No description available.

Children’s literature that includes characters with functional variations is viewed as a tool to increase understanding in classrooms. However, this assumes that the characters are portrayed in a good light and present a positive image to pupils. The purpose of the study is to investigate how the functional variation of autism is portrayed in the book The Dog that Saved Christmas (2018) and whether there are any similarities or differences regarding student perceptions of the main character. Qualitative text analysis and semi-structured interviews with nine students constitute the essay method. The interviews are coded by using thematic analysis. The book content and student reasoning are both further analyzed from a norm-critical perspective. The result shows that there is no uniform image of the character with the functional variation of autism as only positive or negative. Instead, a combination of both these emerges. Where the student perceptions emerge most clearly is also where certain similarities and differences with the book's depiction can be discerned.

Academic achievement in the context of the school necessarily involves a whole range of factors. The education system and schools in particular, have assumed the primacy of cognitive attributions in the learner over that of any other factors in the shaping and honing of individual academic achievement. However, the literature revealed that the learning process within the school environment feeds on a plethora of explanations for academic success or otherwise. Much work by researchers has focused on factors other than the cognitive, in an attempt to explain good or weak academic achievement. Certainly the separation of the cognitive from the affective in terms of achievement is impractical, as revealed by the literature. However the literature also contradicts received wisdom which suggests the omniscience of the cognitive as an explanatory tool for academic performance. This investigation focused on factors other than the cognitive in order to seek reasons for academic success. Three important affective factors were selected from the literature in order to ascertain whether these factors played a role in academic achievement or indeed if there was a relationship between these factors and scholastic success or otherwise. An empirical investigation was conducted which consisted primarily of a questionnaire for form four students in English classes. The questionnaire consisted of four sections with a total of 81 items. It was completed by 271 students attending five schools in Mutare Zimbabwe. Statistical analyses revealed that the affective factors attitudes towards English, self-concepts of academic ability and student perceptions of their teachers of English correlated significantly. The analyses also revealed that the selected factors took up 33% of the variance and that within that 33% the area in which students lived was the most important factor contributing to academic achievement whilst I.Q. and student self-concept of academic ability followed closely. The results of the literature study and the empirical investigation demonstrated that there are factors other than the cognitive which are important in terms of academic success in school As a result recommendations were made regarding school based programmes where the aim is to enhance affective factors and therefore achievement. / Educational Studies / D.Ed. (Psychology of Education)

The concept of teaching effectiveness is challenging for researchers to define. Hypothesized as a multidimensional construct, it encompasses content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, personality characteristics of the teacher, and classroom dynamics. No single dimension, trait, or behavior, however, fully captures what it means to be an effective teacher. Measures, such as peer observation, self-report surveys, and student evaluations, assess teacher effectiveness in higher education. Student evaluations of teachers (SETs) assess multiple areas, including: course content, objectives, organization, and the nature, difficulty, and value of a course; teacher preparation, enthusiasm, and subject knowledge; teacher goals for structuring classroom activities and engaging students in academic pursuits (Cashin, 1995; Feldman, 1996; Marsh, 1984; Midgley, 1998). SETs can be seen as expressions of students’ perceptions about an instructor, a course, and a class, but what influences those perceptions? One concept, classroom community, hypothesizes that students’ sense of community is influenced by the quality of interaction with their instructors, fellow students, and course content. Investigations of classroom community associate higher sense of community with more positive academic outcomes. Teachers’ goals for structuring class activities and engaging students is another concept hypothesized to influence students’ perceptions. Teachers’ goal orientation towards their own teaching is also a factor that appears to influence academic outcomes. Using goal orientation theory, Kucsera, Roberts, Walls, Walker & Svinicki (2009) identified three orientations that influence how teachers approach teaching. To date little research has explored how teacher goal orientation might influence students’ perceptions. This study examined whether there is a relationship between teachers’ goal orientation towards their teaching, students’ perceptions of teacher goals for classroom structure and student engagement, sense of community, and student ratings of teacher effectiveness. Undergraduate business communications faculty completed a survey about their goals for their own teaching while their students took a survey about their sense of community in the classroom, their perceptions of their teachers’ goals for engaging them in academic work and an end-of-semester course instructor survey. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze the data. Results generally indicated that students’ perceptions are associated with SETs outcomes while teachers’ goal orientations are not. / text

<p>There have been calls both from the government and private sector for Higher Education institutions to introduce programmes that produce employable graduates whilst at the same time contributing to the growing economy of the country by addressing the skills shortage. Transformation and intervention committees have since been introduced to follow the extent to which the challenges are being addressed (DOE, 1996 / 1997 / Luescher and Symes, 2003 / Forbes, 2007). Amongst the list of issues that needed urgent address were the skills shortage and underperformance of students particularly university entering students (Daniels, 2007 / De Klerk, 2006 / Cooper, 2001). Research particularly in the South African context, has revealed that contributing to the underperformance of university entering students and shortage of skills are: the legacy of apartheid (forcing certain racial groups to focus on selected areas such as teaching and nursing), the schooling system (resulting in university entering students to struggle), the home language and academic language. Barrell (1998), places stress on language as a contributing factor towards the performance of students. Although not much research has been done on skills shortage, most of the areas with skills shortage require Mathematics, either on a minimum or comprehensive scale. Students who have a strong Mathematics background have proved to perform better compared to students who have a limited or no Mathematics background at all in Grade 12 (Hahn, 1988 / Conners, McCown &amp / Roskos-Ewoldsen, 1998 / Nolan, 2002).The department of Statistics offers an Introductory Statistics (IS) course at first year level. Resources available to enhance student learning include: a problem-solving component with web-based tutorials and students attending lectures three hours per week. The course material and all the necessary information regarding the course including teach yourself problems, useful web-sites and links students can make use of, are all stored under the Knowledge- Environment for Web-based learning (KEWL). Despite all the available information, the students were not performing well and they were not interested in the course. The department regards statistical numeracy as a life skill. The desire of the department is to break down the fear of Statistics and to bring about a perspective change in students&rsquo / mindsets. The study was part of a contribution to ensuring that the department has the best first year students in Statistics in the Western Cape achieving a success rate comparable to the national norm.</p>

The number of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) is on the rise. Research suggests that institutions designated as HSIs graduate over fifty percent of Latinos enrolled in college (Santiago, 2006). However, few studies have examined the campus climate of HSIs and how such climate may influence the degree attainment of first-generation, Mexican American students. Considering the instrumental role HSIs have had in advancing the number of Latinos in postsecondary education, this study investigates the campus climate of an HSI along the U.S.-Mexico Border. By utilizing the theoretical frameworks of funds of knowledge (Moll, Amanti, Neff & Gonzalez, 1992) and organizational habitus (McDonough, 1997) this qualitative study involved first-generation, Mexican American students, faculty, and administrators from the University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA). Data collection methods included: student focus groups, individual interviews, observations, reflective notes and a review of relevant documents. Instrumentation used for this study incorporated a student questionnaire as well as pre-established interview questions. Findings revealed students’ perceptions of a Border HSIs, the experiences they describe as helpful in allowing them to obtain a degree; and the institutional characteristics faculty and administrators found critical in allowing first-generation, Mexican American students to persist. This study builds upon a pilot conducted in 2009-2010, that assessed Latino students’ perceptions of HSIs. The goal of this study is 1) to contribute to the literature on first-generation, Mexican American student success and 2) to further enrich our knowledge about the campus climate of Border HSIs and their role in degree attainment of Latinos. / text

<p>There have been calls both from the government and private sector for Higher Education institutions to introduce programmes that produce employable graduates whilst at the same time contributing to the growing economy of the country by addressing the skills shortage. Transformation and intervention committees have since been introduced to follow the extent to which the challenges are being addressed (DOE, 1996 / 1997 / Luescher and Symes, 2003 / Forbes, 2007). Amongst the list of issues that needed urgent address were the skills shortage and underperformance of students particularly university entering students (Daniels, 2007 / De Klerk, 2006 / Cooper, 2001). Research particularly in the South African context, has revealed that contributing to the underperformance of university entering students and shortage of skills are: the legacy of apartheid (forcing certain racial groups to focus on selected areas such as teaching and nursing), the schooling system (resulting in university entering students to struggle), the home language and academic language. Barrell (1998), places stress on language as a contributing factor towards the performance of students. Although not much research has been done on skills shortage, most of the areas with skills shortage require Mathematics, either on a minimum or comprehensive scale. Students who have a strong Mathematics background have proved to perform better compared to students who have a limited or no Mathematics background at all in Grade 12 (Hahn, 1988 / Conners, McCown &amp / Roskos-Ewoldsen, 1998 / Nolan, 2002).The department of Statistics offers an Introductory Statistics (IS) course at first year level. Resources available to enhance student learning include: a problem-solving component with web-based tutorials and students attending lectures three hours per week. The course material and all the necessary information regarding the course including teach yourself problems, useful web-sites and links students can make use of, are all stored under the Knowledge- Environment for Web-based learning (KEWL). Despite all the available information, the students were not performing well and they were not interested in the course. The department regards statistical numeracy as a life skill. The desire of the department is to break down the fear of Statistics and to bring about a perspective change in students&rsquo / mindsets. The study was part of a contribution to ensuring that the department has the best first year students in Statistics in the Western Cape achieving a success rate comparable to the national norm.</p>

Academic achievement in the context of the school necessarily involves a whole range of factors. The education system and schools in particular, have assumed the primacy of cognitive attributions in the learner over that of any other factors in the shaping and honing of individual academic achievement. However, the literature revealed that the learning process within the school environment feeds on a plethora of explanations for academic success or otherwise. Much work by researchers has focused on factors other than the cognitive, in an attempt to explain good or weak academic achievement. Certainly the separation of the cognitive from the affective in terms of achievement is impractical, as revealed by the literature. However the literature also contradicts received wisdom which suggests the omniscience of the cognitive as an explanatory tool for academic performance. This investigation focused on factors other than the cognitive in order to seek reasons for academic success. Three important affective factors were selected from the literature in order to ascertain whether these factors played a role in academic achievement or indeed if there was a relationship between these factors and scholastic success or otherwise. An empirical investigation was conducted which consisted primarily of a questionnaire for form four students in English classes. The questionnaire consisted of four sections with a total of 81 items. It was completed by 271 students attending five schools in Mutare Zimbabwe. Statistical analyses revealed that the affective factors attitudes towards English, self-concepts of academic ability and student perceptions of their teachers of English correlated significantly. The analyses also revealed that the selected factors took up 33% of the variance and that within that 33% the area in which students lived was the most important factor contributing to academic achievement whilst I.Q. and student self-concept of academic ability followed closely. The results of the literature study and the empirical investigation demonstrated that there are factors other than the cognitive which are important in terms of academic success in school As a result recommendations were made regarding school based programmes where the aim is to enhance affective factors and therefore achievement. / Educational Studies / D.Ed. (Psychology of Education)

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / There have been calls both from the government and private sector for Higher Education institutions to introduce programmes that produce employable graduates whilst at the same time contributing to the growing economy of the country by addressing the skills shortage. Transformation and intervention committees have since been introduced to follow the extent to which the challenges are being addressed (DOE, 1996; 1997; Luescher and Symes, 2003; Forbes, 2007). Amongst the list of issues that needed urgent address were the skills shortage and underperformance of students particularly university entering students (Daniels, 2007; De Klerk, 2006; Cooper, 2001). Research particularly in the South African context, has revealed that contributing to the underperformance of university entering students and shortage of skills are: the legacy of apartheid (forcing certain racial groups to focus on selected areas such as teaching and nursing), the schooling system (resulting in university entering students to struggle), the home language and academic language. Barrell (1998), places stress on language as a contributing factor towards the performance of students. Although not much research has been done on skills shortage, most of the areas with skills shortage require Mathematics, either on a minimum or comprehensive scale. Students who have a strong Mathematics background have proved to perform better compared to students who have a limited or no Mathematics background at all in Grade 12 (Hahn, 1988; Conners, McCown & Roskos-Ewoldsen, 1998; Nolan, 2002).The department of Statistics offers an Introductory Statistics (IS) course at first year level. Resources available to enhance student learning include: a problem-solving component with web-based tutorials and students attending lectures three hours per week. The course material and all the necessary information regarding the course including teach yourself problems, useful web-sites and links students can make use of, are all stored under the Knowledge- Environment for Web-based learning (KEWL). Despite all the available information, the students were not performing well and they were not interested in the course. The department regards statistical numeracy as a life skill. The desire of the department is to break down the fear of Statistics and to bring about a perspective change in students' mindsets. The study was part of a contribution to ensuring that the department has the best first year students in Statistics in the Western Cape achieving a success rate comparable to the national norm. / South Africa

The purpose of this paper was to explore how grammar learning in the English as a second or foreign language classroom can be improved. Our aim was twofold: (1) to investigate the possible effect of implementing Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) on students’ grammar learning in the Swedish upper secondary level education, and (2) to find out what students’ attitudes are towards such an implementation and how it can impact student motivation. We analyzed and provided an overview of ten articles relating to the subject. The results showed that the use of MALL contributed to improved grammar learning when it was used as a tool to help students analyze and reflect upon specific exercises collaboratively and to help individuals do grammar exercises and tests with a formative purpose. However, the results also showed that MALL was not beneficial if only used as an educational or communicative tool. Lastly, the results showed that students overall had a positive attitude towards the use of MALL in education, despite experiencing some technical difficulties, and that the approach further motivated students’ will to learn. Based on the results, we argued that the use of MALL in the English language classroom coincided well with the guidelines of the curriculum and syllabus for English 5, and that, if used as recommended, MALL could help improve Swedish students’ English grammar learning and their motivation.