Even though English should mainly be used in the EFL-classroom according to the Swedish national curriculum, some recent scholars have argued that a judicious use of the students’ L1 by the teachers in some particular situations may benefit the learning environment there. From this context, this thesis examines what research says about in what particular situations the L1 is used by teachers in upper secondary EFL-classrooms as well as the teachers’ and the students’ attitudes towards this practice. The method used was a systematic literature review, where seven articles from all across the globe were analyzed, compared and synthesized. The results show that the L1 was mainly used by the teachers when managing discipline, when explaining grammar and when teaching vocabulary. However, the articles did not conclude how the L1 could be used strategically by the teachers. Concerning the teachers’ and students’ attitudes, the majority of these were positive towards L1 use by the teacher in the above mentioned situations. However, the teachers were not aware of how the L1 could be used by them in a judicious and a strategic way. Lastly, it can be concluded that more research is needed on how the L1 can be used more strategically by the teachers as well as on the students’ perspective on this.

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of determining perceived attitudes of self-concept of educationally disadvantaged students in special vocational environments, other vocational students, and academic students as measured by the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. The hypotheses formulated to carry out this study included: 1. There is no significant difference in the mean attitude self-concept score of vocational education students, academic students, and educationally disadvantaged students (CVAE) as measured by the Piers-Harris ChildrenIs SelfConcept Scale. 2. There is no significant difference in the mean attitude self-concept scores as measured by the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale between vocational education students, academic students, and CVAE students and number of years of placement in a vocational program, academic program and CVAE program. The Piers-Harris Children1s Self-Concept Scale was administered to 311 students from the CVAE, vocational, and academic programs in the Birdville Independent School District, Fort Worth, Texas and Denton Independent School District, Denton, Texas.

The area of discourse acquisition and writing in higher education has become a much researched field. In South Africa the interest in discourse acquisition and writing has been partly in response to the change in student profile, particularly over the past ten years. While South African researchers and academics are increasingly focusing their interest in discourse acquisition and writing on the unique circumstances here, they rely on theories based on research done in very different social contexts. These theories are not necessarily universally appropriate. South Africa is currently undergoing a period of transformation in higher education aimed at greater access and equity for black students and academics. The accompanying sense of frustration and disillusionment among students and academics underlines the need to reappraise all aspects of higher education. Much of the research on discourse acquisition and writing is undertaken in arts programmes: vocational fields - such as engineering education - tend to be neglected. If the envisaged growth in science and engineering education is to be realised, it is essential that research in discourse and writing be undertaken in engineering programmes. This study investigates discourse acquisition as experienced by students in a South African engineering faculty. The experiences of six final year technikon students are investigated to gain a better understanding of what it means to acquire the discourse of engineering. The phenomenological method used requires that the researcher suspends or brackets a priori theoretical notions or pre-conceptions so that that which the students experience, rather than what the researcher expects in terms of theory, can emerge. What emerges from the students' experiences is partially congruent with established discourse and writing theories. However, some of the student experiences of discourse acquisition differ in significant ways from what is described in mainstream writing and discourse acquisition theory. The differences in the manner in which these students experience their acquisition of engineering discourse leads to a new understanding of the phenomenon. The students do not experience the alienation or struggle described in mainstream theoretic accounts of discourse acquisition. Students' approaches to writing are affected by their awareness of their multiple identities and the different locations in which they learn. Their approaches to writing are significantly different in some respects from descriptions in mainstream theories in some respects. The description of their experiences gives a different understanding of what it means to acquire the discourse of engineering, and may contribute to the reappraisal of engineering education in a contemporary South African context.

M.Ed. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

One purpose of this paper was to investigate differences between gifted students' attitudes toward school according to assignment to self-contained or resource gifted classes. The other purpose was to investigate differences in knowledge of gifted and positive attitudes of the students' parents and school staff. The students' attitudes were measured using Hogan's Survey of School attitudes with local items added. No significant differences were found in attitudes toward reading/language arts, science, mathematics or social studies. There were minor differences in the students' attitudes toward their gifted program and being gifted. The parents' and staffs' attitudes were measured using a researcher made scale, the Gifted Attitude Survey. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups. The results of these surveys were affected by the composition of each class as well as by the use of a differentiated curriculum in the resource format class.

This study explored the relationship between cheating among university students and their cognitive developmental levels, use of neutralization techniques, self-concept as a multifaceted cognitive construct, and attitude toward cheating. The purposes of this study were to investigate: (1) The relationships between academic dishonesty and each of the following overall independent variables: cognitive development, use of neutralization techniques, self-concept as a multifaceted cognitive construct, and attitude toward cheating, and (2) the reasons behind college student academic cheating behaviors. The study used data from anonymous, self-report surveys administered to undergraduate students in-class and at supplemental sessions. Student participation was voluntary. The study was correlational. The five hypotheses were: (1) Self-concept is significantly and negatively related to academic dishonesty; (2) Cognitive development is significantly and negatively related to academic dishonesty; (3) Attitude toward cheating is significantly and negatively related to academic dishonesty; (4) The use of neutralization techniques is significantly and positively related to academic dishonesty; (5) Cognitive development, self-concept, and attitude toward cheating will make significant contributions to the regression model for the dependent variables of academic dishonesty. The data supported the first, third, and fourth hypotheses. However, the second and fifth hypotheses were supported under certain conditions. The roles of cognitive development and self-concept in academic dishonesty represent major findings.

The purpose of this research study was to explore gender variances in the satisfaction levels of African American students at UNT toward the goal of increasing the retention of these students. Variances in satisfaction levels were measured using information obtained from African American students that participated in the fall 2004 administration of the Noel Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI). In addition, the UNT Customer Satisfaction Survey (UNT-CSS), which applies Hom's Basic Model of Customer Satisfaction, was used to further examine areas of interest identified by the Noel Levitz SSI. Analysis of the SSI data indicated that no statistical significance existed amongst any of the correlates of satisfaction as a function of gender. In fact, African American students appeared to have very similar ideas on what services were important to them and on how satisfied they were with the services provided to them by the university. African American males and females were most satisfied with Campus Support Services, Academic Advising/Counseling, and Instructional Effectiveness at UNT. The UNT-CSS further examined the above areas. African American males and females were measured against each other to discern if differences occur in how African American students process the customer service model as a function of gender. African American males demonstrated strong positive correlations between their expectation of customer service and their consequent evaluation of that service. African American females were more influenced by their perception of the service received.

Orientador: Linda Gentry El-Dash / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-07T19:32:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ribeiro_MarlucyMariadaSilveira_M.pdf: 939732 bytes, checksum: 2d03df60f677d6157ce5516332c43cf4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Resumo: Este trabalho é um estudo de caso, que analisa as atitudes e a motivação de um grupo de alunos brasileiros, aprendizes de inglês em situação formal de aprendizagem. Os dados foram obtidos por meio de questionários, observações e gravações de aulas, além da realização de um estudo Q, combinando, portanto, métodos qualitativos e quantitativos. Os participantes da pesquisa são alunos universitários de um curso de inglês geral em uma universidade pública do estado de São Paulo. Nosso objetivo principal foi analisar a motivação e as atitudes dos alunos em relação a aspectos da aprendizagem da língua, ao povo americano, à língua inglesa e à cultura americana, em busca de possíveis efeitos destes fatores no desempenho dos alunos no curso. As notas do curso foram utilizadas como medida de desempenho. A metodologia Q nos ajudou a compreender como esses alunos viam os americanos, garantindo uma maior confiabilidade aos dados obtidos nos questionários. Os resultados apontaram para uma grande rejeição ao povo americano e à sua cultura, o que, entretanto, se mostrou irrelevante para afetar o desempenho dos alunos. Os fatores que se mostraram especialmente significativos para influenciar o desempenho desse grupo, contrariando nossas expectativas, foram as atitudes em relação à situação de aprendizagem da língua. A abordagem comunicativa da professora e sua atitude em sala de aula, favorecendo a interação entre os alunos e estabelecendo um ambiente descontraído de ensino, foram elementos decisivos para promover motivação e, consequentemente, um melhor desempenho no curso / Abstract: This thesis is a case study that analyzes the attitudes and motivation of a group of Brazilian students learning English in a formal setting. The data were collected on the basis of questionnaires, class observations, class recordings, and a Q-study, thus combining both qualitative and quantitative methods. The subjects are university students taking a general English course at a public university in the state of São Paulo. Our main goal was to analyze the motivation and attitudes of the students in relation to aspects of the language learning, the American people, the English language and the American culture, in order to identify the possible effects of these factors on student achievement in the course. Achievement was measured through the course grades The Q-study helped us understand better the perceptions of the students in relation to the American people, assuring greater reliability for the data obtained through the questionnaires. Results pointed to a high rejection of the American people and their culture, although this did not seem to be significant in affecting the performance of the students in the course. The most significant elements in influencing the performance of this group, in contrast to our expectations, were the attitudes toward the language learning situation. The communicative approach of the teacher and her attitude in the classroom, promoting interaction among students and establishing a pleasant learning environment, were crucial to the generation of motivation in the students, and consequently, to a better performance during the course / Mestrado / Lingua Estrangeira / Mestre em Linguística Aplicada

Computers for high school math education.

This study, as well as others, have found that teachers have attitudes and perceptions about their students that could significantly impact the students' education.