This thesis examines how one might evaluate the justice of educational resource
distribution. It focusses on the criteria of institutional justice formulated by John Rawls:
according to these criteria inequality in the distribution of resources is only allowed if it
can be shown to benefit all groups, including 'the least favoured'. The thesis also
demonstrates how qualitative and quantitative research methods can be combined in
order to reach a more accurate and 'just' evaluation.
The research, which was conducted at a private post-secondary English - language
liberal arts institution in British Columbia for Japanese students, compares annual
student growth in English, both before and after the implementation of a three-to-ten-month
leveled, modular, mastery-learning program for entry-level students.
The research also includes interviews to determine teacher attitudes about the
previous and present programs and their effect on students. In both the qualitative and
quantitative studies, program effects on high-, medium-, and low-entry ability students
are looked at separately (in order to use Rawls' criteria).
The context of the research is clarified with short summaries of issues around
mastery learning, leveling versus tracking, and Japanese versus western education.
The quantitative research finds that, contrary to teacher impressions, the mean
improvement for students in the present program is not significantly different from that in
the previous program. The qualitative research however, points out important justice
implications not revealed by the other study.
The thesis concludes that (1) there are some problems with using Rawls' criteria
in an educational setting; (2) looking at program effects on three separate ability
groupings can reveal trends having justice implications; and (3) assessments of the
justice of educational resource distribution should attempt to triangulate with both
qualitative and quantitative studies which attempt to answer the same question.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/5977 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Reitz, Cheryl Rene |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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