The aim of this study is to gain understanding of students’ experiences of assessment and the study strategies they adopt in the context of Higher Education in Rwanda. The study is governed by questions on how students conceive their experiences with assessment in their courses, how they determine study strategies, and how they reflect on alternative ways of assessment. The theoretical framework is based on socio-cultural approaches and on earlier research on assessment and theories of learning. The participants were drawn from third year and former geography students in two tertiary institutions. A four panel-wave design guided the data collection: a survey, focus groups, a follow-up questionnaire and individual interviews. The findings show that the majority of the students conceived assessment as course lecturers’ ways of collecting evidence from students to be used as benchmarks for grading, ranking and promotion at course level and for monitoring and controlling both students and teachers. Assessment was usually summative and could be both course-oriented in line with the curriculum and teacher-oriented in line with teachers’ course-notes. Moreover, the findings reveal that students rely heavily on senior students’ information about teachers’ styles of assessing, as a source for adopting study strategies. The participants experienced that learning took place under contextual pressure, which created fear for repetition or even expulsion. However, the students responded to this by adopting a combination of individual work and group work strategies. In contrast to the experienced modes of summative assessment, the participants had visions about formative assessment such as authentic and problem-solving assessment, and self- and peer- assessment, which they suggest could be employed as integral parts of the teaching and learning process. This is discussed in terms of assessment for learning as a cycle of events or as assessment of learning at the end of a course. / Syftet med denna avhandling är att söka förståelse för studenters erfarenheter av bedömning och vilka studiestrategier de använder sig av inom högre utbildning i Rwanda. Studien vägleds av frågor om hur studenter upplever sina erfarenheter av bedömning i sina kurser, hur de bestämmer studie strategier och hur de reflekterar över alternativa bedömningssätt. Det teoretiska ramverket har sin grund i sociokulturell teori och tidigare forskning om bedömning och lärande. I datainsamlingen deltog studenter från två olika institutioner för högre utbildning inom ämnesområdet geografi, dels under deras tredje studieår, dels en tid efter det att de var nyexaminerade. Insamlingen pågick under fyra perioder och började med en enkät. Därpå följde samtal i fokusgrupper och en uppföljningsenkät med öppna frågor. Studien avslutades med intervjuer med en mindre grupp efter deras examen. Resultaten visar att majoriteten av studenterna uppfattade bedömningen som lektorernas sätt att samla bevis att användas som underlag för systematisk mätning av studenternas resultat och för att kunna rangordna dem. De användes även som underlag för uppflyttning till nästa kursnivå och för att kontrollera att kursen genomförts. Bedömningen var oftast summativ och kunde vara både kursorienterad och följa målen i kursplanen och lärarorienterad där målen var de som angavs i lärarens kurskompendier. Resultaten visar att när studenterna ska välja studiestrategi förlitar de sig i hög grad på information från tidigare studenters uppfattningar om lärares sätt att ställa frågor. Deltagarna uppfattade att lärandet skedde under press från omgivningen vilket skapade rädsla för att de skulle behöva repetera kursen eller bli relegerade om de inte blev godkända. Studenterna hanterade sin oro genom att använda sig av en kombination av individuellt arbete och grupparbete. När de redovisade sina visioner om bedömning föreslog de att formativa bedömningssätt skulle användas som integrerade delar av lärandeprocessen och gav exempel som autentisk bedömning, självvärdering och bedömning av en kamrat. Detta diskuteras i termer av bedömning för lärande under en pågående kurs eller bedömning av lärande i slutet av en kurs.

High school students need to be equipped with the competencies that may enable them to adapt to the increasing demands of learning in the school and beyond. To this end, the main research question of this study was, namely How can the self-regulated learning of adolescents be developed at high school? The aim of the study was to design, implement and evaluate a study skills programme for high school students. The social-cognitive theory, in particular the self-regulated Learning (SRL) theory, was used as the conceptual framework on which this study was based. An explanatory, sequential, mixed-methods research design was implemented. Purposeful sampling was used to select the participants in the three phases of the research project. Two classes of Grade 10-students (an experimental and a comparison group) from one school participated in the study, as follows: (i) in the first quantitative phase both classes wrote a pre-test, using the Learning and Strategies Inventory - High School Version (LASSI-HS); (ii) this was followed by a qualitative phase over 10 weeks. During this time a programme was implemented with the experimental group, once per week for 30 minutes (during school hours), and a 30 minute session in the afternoons. Individual work was also done with eight students, who were purposefully sampled. Between one and four sessions were held with each of the eight students. During the 10 weeks data were collected continuously by means of individual interviews with the eight students, as well as from their journals. In addition, the researcher collected data by means of field-notes. (iii) After the 10 weeks, the final quantitative phase involved both the experimental and the comparison groups in the writing of a post-test. The results indicated that the programme to enhance the students’ goal-setting, self-monitoring and self-evaluation strategies was successful. The students also indicated an improvement in their attitudes, motivation, information-processing, and in selecting the main ideas in their study material. However, shortcomings were noted in certain areas. Based on the literature and the empirical findings of the study, an improved programme for the development of the adolescents’ SRL in high school was designed. The programme recommended the early commencement of the programme, and that the two problem areas that were identified, namely time-management and motivational strategies be emphasised. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

High school students need to be equipped with the competencies that may enable them to adapt to the increasing demands of learning in the school and beyond. To this end, the main research question of this study was, namely How can the self-regulated learning of adolescents be developed at high school? The aim of the study was to design, implement and evaluate a study skills programme for high school students. The social-cognitive theory, in particular the self-regulated Learning (SRL) theory, was used as the conceptual framework on which this study was based. An explanatory, sequential, mixed-methods research design was implemented. Purposeful sampling was used to select the participants in the three phases of the research project. Two classes of Grade 10-students (an experimental and a comparison group) from one school participated in the study, as follows: (i) in the first quantitative phase both classes wrote a pre-test, using the Learning and Strategies Inventory - High School Version (LASSI-HS); (ii) this was followed by a qualitative phase over 10 weeks. During this time a programme was implemented with the experimental group, once per week for 30 minutes (during school hours), and a 30 minute session in the afternoons. Individual work was also done with eight students, who were purposefully sampled. Between one and four sessions were held with each of the eight students. During the 10 weeks data were collected continuously by means of individual interviews with the eight students, as well as from their journals. In addition, the researcher collected data by means of field-notes. (iii) After the 10 weeks, the final quantitative phase involved both the experimental and the comparison groups in the writing of a post-test. The results indicated that the programme to enhance the students’ goal-setting, self-monitoring and self-evaluation strategies was successful. The students also indicated an improvement in their attitudes, motivation, information-processing, and in selecting the main ideas in their study material. However, shortcomings were noted in certain areas. Based on the literature and the empirical findings of the study, an improved programme for the development of the adolescents’ SRL in high school was designed. The programme recommended the early commencement of the programme, and that the two problem areas that were identified, namely time-management and motivational strategies be emphasised. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)