Skills development and training is becoming an increasingly important concern in developing countries. Not only can it impact local economic platforms, but it can also increase international competitiveness, employment and prosperity. Disarticulations of public policy can however undermine public sector delivery of skills development initiatives and opens up opportunities for private provision to be, under certain circumstances, more responsive to the challenges of skills shortages. The purpose of this research is firstly to substantiate the need for a more active engagement by the private sector in the development and training of technical skills. Subsequently, it aims to identify the impacting factors that either promote or inhibit such engagement, specifically within the construction and mining industries of Sub-Saharan Africa. In identifying the most significant factors, a conceptual framework can be compiled and recommended to facilitate a more sustainable approach to the implementation of in-house initiatives, specifically within the private sector of these industries. A descriptive quantitative research approach was implemented for this study. This was facilitated through an online survey questionnaire distributed to a population comprising of top, middle and junior management, as well as general employees, permanently employed within the construction and mining industries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The research results revealed a definite lack of confidence in the public sector’s ability to adequately provide technical skills within these industries, and thus within Sub-Saharan Africa. This stresses the need for a more active participation by the private sector in developing such technical skills. Further analysis also identified the critical inhibitors and benefits associated with current private sector initiatives. It suggests that effective in-house skills development and training initiatives within these industries can not only beneficially impact companies, but also the socio-economic environment in which they operate. Finally, the research concludes with the introduction of a conceptual framework targeting three core areas as a base to implement skills on a sustainable platform within the private sector. These include the concepts of benefits realisation, risk management and government intervention. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / zkgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted

No description available.

Thesis (doctoral)--La Salle University, 2003. / ProQuest dissertations and theses ; AAT 3108290. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 33-37).

The objectives of this study were to investigate the cultural differences in test-wiseness between Chinese and Canadian students; to study the impact of test-wiseness on British Columbia Grade 12 provincial examination results among Chinese students in British Columbia; and to examine the relationship of test-wiseness, and four correlates (verbal ability, achievement motivation, length of residency in Canada, multiple choice experience) among the Chinese students. The Test of Test-wiseness and Student Survey questionnaire were administered to 41 Grade 12 foreign Chinese students who wrote the provincial examinations in January 1990. Completed test data were compared with the same data from Canadian and Chinese immigrant students who wrote the provincial examination in June 1989. The data were analyzed by a linear regression model. The results indicated that ethnicity accounted for a significant amount of variance in test-wiseness. Foreign Chinese students were significantly less test-wise than both Canadian and Chinese immigrant students. Foreign Chinese students scored significantly lower than the other two groups in absurd-options, different-options, stem-options link and guessing subtests in the Test of Test-wiseness. The results also showed that test-wiseness did not account for a significant amount of variance in provincial examination scores (English 12 and Algebra 12). The four correlates together accounted for very little variance in test-wiseness. None of them significantly correlated with test-wiseness, except that length of residency in Canada correlated positively with test-wiseness. Finally, the three ethnic groups showed no significant differences in achievement motivation but foreign Chinese students scored significantly lower than Chinese immigrant students who scored in turn lower than Canadian students in verbal ability. The findings imply that language plays a crucial part in test-taking situations. With inadequate English language skills, foreign Chinese students were unable to satisfactorily comprehend the test questions, and hence their test performance were very close to what would be expected from random guessing. It is suggested that these students require examination coaching skills as well as improvement in English language skills. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Detta arbete belyser forskning om nationella prov i läsförståelse i årskurs tre. År 2010 infördes obligatoriska nationella prov redan i årskurs tre då svenska elever visat sjunkande resultat i internationella kunskapsmätningar. Nationella prov är de första prov med hög personlig insats elever genomför. Syftet med detta arbete är att belysa forskning om faktorer som påverkar elevers testresultat på nationella prov i svenska i årskurs tre. Ytterligare syfte är att få en djupare förståelse för nationella provs validitet och reliabilitet kopplat till mätning av elevers läsförståelse. Syftet besvaras utifrån frågeställningarna: Hur kan lärare påverka elevers resultat i läsförståelse på nationella prov i svenska årskurs tre? Vilka faktorer kan påverka nationella provs validitet och reliabilitet vid mätning av elevers läsförståelse i årskurs tre? Arbetet tar sin utgångspunkt i motivationsteori med fokus på Expectancy-value theory som handlar om elevers förväntning att lyckas i provsituationer. Material samlades genom sökning i olika databaser och söktjänster. Arbetet innehåller både nationella och internationella artiklar, där främst nationella studier använts. Det insamlade materialet har analyserats i en översiktstabell.  Resultatet visar att lärares kompetens är viktig för elevers prestationer, lärande samt utveckling. Stress, motivation samt lärares provförberedande undervisning är faktorer som kan påverka elevers prestationer i samband med provsituationer. Undervisning i provtagningsförmåga kan leda till minskad provstress, ökad motivation samt förväntan att lyckas med uppgiften på ett framgångsrikt sätt. Resultatet visar även att provtagningsmotivation speglar testresultatet. Vid låg provtagningsmotivation tenderar elever att inte prestera sitt bästa i provtagningssituationer vilket kan påverka provs validitet. Provs reliabilitet kan enligt studiens resultat påverkas av lärares olika introduktioner av uppgifter samt hur prov konstrueras.

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Standardized aptitude and achievement tests are often accompanied by directions which recommend skipping items perceived as difficult and returning to answer them if time permits. Prior to the present study, the only empirical research in this area was a single study concerning the effects of examinee decisions to follow or disregard these instructions. It was the conclusion of this research that it was to the advantage of high ability examinees to follow the instructions to skip but that conformity to the instructions was disadvantageous to middle and low ability examinees. The present study, in contrast, was concerned with the effects of differing instructions concerning skipping and was quasi-experimental in design. The sample consisted of 423 eighth through twelfth grade students of algebra and biology. Intact classes representing three ability levels were assigned at random to treatment conditions consisting of instructions to skip, not to skip, and with no advice concerning skipping (only “skip” and “do not skip” instructions for the algebra classes.) Schoolwide tests were administered using special answer sheets designed to identify skipped items even when examinees later returned and answered some or all previously skipped. The scores from these tests were used in determination of end-of-course grades. The primary dependent variables were number-right test scores and the number of items skipped. For each subject area, two, two-way factorial analyses of variance evaluated the effect of the differing instructions across ability levels, one for the number-right scores and one for the number of items skipped. For the algebra test, there was no significant treatment effect for number-right scores. However, there was a significant interaction (p≤.01) between ability level and treatment, with high ability examinees receiving “do not skip” instructions performing significantly worse than their counterparts who received “skip” instructions. For the biology test scores, the main effect for treatment and its interaction with ability were not significant (p>.05). For the number of skips in both algebra and biology, the main effect for treatment was significant (p<.01), with the fewest skips in the “do not skip” groups. In addition, for the number of skips in algebra, the main effect for ability was significant (p<.05) with the fewest skips in the middle ability group. While the instructions apparently had their intended effect, and while the treatment-ability interaction in algebra was consistent with the findings of prior research, the number of items skipped by groups instructed to do so were not large, and groups instructed not to skip had meaningful number of skips nevertheless. Thus it was not surprising that neither the biology scores nor the algebra scores differed significantly according to treatment. Extensive secondary analyses of item and other statistics provided no basis for explaining the interaction between ability and treatment for the algebra scores. It was concluded that instructions to skip items had relatively little effect for tests of the type employed in this study. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of race and gender on omissions in multiple choice tests. Modest but significant (p <= .05) correlations were observed between gender and omissions and between race and omissions on the mathematics subtest of the Tests of Achievement and Proficiency, a standardized achievement test administered to all eleventh graders in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Item characteristics (difficulty, discrimination and an index of differential item functioning) were used as independent variables in regression equations for the male/female case and the black/white case. In both cases item difficulty was the only significant (p <= .05) predictor of omissions. Principal components analysis was used to create composite variables characterizing school divisions. These composites together with race (proportion of black students) were used as independent variables in a regression equation with omissions as the dependent variable. Race was the only variable which was a significant predictor of omissions. / Ph. D.

Thesis (M. Tech.) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2009

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 2001. / Title from title page screen, viewed May 2, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Edward Hines (chair), Marcia Escott-Hickrod, James Palmer, William Paul Vogt. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 133-138) and abstract. Also available in print.