M.Ed. / Die algemene daling in nasionale slaagsyfer van matrikulante oor die laaste paar jaar was 'n bron van kommer vir die navorser. Die uitslae van sekondêre skole in die Newcastle-distrik van KwaZulu-Natal was besonder kommerwekkend. Daar is skole met gereelde goeie prestasies, maar ook skole wat swak presteer. Dit was dus nodig om die faktore wat die akademiese uitslae van die graad 12 leerders van hierdie distrik beinvloed, na te vors. `n Literatuurstudie het getoon dat daar (hie kategoriee faktore is wat akademiese prestasie in graad 12 beinvloed: • individuele eienskappe (kenmerkende eienskappe); • skoolverwante faktore; en • nie-skoolverwante faktore. Na aanleiding van hierdie opname is 'n gestruktureerde vraelys met 58 gerigte items opgestel. Die persepsies van prinsipale en senior-leerkragte is gepeil ten opsigte van die mate waartoe elke item die akademiese prestasies van graad 12 leerders in hul skole kan beivloed. Goeie terugvoering is ontvang naamtik 79,22% van die vraetyste was vir analises bruikbaar. Hierdie data is deur die Statistiese Konsultasiediens van die Randse Afrikaanse Universiteit verwerk. Die eerste faktor analitiese prosedure van die data het agt faktore geidentifiseer. 'n Tweede faktor analitiese prosedure het net twee faktore gelewer: die Versterkers (53 items) van akademiese prestasie en die Inhibeerders (stremmende invloed) (5 items) op akademiese prestasie.

Working memory provides us with the capacity to both store and process information. It is a fundamental ability that we use throughout our daily lives to interpret, make sense of and understand the world around us. In particular, verbal working memory capacity has long been recognised as foundational to children’s ability to learn, and is especially implicated in language development, reading, comprehension and mathematics abilities. Recognising the fundamental importance of working memory, seminal research has recently demonstrated that repeated practice on computerised training programmes can lead to increases in children’s working memory capacity. However, while these programmes are promising, there are some inherent difficulties which are likely to restrict their application and uptake within the school context, both for the individual child or whole class. To overcome these limitations, the present research aimed to develop and evaluate a practical, whole-class working memory training programme. Achieving this could potentially offer every teacher and child a viable, effective way to improve their working memory capacity and, in doing so, increase their fundamental learning ability. The first phase of the research aimed to create a theoretically effective and practical programme which was grounded in the needs and preferences of teachers and children. This was achieved by first developing prototype materials based on the theoretical literature of what would make an effective programme, before drawing upon the experiences and expertise of teachers within a focus group, and children within a playtest exploration. A wide range of proposals were made which had implications for the final design and implementation procedures. The final working memory training programme involved pairs of children engaging in a series of five different card-based working memory activities, each with three levels of difficulty. The second phase of the research involved the implementation and evaluation of the programme within a mainstream primary school classroom for fifteen minutes a day for six weeks. Measures of children’s working memory demonstrated that they made significant gains in their working memory, and verbal short-term memory. These improvements were significant both immediately following the programme and at a two month follow up. Children’s responses on a questionnaire, as well as interviews with the children and class teacher demonstrated that the programme proved easy to use in the classroom to the extent that it was run almost autonomously by the children. Reports also indicated that children found the programme to be an engaging and enjoyable experience. The demonstration of a practical and effective whole class working memory training programme holds considerable potential to increase children’s capacity to learn and achieve. The wide range of factors which potentially enable a WM training programme to be effective, enjoyable and practical are discussed, and the future implications of this research are explored.

M.Ed. (Psychology of Education) / It appears that not much research has been done in the field regarding separation anxiety suffered by school beginners. The current political developments towards a fair multicultural education will cause a far greater (increased) emergence of this phenomenon as schools are now confronted with a mixture of different cultures and creeds with (overly concerned parents).while separation anxiety is manifested in the young school beginners. Due to this increased exposure and subsequent increased child anxiety. this study is designed to identify the root causes of this anxiety. and provide guidelines for an education programme for parents and teachers to identify and counteract this problem. The investigation into the causes and characteristics of separation anxiety was undertaken by means of studying literature. existing case studies and material related to the subject matter. Insight derived from practical teaching experience and the literature available was so adapted and refined to set guidelines and identify characteristics for a programme that would assist the parents and teachers to identify and through corrective action overcome and / or eliminate this problem...

The purpose of this study is to describe the effect of sociometric grouping on adolescents' concept of themselves in relation to society.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the level of teachers' self-esteem on student achievement. This study surveys and analyzes factors of teachers' self-esteem. Its results are based on (1) a review of the literature to develop an understanding of historical perspectives and research, (2) the factors involved in the development of self-esteem, (3) the role of the parents, and (4) the role of the teacher. Forty-three teachers of grades three and five in North Central Texas completed the Gordon Personal Profile-Inventoiy to assess their levels of self-esteem. Six teachers with mid-range scores were eliminated from the study. The remaining 37 teachers were divided into high and low self-esteem categories. Students' Texas Learning Index scores on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills were matched with the appropriate teachers' scores. The findings of the study indicate that the students with teachers in the high level of self-esteem category scored an average of 5.67 points higher than those students with teachers in the low level of self-esteem categoiy. Findings resulting from the study led to the conclusion that teachers with high levels of self-esteem have a positive influence on the achievement of their students.

Previous research has shown that instruction followed by problem solving (I-PS) is an effective pedagogical approach in many procedural domains, but engaging students in problem solving before instruction (PS-I) can benefit conceptual learning and transfer. However, it is unclear which order of instruction is optimal for domains that rely heavily on both procedural and conceptual knowledge, such as symbolic modeling. This study investigates optimal order of instruction for learning modeling when instruction is based on incorrect examples. In an experiment with 97 eighth graders, we tested which order of instruction, I-PS or PS-I, was most beneficial for learning to create and evaluate mathematical models of rate-based situations, and for transferring learning to create models with different structures. The study also investigated whether optimal order of instruction depended on a student’s prior knowledge. Students in the I-PS condition performed better on model generation, regardless of prior knowledge, but no condition differences were found in model evaluation or transfer outcomes. Students in the PS-I condition reported more instances of confusion. Confusion negatively predicted transfer and showed a trend toward negatively predicting model evaluation. However, confusion did not mediate the relationship between condition and learning outcomes. This study extends the research on the role of instructional order in learning, and its impact on students’ affective experiences.

The purpose of this study is (1) to develop criteria by statistical methods which will show the extent of gain in personality development through a specific guidance program, and (2) to show by comparison the differences in the scores of instructed groups and those of uninstructed groups.

This qualitative dissertation conducted a critical discourse analysis of youth and adult discourses about the transition to high school. Despite being a well-researched field, studies of the transition to high school and interventions in the transition to high school do not prioritize youth perspectives. To remedy this shortcoming and examine youth discourses, I collected data from youth giving advice about beginning high school on TikTok. By conducting a critical discourse analysis of these videos and comparing discourses from school website data and school counseling textbooks, I developed findings that showcase the complexities of the transition to high school and call into question views based solely on academic measures. Youth and adult discourses agree that timeliness, organization, and self-knowledge are important for a successful transition. Youth discourses uniquely focus on advice to avoid relational violence and present an ambivalent view of friendship. Discourses of school tours that showcase amenities and serve as advertising for the school are uniquely adult. I used these findings to theorize the transition to high school as a curriculum and call for a vision of youth and adults co-creating the transition-as-curriculum.

This study has the following purpose: (1) to find the relationship between teacher rating of pupil personality and standardized test results; (2) to find the relationship between teacher rating of pupil achievement and standardized test results; and (3) to determine where more emphasis should be placed in order to better evaluate the child and his work.