The high dropout rate of first year students is a major source of concern for the Department of Higher Education and Training and for Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s). Research indicated that students’ Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) skills and strategies play a significant role in achieving academic success at universities. Thus, the main aim of this study was to develop strategies for the development of SRL skills of first year university students. In order to achieve the research aim and objectives an extensive literature review was conducted on SRL and the relationship between SRL skills and the academic achievement of students at HEI’s. For the purposes of the empirical investigation, a mixed-method approach was followed. In the quantitative part of the investigation, the results of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI), which was administered to the 2007 cohort of first year students (n=2421) at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University, were analysed to determine whether the subscales in the LASSI significantly predicted academic success and to identify variables that related to the first year students’ learning and study skills and academic achievement. In the qualitative part of the research, interviews were conducted during 2010, with a selected group of participants from the 2007 cohort of first year students who were then in their fourth year of study. The questions in the interviews were based on questions in the Self-Regulated Learning Inventory Schedule (SRLIS), and the aims were to explore the participants’ experiences with their studies and to determine which SRL skills, in addition to the skills assessed by the LASSI, influenced their studies and academic achievement. The quantitative analysis of the LASSI results revealed that: • Motivation, Time management and Information processing were the best LASSI predictors of the first year students’ academic success. • The independent biographical variables Grade 12 marks, age and gender correlated better with the first year students’ academic achievement than the LASSI subscales did. The qualitative investigation revealed that: • Successful students realised at the onset of their studies that they had to adapt their study methods to meet the challenges that studying at a university requires. • Successful students could differentiate between the different types of study material and could adapt their study methods accordingly. They could also adapt their study methods when the volume of the study material differed. • Successful students applied a repertoire of study methods in a flexible manner, and managed their time well. • Successful students conveyed knowledge of themselves as students, as well as of the different requirements that study at a university implicates. • Most of the successful students received information from parents, lecturers or principals about different study methods and could describe their learning styles and preferences clearly. • Some of the successful students could accurately infer which questions could be expected in the exam papers, and knew how and why these questions were asked. • Successful students set realistic academic goals for themselves. • Unsuccessful students did not consider their own study preferences or the academic requirements of the university. • Unsuccessful students did not manage their time well and were not motivated. On the basis of the findings, strategies were proposed for the development of SRL skills of first year students at universities. The strategies are presented as a compulsory programme that first year students have to complete in the first semester. / Thesis (PhD (Teaching and Learning))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

A reliance on a teacher-centered model of instruction presented the foundation for my research. I chose to investigate constructivist theory and to implement constructivist teaching practices within my art education classroom to determine if constructivist teaching practices would facilitate a shift to a more student-centered learning environment, and to determine if constructivist strategies positively impact student learning. I collected my raw data using autoethnographic recording, documenting my results over a two month period in January and February of 2007 from my experiences as an art educator at a public, Metro-Atlanta elementary school. A positive impact on student learning was observed and the constructivist teaching strategies did produce student-centered learning environments. Based on my experiences constructivist teaching strategies may be beneficial to the creation of student-centered learning environments and assist in broadening student inquiry and investment with lessons.

The high dropout rate of first year students is a major source of concern for the Department of Higher Education and Training and for Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s). Research indicated that students’ Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) skills and strategies play a significant role in achieving academic success at universities. Thus, the main aim of this study was to develop strategies for the development of SRL skills of first year university students. In order to achieve the research aim and objectives an extensive literature review was conducted on SRL and the relationship between SRL skills and the academic achievement of students at HEI’s. For the purposes of the empirical investigation, a mixed-method approach was followed. In the quantitative part of the investigation, the results of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI), which was administered to the 2007 cohort of first year students (n=2421) at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University, were analysed to determine whether the subscales in the LASSI significantly predicted academic success and to identify variables that related to the first year students’ learning and study skills and academic achievement. In the qualitative part of the research, interviews were conducted during 2010, with a selected group of participants from the 2007 cohort of first year students who were then in their fourth year of study. The questions in the interviews were based on questions in the Self-Regulated Learning Inventory Schedule (SRLIS), and the aims were to explore the participants’ experiences with their studies and to determine which SRL skills, in addition to the skills assessed by the LASSI, influenced their studies and academic achievement. The quantitative analysis of the LASSI results revealed that: • Motivation, Time management and Information processing were the best LASSI predictors of the first year students’ academic success. • The independent biographical variables Grade 12 marks, age and gender correlated better with the first year students’ academic achievement than the LASSI subscales did. The qualitative investigation revealed that: • Successful students realised at the onset of their studies that they had to adapt their study methods to meet the challenges that studying at a university requires. • Successful students could differentiate between the different types of study material and could adapt their study methods accordingly. They could also adapt their study methods when the volume of the study material differed. • Successful students applied a repertoire of study methods in a flexible manner, and managed their time well. • Successful students conveyed knowledge of themselves as students, as well as of the different requirements that study at a university implicates. • Most of the successful students received information from parents, lecturers or principals about different study methods and could describe their learning styles and preferences clearly. • Some of the successful students could accurately infer which questions could be expected in the exam papers, and knew how and why these questions were asked. • Successful students set realistic academic goals for themselves. • Unsuccessful students did not consider their own study preferences or the academic requirements of the university. • Unsuccessful students did not manage their time well and were not motivated. On the basis of the findings, strategies were proposed for the development of SRL skills of first year students at universities. The strategies are presented as a compulsory programme that first year students have to complete in the first semester. / Thesis (PhD (Teaching and Learning))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

Abstract This thesis is a case study aiming to give explanations to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March 2014. By using three different theoretical perspectives, realism, regional hegemony and constructivism, the aim is to find different but also complementing explanations to the case. The theories realism and regional hegemony are related and also similar to each other, but still contributes with some different focuses on the case. Both realism and regional hegemony has their main focus on the sovereign state’s security and their power militarily, politically and economically. Constructivism on the other hand is a bit different from the other two, and has its main focus on identity, ideas and worldviews. Thanks to the differences between the three perspectives the analysis gives a broader and deeper explanation to Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimea.

The Education Lab is a specialized lab section of an Earth and Ocean Sciences introductory Geology lab that is geared towards teacher education candidates and uses a constructivist approach through the model of E-D-U (Explore, Discuss, Understand). The EOS120 Education Lab was started in 2005 by David Blades and Eileen Van der Flier-Keller and continues to the present. The goal of this study was to assess the lingering effects, if any, of the Education Lab on the pedagogy of those participants that had continued through their teacher education. Qualitative analysis shows that the lab has had a lasting impact on the participants of this study, including the use of hands-on inquiry and constructivist principles in their pedagogy as well as an increase in participant interest and positive attitudes towards Earth Science and science in general. / Graduate

This study explored the experiences of street-involved youth who have received mental health services for symptoms of methamphetamine-induced psychosis. Specifically, the study investigated what factors were perceived by participants to promote and hinder access to mental health services. The researcher interviewed nine street youth at Covenant House, a Vancouver agency serving street-involved youth. Interview data and the researcher's field notes were coded and analyzed within a grounded theory paradigm. Youth discussed formal and informal sources of help and routes to both. Two distinct perspectives to treatment were identified: an addictions perspective and a concurrent disorders perspective. Respondents outlined the typical pathway into methamphetamine use and described barriers and supports for accessing services while undergoing drug-induced psychosis. Significant factors that encouraged access to services were positive relationships with helpers, strong peer supports, and the use of involuntary services when necessary. Identified barriers included fear of being stigmatized, lack of problem awareness, and systemic barriers. The current research proposed a model of access to mental health services that positions outreach and frontline workers as key figures to mediating street youth's access to appropriate services.

This study explored how kindergarten teachers think and behave in the promotion of creativity in young children, particularly in relation to music. It centred on three case studies of Hong Kong kindergarten teachers (nursery, lower and upper class) who were recognized in their school communities as demonstrating exemplary music pedagogy. Using the paradigm of social constructivism, relationships were investigated among creative person, process, product and environment in the promotion of musical creativity in early childhood. Multi-faceted descriptions of the kindergarten contexts included video-taped transcriptions of children's musical creative processes during free play, the teachers' scaffolding of their learning, stimulated recall with teachers, researcher-collected field notes, anecdotal records and photographs of the classroom context. Each of these data sources were documented in narrative form in a series of vignettes, and analysis of musical outcomes centred on instrumental play, background music, movement, singing and imaginative play. Recommendations drawn from the study include several principles for the promotion of musical creativity in young children, such as making room for play within the curriculum, providing environments rich in resources, scaffolding young children's musical creativity, advocating for creative music in the kindergarten curriculum, and providing excellent role models for young children.

Thesis (MEd)--University of South Australia, 1995

Support teachers learning difficulties (STLD) have made a significant contribution to the provision of support for students experiencing learning difficulties and learning disabilities in Queensland state primary schools over almost forty years. During the 1990s with the implementation of an inclusive curriculum in schools, and in recent years, with changing systemic expectations of how academic performance might be improved, these teachers have increasingly participated in collaborative models with their classroom colleagues to provide for students experiencing various barriers to learning. This study focuses on the nature of exemplary practice as perceived through the eyes and voices of six exemplary STLD teachers. In keeping with this intent, a process of selecting the participants for in-depth study was instigated in a professional community of state primary STLD teachers located in a Brisbane education district to determine at the grass-roots what an exemplary STLD teacher might “look like”, and which six teachers in that community might contribute to the community‟s understanding of exemplary STLD teaching practice. These contributions are represented in six case studies, referred to as “portraits” and were co-constructed, that is through a dialogic process between the participant and me. Each portrait communicates an aspect of teaching practice and the experiential knowledge that underpins it. The term “exemplary” has been adopted consciously to denote “that serves as an example” (Harper, 2001) in contrast to the term “expert”, which frequently carries a technical connotation. A mixed methodology was adopted (Lincoln & Guba, 2003) in this qualitative study in anticipation of the need to draw upon various methods that in combination might assist in viewing, conceptualizing and harnessing the dynamic complexity expected to be evident in grassroots practice. First, various expressions of constructivism contributed, with the major influence being social constructivism to denote a “house” or a community of professionals in ongoing dialogue. 6 This provides the framework within which the study has been undertaken. Second, phenomenology, most particularly the work of Moustakas (1994) and van Manen (1990, 1994, 1995, 2007), is the primary source for the inspiration (van Manen) and the methods and tools (Moustakas) to explore the nature of their practice. Phenomenological approaches were adopted with the expectation they could assist in highlighting the essence of each individual‟s practice while allowing for the eliciting of experiential themes that are of importance to the professional community of STLD teachers. Finally, studies of practical teacher knowledge (Elbaz, 1983) in association with narrative inquiry (Connolly & Clandinin, 1988) have provided further insights into how the collective expression of these teachers might be displayed. The primary preoccupation of the portraits is the teachers‟ provision of support for individual students, and the nature and quality of the relationships enlisted in the service of making this provision. The teachers‟ transactions on behalf of these students are indicative of a raft of values, ideals, collaborative and communication skills which might be subsumed by the term relatedness, and the ability to see astutely the elements in various situations that need attentiveness. Their practice in action appears to be best encapsulated by Van Manen‟s (1995) term “pedagogical tact”, a term borrowed to capture the nature of the pedagogical relationships infused into their personal and professional selves. Three views of practice are provided to display and illuminate the nature of the six exemplary teachers‟ collective practice – View 1: “From the inside” which reveals the metaphors that inhabit their practice and the significance they have for their practice; View 2: “From the outside” which, through the vehicle of a narrative highlights a STLD teacher and a classroom teacher undertaking a collaborative process of providing for Dayne a student experiencing significant difficulties; View 3: “Thinking together” which provides an edited script elicited from a conversation of the participating exemplary STLD teachers. Collectively, the three views reveal what is at the heart of learning support for the six teachers. In addition, aspects of practical knowledge that are particularly pertinent to learning support practice are discussed. 7 Finally, the effectiveness of the methods adopted for the study is explored. First, the screening process successfully enabled the selection of participants who had developed their craft to a sophisticated degree enhanced by their own “personal signature” (Eisner, 1991). Second, the adoption of a combination of a social constructivist framework and phenomenological approaches provided appropriate vehicles to enable the construction of six portraits of practices that exemplified significant aspects of practice. Third, the difficulties of authenticating the portraits using a cohort of critical friends from the STLD community and forging links with the community are discussed. Finally, I raise the possibility of embedding the portraits in professional development contexts where early career STLD teachers may wish to reflect on their practice.

This thesis describes an analysis of science textbooks, eight years after the implementation of the Years 1-10 Queensland Science Syllabus, which suggested a move towards constructivist teaching in Queensland schools (QSSC 1999). The textbooks have been analysed for evidence of constructivism, and this has led to recommendations for writing better textbooks. This thesis has been written in five chapters. In Chapter 1, a review of literature develops a conceptual framework, which is the basis of this research. Chapter 2 describes the process used to develop its methodology, and Chapter 3 presents the results of this analysis. Chapters 4 and 5 discuss the findings of this research and its implications for textbook content and design. In the literature review the themes of constructivism and the nature of science and the use of textbooks by teachers are explored. It suggests that textbooks continue to be central to developing curriculum, that they are used as a reference and as an independent learning tool, rather than as a guide to enacting curriculum. It also shows constructivist teaching closely aligns with authentic science, that it moves school science closer to that practised by scientists, and that it can engender improvements in teaching practice and in student interest. The data from this research has been collected using an analytical grid developed from three successive trials, after the literature review showed no previously developed analytical grid was suitable. In this final version of the grid, Likert scales are used to observe four dimensions of constructivism in textbook activities: coherence (use knowledge and concepts in a range of contexts), student-centredness of inquiries, language used and analysis questions to practice making new knowledge claims. The unit of analysis was ecology chapters of four middle school science textbooks. The research questions asked in this study are as follows: • Is a constructivist approach discernable in the textbooks reviewed in terms of the four dimensions of constructivism identified in the literature review? • What elements of constructivism are readily identifiable, and therefore are easily included in textbooks? • What elements of constructivism are not discernable? The results of this research have been synthesised and show no textbook could be considered constructivist, although one textbook had inquiries that could be considered exemplary. Two of the textbooks had no claim to be constructivist because they lacked inquiries, and this is where students experience the methods of scientists and practise making knowledge claims.   Other conclusions of this research include the following: •All textbooks reviewed were deficient in at least one dimension of constructivism, and those with one inquiry cannot be constructivist; •Activities and contexts made textbooks more coherent; •Technical terms were reduced compared to what has been traditionally covered by textbooks, however technical terms are also essential to scientific literacy and need to be used appropriately; •Most methods of inquiries are prescribed, so they do not allow students to solve problems in their own relevant contexts; even in those textbooks with more inquiries; •There was little evidence of hypothetico-deductive reasoning in inquiries rather data collection and simple analysis were usually suggested. Guidelines for writing better textbooks have become apparent from this research. Coherent textbooks are inherently constructivist because they apply concepts across contexts, and have more inquiries. Inquiries with a rigorous, authentic hypothetico-deductive approach arise naturally when the methods, concepts and language of science are applied in contexts that students are likely to find relevant and interesting, and where real-life problems need to be solved. Adopting these recommendations could lead to textbooks being more centrally positioned in enacting curriculum than now, because they are more likely to be constructivist (and represent the best thinking in the field).