This study was conducted to determine the affect on comprehension of teaching selected key vocabulary words prior to reading an eleventh grade social studies passage. Four hypotheses were stated and the .05 level of confidence was used as the criterion for acceptance or rejection.Data for the study were collected from 143 students in six eleventh grade social studies classes. All students in the study were asked to read the same social studies passage. Students in the treatment group were given vocabulary instruction; students in the control group were given no vocabulary instruction. Upon completion of the reading assignment all students were asked to answer sixteen multiple choice questions. The questions were classified as vocabulary specific and general.The sum of the means for specific and general questions and the difference between the means of specific and general questions were calculated in order to determine if differences between the treatment group and control group could be attributed to the question type. A multivariate and a univariate analysis were applied to the data collected for the study.Hypothesis 1, which stated that there is no significant difference between the comprehension scores of the social studies class which receives vocabulary instruction and the social studies class which receives no instruction, was rejected. Vocabulary instruction improved scores for students in the treatment group. Hypothesis 2 which stated that there is no significant mean difference among the gains in comprehension scores of the social studies students classified as high, medium, or low was accepted. There was no significant difference in the gains in comprehension for students of varying vocabulary development. Hypothesis 3, which stated that there is no significant mean difference between the number of correctly answered vocabulary specific questions and the number of correctly answered general questions, was rejected. Students scored higher on the vocabulary specific questions. Hypothesis 4 which stated that there is no significant mean difference between the comprehension scores of the male and female social studies students was accepted. The vocabulary instruction did not result in a significant difference in comprehension between male and female subjects.

Much work has been accomplished in the preparation of life science curricular materials for average and above average students at the secondary level; however, very little has been prepared for slow learners. The number of slow learners attending the public schools is substantial enough to have encouraged many public schools to establish homogeneously grouped classes specifically for these students. With the establishment of special classes for slow learners the need for materials specifically de. signed for these students becomes apparent.In answer to this need the present research undertaking was instituted. The research focused upon the development and testing of an eight-week unit of study in life science and evolved through three phases: (1) preparation, writing, and assembly of a student text and a teacher's handbook; (2) preliminary testing during a pilot study; and (3) comprehensive testing with five classes of homogeneously grouped slow learners.

The first purpose of this study was to determine the effect of simulation in high school United States History classes on students’ cognitive retention of facts, concepts, and principles. The second purpose was to determine the effect of the simulation technique on students’ and teachers’ affective perceptions of the learning experience.

The purpose of this study was to test for a correlation between the scores of secondary social studies teachers on dogmatism and their curricular preferences. The present study has identified two directions in curricular development for the purpose of classifying curricular preferences. These include social studies as social science and social studies as citizenship problems. The former direction emphasizes the structure of the separate social science disciplines while the latter emphasizes a more eclectic approach which cuts across and goes beyond the separate social science disciplines.

This research examined the influence of ability, prior knowledge and knowledge of text structure on expository history text corpora comprehension using a quasi-representative research paradigm. Sixty grade eight students participated in two history units. Hypotheses that ability, prior knowledge and knowledge of text structure would significantly influence performance in terms of the amount and organization of information presented on various measures were supported for the Ancient Man unit only. No interactions between the independent variables arose. The lack of significant findings for the Ancient Egypt unit is explained by poor text corpus organization and weak text structure. The findings suggest that teachers can facilitate students' comprehension of an expository text corpus by providing appropriate background knowledge of content and strategies for recognizing and utilizing text structure. Further, teachers should consider the organization of a textbook or corpus, and when necessary manipulate the materials to improve their structure and comprehensibility.

This research project investigates the implementation of formative assessment policies in the Life Science curriculum at two schools in the Keetmanshoop District, Karas Education Region. It takes the form of an interpretive case study and adopts a qualitative approach. Several data collection tools were used: classroom observation, document analysis and semi-structured interviews. Two of the eleven schools in the Karas Region offering Grade 10 Life Science were selected for the study, and the research participants at each school consisted of one Grade 10 Life Science teacher and five of their learners. The study situates itself in the context of Namibian educational reform by reviewing relevant literature pertaining to learner-centred (constructivist) education and assessment practices in pre- and post-independent Namibia. The study highlights issues pertaining to formative assessment that are at variance with reform policies, identifying six recurring themes that explain how formative assessment policies are implemented. These are teachers' perceptions of formative assessment and its role in teaching and learning, the type of learning being developed, marking/assessing assessment tasks, the integration of formative assessment into classroom instruction, strategies teachers used to implement formative assessment, and types and purpose of activities. The themes that evolved during the data gathering process provide insight into the ways in which teachers perceive formative assessment in relation to the ideals of Namibian educational reform policies. In the light of these findings, the study makes recommendations concerning the implementation of formative assessment policies so as to render these congruent with the theory underpinning leamer-centred education.

Since independence in 1990, Namibia’s Ministry of Education Sport and Culture has focused on curriculum and assessment reforms. The introduction of Continuous Assessment (CA) for appraising learners’ achievement was considered to be a very important aspect of teaching and learning. This study focused on the implementation of CA in schools. The study explores how the selected grade 7 Social Studies teachers understand and implement CA. This study was conducted in the Oshana region of Namibia. Four grade 7 Social Studies teachers participated from two different schools. This study was done through a case study to gain insight into the implementation of CA in schools. Semi-structured interviews, observations and document analysis were the research methods used to collect the data. The findings indicate that these teachers have a theoretical understanding of what CA implies and what role it plays and are aware of assessment strategies. However these theoretical perspectives are not translated into practice. This implies a limited understanding of CA and reflects a gap between the teachers’ theoretical understanding of CA and its practical implementation. The study also identified various systemic factors that hamper the implementation of CA, which include overcrowded classrooms, increased teachers’ workload by CA, shortages of resources such as textbooks and lack of professional development. The nature of pre-service teacher education the participants went through, professional development programmes that are given to teachers as in-service training and a lack of guidelines in the syllabus on how to approach continuous assessment are clearly evident in the findings as factors that contribute to the teachers’ gap between theory and practice. The study concludes that even though a number of workshops on continuous assessment were conducted, the teachers still could not implement it as expected. The study findings inform my professional context as an Advisory Teacher and that of my colleagues. Therefore it made me realize what the teachers’ needs are and what kind of support they require.

The work attempts to identify the general conceptual problems of the generations of Black students who pass through flrst year physics courses at the University of Fort Hare. In particular the alternative conceptions of students in the area of direct current electricity are investigated, using various techniques including written diagnostic tests. The main method used in the investigation of the student frameworks is the personal interview. A varied number of inappropriate conceptions are identifled in the students in significantly large proportions, and these are found to be dependent on many factors; for example the socio-cultural background like language and its metaphors, and media images. It is established that some of these are exacerbated by student perceptions about the nature of physics and of the scientific enterprise in general. Certain proposals are made about how to remedy the situation; relying mainly on the recently established innovative instructional strategies like conceptual change and cognitive conflict, and on making proposals about restructuring certain forms of presentation of the subject matter, paying attention to how language is used to address the speciflc problems of the students. The importance of providing practical experiences for the students is also emphasised

This thesis focuses on how social studies textbooks, authorized for use in Canadian classrooms, portray our changing world. Preparing young people for citizenship in a world that is becoming increasingly interdependent requires presenting them with a way of thinking about the world that allows for consideration of alternative perspectives. The textbook, as a major vehicle for transmitting knowledge, can play an important role in that process. Although the volume of textual accounts of world interdependence is expanding, it is contended that the themes and images presented to students tend to reinforce unilateral rather than multilateral interpretations of reality. A framework of analysis is developed to determine if the textbooks employ either a multilateral thematic or unilateral thematic approach to the study of world interdependence. A multilateral approach encourages the exploration of different points of view on important world issues whereas a unilateral approach tends to focus on a particular interpretation of the same issues or events. This framework employs four rubrics suited to the analysis of the transmission of knowledge, description, explanation, prediction and prescription, to guide a series of analytical questions designed to determine if textbooks present unilateral or multilateral themes. Six significant world issue areas are evaluated in fourteen social studies textbooks. The issue areas profiled are: food supply issues, population issues, environmental issues, peace and security issues, human rights issues and economic Issues. The findings of this study indicate that the four dimensions of the framework are not adequately addressed in the selected textbooks. Twenty-two of the twenty-eight profiles studied tend to support a unilateral thematic rather than a multilateral thematic portrayal of how the world works. Preparing students for citizenship in a global age requires providing them with access to a body of knowledge that helps them to acquire a more integrated understanding of their world in order to make informed decisions and judgements about pressing global concerns. That goal is impeded when there is a propensity for textbooks to provide a particular viewpoint rather than a variety of viewpoints on important world Issues. Although this study is exploratory in nature, its findings present considerations for social studies educators when choosing to adopt particular textual materials for instructional purposes. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

Two non-traditional picture related methods of instruction were developed for this study: a picture-oriented method and an altered-pictures method. They were designed to determine whether either method was more effective than traditional content area instruction in helping students to remember and understand social studies text. In addition to the immediate effects on text comprehension and recall, the delayed effects of these two pictorial methods were examined. Also investigated were the effects of individual imagery ability and gender on a student's potential to profit from such methods. The teachers giving conventional instruction focused students' attention on the text passages only, although pictures did accompany the text. In the picture-oriented method of instruction teachers directed attention to both pictures and text, developing picture/text integration. Finally, teachers using the altered-pictures method of instruction discussed the meaning of mnemonically recodable elements which had been added to the pictures. In both the grade 8 and 11 samples the two experimental groups outperformed the conventional groups on measures of immediate and delayed recall. For the grade 8 sample, it was found that the altered-pictures method of instruction resulted in superior recall compared not only to that level of recall produced by the conventional method but also to that produced by the other experimental method (picture-oriented). In addition, when considering immediate with delayed performance two weeks after instruction, the grade 11 students who received the altered-pictures instruction outperformed the conventional group. For both grade samples, an additional finding was that males outperformed females in their overall recall (both immediate and delayed measures) regardless of imagery ability or type of instruction received. At both grade levels, no particular type of instruction was of benefit to one gender more than to the other, and students of high or low imagery ability were able to profit similarly from all forms of instruction. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate