This thesis was concerned with persistence and change in Entwistle's Approaches to Studying, the Deep and Surface Study Approaches. Approaches to Studying were seen as part person-dependent and part context-dependent: the former implying persistence and the latter change. Therefore, it was hypothesised that these two aspects might interact differently when contexts, for example, subject disciplines studied, were not the same. In which case it was hypothesised that a context of exposure to a specialised subject discipline may arguably confirm or modify the student's personal approach. To explore this possibility in the first instance the association between Study Approach and choice of subsequent specialisation was investigated after which this association was followed through A-level specialisation contexts which were congruent or incongruent with the earlier expressed choice, with the expectation that the association (found) between Study Approach and choice would, (1) intensify in congruent contexts (2) weaken in incongruent contexts At O-level it was found that Study Approach is associated with expressed choice of A-level specialisation, but one year later when Study Approach was re-tested, contrary to expectations this association did not intensify or weaken in contexts of specialisation that were congruent and not congruent, respectively, with the expressed choice. Linked with the one significant result, an overall increase in the use of surface approach over time, these outcomes suggest a need for an investigation into links between teaching approaches in Sri Lankan A-level classes and study approaches.

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Cheating in British secondary schools has not been previously researched. The aim of this thesis was to ascertain what factors affect cheating in secondary school and why? Initially, four questions were posed: "what is cheating?', "when is it wrong to cheat?', 'what role do parents play' and 'what are teacher perceptions of cheating compared with those of students?'. These questions were addressed by studying the perspectives of students, parents and teachers using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methodologies, involving nearly 1000 respondents in six studies. Two models were developed. The first, a four dimensional model, explained what students thought cheating was. Cheating was perceived to be comprised of the following interrelated dimensions: non-academic and academic behaviours, a temporal component, assessment events and degrees of severity. The second, a decision model, indicated under what circumstances cheating might be right or wrong. Cheating was wrong for respondents who perceived only negative academic associations, whilst It could be right for others, when motives for cheating were perceived to be honourable. Respondents reported the extent to which they were like students in scenarios who were portrayed to have cheated in a variety of ways. Data from parents and teachers were used to test and amplify these models. Students and teachers held similar perceptions regarding cheating frequency, but not severity. Parents held perceptions of cheating that were more extreme than those of students and teachers. The findings of these studies have major implications for those involved in the wider educational environments of the home, school and society. Recommendations are made regarding cun-ent educational testing policies, the promotion of leaming and the reduction of cheating.

The problem under consideration is to determine the effect of certain environmental conditions upon the process of studying. This study attempts to answer the question, How much effect, positive or negative, will various environmental conditions have upon study?

This study highlights the complexities associated with learning a heritage language (HL) abroad, specifically with regard to identity, expectations, and beliefs about language and language learning, by examining the ways that HL learners talk about themselves. These are important topics to study because perceptions of language learning have been shown to influence language acquisition in the study abroad context (Wilkinson, 1998). In addition, study abroad programs are becoming more popular and so are attempts to design language courses to meet the unique needs of HL learners. The study explores the experiences of 17 HL learners who chose to study abroad in 2007 or 2008 to improve their HL proficiency. These HL learners had at least a basic ability to comprehend and communicate in the language that their parents or grandparents speak natively, and were themselves dominant in English. The participants included 5 males and 12 females who went abroad to 14 different countries to study Spanish (7), Hebrew (1), Tigrinya (1), French (1), German (1), Korean (1), Cantonese (1), or Mandarin (4). Data collected include 17 hours of interviews both before and after the sojourns, 34 email reflections written while abroad, blog entries, and a focus group. Data were analyzed using discursive psychology, which views discourse as being variable, co-constructed, purposeful, and context-dependent. By analyzing the data to find the interpretive repertoires, ideological dilemmas, and subject positions used (Reynolds & Wetherell, 2003; Edley, 2001), a deeper understanding of studying abroad as a HL learner was attained. Findings include that the participants lack interpretive repertoires to discuss their HL and being a HL learner, used their HL as a resource to access other learning opportunities while abroad, encountered difficulties fully immersing themselves in the HL while abroad, received insufficient pre-departure support from the study abroad offices, and had backgrounds and HL learning experiences that varied considerably. The study's findings have implications for what topics to cover in classes and study abroad advising sessions that may help HL learners make decisions about where to study abroad, as well as help students process the experiences they have learning their HL and studying abroad. / text

The main purpose of this dissertation was to explore the psychomotor and cognitive characteristics of the practice behaviours of a group of novice keyboard instrumentalists and to identify those factors which had most significant influence on performance achievement. The pivotal question guiding the study was 'How can one characterise the effects of practice strategies on the performance outcomes of this group of novice performers?' Six research questions were examined. The first three concerned student predisposition, practice procedures, and performance achievement. The second three questions examined the relationships between personal characteristics, practice behaviours and performance outcomes. The results of the study indicate that some beginners are capable of cognitive engagement in the execution of practice. Students who planned, analysed and evaluated practice strategies, both mentally and physically, were identified as self-regulated learners. These students were the more successful achievers. Students who made use of the technology, specifically for instructional purposes, made more gains that those that did not. Accumulated practice was not found to influence performance achievement. Implications for future research on this little explored subject were included / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Mitt projekt har handlat om att ta steget till att bli mer självständig vid instuderingen av nya stycken. Att våga göra saker utan lärarens hjälp och lita på sin egen intuition och kunskap. Jag valde att arbeta med stycket Sonat no. 2 ”Obsession” av Eugène Ysaÿe (1858-1931) eftersom att det är för solo violin vilket innebar att jag inte kunde få någon påverkan ifrån någon annan och att det har varit ett stycke som jag länge har velat lära mig. Jag beskriver hur jag gått tillväga för att lära mig det, om tankar som jag fått från kurslitteraturen och om hur det har känts att inte ha den tryggheten som ens lärare ger. / My project has been about taking the step to become more independent when rehearsing new pieces. Too dare to do things without the help of a teacher and to start trusting your own intuition and knowledge. I chose the piece Sonata no. 2 "Obsession" by Eugène Ysaÿe (1858- 1931) because it is for solo violin witch would minimize the impact from someone else and it`s a piece that I for a long time have wanted to learn. I describe how I proceeded to learn it, thoughts that I received from the literature and how it feels to not have the security that the teacher gives. / <p>Bilaga: 1 CD</p>

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A preliminary study indicated a degree of dissatisfaction with the present mathematics curriculum at technikons amongst academic staff members of technikons as well as members of the electrical-engineering industry. The hypothesis of this study is that the present mathematics curricula for electrical-engineering at technikons are not fully compatible with the demands emanating from the theoretical and the industrial-training (in-service or workplace) components of the training of electrical-engineering technicians. The intent of this study is, firstly, to propose a framework of thought supporting engineering-mathematics curriculum-change in the context of electrical-engineering programmes as offered at technikons. The actual formulation of the syllabus content is supported by a curriculum-change model which takes cognisance of both the theoretical-demands and the workplace- demands in accordance with the aims of co-operative education espoused by technikons in South Africa. Secondly, a literature study of relevant past research leads to the development of a research methodology sympathetic to the present philosophy of technikon education for engineering-technicians in the country. The research methodology involves, firstly, a questionnaire response from practising engineers and technicians. Secondly, it involves the gathering of suggestions from technikon academic staff and the analysis thereof by a work-group representative of all technikons, and led by the researcher. Thirdly, seventy-nine (79) reference-texts to the electrical-engineering programmes (study-levels 1 to 4), offered at the Peninsula Technikon, were analysed for its mathematical content. The research findings supports the hypothesis. The thesis culminates in set of recommendations with regard to the applicability and composition of mathematics syllabi for electrical-engineering programmes at technikons.

This study explores the willingness of Indian parents to allow their daughters to pursue tertiary education and careers. This study firstly focused on how women who pursued tertiary education and careers were perceived by family and the Indian community when parents were growing up. Secondly, the study underscored the willingness of parents these days to allow their daughters to pursue tertiary education and careers. A qualitative research approach, using in-depth, semi-structured life-story interviews was used in the study to gain a deeper understanding of the factors that resulted in the development of certain perceptions towards women who pursued tertiary education and careers in the parents’ youth. Content analysis was used to analyse the data. A pilot study using purposive and snowball sampling was conducted using seven (7) sets of Muslim and Hindu parents. Thereafter, further questions were generated for the main study, where thirteen (13) sets of both Muslim and Hindu parents were interviewed. The results of the study indicate that the attitude towards women pursuing tertiary education and careers has evolved over time. Parents are these days more willing to allow their daughters to pursue tertiary education and careers. In the past women had not been encouraged to study and work. However, this perception has changed today. There is a great demand for Indian women in the workplace and many Indian women are enrolling every year at different universities to pursue tertiary education. The South African laws support women empowerment and education and, as a whole, many contributions in the country are made by women. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted