Thesis (MPhil (Sociology and Social Anthropology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / The contemporary evaluation literature advocates for and recommends a pluralistic approach to programme evaluation, with some writers contending that the use of multiple and/or mixed methods for the practice is inevitable. The rationale for such an approach encompasses aspects of both the ‘technical’ and the ‘political’ requirements of evaluation practice. A review of evaluation research literature underscores the important role of mixed methods research towards realizing richer evaluation findings, and addressing the pragmatic, democratic and political facets of the evaluation practice. However, it is observed that there is a dearth of literature that focuses on how the use of a mixed methods evaluation approach facilitates the realization of richer conclusions or inferences about programme merit/worth. Thus, the overarching aim of the thesis is to establish how the perception and implementation of mixed methods research among evaluation practitioners influences the nature of inferences they make. This thesis aims at identifying patterns and relationships within and between conceptions and practices of mixed methods evaluation through a descriptive process. The selection of cases is therefore purposive and includes fourteen published evaluation articles on projects/programmes. An analytical framework is developed on the basis of a literature review on mixed methods research and background literature on evaluation research. This framework guides the qualitative content analysis of each case study and the cross-case analysis across the fourteen studies to identify common patterns. The findings reveal two prominent perspectives of mixed methods evaluation prevailing among evaluation practitioners. The first (labeled a ‘strong’ conception) has the intention of and places emphasis on the integration of the qualitative and quantitative components, with the primary objective of obtaining richer evaluation inferences. In this conception, the use of the methods and the data/inferences thereof are synthesized to achieve this goal. This conception is congruent with mixed methods purposes of: - ‘complementarity’ and ‘triangulation’ and is responsive to the ‘technical’ needs of evaluation. The second perspective (labeled a ‘weak’ conception) is silent about the integration of the respective methods or data/findings/inferences, qualifying the use of multiple methods and data in a single study as sufficing for a mixed methods approach. It resonates with justifications of mixed methods research that address issues of: - comprehensiveness, multiple view points, inclusiveness and democracy and seems more tailored to the ‘political’ needs of evaluation. The findings also reveal that the resulting multiple inferences from this ‘weak’ conception can weaken each other when contradicting or inaccurate qualitative and quantitative findings result, especially when the complimentary function of either method is not planned a priori. Therefore within the context of realizing richer and more valid evaluation findings/inferences, it is recommended that the purposes and qualification as mixed methods research of the second perspective be re-considered. It is apparent that in embracing the ‘political’ needs of evaluation practice, this conception seems to eschew the ‘technical’ requirements initially intended for a mixed methods approach. This has implications particularly for the mixed methods purpose of ‘expansion’ and rationales of pluralism, inclusiveness and democracy, which are seemingly popular within programme evaluation practice.

Scenic construction requires a strong understanding of a range of principles related to construction including: materials strength properties, mechanical components, electrical motor systems, fluid power systems, and finishing techniques. A manager of scenic construction, or a Technical Director (TD), is required to take artistic designs and ideas and create magical elements on stage that are safe for performers, installers, operators, and audiences. In order to create these onstage spectacles, a great deal of planning, engineering, and careful fabrication must take place. There are several ways for a Technical Director to gain the knowledge required to effectively work at any level of entertainment production. This mixed-methods research study asks: what are the ethical standards that guide how a TD’s work is completed? The thesis begins with a review of the job of the Technical Director in Live Entertainment and data from a survey conducted of professionals in scenic technology. Results from the survey were analyzed to provide both quantitative data, in the form of statistics, and qualitative response data. Additional discussion addresses a sample of the resources for structural design support available currently to the field, as well as challenges that some professionals confront in their typical practice. The thesis concludes a review of literature around engineering ethics and liability in engineering practice and recommendations for the incorporation of new ethical standards in live entertainment scenic production. / text

Despite the demand for a diverse STEM-educated population and workforce, college students have consistently turned away from these disciplines in large numbers, creating a persistent problem that many are trying to address. The aim of the National Science Foundation's Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program is to inspire, attract, and retain STEM majors. Funding supports undergraduate STEM students' engagement in real-world research alongside STEM mentors. As colleges and universities compete for funding for REUs, it is important to understand the mechanisms within summer research programs that resonate most deeply with undergraduate STEM researchers. While many studies reveal strong correlations between research experiences and STEM aspirations, less is known about the mechanisms within REU programs that support these gains. My research used quantitative and qualitative self-reported data from 20 REU students, 18 of whom were underrepresented minorities in STEM. Over two summers, these students, in cohorts of ten, came to the University of Vermont to participate in a team-oriented, 10-week REU: Interdisciplinary Research on Human Impacts in the Lake Champlain Ecosystem. Two mixed-methods studies, guided by the frameworks of the theory of possible selves, theory of self-efficacy for research, and social cognitive career theory, revealed four important program mechanisms that gave rise to gains in research skills, confidence and self-efficacy for research, and STEM career aspirations, particularly for individuals from underrepresented minority groups in STEM. Findings suggest that the program fostered student capacity building within a safe, inclusive, and positive setting where students experienced what it feels like to be an active participant in the world of research. Within this context, critical mechanisms that gave rise to gains in research skills, confidence and self-efficacy for research, and STEM career aspirations included: (1) experiential education through interdisciplinary research experiences, (2) student independence and ownership balanced with expert researcher guidance and support, (3) formal and informal mentoring networks where students were mentored and where they mentored others, and (4) the establishment of an intentional learning community that advanced leadership, research skill building, perseverance, and reflection. Results from this research cannot be generalized beyond the context of the Lake Champlain REU, however, findings are in alignment with the body of literature that highlights the positive effects of REUs on STEM majors' research skills, confidence and self-efficacy for research, and STEM career aspirations. Using mixed methods to identify and understand the within-program mechanisms that support student gains is a valuable new research approach for this field. Recognizing programmatic mechanisms across REU programs can lead to expansion, replication, and application of these models beyond one institution, resulting in more positive gains for more undergraduate STEM researchers.

Despite heightened efforts to increase gender parity, organizations in the technology industry are struggling to implement and enact Gender Diversity and Inclusion policies (GDIPs). This purpose of this dissertation was to enhance understandings of obstacles to policy enactment and unearth ways in which organizations can create more equitable work environments. Specifically, this project investigated how members of technology organizations construct knowledge about Gender Diversity and Inclusion policies through their personal experiences, attitudes and beliefs, and interactions with others within and external to their organization. Utilizing a critical-interpretivist and intersectional feminism as ontological and epistemological frameworks, this dissertation study draws from structurating activity theory (SAT; Canary, 2010) and theories of organizational identification (Scott, 2007) to explore issues of policy knowledge construction, implementation, and enactment. Completed in two phases,this dissertation employed a mixed-methods design. Phase One used DeVellis’ (2017) framework to develop a Gender Diversity and Inclusion policy attitude scale (GDIPAS) to evaluate how personal opinions about GDIPs and larger constructs like sexism, feminism, identification, and social desirability contribute to the policy knowledge construction process. Phase Two used a parallel analysis design to quantitatively (i.e., surveys) and qualitatively (i.e., interviews) investigate how members of tech-based organizations construct GDIP knowledge through intra- and extra-organizational interactions, as well as personal beliefs and attitudes (Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2009). Phase One resulted in five-factors underlying Gender Diversity and Inclusion policy attitude: perception of policy abuse, policy familiarity, perception of workforce gender inequity, policy support, and perception of organizational gender diversity. Results from Phase Two indicated that members of technology organizations interact within and across activity systems to construct knowledge about GDIPs through structural contradictions that (re)produce barriers to policy implementation and enactment.This project contributed to organizational communication theory by investigating the role of organizational identification in the policy knowledge construction process. Further, this dissertation extended SAT by identifying two new structural contradictions and a primary system-level contradiction, and by centralizing power in the investigation of policy knowledge construction. Methodologically, this dissertation offers a new policy attitude measure for scholars and practitioners. Finally, results of this project provide practical insights into barriers to policy implementation and enactment.

O objetivo desta pesquisa é explicar os mecanismos sociais das decisões judiciais. Em particular, a investigação centra-se no processo de tomadas de decisões de operadores do Direito no sistema de justiça juvenil em São Paulo. Busca-se, assim, verificar quais são os fatores determinantes da aplicação da medida socioeducativa de internação para adolescentes acusados de cometimento de ato infracional e o modo pelo qual se dá esse processo decisório. Desde a promulgação do Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente, em 1990, o sistema de justiça juvenil brasileiro passou a operar em um novo registro: as medidas socioeducativas passaram a se restringir a autores de infrações penais; e a medida de internação, em particular, a crimes cometidos com violência e/ou grave ameaça à pessoa. Mas a gravidade do ato infracional é de fato o principal preditor das decisões judiciais na justiça juvenil? Ou haveria outros fatores explicativos, como aqueles relacionados às características sociais dos adolescentes, às relações de poder inscritas nas interações sociais ou mesmo à estrutura organizacional dos tribunais? Na busca pela explicação dos mecanismos sociais dessas decisões judiciais, esta pesquisa propôs um desenho multimetodológico, integrando técnicas quantitativas e qualitativas para investigar os mecanismos das decisões e verificar os determinantes da aplicação da medida socioeducativa de internação em São Paulo. Assim, em um primeiro momento, as hipóteses citadas foram testadas por meio de modelos logísticos binomiais tendo a decisão sobre a internação como variável dependente em um cenário multivariado. Os resultados encontrados indicam um alto grau de proporcionalidade entre crime e pena, tendo os atos infracionais considerados mais graves os mais significativos efeitos sobre a probabilidade de internação; mas indicam, também, a reprodução de relações de poder - adolescentes usuários de drogas e que não trabalham nem estudam, mantidas as outras dimensões constantes, também têm maior chance de receber a medida socioeducativa de internação. Em seguida, a fim de explicar os mecanismos dos efeitos do tratamento estimados anteriormente, foram acompanhadas semanalmente as audiências de apresentação e de continuação e as oitivas informais no Fórum Brás, em São Paulo. Ao mesmo tempo em que se concluiu que as oitivas informais, centrais no processo decisório, ocorrem cerimonialmente e que as decisões são tomadas via documentos, o que explica o mecanismo de proporcionalidade encontrado anteriormente, pôde-se concluir que eventualmente os Promotores de Justiça \"voltam atrás\" de suas decisões quando há um rompimento na definição da situação, o que explica o mecanismo dos efeitos das características individuais dos adolescentes. / This research aims at investigating the social mechanisms of judicial decisions. It particularly focuses on the decision-making process of legal actors in the juvenile justice system in São Paulo. Thus, the research aims at verifying the determinants of the confinement disposition for juveniles who have been accused of a crime and the way which this decision is made by. Since the Child and Adolescent Statute was promulgated in 1990, the Brazilian juvenile justice system started working under new guidelines: dispositions are now restricted to offenders; and the confinement disposition is restricted to offenses committed with violence and/or with a threat to a person. But is the seriousness of the crime indeed the best predictor of judicial decisions? Or are there other explanatory factors, such as the ones related to the individual characteristics of the teenagers, to the power relations within social interactions, or even to the court organizational structure? Aiming at a mechanism-based explanation of these judicial decisions, this research has proposed a mixed-methods research design, integrating both quantitative and qualitative techniques to investigate mechanisms of the decision-making process and to verify the determinants of the confinement disposition in São Paulo. Thus, at first, the aforementioned hypotheses were tested with binary logistic models, presenting the decision concerning the confinement disposition as the dependent variable on a multivariable scenario. Results indicate a high degree of proportionality between crime and punishment, with the seriousness of the offenses having significant effects on the probability of confinement; but the results also indicate some reproduction of power relations - drug user youth and those who neither work nor study increase their odds of being more severely punished. After that, aiming at explaining the mechanisms of the treatment effects estimated beforehand, both judicial and informal hearings (at the State\'s Attorney office) were weekly observed at the juvenile court in São Paulo. While it was possible to conclude that the informal hearings are central to the decision-making process and occur ceremonially, with decisions being made by documents-consulting (which explains the proportionality mechanism), the research also found that the Attorneys often regret their decisions when there is a rupture of the definition of the situation. This explains the mechanism of the individual characteristics effects on juvenile sentencing.

O objetivo desta pesquisa foi identificar os fatores, que em um nível organizacional, influenciam o sucesso no judô internacional. Para atingir o objetivo desta pesquisa, foi utilizado o Modelo Sequencial Exploratório, do qual envolve uma fase inicial de coleta e análise de dados qualitativos, seguido por uma segunda fase intermediária relacionada com a construção de um instrumento e uma terceira fase de coleta e análise de dados quantitativos. Através da Análise de Conteúdo de entrevistas com 33 indivíduos (entre atletas, técnicos, gestores e experts) do judô de alto rendimento internacional, foram identificados na primeira fase qualitativa 11 categorias e 44 subcategorias, consideradas respectivamente como as dimensões e os fatores organizacionais que influenciam o sucesso esportivo internacional no judô de alto rendimento. Foi possível verificar que os resultados são semelhantes aos resultados de outras pesquisas e modelos que tiveram propósitos de investigar políticas esportivas ou sistemas esportivos de alto rendimento, principalmente aos pilares do modelo SPLISS. Entretanto, o judô possui especificidades que causam efeito sobre os fatores organizacionais que influenciam o sucesso esportivo internacional, como por exemplo, aspectos tradicionais, históricos e culturais inerentes à prática do judô. Além disso, a partir da Teoria de Sistemas, foi possível a identificação fatores ambientais que influenciam no desenvolvimento do judô em diferentes países e consequentemente no alcance do sucesso internacional. A partir destes resultados elaborou-se o modelo \"Judo Organizational Factors Influencing the International Sporting Success\" (JUDO-OFIISS). Com um questionário construído e validado por Validação de Conteúdo de seis experts na segunda fase, foi possível a validação do modelo em uma terceira fase quantitativa, onde procedeu-se Análise Fatorial Exploratória nos dados obtidos em uma amostra de 406 indivíduos, divididos em atletas, técnicos, gestores e experts do judô de alto rendimento brasileiro. Constatou-se através da Análise Fatorial Exploratória que os fatores organizacionais que influenciam o sucesso esportivo internacional no judô de alto rendimento se correlacionam e foram validados. Os resultados da terceira fase sugerem que a busca pelo sucesso esportivo internacional no de judô de alto rendimento dependerá da existência de todos os fatores organizacionais identificados, provavelmente da inter-relação entre os mesmos e do ambiente existente em cada país. Futuras pesquisas podem aprofundar o entendimento sobre a relação dos fatores organizacionais realizando os procedimentos quantitativos em amostras de outros países ou realizando procedimentos que envolvam análises confirmatórias ou modelagem de equações estruturais, a fim de identificar a importância ou o \"poder\" de cada um dos fatores organizacionais, ou até mesmo das dimensões (categorias) identificadas nesta pesquisa. Especificamente para o judô, os resultados identificados podem proporcionar embasamento para o desenvolvimento e a gestão no judô de alto rendimento, ou ainda, podem servir como modelo para a identificação e avaliação de fatores chave nas políticas e sistemas de judô. Quanto a sua contribuição teórica, essa pesquisa agrega no entendimento de políticas esportivas e sistemas de alto rendimento considerando uma abordagem que envolve um único esporte / The objective of this research was to identify factors at an organizational level that influence international success in high-performance judo. To fulfil the objective of this research a Sequential Exploratory Design was used involving an initial phase which collects and analyses qualitative data, followed by a second intermediate phase related to the development of a measurement instrument and a third involving the collection and analysis of quantitative data. Through Content Analysis on interviews with 33 individuals (athletes, coaches, performance directors and experts) from the international high-performance judo in the initial qualitative phase, 11 categories and 44 subcategories were identified which were considered the dimensions and the organizational factors influencing the international sporting success in high-performance judo. It was verified that the results are similar to other studies and models, which had the purpose of investigating sport policies or high-performance sport systems, particularly the pillars of SPLISS model. However, specific judo characteristics that affect organizational factors that influence the international sporting success were identified, such as tradition, history and cultural aspects inherent of judo practice. Furthermore, based on the Systems Theory environmental factors that influence the development of judo in different countries and that consequently influence the reach of international success were also identified. From these results, the \"Judo Organizational Factors Influencing the International Sporting Success\" (JUDO-OFIISS) model was developed. A questionnaire developed and validated by Content Validation by six experts in the second phase allowed for model validation in a third quantitative phase; this proceeded an Exploratory Factor Analysis on data obtained in a sample of 406 individuals, divided into athletes, coaches, performance directors and experts from Brazilian high-performance judo context. The Exploratory Factor Analysis showed that the organizational factors influencing the international sporting success in high-performance judo were correlated and validated. The results in the third phase suggested that the search for international sporting success in high-performance judo depends upon the existence of all identified organizational factors, probably on their relationship and the existing environment in different countries. Future research could deepen the understanding of the relationship between organizational factors by conducting quantitative procedures performed in samples from other countries, or by carrying out procedures involving confirmatory analysis or structural equation modelling in order to identify the importance or the \"power\" of each organizational factor or even the dimensions (categories) that were identified in this research. Specifically for judo, the identified results may provide knowledge into the development and management of high-performance judo and it can even be used as a model for the identification and evaluation of key factors in judo policies and systems. As to its theoretical contribution this research contributes to the understanding of sport policies and high-performance sport systems considering a sport specific level

O objetivo desta pesquisa é explicar os mecanismos sociais das decisões judiciais. Em particular, a investigação centra-se no processo de tomadas de decisões de operadores do Direito no sistema de justiça juvenil em São Paulo. Busca-se, assim, verificar quais são os fatores determinantes da aplicação da medida socioeducativa de internação para adolescentes acusados de cometimento de ato infracional e o modo pelo qual se dá esse processo decisório. Desde a promulgação do Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente, em 1990, o sistema de justiça juvenil brasileiro passou a operar em um novo registro: as medidas socioeducativas passaram a se restringir a autores de infrações penais; e a medida de internação, em particular, a crimes cometidos com violência e/ou grave ameaça à pessoa. Mas a gravidade do ato infracional é de fato o principal preditor das decisões judiciais na justiça juvenil? Ou haveria outros fatores explicativos, como aqueles relacionados às características sociais dos adolescentes, às relações de poder inscritas nas interações sociais ou mesmo à estrutura organizacional dos tribunais? Na busca pela explicação dos mecanismos sociais dessas decisões judiciais, esta pesquisa propôs um desenho multimetodológico, integrando técnicas quantitativas e qualitativas para investigar os mecanismos das decisões e verificar os determinantes da aplicação da medida socioeducativa de internação em São Paulo. Assim, em um primeiro momento, as hipóteses citadas foram testadas por meio de modelos logísticos binomiais tendo a decisão sobre a internação como variável dependente em um cenário multivariado. Os resultados encontrados indicam um alto grau de proporcionalidade entre crime e pena, tendo os atos infracionais considerados mais graves os mais significativos efeitos sobre a probabilidade de internação; mas indicam, também, a reprodução de relações de poder - adolescentes usuários de drogas e que não trabalham nem estudam, mantidas as outras dimensões constantes, também têm maior chance de receber a medida socioeducativa de internação. Em seguida, a fim de explicar os mecanismos dos efeitos do tratamento estimados anteriormente, foram acompanhadas semanalmente as audiências de apresentação e de continuação e as oitivas informais no Fórum Brás, em São Paulo. Ao mesmo tempo em que se concluiu que as oitivas informais, centrais no processo decisório, ocorrem cerimonialmente e que as decisões são tomadas via documentos, o que explica o mecanismo de proporcionalidade encontrado anteriormente, pôde-se concluir que eventualmente os Promotores de Justiça \"voltam atrás\" de suas decisões quando há um rompimento na definição da situação, o que explica o mecanismo dos efeitos das características individuais dos adolescentes. / This research aims at investigating the social mechanisms of judicial decisions. It particularly focuses on the decision-making process of legal actors in the juvenile justice system in São Paulo. Thus, the research aims at verifying the determinants of the confinement disposition for juveniles who have been accused of a crime and the way which this decision is made by. Since the Child and Adolescent Statute was promulgated in 1990, the Brazilian juvenile justice system started working under new guidelines: dispositions are now restricted to offenders; and the confinement disposition is restricted to offenses committed with violence and/or with a threat to a person. But is the seriousness of the crime indeed the best predictor of judicial decisions? Or are there other explanatory factors, such as the ones related to the individual characteristics of the teenagers, to the power relations within social interactions, or even to the court organizational structure? Aiming at a mechanism-based explanation of these judicial decisions, this research has proposed a mixed-methods research design, integrating both quantitative and qualitative techniques to investigate mechanisms of the decision-making process and to verify the determinants of the confinement disposition in São Paulo. Thus, at first, the aforementioned hypotheses were tested with binary logistic models, presenting the decision concerning the confinement disposition as the dependent variable on a multivariable scenario. Results indicate a high degree of proportionality between crime and punishment, with the seriousness of the offenses having significant effects on the probability of confinement; but the results also indicate some reproduction of power relations - drug user youth and those who neither work nor study increase their odds of being more severely punished. After that, aiming at explaining the mechanisms of the treatment effects estimated beforehand, both judicial and informal hearings (at the State\'s Attorney office) were weekly observed at the juvenile court in São Paulo. While it was possible to conclude that the informal hearings are central to the decision-making process and occur ceremonially, with decisions being made by documents-consulting (which explains the proportionality mechanism), the research also found that the Attorneys often regret their decisions when there is a rupture of the definition of the situation. This explains the mechanism of the individual characteristics effects on juvenile sentencing.

This mixed-methods research study investigated medical students' perspectives of professional mentoring through a web-based survey/needs assessment. The participants are fourth year medical students from three large urban research institutions and two regional branch campuses. The web-based survey/needs assessment was created, peer reviewed, and validated. A strategic sampling of focus groups was conducted to gather additional information regarding the results from the web-based survey. The information and data obtained from the survey and focus groups was used to provide recommendations for administrators and faculty about the mentoring program for each campus. A new proposed model of mentoring was developed upon analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data. The significance of this study includes not only the findings about medical school students' perspectives of professional mentoring, but also the development of a validated assessment tool able to inform administrators about perceptions of their medical students.

The main purpose of this study was to explore the influence of social support and self-efficacy on the physical activity beliefs and behaviours of participants in a peer-mentoring intervention embedded in a community-based exercise program. A second purpose was to explore social support, self-efficacy, and perceived barriers and facilitators to exercise program adherence for study participants within the community-based exercise program setting. Participants (N=10, plus 6 mentors) were adults with chronic health conditions living in a low-income neighbourhood. Intervention (n=4) and comparison (n=6) groups completed self-report measures of physical activity, social support, and barrier self-efficacy at baseline, 6-weeks, and 12-weeks. Interviews were used post-intervention to explore the impact of peer mentoring, perceived social support and self-efficacy within the exercise setting, and barriers and facilitators to physical activity for study participants. Intervention participants showed greater exercise program adherence than comparison participants at 6-weeks. Qualitative findings suggest the peer mentoring intervention increased motivation and sense of obligation to adhere to the exercise program, and provided vicarious learning opportunities that may have indirectly influenced exercise program adherence for intervention and mentor participants. Findings also suggest that the exercise program was highly influential to participants’ social support and self-efficacy beliefs. Multiple barriers and facilitators to physical activity were reported. Overall, the current study supports the use of peer mentoring as an intervention strategy in combination with additional strategies to promote exercise program adherence in the study population. Practical implications are discussed in relation to the promotion of exercise program adherence in older adults with chronic health conditions participating in a community-based exercise program in a low-income neighbourhood. / Thesis (Master, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2011-09-29 10:44:19.343

ABSTRACT The primary purpose of this study was to explore teachers’ perceptions of Aboriginal student achievement in six Saskatchewan public community schools in urban, rural, and Northern settings. Three of the schools were elementary schools, and three were high schools. Data for the study were obtained by means of teacher semi-structured interviews, and a teacher survey designed expressly for this research. The research opportunity sought to “explore in the context of selected Saskatchewan community schools, teachers’ perceptions of Aboriginal achievement, the unique and contextualized features that govern Aboriginal learning, and the efforts of teachers to enhance Aboriginal student learning.” Historically, Aboriginal student achievement has been viewed through a deficit lens. To gain a positive perspective of this phenomenon, a constructivist paradigm, a social justice theory of change governed by an ethos of appreciative inquiry were employed using a Mixed Methods Research design. Specifically, a two phase exploratory methodology where a qualitative phase followed by a quantitative one was used to best inform the research perspective. A multi-case study approach for each school and division was deemed the most effective means of exploring teacher conceptualizations of the manner and conditions under which Aboriginal students best learn. A total of nine teachers were interviewed and 28 responded to the teacher survey instrument. Member checks of the interview data were undertaken and statistical data using both Excel for Windows as well as SPSS statistical programs were employed for survey data analysis. Owing to the small survey sample, the author advises that caution be used when considering the survey results. However, it is hoped that refinement of the survey tool and its use in later research will prove to be of benefit in understanding the phenomenon of Aboriginal student achievement. A peer data analysis panel was convened to thematically analyse the four open-ended questions contained in the survey. Findings for this study indicated teachers valued the work of collaborative teams, supportive school learning environments, differentiated instruction, assessment for learning, professional development, and culturally responsive instruction and curriculum and school/division alignment to enhance Aboriginal student achievement. The study found that perceptions of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal teachers differed where Aboriginal student achievement was concerned. As well, participants felt that heightened Aboriginal student achievement could be fashioned by determined student engagement in their academic work. Finally, participants believed that parent and community engagement in schools and the academic life of their children would also enhance Aboriginal student learning outcomes. It is hoped that this study will serve as a point of initiation for more research into the phenomenon on a wider basis in order to generate greater understanding of the means by which Aboriginal students may flourish within public schools in Saskatchewan and potentially elsewhere.