Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-100). / Also available by subscription via World Wide Web / x, 106 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

M. Ed. (Educational Psychology) / The last few decades have brought a significant increase in the amount of research on the subject of motivation, notably in the field of psychology. In connection with education too, motivation in general and more specifically learning and achievement motivation are of the greatest importance. One reason for this is the fact that there are indications that the problems of under-achievement, early school leaving and the disquieting loss of manpower which is the result, may be ascribed to inadequate learning and achievement motivation. This study forms part of the project "Learning Motivation", an inter-disciplinary project undertaken with the aid of the HSRC and involving various researchers. It attemps to come to grips with the phenomenon of achievement motivation from a pedagogical point of view, and is aimed in particular at designing reliable and valid tests for the assessment of achievement motivation, and at establishing how tendencies in achievement motivation manifest themselves at the secondary school level because in this phase particularly gnostic demands are made on the pupil and achievement motivation therefore plays a vital role. Various theories on motivation and achievement motivation were studied, as well as a number of existing tests. In accordance with the results of these studies, a semi-projective test, the "Leistungsmotiv Gitter" (LM-GITTER),which was designed in West Germany and is used in the assessment of general achievement motivation in the senior primary phase, was adapted in an attempt to assess scholastic achievement motivation among pupils in std. 6, 8 and 10. A second test, the Achievement Motivation Questionnaire, was also designed. It consists mainly of 41 items related to achievement, all of which are concerned with the characteristics of the achievement motivated person, as described...

The primary purpose of this study is to compare the six models (cross-sectional, two-wave, and multiwave, with and without controls) and determine which of the models most appropriately estimates school effects. For a fair and adequate evaluation of school effects, this study considers the following requirements of an appropriate analytical model. First, a model should have controls for students' background characteristics. Without controlling for the initial differences of students, one may not analyze the between-school differences appropriately, as students are not randomly assigned to schools. Second, a model should explicitly address individual change and growth rather than status, because students' learning and growth is the primary goal of schooling. In other words, studies should be longitudinal rather than cross-sectional. Most researches, however, have employed cross-sectional models because empirical methods of measuring change have been considered inappropriate and invalid. This study argues that the discussions about measuring change have been unjustifiably restricted to the two-wave model. It supports the idea of a more recent longitudinal approach to the measurement of change. That is, one can estimate the individual growth more accurately using multiwave data. Third, a model should accommodate the hierarchical characteristics of school data because schooling is a multilevel process. This study employs an Hierarchical Linear Model (HLM) as a basic methodological tool to analyze the data. The subjects of the study were 648 elementary students in 26 schools. The scores on three subtests of Canadian Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) were collected for this grade cohort across three years (grades 5, 6 and 7). The between-school differences were analyzed using the six models previously mentioned. Students' general cognitive ability (CCAT) and gender were employed as the controls for background characteristics. Schools differed significantly in their average levels of academic achievement at grade 7 across the three subtests of CTBS. Schools also differed significantly in their average rates of growth in mathematics and reading between grades 5 and 7. One interesting finding was that the bias of the unadjusted model against adjusted model for the multiwave design was not as large as that for the cross-sectional design. Because the multiwave model deals with student growth explicitly and growth can be reliably estimated for some subject areas, even without controls for student intake, this study concluded that the multiwave models are a better design to estimate school effects. This study also discusses some practical implications and makes suggestions for further studies of school effects. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

This thesis focuses on the experiences of Bangladeshi pupils attending schools in England in the context of their perceived underachievement in the English school system. Statistical studies in the 1970s and 1980s established that Bangladeshi pupils were doing very poorly in school while later surveys in the 1990s continued to show Bangladeshi pupils as low achieving. The study explores 'What is it in the lives, backgrounds and schooling experiences of Bangladeshi pupils that helps and hinders them in learning and achieving in the English school system?' The study also questions the appropriateness of considering pupils in terms of their ethnicity in relation to achievement. An ethnographic case study approach was adopted so that the micro-processes of learning and being a pupil could be examined. Six Bangladeshi children were identified in one predominantly white, rural county. The six children were attending three different schools in the same city. The research was thus conducted in three different classrooms over the period of one year. Data were collected through unstructured observations and in-depth semistructured and unstructured interviews. Families, teachers and other children in the classrooms were included in the research. The case studies show how the children's teachers came to assess the case study children and their learning needs through the ways in which the children took part in teacher-pupil classroom interaction. Each case study shows how these teacher assessments affected each child's access to resources such as support and to opportunities for using language and learning in the classroom. The case study pupils were particularly vulnerable because their under-resourced teachers rarely recognised their English as an Additional Language (EAL) needs. As a result 'within-child' explanations, often connected to mistaken assumptions about the child's home, culture or Muslim identity, were then called on to explain poor work or inattention. The case study children were also vulnerable because their teachers only considered their academic performance in relation to other Bangladeshi or EAL pupils and not in relation to the other White English language background children in the classroom. Where pupil needs were recognised and provided for the focus of support was on modifying behaviour so that pupils behaved like an 'ideal pupil' rather than on developing the appropriate English language needed for accessing the curriculum and becoming or remaining an achieving pupil. Other kinds of support resulted in 'fragmented' learning experiences and being placed in supported lower sets from which movement into higher sets was not possible. The case studies also show how some of the case study children took part in reading interactions with their teachers and appeared as successful readers although they were not able to read for meaning. These particular case studies demonstrate that learning the interaction patterns of reading in the Early Years classroom is not enough to allow a pupil to become a successful reader and that what counts as reading in different contexts and literacy practices needs to be given attention. The case studies also reveal how some of the case study children were hindered in their learning and achievement in school by their lack of access to resources outside school. These included having someone at home to help them with their English school reading and homework as well as their access to pre-school education. The study concludes by suggesting that to focus on achievement in terms of ethnicity conceals the language needs of many Bangladeshi pupils and the role that these play in achievement. To this end a trajectory of what needs to be acquired in terms of language and literacy to be a successful pupil in English schools is provided. The question of why Bangladeshi pupils have been one of the lowest achieving pupil groups in England is then addressed and it is concluded from the data provided by the study that having few economic, social and cultural resources can make it difficult for a pupil to achieve in school, as can being an EAL pupil with unmet language needs or being a pupil with home literacy and learning practices that are different to the literacy and learning practices of English schools. Taken alone none of these situations necessarily predicates underachievement, yet some of the pupils in this study found themselves disadvantages by all three situations.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

This qualitative research study explored the influence of collaborative analysis of student work (CASW) as professional development on teacher practice, specifically during lessons and on written teacher feedback on student work. Additionally, teachers' perceptions about the influence of CASW sessions and three 2-week instructional cycles on student writing, including the professional development sessions, lessons, and teacher written feedback, were investigated. Qualitative data were collected including teacher interviews, CASW observations, classroom observations, and document analysis. Findings indicated that teachers felt that CASW influenced their increased awareness of teaching and student learning, and implications for future teaching for the whole group as well as ideas for next steps for individual students emerged. Teachers supported CASW being job-embedded and practical to daily work; they voiced concerns over the time and scheduling facilitating the professional development required. Teachers responded that they felt that CASW helped them question their assessment of student writing, consistency within and across grade levels and subjects, and the appropriate level of difficulty of their curriculum. Teachers expressed their desire to be able to meet with students more regularly to go over their teacher written feedback and felt that CASW may possibly influence student work over time. Two teachers felt that the CASW professional development could have influenced their written feedback; four teachers felt that it did not. Implications for professional development, public policy, and further research are given. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Not available / text

Not available / text

M.Cur. / Performance assessment of academic staff (tutor) at a nursing college is an essential component in the establishment of a well-prepared teacher corps which contributes to quality nursing education. There is widespread 'dissatisfaction with the quality of performance assessment of academic staff (tutor). Factors contributing to the ineffectiveness of performance achievement are linked to the performance assessment system itself, on the one hand, and to the person who performs the assessment, on the other hand. The object ofperformance assessment, namely to facilitate quality teaching by academic staff at a nursing college through personal and professional development and to serveas a basis for management decision-making, is destroyed in general, ifnot totally, by the way in which performance assessment of academic personnel is planned and executed. The purpose of this study was to describe performance assessment standards and guidelines fora performance assessment programme for academic personnel at a nursing college based on a conceptual framework. This aimisjustified by meansofa descriptive, explorative, contextual, qualitative research design. The study was conducted in four phases. Phaseone included exploring job descriptions of academic personnel at nursing colleges. Phasetwo dealtwith exploring and describing job expectations of academic personnel at nursing colleges. A qualitative research method, namely focus group interviews, was used to gather data. In phase three a literature control was done in order to refine the conceptual framework. In phasefour, a final conceptual framework was formulated and performance assessment standards and guidelines for a performance assessment program ofacademic staff at a nursing college were described.

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / Diversity is an important component of the South African society. Traditional standardised methods of assessment have been discouraged or abandoned. as they have been found to be discriminatory. Arguing for a systematic assessment process, Siegel (1999:307) states that the standardised methods are the best way to achieve understanding as to the reasons for the breakdown in Iearning and ensure effective intervention. The objective of this study was therefore to establish whether the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS), a cognitive assessment tool, correlates and is a predictor of achievement in the South African context. In order to examine the validity of this claim. I selected 32 black, Grade 6 learners, from a school In 8 Northern Johannesburg suburb, to determine whether the scores obtained on the CAS, correlate and predict achievement in the areas of reading and scholastic work. The quantitative research Involved identifying correlations between three data areas, the CAS. Woodcock Diagnostic Reading Battery (WDRB). and the scholastic marks obtained from school subjects for December 2000 and June 2001. As a result of this research and data analysis. high correlations were obtained between the three data areas. In addition the achieved scores of the WDRB were found to correlate with predicted scores taken from the learner's CAS Full Scale score. It was therefore concluded, that the Full Scale score of the CAS is predictive of achievement as measured by the six sub-tests taken from the WDRB. The findings of this study thus indicate that the CAS cognitive assessment tool could. within certain limitations, be used in the South African context to improve diagnostic interpretations and subsequent interventions. The challenge remains for additional research to be undertaken to explore the diagnostic value of the CAS in the wider community.