This thesis considers the different forms of knowledge and ways of knowing generated through the processes and products of practitioner research from an Aristotelian relational perspective. I adopt the term 'gnoseology', which encompasses many different knowledge types, rather than the narrower, yet more commonly used term 'epistemology', and detail the development of a gnoseology framework. I use this framework to examine the understandings generated by a group of international postgraduate learners on a 10-week, intensive English for Academic Purposes course at a private UK institution as they explore the things that puzzle them about their language learning lives. Their explorations are grounded in the principles of Exploratory Practice (EP), a form of practitioner research that proposes learners themselves be viewed as 'key developing practitioners' alongside the teacher. The principles of EP also inform both my research methodology and my approach to classroom pedagogy for the purposes of this study, and the data used is generated naturalistically through the daily activity of the classroom. The thesis offers an account of both the processes and products of the learners' explorations, highlighting some of the potential benefits and tensions that surface as learners engage in exploring their language learning puzzles. It discusses the possibilities of viewing learners as 'key developing practitioners' for the learners themselves, teachers and the academy. Using my gnoseology framework I explore the emergent and developing understandings of the learners that arise through this work as they develop their praxis. I conclude that in contrast to the traditional separation of knowledge types into scientific (episteme), craft (techne) and practical wisdom (phronesis), my data shows these different forms and ways of knowing are multifaceted, interrelated and often operate simultaneously. I suggest that my gnoseology framework is the principle contribution of this thesis as it provides a potentially new way of examining and understanding the nature of, and relationships between, the different forms and ways of knowing produced through practitioner research. I also relate these developing and emerging learner understandings to the principled framework of EP, offering suggestions for its development, with particular regard to issues of relevance, learner expectations, and the processes of puzzling and puzzlement. This critique of EP is also a key contribution of this thesis.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand and describe the educators’ experiences of English learner underachievement. The overall aim was to discover and illuminate the essences of this phenomenal experience. The essences embody what is immanent and universal to the phenomenon, what makes the phenomenon the way it inherently is, and what cannot be removed from the phenomenon. This study sought to reveal the general essential features educators’ experiences of English learner share. Furthermore, it was an attempt to arrive at a deeper understanding of the world of everyday human experience. The school system where the study took place is located in southeast Georgia, United States. The group of elementary, middle, and high school educators who participated in the study consisted of eight professional women of diverse cultural backgrounds. All of them had extensive experience of working with English learners in the environment where English was the primary medium of instruction. Data were collected using in-depth interviews and essays. Participant confidentiality was maintained throughout the data collection and analysis. The collected data were organized and analyzed using Moustakas’s modified version of the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method that utilizes the processes of the epoché, phenomenological reduction, imaginative variation, and synthesis. Several textural and structural categories emerged from the analysis of the data. The textural thematic categories included: underachieving English learner performance in school, emotional and psychological barriers, language and cultural change, prior educational experience, family’s socioeconomic status and parental involvement, educational practices and teacher attitudes. The structures underlying the educators’ experience of English learner underachievement were represented through evaluation, observation, communication and interaction, development of professional awareness and accountability, examination of students’ backgrounds, professional collaboration, and examination of educational practices. The totality of what the educators experienced in relation to English learner underachievement reveals that no aspect or quality of this phenomenon can be singled out to prevail in this phenomenal appearance. What makes the phenomenon of English learner underachievement intricately complex is its multi-dynamic character which emerges amidst educational, cultural, and socioeconomic inequities. English learner underachievement is ingrained in the structures of school and society. The key findings from the study suggest that educators need to create effective learning situations to accommodate individual needs of underachieving English learners. Similarly, educators need extensive support from the school, district, and policy in ways that help them gain professional knowledge of approaches, strategies, and programs to provide quality education to all English learners. The study has contributed to the overall understanding of the phenomenon of English learner underachievement and drawn attention to the importance of the educator voice in educational decision making.

Magister Educationis (Adult Learning and Global Change) - MEd(AL) / Adult learners’ perception of factors that are internal to their perceived control of their lives can be challenging to overcome when making a decision to participate in learning. There are complex relationships between psychological, and social barriers to participation in adult learning. Psychosocial barriers can deter adults’ participation in learning programmes. Understanding the nature of such barriers can enable policymakers, educators and adult learners create strategies to reduce such barriers in order to increase adults’ participation in adult learning. This study investigated the research question: What are adult learners’ perceptions of psycho-social factors that undermine participation in adult education and learning? The psycho-social interaction model adopted as a conceptual framework allowed the study to contextualise and analyse the effects of socio-economic status on the adult learner’s decision and readiness to participate. The model provided the broad segments of the adult learners’ pre-adulthood and adulthood learning years and through a thematic analysis attempted to analyse psychosocial factors that emerged as barriers to participatory behaviour in learning. An interview guide was used during a semi-structured interview. The study investigated a group of adult learners attending a non-formal learning programme in Central Johannesburg, South Africa. The selection of participants included 6 males and 4 females between 21 years to 49 years of age. The study findings showed that the adult learners’ perceptions of family support as well as the learning environment support are key enabling factors, which assist the adult learner to develop learning capabilities. Negative experiences with prior schooling was also described as a psychosocial barrier to participation. Age was a socio-economic variable that influenced the type of stimuli participants identified as a psycho-social factor which influenced their decision to take up further learning. Adult learners felt confident to successfully complete their current and future studies however perceived their learning press as a motivating factor that impacted their decision to participate. Findings also suggested that experiences of adult learners are unique to their specific context and educational planning can integrate ways to address enhancement of learning experiences for a diverse learner audience in non-formal learning programmes. The study concluded that while adult learners acquire social competencies through accessing non-formal programmes, further learning support is necessary to overcome the social and psychological complexities needed to develop basic academic learning capabilities.

Schools are required by law to identify and support English Language Learner (ELL) students. However, ELL students across grade levels consistently score well below their English-proficient peers in math. Because of this, it is imperative that the literature on effective instruction for these students remain current. Research that is available in this area has demonstrated positive relations between early ELL math performance and several demographic and school factors, including: socioeconomic status (SES), primary language proficiency, English proficiency, high-quality computer instruction, heterogeneous achievement grouping, bilingual instruction, use of cooperative learning activities, all-day kindergarten programs (as opposed to half-day), and school settings that have access to greater resources. However, this research is both limited and dated. The current study updated this literature using a recent large-scale dataset. The results indicated that a significant gap in math performance continues to exist between ELL and English- proficient students. This gap is present at kindergarten entry and persists through the spring of kindergarten. In addition, math performance at kindergarten entry was significantly accounted for by students’ Spanish proficiency and SES. Models predicting math growth over kindergarten from the instructional strategy of playing math-related games and a classroom emphasis on recognizing ordinal numbers were also significant. Contrary to previous research, the adequacy of instructional materials and student program type were not significant predictors of kindergarten math growth in this study. This research provides preliminary evidence of effective strategies for instructing ELL students, although several limitations to these findings are discussed, as are implications and future directions.

Many students in an allied health program at a Middle Eastern Arab university were experiencing difficulties with courses taught in English, resulting in poor academic achievement, low grade point averages, a high failure rate amongst its first year students, and an adverse impact upon a future skilled and educated work force for the region. Tinto's theory of institutional action for students' success served as the conceptual framework for the inquiry that used a qualitative explanatory case study method to examine the experiences of those students who were facing difficulties with their studies. To address questions about why students were failing and leaving the school and how the institution might remedy this educational problem, the study employed initial and follow-up interviews and reviews of academic records and portfolios of 6 currently enrolled or recently graduated students over age 21, who volunteered to participate. Content and thematic analysis of the collected qualitative data produced findings indicative of lack of college readiness among students and gaps in institutional practices such as remedial methods for the unprepared students. Based on the study findings, a policy recommendation for improving the educational practices was introduced to support building a better educational environment at the school. The positive social change implications of this study are not only limited to establishing programs to support the students' success and improve retention rates at the institution but also may include the establishment of more effective approaches to the reform measures of the educational system in the country.

Thesis (MPA) --University of Limpopo, 2010

Thesis (M.A.(Educational Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2013 / A study was conducted to investigate the relationship between educational achievement (EA) and physical activity (PA) among rural secondary school learners based on the hypothesis that PA boasts educational achievement. The participants (n=275) (164 girls and 111 boys) aged 17-27 were selected from three rural high schools at Xihoko Circuit, Limpopo Province in South Africa. Due to mounting pressures to reach adequate yearly progress, many school officials view non-assessed activities like Physical Education (PE) and recess as unnecessary, consequently creating a case for the elimination of any subject that is not directly measured through standardized testing. This action ends up depriving learners of one of the elements that they need to do well in the classroom. Participation in PE has been found to have many benefits, such as, improved EA and health. This is the only subject that provides learners with an opportunity for PA after long hours of sitting. Most of the evidence linking PA to student achievement comes from studies looking at the impact of PE classes. Overall, there seems to be consensus among those who have studied the issue that reducing the amount of instructional time devoted to “academic” subjects in order to devote more time to PE does not harm students’ EA. On the contrary, schools that have reduced their PE time have not seen reliable improvements in student achievement. Finding a link between EA and PA may make educational leaders to re-evaluate time spent during the school day. In this study, data was collected for one month. PA data were collected by means of a self-report Youth Physical Activity Questionnaire (YPAQ), whereas data on EA were obtained through Mathematics and English tests scores. The University of Limpopo granted ethical clearance for the study and the permission to access schools was given by the Department of Education, Limpopo. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 18. The results revealed a low positive correlation (r = .079) for English and (r = .086) for Mathematics. The null hypothesis was rejected as a results of the chi-square test outcome which revealed that at p< 0.05, df = 2, the c2 = 8.06 for Mathematics and c2 =147.2 for English. Since these values are greater than 5.99 chi-square statistical value, it means that the relationship between EA and PA exists, though non-significant. This has important implications for the introduction of PE in the school curriculum in the face of increasing sedentary life styles among young people and declining education performance that is plaguing our education system.

This thesis study set as its objective to investigate the effect of a comprehensive intervention to develop strategic learners on participating teachers and students. The intervention, named CORE Program for Strategic Teaching and Learning, was implemented throughout the entire curriculum by every teacher in Grades 7 - 12 in the Classical School. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methodology was used for the study. Grade 7 students were chosen for research purposes. Teacher participants included both certified and non-certified individuals, all with degrees in their area of instruction, whose experience ranged from none to decades. The student population was atypical, as it was composed of very highly-achieving and above average students in a private school. A review of the literature was made in an attempt to determine the critical elements of strategic learning and the necessary components for a successful intervention. Metacognition, self-regulation, self-efficacy, attribution for success, learning goal orientation, motivation, volitional control, and learning strategies were found to be interactive processes within strategic learning. Borrowing from chaos theory, strategic learning was viewed as a complex web of interacting influences, from which one could not extract a particular element to examine. Therefore, the study attempted to implement an intervention that would affect all of the above-named skills and attitudes exemplified by strategic learners. Teachers involved accepted the intervention and utilized it within their teaching, showing progress in ease of inclusion with years of experience in the program. The study data showed that the intervention had a generally positive student learning effect on 17 out of 21 items surveyed, with statistical significance determined for five items. The intervention was equally effective with very high-achieving students as well as with the lowest achieving students in the population studied.

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Growing concern for an improvement in the formal learning situations experienced by adults is reflected in much of the literature currently available. Evidence from studies of adult learning suggests that (i) adults are generally well able to accept a significant degree of responsibility for the management of their own learning, and (ii) that an adult's learning is enhanced if the learning situations are matched to the preferences and strengths of the learner. In this study a design for adult instruction, which takes these factors into account, is developed. The Educational Cognitive Styles of 47 adult learners are mapped using a self-report inventory. The profiles thus obtained are used in the development of instructional techniques for the learners who are enrolled in a first-year, TAFE, para-professional course. Comparison of this experimental group with a control group indicates that the attrition rate is reduced, learners have more positive feelings toward their course of study, and performance on a content achievement test is, arguably, improved.