In order to examine the factors that impinge on an on-going
change, this Field Study involved a consideration of the first two
Royal Society of Arts Courses In The Teaching of English in Singapore
Schools (RSA TESL). These were part-time courses offered to graduate
teachers to enable them to further improve their skills in English
Language teaching.
The study was based on a questionnaire that incorporated the
following components:
the general background of the teacher
the school climate
the level of attainment in relation to the competencies
identified
the level of sharing
the methods of dissemination
Of the teachers from courses one and two who were invited to attend a
feedback session, forty-eight responded. The questionnaire was
designed to elicit responses from the participants in relation to the
main factors mentioned above. The results of the study were subjected
to three main types of analyses viz,
comparisons based on raw data
co-relations of the different factors using the Pearson's
Product Moment Co-efficient
Chi-square and T-score analyses of means of the different
factors to ascertain degrees of relationship.
Since the course had a task-based emphasis, it was not surprising
that the study revealed a high level of attainment of the teachers in
relation to the main competencies developed in the course. This in
turn was shown to have a significant effect on the confidence of the
teachers to share their knowledge and skills with other teachers.
Another factor that was significant in terms of the levels of
sharing achieved by the teachers was the position held by them. It was
found that a greater degree of sharing of skills and knowledge was
achieved by the senior subject teachers than those who were not. This
was also confirmed when a comparison of courses one and two was made.
The degree of sharing achieved by the course one participants was
higher because there were more senior subject teachers among them.
Furthermore, this difference in sharing in relation to position was
marked in both schools that had a good climate or those that had a poor
climate.
The school climate also significantly affected the relative level
of sharing of skills and knowledge achieved by the teachers. Even
among the senior subject teachers, the level of sharing was greater in
schools with a good climate than in those with a poor climate.
Finally, in terms of the method of dissemination, it was found
that the senior subject teachers used both the formal (demonstrations,
workshops) and informal methods of dissemination while the ordinary
teachers used mainly the informal (discussions etc) methods of
dissemination.
The four main findings arising from the study have had a
significant impact on the future developments in relation to the RSA
TESL course as well as other in-service courses where a transfer of
knowledge/skills is expected on completion of the course.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219366 |
| Date | January 1984 |
| Creators | Subramaniam, N., n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright N. Subramaniam |
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