In finding ways to help students achieve their goals and become productive members of society, mere categorization of students as successful or unsuccessful is insufficient. Hence, in this report, I explore the literature to understand the connections between the construct of underachievement and other such aspects as motivation, anxiety, attitude, cognitive ability, self-efficacy, and learning strategies that are also related to underachievement and may play a crucial role in its reversal. I propose an organization of a lesson plan based on the use of the mother tongue in order to reverse low achievement while specifically delving into the Indian context when learning English as a second language. / text

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur lärare i F-3 kan undervisa för att stödja elever med låga prestationer i matematik. Utifrån syftet konkretiserades en frågeställning för att göra studien undersökningsbar: Hur kan lärare undervisa för att hjälpa elever i allmänna matematiksvårigheter? Metoden som valdes för att undersöka denna fråga var en systematisk litteraturstudie. Sökning av relevant litteratur har skett genom olika databaser, litteraturen har granskats och analyserats för att sedan sammanställas till ett resultat. Resultatet visar en varierande bild på hur lärare ska arbeta för att stödja elever i allmänna matematiksvårigheter. Strategiundervisning bör vara en central roll i undervisningen. Beroende på elevers individuella förutsättningar bör antingen läraren styra inlärningen av strategier eller låta elever utveckla en flexibilitet i sin egen strategiutveckling. Resultatet visar på vikten av att läraren bör ha matematiska samtal med eleverna och användning av teknologiska spel i undervisningen visades även vara positivt för elever i låga prestationer i matematik. Slutsatserna av denna studie är att lärare måste erfara elevers individuella förutsättningar för att kunna stödja dem på bästa sätt där matematiska samtal och strategiutbildning ska vara en central roll i matematikundervisningen.

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Charles Heerman / Educators have realized that low-income students have a higher probability of lower achievement than students from a higher SES background and that these low-income students may very well continue into the cycle of poverty. The purpose of this study was to refine our understanding of the relationships between low-income student status and low income academic achievement in Kansas high schools. This study explored high school low income, low reading, low mathematics, low science achievement correlations among three metropolitan locations and four sizes of high schools. The dependent variables were the school building rates of low income and the school building rates of low achievement. The independent variables were school location and school size. The data was retrieved from the Kansas State Board of Education website. The three metropolitan areas studied were the Wichita, the Topeka-Lawrence and the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Areas. The four sizes of high schools studied were the 6A-, 5A-, 4A-, and 3A-sized high schools. There were seven research questions in this study. All the research questions were non-directional except for research question #2. Correlation coefficients, standard deviation scores, range scores, frequency scores, intercorrelations, coefficient of determinations, partial correlations and ANCOVA scores were used to analyze the data. The major conclusions for each research questions were: (1) the unsatisfactory + basic scores of all three low achievement areas (reading, mathematics and science) were the most consistent representation of low achievement. (2) in the three metropolitan areas, where income differences were greater, low income and low achievement correlations were greater. Where income differences were smaller, low income and low achievement correlations were smaller. (3) smaller schools did not have the better school results. (4) the low reading, mathematics and science correlations had different magnitudes depending on the group. Either low mathematics or low science achievement produced the largest correlations with low income in all seven groups. (5) the smaller standard deviation and range scores may have contributed to the smaller correlations in metropolitan area 2 and the 4A-sized high schools. Findings in the frequency distributions have reinforced the standard deviation and range results. (6) low mathematics and low science achievement were as important as low reading achievement. (7) the lowachievement rates (adjusted for low-income rates) did not differ much across the subject areas when the seven subgroups were considered. The idea of building smaller schools was not supported by the findings.

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I den här studien vill jag belysa hur lärare beskriver prevention och intervention, alltså deras förebyggande och ingripande agerande när det gäller undervisningen av elever som presterar lågt i matematik. Det är en kvalitativ studie som bygger på en serie gruppintervjuer av lärare i grundskolan. Det finns fortfarande en traditionellt kompensatoriskt syn på eleverna hos matematiklärarna och de är ofta av uppfattningen att det behövs specialpedagogik för att alla ska få ett godkänt betyg i matematik. I och med fortbildning, främst genom matematiklyftet, har inställningen till att klara av att inkludera elever som presterar lågt i matematik på ett bra sätt dock ökat. Arbetet i skolorna pågår för att förbättra matematikundervisningen men man ser sällan en övergripande gemensam plan från skolans eller lärarnas sida. Det arbete lärarna bedriver preventivt för att kunna inkludera de elever som presterar lågt har en positiv effekt på alla elever. Mycket av förändringen ligger i att lärare och elever talar mer matematik och inte följer läroboken lika slaviskt som tidigare. / In this study I want to illustrate how teachers describe their preventions and interventions when teaching students with low achievement in mathematics. This is a qualitative study based on a series of group interviews of teachers in the Swedish compulsory school. Mathematics teachers still hold a traditional compensatory perspective on students with low achievement thus placing the responsibility for learning with the students. The general opinion is that special pedagogics is necessary to enable support enough to help students with low achievement in mathematics to reach a passing grade. Thanks to further training, primarily through “Matematiklyftet”, the view on the possibility to include low achieving students in the classroom in a good way is more positive. There is an ongoing work in schools to improve the mathematics teaching, but one cannot see a complete or common plan for the schools neither from the school administration nor the teachers. The preventive measures made to include the low achieving students does have a positive effect for all students. Much of the implemented changes have its origin in talking mathematics in the classroom and not following the textbook as slavishly as previously done.

The subjects of this study are 575 teachers of After School Alternative Program in Tainan City. By doing survey, it aims at investigating those teachers¡¦ perspective of the causes of the underprivileged students¡¦ low achievement, the remedial teaching method and the outcomes of remedial teaching. The results will offer suggestions for the future study and the remedial teaching teachers¡¦ training held by the education administrative organization. According to the outcome of the study, the conclusions are as followings. 1.Most of the After School Alternative Program teachers attribute the causes of the underprivileged students¡¦ low achievement to students¡¦ personal factor. 2.The After School Alternative Program teachers agree with the remedial teaching method and consider ¡¥teaching strategy¡¦ as the most important. 3.Most of the After School Alternative Program teachers agree with the effect of the remedial teaching and think that ¡¥teaching development¡¦ affects the outcomes the most. 4.The teachers with different experiences, different education backgrounds and from different school scales have different opinions of the causes of the underprivileged students¡¦ low achievement, the remedial teaching method and the outcomes of remedial teaching. 5.The After School Alternative Program teachers think that the remedial teaching method positively affects its outcomes.

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No description available.

Previous research has indicated that there is a possible relationship between disproportionality in student discipline and high school dropout rate.  Using discipline and dropout data from a mid-Atlantic state school district, discipline disproportionality and dropout rate amongst high school African American, Hispanic, and Caucasian male and females over a period of four school years was examined. The findings indicated that there was indeed discipline disproportionality among African American, Hispanic, and Caucasian students.  However, the evidence indicating a relationship between disproportionality and dropping out was not conclusive.  Based on the findings, implications for educational practice are advanced.  In addition, recommendations for further research are set forth. / Ed. D.

Algebra is an important part of the Swedish curriculum and is something that many students have difficulties with. Every student in upper secondary school in Sweden has to be given opportunities to develop their knowledge according to the curriculum. Therefor it is important to adapt the education conducted in order to give all students possibility to develop their knowledge. The aim of this study is to investigate how students with low achievements in mathematics experience the education in algebra in their first year at a vocational program in upper secondary school and investigate what difficulties they have with algebra. To reach the aim, qualitative interviews with eight students from vocational programs in their first year upper secondary school were conducted. The result shows that the students have a positive view on the recent education in algebra. Their experience put forth the education pace, work models and content and outlines of the lessons. Their difficulties in algebra is related to insecurity and can be explained through difficulties with the mathematic language, flaws in arithmetic and low level of abstraction. The result reinforces previous research and contributes with important knowledge to be aware of when planning and teaching algebra. / Algebra är ett av de centrala innehållen i matematikkurserna och är något som många elever har svårt med. Enligt läroplanen för gymnasieskolan ska skolan ge alla en möjlighet till att utvecklas. Därför är det viktigt att undervisningen utformas så att den ger möjlighet till alla elever att utvecklas. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur elever med låga prestationer i matematik upplever algebraundervisningen i årskurs ett på yrkesförberedande program i gymnasieskolan och undersöka vilka svårigheter dessa elever har i algebra. Kvalitativa intervjuer med åtta elever som går i årskurs ett på yrkesförberedande program i gymnasieskolan genomfördes. Resultatet visar att eleverna har en positiv syn på algebraundervisningen som de nyligen fått. Deras upplevelse handlar om undervisningstempot, arbetsformer och lektionernas innehåll och form. Svårigheterna beror på osäkerhet i att arbeta med algebra och kan förklaras utifrån bristande aritmetiska kunskaper, brister i det matematiska språket och låg abstraktionsförmåga. Resultatet förstärker tidigare forskningsresultat och visar viktiga aspekter att beakta vid planering och utformande av algebraundervisningen.