The study combined qualitative methods (observation, interview and case study techniques) and quantitative methods (use of questionnaire and survey instruments) methods to (a) identify and describe current teaching practices in Papua New Guinea (PNG) secondary science laboratory classrooms; (b) investigate the effect of specific teaching practices on academic success on an external science achievement examinaton; and (c) investigate whether an educational productivity model for investigating factors associated with learning is applicable to a developing country context, namely, PNG. Analysis of data from 3,182 Papua New Guinea secondary students, generated revealed similar science laboratory learning environments across most high schools with Open-Endedness having the lowest score. Overall students' attitudes towards science were favourable, with boys having a more favourable attitudes than girls. Multivariate analyses showed that science academic achievement, science practical achievement and attitudes were related to quality and quantity of instruction, the science laboratory learning environment and gender. As in similar studies in other countries, male students performed significantly better than female students in external science achievement examinations. But female students achieved significantly better on a practical science process test. Finally, the study identified some specific aspects of current teaching practices in a developing country context, involving science learning environments and students' attitudes towards science.

This thesis examines the perceptions of lecturers, graduates and employers of personal and interpersonal skills development in an accounting degree at Victoria University. The development of personal and interpersonal skills in students in higher education has been the focus of discussion amongst accounting educators, accounting practitioners and the accounting profession for many years. There is a general consensus on what skills are necessarily sought to ensure success within the accountancy profession but very few previous studies on how those personal and interpersonal skills are being developed. This research study presents a research framework which emphasises the complex interrelationships between an accounting curriculum, accounting lecturers, accounting graduates and employers of graduate accountants and their perceptions of how personal and interpersonal skills are developed. A case study approach, combining archival, qualitative and quantitative methods, is used to investigate how a Bachelor of Business Accounting degree in one Australian university facilitates personal and interpersonal skills development. The case study results indicate that the curriculum, as the vector for skills development, has both explicit and implicit references to skills outcomes. Graduates� perceptions of many of the personal and interpersonal skills considered in this study are closely related to the curriculum findings. However, there appears to be a lack of convergence between lecturers� perceptions, the curriculum and graduates� perceptions. Employers generally agree that graduates display most of the personal and interpersonal skills, albeit at a low level, in the workplace. There are curriculum implications arising from the results of this research for accounting academics who design and develop accounting programs where the value of graduates� personal and interpersonal skills are acknowledged. As a first step, academics need to improve accounting curricula by explicitly integrating personal and interpersonal skills in their subjects. Communicating to students the explicit nature of personal and interpersonal skills development and making them aware is the next step.

The purpose of this study is to understand the lived experience of students taking a high stakes test. The phenomenological method developed by Howard Pollio (Pollio, Graves, and Arfken, 2005, Thomas and Pollio, 2002, Pollio, Henley, and Thompson, 1997) at the University of Tennessee was utilized to explore the perceptions of the experience of fourth and fifth grade students who took the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) Achievement Test, an end of the year criterion-referenced, standardized achievement test given to students in Tennessee. Nine students from two schools in East Tennessee were interviewed about their experience of taking the test. Based on the student’s own words, a Ground and three themes were identified: (Ground) the test as different from other tests; It just felt like another test, but like more important/ weird; (Theme 1) reactions to the actual test: It was kind of hard and kind of easy; (Theme 2) strategies that help you on the test: Yeah, you have to really try hard; and (Theme 3): The purpose of the test: It decides, well, I don’t know, but it seems….. This study shows that asking children about their experience can enlighten our understanding of standardized testing practices that impact test scores schools rely on so heavily to prove their efficacy as an institution. If we are to support our teachers and our schools in this era of high stakes, we should acknowledge the voices of our students who are taking them, and adjust our policy and practices accordingly. Considerations for practice and recommendations are also included.

The first purpose of this study was to validate a modified and personalised form of the College and University Classroom Environment Inventory (CUCEI) and then to use this instrument to examine the actual and preferred classroom environment perceptions of students and instructors at the senior secondary and post secondary levels. A third purpose was to examine students' attitude to their courses on three specific scales, namely, Satisfaction, Difficulty and Speed. A sample of 504 students and24 instructors from Canada and the Australian Capital Territory completed the CUCEI. The students also responded to an attitudinal questionnaire. Statistical analysis confirmed the reliability of the CUCEI. The Cronbach alpha reliability figures, using the individual student as the unit of analysis, ranged from 0.73 to 0.93 and from 0.76 to 0.94 for the actual and preferred versions respectively. Good alpha reliability figures were also apparent for instructor versions, ranging from 0.72 to 0.90 for the actual version and from 0.72 to 0.93 for the preferred version. When the two levels were compared, students at the higher level had a less favourable perception of their learning environment. Hardly any difference in perceptions was seen in the learning environment between male and female students. There were significant differences in the perceptions of the classroom environment by mature students. Mature students perceived task orientation and equity more favourably than did younger students. Senior secondary students were generally more satisfied with their science courses than post secondary students. There was no difference in their attitude to the speed of delivery of science courses. The sample of 24 instructors generally perceived their environment more favourably than did their students, however, senior secondary instructors viewed the learning environment more favourably ++ / than the instructors at the post secondary level. The study also suggests that instructors at the post secondary level are aware of the changes in students classroom environment and seem to take into account these changes. Qualitative data collected from class observations and student and instructor interviews complemented the quantitative findings of the study.

Thesis (M.A.T.) -- School for International Training, 2006. / Advisor -- Paul Levasseur Includes bibliographical references (leaves 60).

This study aimed to answer the research question: “What role do stakeholders believe character education might play in strengthening UAE university students’ local knowledge?” Implementing character education was explored in terms of its potential influence on national identity and local knowledge in UAE education. The literature review covers several studies that inform a relevant research design. The literature review determines the best-fit term to use in this study by comparing and contrasting suitability of related pedagogical fields to character education, such as citizenship, civic, moral, and ethics education. Additionally, studies that serve as useful examples, such as the Crick Report, Lee’s Taiwan study, and regionally relevant articles such as Al Kharusi and Atweh, are discussed to inform the reader of the study’s design for the Dubai context. A mixed methods methodological design was used with a two-phased approach, a quantitative questionnaire survey and a qualitative series of interviews using an interview schedule. With a relativist, constructivist interpretive viewpoint, three groups were assessed with more than 300 participants: students and administrators at a Dubai case study university were assessed, as well as a group of external education leaders. Findings generally supported the idea of strengthening local knowledge learning both in and outside of educational institutions, with a focus on culture and language familiarity. Also, stakeholders strongly felt the need for choice in how and where learning takes place. Findings that inform the current status quo include that there is already a sentiment of citizenship within the UAE by expatriate residents. Many residents allude to the ‘third culture’ phenomenon, and thus feel belonging to several societies. Thus, results show that character education has potential to influence local knowledge and national identity within the UAE, and be directed at all students, both national and non-national.

Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom(IPS) / Even though attitudes have been studied for many years, attitudes toward individuals with disabilities still remain an important issue, today (Geskie & Salasek, 1988; Popovich, Scherbaum, Scherbaum & Polinko, 2003). With the relationship between numerous demographic factors and attitudes toward those with disabilities being inconsistent across existing research and the absence of research conducted in the South African context this research study investigated whether variables such as gender, age, education level, exposure to a person with a disability or having a friend or family member with a disability had an effect on attitude towards disability. The population of this study constituted students from the Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) Faculty and Support Staff in a Higher Education Institution in the Western Cape. A non-probability convenience sample method was utilised of which 140 respondents completed two questionnaires. Namely, a Biographical questionnaire and the Affective Reactions Subscale of the Disability Questionnaire (Popovich et al. (2003). Statistical analyses included both descriptive and inferential statistics (the t-Test and ANOVA). According to the findings of this research study, significant relationships do not exist between variables such as gender, age, educational level, amount of contact and exposure to or having a friend or family member with disability and staff and student attitudes toward those with disabilities in a Higher Education Institution in the Western Cape. A few limitations related to the study were recognized and it is recommended that a combination of quantitative and qualitative research approaches be implored as well as other faculties and Institutions in the Western Cape be used to contribute to greater representativeness and generalisability for future research. Also, to establish organisations or institutions as employers and institutions of choice among those with disabilities, organisations and institutions are to better market disability facilities and accommodations. It is also proposed that students and staff with disabilities should be encouraged to fully participate in the design and event management of disability awareness campaigns.

This study was designed to determine the effects of the infusion of career-education concepts into the language arts and social studies curricula of fifth-grade students. Hypotheses related to differences in mean scores of students in the experimental group and the control group on the Reading Test, Language Test, Study Skills Test of the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills, as well as on the total battery scores. Additional hypotheses were formulated concerning the difference between proportional mean scores on the Career Education Questionnaire and three self-concept inventories designed by Instructional Objectives Exchange. The following conclusions are based on the findings of this study: (1) Infusion of career-education concepts into content areas of the curriculum can result in the increased academic achievement of-students. This conclusion is reinforced by the fact that, statistically, the arithmetic mean scores for the experimental and the control groups were not significantly different. Gains in language expression and mechanics, reading vocabulary, and references study skills can result when students relate academic knowledge to the world of work; (2) Students' attitudes toward career education can be altered through the provision of factual information and meaningful experiences; and (3) The self-concepts of students are relatively stable and not altered appreciably during a brief period of time.

Fewer students in the United States are choosing to study and enter careers in the STEM disciplines-Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. This problem is being addressed through current educational reforms focusing on Integrated STEM curriculum and instructional design. This mixed-method quasi-experimental study researched the effects of science-engineering integration on student learning, student attitudes, and student interests in science within an elementary setting through the creation and implementation of an integrated science and engineering unit of instruction focused on the water cycle. Comparisons of student performance on end-of-unit science assessments revealed no significant differences in student learning between students who experienced an integrated unit of instruction and those who received an un-integrated science unit. However, increased student learning and interest in science was evidenced in responses to a student survey. Inasmuch as there is little in the way of frameworks to guide the legitimate integration of science and engineering instruction, this study offers a guide for teachers along with evidence of its efficacy.

The problem under consideration was a study of student achievement and attitude by utilising two methods of teaching the American government course in a metropolitan junior college.