The present research examined whether teachers in South Africa could use feedback from a learning environment instrument to help them to increase the degree to which they emphasised constructivist-oriented teaching strategies in their classroom. The study also investigated the validity of a widely-applicable classroom environment questionnaire, as well as associations between attitudes and classroom environment. The study involved a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods and was carried out in two phases. In the first phase of the study, data were collected using the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES), to assess learners' perceptions of the constructivist learning environment, and an attitude scale to assess learners' attitudes towards their mathematics classroom. The instruments were administered to 1864 learners in 34 intermediate (Grades 4 - 6) phase and senior phase (Grades 7 - 9) classes. Data were analysed to determine whether (a) the CLES is valid and reliable for use in South Africa and (b) relationships exist between learners' perceptions of the learning environment and their attitude toward their mathematics classes. Descriptive analysis was used to generate feedback information for teachers based on graphical profiles of learners' perceptions of the actual and preferred learning environment for each class. Analyses of data collected from 1864 learners in 34 classes supported the factor structure, internal consistency reliability (Cronbach alpha coefficient), and discriminant validity of the CLES, as well as its ability to differentiate between classes. The results suggest that researchers and teachers can be confident about using the modified version of the CLES in mathematics classes in South Africa in the future. / Simple correlation and multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine whether associations exist between learners' attitudes towards their mathematics class and their perceptions of the learning environment. The results indicated that student attitudes were associated with more emphasis on all four CLES scales used. Two scales, Uncertainty and Student Negotiation, were found to contribute most to variance in student attitudes in mathematics classes in South Africa when the other CLES scales were mutually controlled. Descriptive analysis was used to provide information about the constructivist nature of mathematics classes in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The results indicate that students would prefer a learning environment that is more positive than the one that they perceive as being present in terms of emphasis on all four CLES scales used. The second phase involved a 12-week intervention period during which two teachers used the pretest profiles of actual and preferred classroom environment means to assist them to develop strategies aimed at improving the constructivist orientation of their classroom learning environments. The teachers implemented the strategies and maintained daily journals as a means of reflecting on their teaching practices. Throughout the 12-week period, the researcher made regular support visits that included classroom observations, reviews of daily journals, discussions with teachers and interviews with learners. / As well, the researcher had the opportunity of giving support to the teachers in the implementation of their strategies. At the end of the 12 weeks, the CLES was re-administered to learners to determine whether their perceptions of the constructivist emphasis in their classroom learning environments had changed. The posttest graphical profiles indicated that there was a sizeable improvement in teachers' emphasis on CLES dimensions in their classrooms. Apparently, teachers using action research are able to use learners' responses to the CLES to develop and implement strategies for improving their learning environment. The study suggests that journal writing, as a tool used by teachers on a daily basis, can improve their professional expertise as reflective practitioners.

The study involved the evaluation of anthropometric activities for high school science. The activities actively engaged students in the process of gathering, processing and analyzing data derived from human body measurements, with students using their prior knowledge acquired in science, mathematics and computer classes to interpret this information. Quantitative (survey) and qualitative (interview) methods were used to provide answers to the research questions. The quantitative portion of the study involved students' achievement, students' attitudes to science and students' perceptions of the classroom learning environment. A pretest/posttest design was used with achievement outcomes, however, only a single assessment of student attitudes and classroom environment was made. The sample size used to gather data on students' attitudes to science and students' perceptions of the leaming environment was 726 students. Five hundred and ninety-eight (598) students tools the biology test. However, analyses were restricted to the subsample of 158 students who had experienced the anthropometric laboratory activity. Twenty-four students (24) were interviewed for the qualitative part of the study. Data generated from the interviews were used to complement information provided in the surveys. The main purpose of this research was to evaluate these student-centered activities in terms of students' achievement, students' attitudes and students' perceptions of the science classroom environment. Other aims included: to validate generally-applicable measures of classroom learning environments and students' attitudes to science; to investigate gender differences in students' achievement, attitudes and perceptions of classroom environment; and to investigate associations between the classroom learning environment and the student outcomes of performance and attitudes. / Some of the important findings of this study included: 1. In reference to the survey instruments, the item analyses supported the internal consistency reliability and ability to differentiate between classrooms of the learning environment questionnaire and the analyses of attitude data supported the factorial validity, internal consistency reliability and discriminant validity of the attitude questionnaire. 2. Substantial differences between the pretest and posttest scores for the achievement measures in Biology and anthropometric activities were found. These findings were supported by statistically significant t-test scores and effect sizes. 3. There was a positive influence of using anthropometric activities on both students' attitudes and their perceptions of the classroom learning environment. The findings based on qualitative information (interviews, which involved twenty-four students) were consistent with patterns emerging from our quantitative information (surveys, which involved 760 students) and they supported the effectiveness of the anthropometric activities. 4. The analysis of gender differences in students' achievement, attitudes and perceptions of classroom environment revealed that boys have more positive attitudes to science than girls do and is in agreement with past studies. However, females' students demonstrated more favorable perceptions of the learning environment than mates, primarily with Student Cohesiveness and Rule Clarity. 5. The association between student attitudes and their perception of the leaming environment indicated that students' attitudes to science are most likely to be positive in laboratory classes where student perceive a strong integration between the concepts and principles covered in theory classes and in laboratory classes. These findings are consistent with results in other countries. / 6. The association between achievement and student perceptions of their learning environment, suggest that integration of theoretical concepts with laboratory activities (Integration), a cohesive student group (Student Cohesiveness) and using appropriate laboratory materials and equipment (Material Environment) are likely to lead to student achievement. This finding replicates the results of previous studies. 7. I found stronger outcome-environment associations for attitudes than for achievement. This finding is consistent with results from past research. The contributions and significance of this study can be summarized as follows: 1. One of the key components of this study was the development and implementation of the innovative anthropometric laboratory activity, which was especially designed for this research. 2. Another contribution of this study is to the field of integrated curriculum instruction. While most instructional curricular activities are subject specific, this study is interdisciplinary in nature because it effectively links concepts and skills from science, mathematics, statistics, and technology (graphing calculators and computers). 3. A unique feature of this research is that it had an evaluation component involving student performance, student attitudes, and the nature of the classroom learning environment. Therefore, the study contributes to the field of learning environment research by adding another study to the limited research that has employed the classroom environment as a criterion of effectiveness in evaluating educational innovations. The study has the potential to help other science teachers to apply these ideas in their classrooms.

One purpose of the present study was to validate a modified version of the What is Happening In This Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire and the Test of Science Related Attitude (TOSRA) in both Australia and Indonesia. It was the first classroom environment study that used the two above questionnaires simultaneously in these two countries. The second aim of this study was to find out whether the scores on the WIHIC questionnaire and TOSRA vary with country and with gender. The third and final aim of this study was to evaluate the strength of the associations between students' perceptions of their classroom environment and their attitude to science in both Australia and Indonesia. The sample consisted of 1,161 students (594 students from 18 classes in Indonesia and 567 students from 18 classes in Australia). All the students came from private coeducational schools. The original WIHIC questionnaire had eight scales made up of ten items per scale while the original version of TOSRA had seven scales made up of ten items per scale. Principal components factor analysis followed by varimax rotation resulted in the acceptance of a revised version of the WIHIC comprising 55 items and a revised version of TOSRA comprising 20 items. The a priori factor structure of the revised version of each questionnaire was replicated in both countries, with nearly all items having a factor loading of at least 0.30 on their a priori scale and no other scale. / The use of MANOVA revealed that there were a few differences between Australian and Indonesian students' perceptions of their classroom environments and in their attitudes to science. For example, Australian students had a more positive attitude towards scientific inquiry while Indonesian students had a more positive attitude towards career interest in Science. A comparison between male and female students in the two countries revealed that both genders had almost similar perceptions of their learning environments and attitudes to science. However, female students had a slightly higher score when it came to career interest in science, student cohesiveness and equity. A series of simple correlation and multiple regression analyses revealed reasonably strong and positive associations between each classroom environment scale and the attitude scale. Overall Teacher Support and Involvement were the strongest independent predictors of student attitudes to science in both Indonesia and Australia.

This thesis reports the findings of a study of the influence of the classroom learning environment on students cognitive and affective outcomes among 2,498 third-year computing students in 50 university-level classes in Indonesia. Students perceptions of the classroom environment were measured using a modified Indonesian version of the What Is Happening In This Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire. To assess students affective outcomes, a scale derived from the Test of Science Related Attitudes was adapted for use in higher education computing classes and translated into Indonesian. Students' final scores in their mathematics course (either linear algebra or statistics) were used as a measure of cognitive achievement. Secondary aims of the present study were to examine whether differences exist between (a) students perceptions of the actual and preferred classroom learning environment, (b) the perceptions of male and female of the actual and preferred classroom environment and (c) students' perceptions of the actual learning environment in linear algebra and statistics courses. The results of this study make important contributions towards explaining why Indonesian students are achieving at less than desirable levels in their computing courses.

The research reported in this thesis is an in-depth study of teacher-student interactions and science classroom learning environments in Jammu, India. Jammu city is the winter capital of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, situated at the extreme north of India. This is the first time that any learning environment research has been conducted and reported from this part of the world.The objective of this research was to provide further validation information about two already existing learning environment instruments with Indian students and describe, discuss and analyse information on the associations between students perceptions of learning environment and their attitudes and cognitive achievements. Differences in the perceptions of different groups namely gender, religious and cultural were also investigated.The present study commenced with a more positivistic framework, with an aim of providing a large-scale quantitative overview. The Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI), the What is Happening in this Class? (WIHIC) and an Attitude Scale were administered to 1,021 students from 32 science classes in seven different co-educational private schools in Jammu.The data were analysed to determine the reliability, validity and mean of each scale. Students were interviewed to determine further the reliability of the questionnaires, in addition to providing information that might explain the QTI and WIHIC mean scale scores. As a result of critical reflection, the study moved towards a more interpretative framework, drawing on elements of the constructivist and critical theory paradigms. Multiple research methods were used to member and deepen the researchers understanding of the learning environments in Jammu. An educational critique was used to describe the social and cultural factors that could influence the prevailing learning environments .

This thesis investigated professional agency for student teachers in their final practicum of the Auckland College of Education Bachelor of Education (Teaching) early childhood pathway. Professional agency is an element in the matrix representation of the philosophy of the degree programme. Relevant to this study a working definition of professional agency with regard to the practicum was articulated through a consultative process with early childhood colleagues and final year student teachers who were not involved in this investigation. Six student teachers volunteered to engage in this research. Their respective associate teachers and visiting lecturers also agreed to contribute to the investigation. All participants were interviewed by means of semistructured interviews before and after the final practicum. This process provided a total of thirty- six interviews, which were transcribed and analysed. The research was based in a constructivist-interpretive research paradigm with a view to understanding social reality as perceived by the research participants. The methodology encompassed a qualitative case study approach framed within Giddens' (1984) theory of structuration. Congruent with Giddens' theory the practicum was constructed as a social system and the relevant actors were identified. Subsequently, data analysis revealed the student teachers as actors who operated with agency. However, when the concept of professional agency was investigated only three of the six student teachers were deemed to have achieved all of the elements of the working definition. Pertinent to Giddens' theory the intersections of practice between the student teachers and their associate teachers and visiting lecturers were examined. This scrutiny illuminated factors that were perceived to have contributed to or detracted from professional agency. / A further mode of analysis advocated by Giddens revealed that practices actioned in the social system or context of the tertiary institution were not necessarily effectively carried out in the practicum environment. Therefore, due to lack of appropriate links between social and system integration, provision for professional agency was impeded. Findings from the research prompted the argument that opportunity for student teachers to achieve professional agency in their final practicum was contingent upon system integration in the practicum. Arising from that conclusion a theoretical model to promote system integration in the practicum was proposed. The model was supported by recommendations for improved practicum preparation for the early childhood student teachers, and on-going professional development in supervisory practice for the visiting lecturers and the associate teachers. Principles to underpin the supervision of adults in the practicum were identified, and a reconstructed working definition of professional agency was articulated. A significant outcome of this research was the introduction of the notion of student teacher professional agency to the research literature on the practicum. Another important feature was the utilisation of Giddens' (1984) theory of structuration to analyse the practicum. In viewing the practicum as a social system, and applying the three modes of analyses recommended by Giddens, new insights into the professional practices of the relevant social actors were gained.

Software agents are well-suited to assisting users with routine, repetitive, and time-consuming tasks in various educational environments. In order to achieve complex tasks effectively, humans and agents sometimes need to work together. However, some issues in human agent interaction have not been solved properly, such as delegation, trust and privacy. The agent research community has focused on technologies for constructing autonomous agents and techniques for collaboration among agents. Little attention has been paid to supporting interactions between humans and agents. p* The objectives of this research are to investigate how easy it might be for a user to program his/her agent, how users behave when given the ability to program their agents, whether access to necessary help resources can be improved, and whether such a system can facilitate collaborative learning. Studying users concerns about their privacy and how an online learning environment can be built to protect users privacy are also interesting issues to us. <p>In this thesis two alternative systems were developed for programmable agents in which a human user can define a set of rules to direct an agents activities at execution time. The systems were built on top of a multi-agent collaborative learning environment that enables a user to program his or her agent to communicate with other agents and to monitor the activities of other users and their agents. These systems for end user programmable agents were evaluated and compared. The result demonstrated that an end-user programming environment is able to meet users individual needs on awareness information, facilitate the information exchange among the users, and enhance the communication between users within a virtual learning environment. This research provides a platform for investigating concerns over user privacy caused by agent programmability.

Software agents are well-suited to assisting users with routine, repetitive, and time-consuming tasks in various educational environments. In order to achieve complex tasks effectively, humans and agents sometimes need to work together. However, some issues in human agent interaction have not been solved properly, such as delegation, trust and privacy. The agent research community has focused on technologies for constructing autonomous agents and techniques for collaboration among agents. Little attention has been paid to supporting interactions between humans and agents. p* The objectives of this research are to investigate how easy it might be for a user to program his/her agent, how users behave when given the ability to program their agents, whether access to necessary help resources can be improved, and whether such a system can facilitate collaborative learning. Studying users concerns about their privacy and how an online learning environment can be built to protect users privacy are also interesting issues to us. <p>In this thesis two alternative systems were developed for programmable agents in which a human user can define a set of rules to direct an agents activities at execution time. The systems were built on top of a multi-agent collaborative learning environment that enables a user to program his or her agent to communicate with other agents and to monitor the activities of other users and their agents. These systems for end user programmable agents were evaluated and compared. The result demonstrated that an end-user programming environment is able to meet users individual needs on awareness information, facilitate the information exchange among the users, and enhance the communication between users within a virtual learning environment. This research provides a platform for investigating concerns over user privacy caused by agent programmability.

The clinical experience prepares nursing students to become competent and professional practitioners. Therefore, it is important to identify the key characteristics of a positive and constructive clinical learning environment. This cross-sectional study assessed undergraduate nursing students. (n=61; response rate of 38%) perceptions of their clinical learning environment and their suggestions to enhance it. The participants were fourth year nursing students enrolled in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Manitoba who were doing their senior practicum (NURS 4290). Participants were invited to complete anonymously the actual and preferred versions of the Clinical Learning Environment Inventory (CLEI) (Chan, 2001). It was found that there were significant differences between students. perceptions of the actual and the preferred CLEI they desired. Participants also responded to two open-ended questions related to obstacles or things that would enhance their learning experience. Nine categories were identified that added to an understanding of the quantitative findings. The study indicated that there is still work to be done to provide a healthy clinical learning environment for nursing students and this task belongs to nursing researchers, educators, and health care organization preceptors and leaders.

The clinical experience prepares nursing students to become competent and professional practitioners. Therefore, it is important to identify the key characteristics of a positive and constructive clinical learning environment. This cross-sectional study assessed undergraduate nursing students. (n=61; response rate of 38%) perceptions of their clinical learning environment and their suggestions to enhance it. The participants were fourth year nursing students enrolled in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Manitoba who were doing their senior practicum (NURS 4290). Participants were invited to complete anonymously the actual and preferred versions of the Clinical Learning Environment Inventory (CLEI) (Chan, 2001). It was found that there were significant differences between students. perceptions of the actual and the preferred CLEI they desired. Participants also responded to two open-ended questions related to obstacles or things that would enhance their learning experience. Nine categories were identified that added to an understanding of the quantitative findings. The study indicated that there is still work to be done to provide a healthy clinical learning environment for nursing students and this task belongs to nursing researchers, educators, and health care organization preceptors and leaders.