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Universities in South Africa as yet do not provide multilingual education. For many students this means they have to use their second or additional language for the Discourse of the academic world. This dissertation investigates one Honours / Masters module offered by a lecturer in the theology department. It describes, in the form of a case study, how the lecturer uses the oracy skills (listening and speaking) to scaffold the students into the appropriate use of Academic Discourse. This lecturer uses the practicality of fieldwork, the intensity of emotional work and the flexibility of the spoken discourse to guide students into the reflexivity and criticality of the Academic Discourse. The data is discussed in terms of discourse analysis, genre theory and academic literacy, together with current understanding of feedback during process writing. My focus is on oral feedback. The results of this study indicate that the lecturer, and the students who took his module, felt satisfied that a greater depth of theological and linguistic criticality and reflexivity had been reached. The focus of this dissertation was on the students' uptake of the oral feedback given by the lecturer. It was the process that was explored rather than the final written product. Further research could investigate how much the students' writing improves as a result of intervention such as this. The lecturer's pedagogy maximised the language skills used in the Preacher (hortatory) Discourse that have something in common with the skills required in Academic (expository) Discourse. This dissertation concludes that these skills should be maintained while also developing the other skills required for Academic Discourse. These skills include the ability to be detached and uninvolved. However, if this detachment is to be achieved, the student needs first to be fully involved in the process so that transformation and appropriation can take place. This comes about through critical reflection - the hallmark of Academic Discourse. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

This research programme employed a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies to address the question of the effects of cooperative learning on kindergarten children's perspective-taking ability and prosocial behaviour. / In an observational study, the kindergarten classes of two teachers who had the reputation for using small-group cooperative activities with their students were observed for one month at the beginning of the school year. Very few cooperative activities were employed during the observation period, making it impossible to determine the effects of engaging in such activities. An analysis of the qualitative observations elucidated techniques that these teachers used to create a smoothly functioning class. / A quasi-experimental study was conducted involving kindergarten students working for six weeks in either an individualistic or cooperative programme. Both qualitative and quantitative observations indicate that students who engaged in cooperative learning activities displayed a higher number of instances of prosocial behaviour than those in the individualistic programme. The results revealed that participation in the cooperative programme positively correlated with increases in affective perspective taking.

There has been a considerable amount of research on the diffusion of innovations, beginning with the rural sociologist. The rural sociologist's work was followed by extensive research in the field of education, but the focus of the studies was generally on the school as an adopting unit rather than on the individual teacher. This study was designed to attempt to identify those teacher characteristics and other factors which are significantly related to the acceptance or rejection of innovation in history instruction.Three techniques were selected and designated innovational approaches in history instruction: (1) use of role playing, (2) use of simulation games, and (3) use of the conceptual method. This study was designed to provide information relative to the use of the three designated factors of innovation and their relationship to selected teacher characteristics. The teacher characteristics studied were teacher age, cosmopolitism, years of teaching experience, college degree held, and level of teacher dogmatism as measured by Rokeach's Dogmatism Scale. One additional factor was studied which was the relationship of school size to the acceptance or rejection of the three designated types of innovation.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the expressed attitudes of surrogate parents toward family life and child-rearing practices and the dominative and socially integrative behaviors of the surrogate parents as they interacted with preschool children.The population of this study consisted of fifteen (15) randomly selected undergraduate students enrolled in the class, "Methods and Materials in the Kindergarten," EDEL 440g, spring quarter, 1975. The population hereafter is identified as the "participants." The Elementary Education Department of Teachers College, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, for several years has maintained a classroom for three-, four-, and five-year old children as a laboratory for child study, The participants, in conjunction with the kindergarten education class, interacted with preschool aged children on a regular basis in the classroom maintained for that purpose, ''The Living Learning Laboratory for Young Children," and hereafter identified as the LLL. All students enrolled in the kindergarten education class (50) were administered the Parent Attitude Research Instrument (PARI), and 15 were randomly selected to be members of the data p.opulation.The PARI consisted of 23 attitudinal scales and was selected to measure the expressed attitudes of the participants in three major areas: Authoritarian-Control; Hostility-Rejection; and Democratic Practices. Participants recorded their responses to 115 items on a Likert type instrument with each item having four categories of agreement-disagreement. Separate answer sheets were computer scored by assigning scores fourthrough-one. This process yielded a numerical score for each participant in three attitudinal areas.The Behavior Observation Blank, developed and utilized by H. H. Anderson in a series of longitudinal studies, was selected to measure the participants' dominative and socially integrative behaviors. Trained observers functioning in excess of a 70% level of agreement and working in pairs analyzed and recorded the dominative and integrative behavior of each of the 15 participants. Participants were observed in 20-minute nonconsecutive periods. The first 100 recorded behaviors of each participant were placed in dominative and integrative behavior categories, each behavior totaled separately, and then the integrative subtotal was divided by the dominative subtotal. The subsequent answer was identified as the I/D ratio.The Pearson product moment coefficient of correlation was computed to test the relationship between each of the three attitudes and the I/D ratio. The relationship between each attitude and the I/D ratio was riot statistically significant at the .05 level off confidence and the null hypotheses were accepted.It would appear from the results of this study that the expressed attitudes of the data population toward family life and child-rearing practices did not correlate at a level of statistical significance with the observed dominative and socially integrative behaviors. Therefore, on the basis of the findings of this study, it would not be possible to predict the behavior of the data population on the basis of PARI scores.In this study all I/D ratios in all cases exceeded 1.0 with a mean I/D ratio of 2.47. The latter figure can be translated into behavioral terms: for each dominative behavior there were approximately two-and-a-half integrative behaviors. The figure, 2.47, stands in contrast to previous studies in which the dominative behaviors exceeded integrative behaviors. To summarize, the PARI was not effective in this study in predicting the dominative and integrative behavior, and the null hypotheses were accepted.Previous attempts to develop an attitude measure that will predict the classroom behavior of teachers have been unsuccessful. Perhaps the time has arrived for educators to rethink the problem and develop pre-service teacher preparation programs that combine participatory and theoretical experiences with children accompanied by supervisory comments at a level relevant to the recipient.

The purpose of this study was to establish and describe the validity and reliability of an instrument based on a model of teaching behaviors conceived as magnetic lines of force.Content validity was established by reviewing the literature and identifying possible teaching behaviors which researchers felt contributed to increased pupil learning. These behaviors were presented to a panel of judges from faculty in the Teachers College, Ball State University, to ascertain behaviors which they felt increase the likelihood pupils would increase comprehension in reading. After the panel had made their suggestions, the list of behaviors was revised and used with two middle school classes at the Burris Laboratory School. Pupils were asked to identify the behaviors which they felt were associated with their increased learning. A final list of twenty items became the revised instrument for use in the study.A group of practicing teachers critiqued the list of twenty behaviors. This group was directed to identify how strongly they agreed with the placement of each of the behaviors under one of the four scales postulated.Construct validity was established by discussing the research supporting each of the scales, subscales and behaviors listed in the instrument.Each of the twenty items was judged as valid by a minimum of 70 percent of the selected panel members and the twenty items included was recognized as a valid example of the constructs identified with the exception of those items assumed to reflect firmness.It was possible to relate each of the twenty items in the instrument to research studies accepted by editors and authors in the field despite inherent weaknesses in definitions, experimental designs, and theoretical orientation. In this sense, the instrument has acceptable construct validity.The instrument was then used to gather data on a group of teacher trainees assigned to a laboratory school at Ball State University. After each teacher trainee had taught a short unit, the pupils taught filled out the instrument which had been devised.Reliability measures consisted of computing coefficient alpha for various major scales and subscales of the instrument. Computations were run by the Ball State University Center using the reliability program from the SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences DEC system –10.The coefficient alpha reliability indexes of .90 for the total scale, .86 for the cognitive scale, and .78 for the affective scale were judged acceptable for use in additional research studies in the field. The coefficient alpha reliability index of .82 for the clarity subscale, .81 for the flexibility subscale, and .78 for the warmth subscale were also judged acceptable for use in additional reliability index of .68 for the firmness subscale suggest questionable reliability for all but the most general research purposes.Recommendations were formulated to encourage further development of the model and refinement of the instrument (particularly the "firmness" subscale).

The 4-H Interaction Evaluation Model was developed to illustrate relationships between the 4-H program, as a sub-system, and a larger society as a greater system. The model specifically focused upon cognitive, affective and psychomotor skill development of 4-H boys and girls. Research instruments were designed to assess 4-H member outcomes of the cognitive and affective domains for 4-H members at two levels within the clothing, beef and photography projects.A random sample of 4-H boys and girls enrolled during 1975 in six selected project divisions participated in the study. Selected 4-H members resided in 12 counties in each of three states, Indiana, Nebraska and Missouri. Research instruments were administered as a pre-measurement of existing skill levels to participating 4-H members during May and as a post-measurement of terminal skill levels during September, 1975.Two major hypotheses were developed. Hypothesis I was an inclusive hypothesis of all skills classified as cognitive skills and stated that no significant mean score increases between pre-measurement and post-measurement would occur. Hypothesis II was an inclusive hypothesis stating that no significant mean score differences on three attitudinal sub-scales would occur between the two administrations of the attitude sub-scales.The resulting data were analyzed to determine the proportion of 4-H members performing the specified skills adequately at the time of each administration of the research instrument and the significance of observed mean score differences for each skill assessed. A correlated t test for significance utilizing a one-tailed test was used to test all skills contained under Hypothesis I. A correlated t test for significance utilizing a two-tailed test was used to test attitudinal sub-scale changes under Hypothesis II. All skills contained as sub-hypotheses were rejected at the .05 level of confidence.The following conclusions were based upon the findings of the study:1. Attitude of 4-H members toward the 4-H project division generally change little during one project year.2. Criterion levels established for attitude sub-scales generally are within reach of the 4-H member.3. Terminal 4-H project mean attitude sub-scale scores are generally lower at advanced levels than first year levels indicating that advanced 4-H members hold a more positive attitude toward the project than first year members.4. Attitudinal changes are more likely to occur within the beef and photography projects than in the clothing project. No significant differences were observed in the three attitude sub-scales in the clothing project levels.5. Criterion levels established for cognitive objectives are either too high for all but ten of the cognitive objectives studied or the project experiences are inadequate to guarantee 4-H member achievement.6. Among the three beginning 4-H project divisions, increased levels of measured cognitive achievement occurred most frequently in the clothing project and least frequently in the photography project difference among the three projects is not observable for the advanced divisions. 7. Measured cognitive gains are more frequent for beginning project divisions in Indiana and Nebraska while for Missouri, the gains are more frequent for advanced project divisions.8. Generally, a larger number of 4-H members can reach specified criterion levels for objectives on the post-test than on the pretest.9. Except for the beef project in Indiana, the increase in percentage of 4-H members reaching criterion levels from pre-test to post-test is greater for beginning project divisions than advanced project divisions.10. A total of 43 of the 220 objectives developed for the study are inappropriate, evaluation items utilized are inadequate or the attendent project division programs need major revision because terminal cognitive mean scores were lower than entering cognitive mean scores.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri--Rolla, 2007. / Vita. The entire thesis text is included in file. Title from title screen of thesis/dissertation PDF file (viewed November 27, 2007) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, June, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.