The main purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between students' achievement in mathematics and teachers' background, professional development and teaching practices. A self report instrument - Mathematics Teaching Opinionate Scale (MaTOS) was used to collect data from Form C (Grade 10) mathematics teachers in the Maseru District in Lesotho, Southern Africa. Stratified random sampling technique was adopted for the study in the selection of participants screened on the basis of type of ownership of schools. The simple random format was subsequently utilized to pick 40 teachers on the basis of school population. Out of the total participants of 40 teachers, 18 (45.0%) were males while 22(55.0%) were female. Simple correlation and regression statistics at the 0.01 and 0.05 significance levels were utilized for data analysis. Findings indicated a significant positive relationship between students' academic achievement in mathematics and teachers' background (i.e. teachers' qualifications, subject majors and years of experience especially from six years of teaching) with r = 0.552, P < 0.01. Furthermore, regression analysis showed that teachers' qualifications (&#946; = 0.77, P < 0.05), subject majors (&#946; = 0.35, P < 0.05) and experience (&#946; = 0.16, P < 0.05) were predictors of students' achievement in mathematics [F(3,39) = 4.321; P < 0.05)]. The findings therefore suggest that if all mathematics teachers have a degree, are specialized in mathematics or mathematics education and have more than five years teaching experience the students' achievement in mathematics would likely improve. / MATH, SCIENCE & TECH EDU / MSC (MATHS,SCIENCE OR T/EDU)

Holland's theory of vocational personalities and work environments incorporates four theoretical constructs (congruence, consistency, differentiation and identity) which attempt to explain sources in variability of achievement and satisfaction among employed adults and college students. This study sought to: (1) investigate the relationship of Holland's constructs to academic achievement and educational satisfaction of undergraduate music majors; (2) investigate differences in all variables according to gender and degree major. Data were collected from undergraduate music majors (N = 100) enrolled at the University of North Texas using the Vocational Preference Inventory. Mv Vocational Situation. and the Music Major Satisfaction Questionnaire. Reliability for the Music Major Satisfaction Questionnaire was estimated at .92 using Cronbach's coefficient alpha. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients indicated that: (1) congruence was significantly related to academic achievement and educational satisfaction; (2) identity was significantly related to academic achievement and educational satisfaction; (3) consistency was significantly related to academic achievement, but not to educational satisfaction; (4) differentiation was significantly related to academic achievement, but not to educational satisfaction. Multiple regression using a stepwise entry method indicated that: (1) the identity construct was the best predictor of educational satisfaction scores; (2) identity was the best predictor of academic achievement scores. The results of the study suggested: (1) it is unlikely that any single theory accounts for all dimensions of variability in achievement among college music majors. To arrive at a comprehensive model of achievement, it will be necessary to utilize constructs of several theories. Such a model should include Holland's constructs of identity, congruence, and possibly differentiation. (2) similarly, a comprehensive model of satisfaction should include Holland's constructs of identity and congruence. (3) Holland's classification system may distinguish among two traditionally held divisions of college music majors, performance majors and education majors. (4) music education majors and music performance majors differ on the social dimension of their vocational personalities.

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences. / Centre for Macau Studies

University of Macau / Faculty of Education

The main purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between students' achievement in mathematics and teachers' background, professional development and teaching practices. A self report instrument - Mathematics Teaching Opinionate Scale (MaTOS) was used to collect data from Form C (Grade 10) mathematics teachers in the Maseru District in Lesotho, Southern Africa. Stratified random sampling technique was adopted for the study in the selection of participants screened on the basis of type of ownership of schools. The simple random format was subsequently utilized to pick 40 teachers on the basis of school population. Out of the total participants of 40 teachers, 18 (45.0%) were males while 22(55.0%) were female. Simple correlation and regression statistics at the 0.01 and 0.05 significance levels were utilized for data analysis. Findings indicated a significant positive relationship between students' academic achievement in mathematics and teachers' background (i.e. teachers' qualifications, subject majors and years of experience especially from six years of teaching) with r = 0.552, P < 0.01. Furthermore, regression analysis showed that teachers' qualifications (&#946; = 0.77, P < 0.05), subject majors (&#946; = 0.35, P < 0.05) and experience (&#946; = 0.16, P < 0.05) were predictors of students' achievement in mathematics [F(3,39) = 4.321; P < 0.05)]. The findings therefore suggest that if all mathematics teachers have a degree, are specialized in mathematics or mathematics education and have more than five years teaching experience the students' achievement in mathematics would likely improve. / MATH, SCIENCE and TECH EDU / MSC (MATHS,SCIENCE OR T/EDU)

Le but de cette thèse est d’étudier, à l’aide d’outils combinatoires simples, différentes structures géométriques construites à partir de l’action d’un polynôme ou d’une fraction rationnelle. Nous considérerons d’abord la structure de l'ensemble des solutions séparatrices d’un champ de vecteurs polynomial ou rationnel. Nous allons établir plusieurs modèles combinatoires de ces cartes planaires, ainsi qu’une formule fermée énumérant les différentes structures topologiques dans le cas polynomial. Puis nous parlerons de revêtements ramifiés de la sphère que nous modéliserons, via un objet combinatoire nommée carte équilibrée, à partir d’une idée originale de W.Thurston. Ce modèle nous permettra de démontrer (géométriquement) de nombreuses propriétés de ces objets, et d’offrir une nouvelle approche et de nouvelles perspectives au problème d’Hurwitz, qui reste encore aujourd’hui un problème ouvert. Et enfin nous aborderons le sujet de la dynamique holomorphe via les primitives majeures dont l’utilité est de permettre de paramétrer les systèmes dynamiques engendrés par l’itération de polynômes. Cette approche nous permettra de construire une bijection entre les suites de parking et les arbres de Cayley, ainsi que d’établir une formule fermée liée à l’énumération d’un certain type d’arbres relié à la fois aux primitives majeures et aux revêtements ramifiés polynomiaux. / The main topic of this thesis is to study, thanks to simple combinatorial tools, various geometric structures coming from the action of a complex polynomial or a rational function on the sphere. The first structure concerns separatrix solutions of polynomial or rational vector fields. We will establish several combinatorial models of these planar maps, as well as a closed formula enumerating the different topological structures that arise in the polynomial settings. Then, we will focus on branched coverings of the sphere. We establish a combinatorial coding of these mappings using the concept of balanced maps, following an original idea of W. Thurston. This combinatorics allows us to prove (geometrically) several properties about branched coverings, and gives us a new approach and perspective to address the still open Hurwitz problem. Finally, we discuss a dynamical problem represented by primitive majors. The utility of these objects is to allow us to parameterize dynamical systems generated by the iterations of polynomials. This approach will enable us to construct a bijection between parking functions and Cayley trees, and to establish a closed formula enumerating a certain type of trees related to both primitive majors and polynomial branched coverings.

Persistent gender disparity limits the available contributors to advancing some science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. While higher education can be an influential time-point for ensuring adequate participation, many physics programs across the U.S. have few women in classroom or lab settings. Prior research indicates that these women face considerable barriers. For university students, faculty, and administration to appropriately address these issues, it is important to understand the experiences of women as they navigate male-dominated STEM fields. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study explored undergraduate female physics majors’ experiences with their male-dominated academic and research spaces in the U.S. The conceptual framework consisted of physics identity, gender role congruity, assumptions about the “ideal” scientist, and self-reported plans to persist in the field (measured by bachelor’s degree completion, graduate school plans, and physics-related career plans). Utilizing the American Physical Society (APS) 2016 Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP) pre-conference survey data, responses from 900 females were analyzed using regressions followed by 18 semi-structured interviews with CUWiP sample participants. Physics identity was highly predictive of participants’ self-reported persistence plans. A factor analysis revealed that gender role congruity is comprised of three distinct social roles: extrinsic agentic (e.g., power, financial rewards, status), intrinsic agentic (e.g., self-direction, demonstrating skills, independence), and communal (e.g., working with people, helping others). Intrinsic agency was highly correlated with physics identity and long-term persistence (graduate school and career), and communal roles were negatively correlated with students’ short-term persistence (undergraduate physics degree completion). Extrinsic agency was correlated with neither identity nor persistence. The 18 interviews were phenomenographically analyzed revealing that participants experience relationships with the conceptual framework in five qualitatively different ways, called categories of experience. These categories are: The Assured, The Solitary, The Communal, The Reflective, and The Ambassadors. The categories elaborate on the quantitative results by providing nuanced explanations of how women negotiate aspects of their gender identity related to the conceptual framework. The results provide a broad vantage point of women’s experiences as physics majors which may aid university faculty and administration with gender equity goals for physics and other male-dominated STEM fields.

Investigación con enfoque cualitativo y diseño fenomenológico, cuyo objetivo fue analizar los procesos subjetivos y de subjetivación durante el proceso de reelección vocacional en jóvenes universitarios. La muestra estuvo conformada por diez estudiantes de universidades privadas limeñas, entre 18 y 21 años de edad, que optaron por la reelección vocacional en una sola ocasión. Se encontró que el proceso de reelección vocacional estuvo conformado por tres momentos: primera elección vocacional, crisis vocacional y reelección vocacional. En un primer momento, los jóvenes se posicionaron subjetivamente de manera pasiva, por lo que sus elecciones respondieron a exigencias sociales y familiares para asegurar un lugar social. No obstante, posteriormente, durante la crisis vocacional, la insatisfacción, el desinterés y el malestar emocional experimentados movilizaron recursos personales para encontrar una profesión que satisficiera sus deseos vocacionales. Finalmente, los jóvenes se reposicionaron creativamente frente a lo social y familiar, apropiándose de sus deseos y construyendo trayectorias vocacionales singulares. / Research with a qualitative approach and phenomenological design, whose objective was to analyze the subjective and subjectivation processes during the process of the switch majors in university students. The sample was ten students from private universities in Lima, between 18 and 21 years old, who opted for the change course only once. It was found that the process of the switch majors consisted of three moments: declaring a major, vocational crisis and switch majors At first, the young people were subjectively positioned in a passive way, so that their choices responded to social and family demands and to ensure a social place. However, later, during the vocational crisis, the dissatisfaction, disinterest, and emotional distress they experienced mobilized personal resources to find a profession that satisfied their vocational desires. Finally, young people creatively repositioned themselves against the social and family, appropriating their desires and building unique vocational trajectories. / Tesis

This study examined students' perception between short research experiences (SRE) courses and full-semester course research experiences (CRE) using the Persistence in the Sciences (PITS) survey and the interview questionnaire. The study also aimed to correlate the influence of student's demographic as a predictive indicator for Project Ownership Scores (POS) and Quantitative Literacy (QL) score means. The three courses studied at the University of North Texas were Biology for Science Majors Laboratory (BIOL 1760 SRE), Microbiology with Tiny Earth (BIOL 2042 Tiny Earth SRE), and Introductory Biology Research Laboratory I (BIOL 1750 SEA-PHAGES CRE). The mean scores for the PITS categories leaned favorably towards the research component of each laboratory course assessed in this study. The interview questionnaire showed 66% of the students in the SRE courses and 90% of the students in the CRE course preferred the research component of the lab. Paired survey demographic analysis for BIOL 1760 SRE showed significance for the Science Community Values with associate/bachelor's degree. BIOL 1750 SEA-PHAGES CRE showed significance in three of the six categories when comparing means for Project Ownership Emotion, Self-Efficacy, and Science Identity with Gender. Binary logistics was used to build a regression model to predict demographics with approximately 65% to 75% accuracy for each course. When analyzing students' QL score, the demographic category "Ethnicity" showed significance for BIOL 2042 Tiny Earth SRE. Categorizing the correct response into two categories for the QL test scores, the SRE and CRE courses, and analyzing the PITS scores for paired data sets showed that there was significance in the Networking category for the question "I have discussed my research in this course with professors other than my course instructor." The validated PITS, POS, and interview questionnaire could be a tool for use to analyze laboratories at UNT that offer a SRE or CRE component and to understand students' perceptions on the effectiveness of the laboratory.