-structured interviews. The interviews were conducted with the help of an interview guide, which contained questions to the interviewees. The design of the questions allowed the interviewees to respond descriptively about their own experiences. In total, seven legitimate and active social science teachers were interviewed at various schools in southeastern Sweden. The teachers had to answer questions concerning their interpretative preference and their perception of the knowledge requirements in the subject of social science. The result of the survey shows that there is room for interpretation in the knowledge requirements, which has a negative impact on equal assessment. The result has also been related to a theoretical framework to identify which methods teachers can use to strengthen equality in their assessment. Furthermore, the results have been discussed based on of equality assessment and grading in coherent relevance with previous research

The study reports on two Grade 7 mathematics teachers’ assessment practices in an attempt to identify the knowledge and competencies that they have and use in designing Grade 7 mathematics tasks and how they provide feedback to the learners. These two Grade 7 mathematics teachers were selected from schools that had consistently good results despite disabling teaching conditions such as large and under–resourced classes. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with the teachers to assess their knowledge and practice of continuous assessment. Classroom observation and analysis of teacher’s portfolio and learners’ exercise books were undertaken to triangulate data on teachers’ practices and interview protocols. A mathematics taxonomy referred to as MATH taxonomy was used as a framework to evaluate teacher mathematics assessment tasks in grade 7 lessons. Classroom observations focused on how the two teachers planned and implemented their Grade 7 mathematics lessons with emphasis on the assessment procedures. The results of the study showed that the two teachers had rudimentary knowledge and understanding of continuous assessment and its practice. Both teachers failed to demonstrate knowledge or ability with any knowledge taxonomy including the MATH taxonomy in designing (or selecting) their mathematics assessment tasks in Grade 7. The mathematics assessment tasks frequently used by the teachers were sourced from the school textbooks, and these were found to be mainly recall-type questions involving routine procedures, and which according to the math taxonomy are classified as low order thinking assessment tasks. Furthermore both teachers presented feedback to their learners in superficial ways that would not necessarily assist the latter to improve in their learning methods and the former in their teaching methods. The education implications of the findings of this study are discussed. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / unrestricted

The purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which a rural school youth indicates trauma in a single sand tray scene. An empirical study of limited extent, which was conducted from the interpretivistic paradigm and qualitative by nature, was undertaken. A clinical case study was utilised as research design and document analysis was employed as data collection method. The case record of a Grade 9 learner with a complex trauma history, who attended a secondary school in a low-resourced community in Mpumalanga, was selected as the principal participant in the study. Sandplay assessment, trauma indicators and rural youths were the main concepts guiding the study. The findings of the empirical study were, firstly, that the ways a rural school youth indicated trauma in a single sand tray scene corresponded with trauma indications in Sandplay literature, of which, secondly, scenes appearing hostile, sexualised, bounded-off, rigid, obstructed or empty and devoid of life (e.g. people, vegetation) and scenery were examples. This reflected the universal dynamism of trauma. Another finding was that the utility of a single sand tray scene as a screening tool for trauma with a rural school youth was high and valuable as it identified different types of trauma and trauma-related suffering (symptoms). / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Educational Psychology / MEd / Unrestricted

In a small, owner-managed, knowledge work firm, assessments were completed on the owners as a method to complete job analysis—surfacing tacit knowledge such as personal characteristics, cognitive style, values and philosophy that contributed to success. Business strategy is often strongly influenced by the tacit knowledge and competencies of the owners, and their unique perspective on the company and marketplace.

The aim of this research was to explore how examiners achieve and maintain high quality assessment during marking and moderation of the BGCSE (Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education) Home Economics coursework in Botswana. In 2000, localization of the Cambridge Overseas School Certificate (COSC) to the Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) took place as per the recommendations of the Revised National Policy on Education (RNPE) document. This new certificate system, marked locally, allows for varied modes of assessment, with more emphasis being placed on continuous assessment. This also means that the assessment is school-based, with teachers centrally involved. As is procedure with this kind of assessment, it is subjected to moderation. However, implementation of this new assessment approach exposed, among other challenges, challenges in establishing dependability of teachers’ assessment, possible increase in teacher workload, teachers’ lack of expertise and confidence in undertaking the assessment scheme. This study, among other things, considers the forms of moderation used by the BGCSE to establish consistency in school-based assessment (SBA) and in so doing, it identifies that a dual form of moderation is used. The main research questions guiding this investigation were: <ul> <li>How are teachers and moderators trained so that they may be competent examiners?</li> <li>How is quality assured during marking of coursework?</li> <li>How does the examining body (BEC) Botswana Examination Council ensure that the examiners adhere to the quality control mechanisms?</li> </ul> This was a qualitative study and the sources of data were semi-structured interviews, document analysis and the research journal. The eight respondents who participated in this study were Home Economics teachers, moderators from senior secondary schools and subject experts from the examining body who were all non-randomly sampled from across the country. Purposive sampling was used based on the respondents’ characteristics relevant to the research problem. Data were analyzed using thematic content analysis to describe the phenomenon under inquiry and obtain detailed data. Major findings revealed inconsistencies between teachers and moderators’ marks, and that even though there are procedures that underpin a high quality assessment regime, there is little monitoring by the Botswana Examinations Council (BEC) to ensure adherence by the examiners. Other key concerns included examiners’ dissatisfaction about training and inadequate official support and guidance to equip them as competent examiners in general. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / unrestricted

There has been a rising concern surrounding risk within society. This increasing concern has dominated almost all aspects of human life and more specifically the way in which citizens are governed. How risk is addressed in general has shifted significantly; given this, the criminal justice system has also seen an escalation in concerns surrounding risk. Subsequently, there has been a push towards evaluating said risks through the use of actuarial assessment tools. Research has shown that with the rising reliance on actuarial assessment tools came the decrease in practitioner’s ability to rely on their professional judgement when conducting their work. However, there has been a gap identified in the literature. This gap pertains to how practitioners, particularly, probation officers perceive the impact of these actuarial tools on their work. This study aims to analyse how probation officers, within the province of Ontario, view the impact of actuarial assessment tools on their work. This study is guided by the theory of governmentality, as coined by Michel Foucault. In order to explore the impact of actuarial assessment tools on the practice of probation, seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with former probation officers. The perceptions varied and participants did not provide a unique and monolithic response; rather, the voices of all participants were shared to create a larger picture of how actuarial assessment tools impact the work of practitioners in the practice of probation.

No description available.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to survey special education supervisors in public school systems throughout Tennessee and Georgia to determine the types of Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) procedures used and training provided to assessment personnel in their school systems. The primary focus of the study was on who conducts assessments, differences between the amount of training and support provided by school districts, and the use of best practices in conducting these assessments. Surveys were mailed to 317 supervisors, 108 in Tennessee, and 123 in Georgia. These supervisors were asked to respond to questions concerning assessments in their respective school systems. One hundred eight (78.8%) supervisors from Tennessee and 123 (68.3%) from Georgia responded. This resulted in a return rate of 72.8%. The size of the school systems represented in the study ranged from 200 students to 114,000 students. Frequency tables were used to present demographic data about the school systems. Six research questions formed the basis of the analysis. The first four questions were addressed using crosstabulation procedures, while t-tests for independent means were used to address research questions five and six. The results of the study indicate that 72.4% of the school systems involved in the study had procedures in place to conduct FBAs. Most training for assessment personnel is conducted at the school system level and special education teachers are the most targeted group for this training. The research found that there was no statistically significant difference in the length of training provided assessment personnel and the use of best practices in conducting FBAs. However, there were differences between the two states in the use of best practices in conducting FBA based training and support.