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International Journal
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Vol.15 No.9
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VOLUME 15 NUMBER 9 August 2016
Table of Contents
Mapping the Domain of Subject Area Integration: Elementary Educators Descriptions and Practices ..................... 1
Gustave E. Nollmeyer, Lynn Kelting-Gibson and C. John Graves
Improving Leadership Practice through the Power of Reflection: An Epistemological Study .................................. 28
Ann Thanaraj
Policy of Carrying Capacity and Access to University Education in Nigeria: Issues, Challenges and the Way
Forward .................................................................................................................................................................................. 55
Dr (Mrs.) Chinyere Amini-Philips and Mukoro, Samuel Akpoyowaire
Who am I? Where am I Going? And which Path should I Choose? Developing the Personal and Professional
Identity of Student-Teachers ............................................................................................................................................... 71
Batia Riechman
Secondary Mathematics Teachers: What they Know and Don't Know about Dyscalculia ......................................... 84
Anastasia ChideridouMandari, Susana Padeliadu, Angeliki Karamatsouki, Angelos Sandravelis and Charalampos
Karagiannidis
Case Study Results at Primary School Leaving Examination in a Rural District in Rwanda .................................. 99
Jan Willem Lackamp
Investigation Learners Performance in TOEFL Prior to their Participation in the TOEFL Enhancement Training
Program................................................................................................................................................................................ 134
Ardi Marwan, Anggita and Indah Anjar Reski
1
Introduction
The practice of subject area integration began in the early part of the twentieth
century; however, its philosophical origins have been traced into the 1800s.
Mathison and Freeman (1997) credit Herbert Spencers writings of 1855 for
founding the idea of integration. The British psychologist suggested that the last
step of a changing or adapting organism was that of integration. Fifty years later
Spencers explanation of the organism as a whole was translated, by Gestalt
Theory, from the field of natural science to that of psychology (Humphrey,
1924). In the world of education this produced two practical realities. First, the
learner was seen as a whole in need of meaningful learning experiences
reflecting this wholeness. Second, learning was not simply a linear process
with new ideas being added onto existing ones. Instead, it was complex and
interactivefilled with rebuilding and transformation (Harrell, 2010). It was this
progressive thinking that led to integrated curriculum and authentic experiences
which make learning meaningful (Mathison & Freeman, 1997).
Through the first half of the twentieth century, integration was advanced in both
theory and practice by innovators such as John Dewey and Hollis Caswell
(Bunting, 1987; Fraley, 1977). Then, in the 1980s and 90s integration experienced
another surge in popularity. Once again, integration was on the minds of
educators, researchers, and policy makers. This rich period in the history of
integration has been attributed to curriculum organizational theory, brain
research, and learning theory (Hartzler, 2000). Whatever the impetus, several of
the movements most cited advocates sprang up during these years, including
James Beane, Robin Fogarty, and Heidi Hayes Jacobs. It was a time of significant
research; Hartzler (2000), looking with a specific criteria, located and analyzed
thirty quantitative studies on integrationall between the years of 1985 and
1997. Also during this time, a number of United States policy organizations
turned to integration for answers including the National Association for the
Advancement of Science (NAAS), the Bradley Commission on History in
Schools, the National Research Council (NRC), the National Council of Teachers
of Mathematics (NCTM), the American Association for the Advancement of
Science (AAAS), and the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS).
With so much interest and support, it appeared that the promotion of subject
area integration would be a fixture of education in the United States for some
time; however, in the years surrounding the turn of the century, calls for
accountability resulted in a surge of high stakes testing. Over the next decade
efforts in integration declined as teachers faced the pressure of the No Child Left
Behind legislation and the achievement expectations associated with it
(Musoleno & White, 2010).
Defining Integration
Over the years attempts have been made to define integration and its relative
terms. Instead of endeavoring to nail down one definition, most authors propose
a continuum or range of integrated approaches (i.e. Applebee, Adler, & Flihan,
2007; Jacobs, 1989; Lonning, DeFranco, & Weinland, 1998). Several authors do
propose a broad, all-encompassing definition: [Integration is] bringing together
in some fashion distinctive components of two or more disciplines (Nissani,
1995, p. 122); Integration involves relationshipsrelationships between
different subject areas, relationships between different content, relationships
between different skills . . . (Hartzler, 2000, p. 19). Wang, et al. (2011), divide the
domain into two categories of integration they label as multidisciplinary and
interdisciplinary. From another perspective, Kain (1993), Shriner (2010), and
Toren, et al. (2008), argue that all varieties of integration can fit within two
approaches. The approaches they identify are Beanes (1992) student-centered,
integrative approach and Jacobs (1989) subject-centered curriculum, approach.
Other researchers and authors do not address the fluid qualities of integration;
but instead, speak with some confidence in their own view of the domain.
Gehrke (1998) defines curriculum integration as, A collective term for
those forms of curriculum in which student learning activities are built,
less with concern for delineating disciplinary boundaries around kinds of
learning, and more with the notion of helping students recognize or
create their own learning (p. 248).
Case (1991) defines content and skill integration as: Connecting the
understanding promoted within and among different subject areas or
disciplines . . . . Integration of skills and processes refers to so-called
generic skills and processes. The call to teach reading and writing in the
content areas is an example of integrating reading and writing skills
into subjects such as social studies and science (p. 216).
Beane (1992) sees most interdisciplinary models a part of a
multidisciplinary category. In his view, an interdisciplinary curriculum
is one in which the concepts and activities are derived by the needs of a
central theme. There is no specific concern for how each discipline may
contribute to the study; And although we may draw from one or
another discipline of knowledge, the act itself is done without regard for
subject area distinctions (pp. 46-47).
Brown (2011) seems to take his thoughts a step further. Not only does he
speak with conviction on definitions, he separates multidisciplinary and
interdisciplinary approaches from what he calls true curriculum
integration. The major distinction he draws is that true integration
requires student involvement in the design process. In doing so he
claims, Few educators [understand] the design of true CI (p. 195).
Collier and Nolan (1996) recognize ambiguity in terms, but express a
confidence in distinguishing between integrated curriculum,
interdisciplinary instruction, and thematic instruction. While a review
of the literature indicated a clear distinction between the three
instructional models . . . (p. 7).
Methodology
Data Collection
For our case study research, data were collected by conducting interviews and
observing lessons. Collecting qualitative data best fits the ideals of the
constructivist framework (Lincoln, 1990). The following pattern was used in data
collection: pre-observational interview, lesson observation, and post-
observational interview. The first interview was 30 to 45 minutes long and was
conducted in the participants classroom at her convenience. A pilot tested
interview guide (Maxwell, 2005) was used as a framework for the first semi-
structured interview. Data were collected during the interview by audio
recording. The final question of this interview asked the teacher to perform two
tasks with the Matrix of Integration (MoI) depicted in Figure 1. Each participant
was asked to mark the location that best described her current practice and mark
the location that best described what her teaching would look like in a perfect
world.
Shortly after the first interview, a 30 to 60 minute lesson involving subject area
integration was observed. Data collection during the observation consisted of
typed notes. In the days following the observation, a second 30 to 45 minute
interview was conducted with the participant. Again, a pilot-tested interview
guide was used for the semi-structured interview. The final question of the
interview asked the teacher to place one more mark on the MoI. The participant
was asked to mark the location that best described the lesson taught for the
observation. The overall processpre-observation interview, lesson observation,
and post-observation interviewwas completed with each participant within a
two-week period of time.
The MoI (Figure 1) used during the interviews was developed during a pilot
study. It attempted to blend the literature and our own experiences to picture
the domain of integration. For the purpose of labeling the MoI, Huntleys (1998)
terminology was used to establish three of the four points.
An intradisciplinary curriculum is typified by instruction that focuses on
one discipline (p. 320).
An interdisciplinary curriculum is one in which the focus of instruction is
on one discipline, and one or more other disciplines are used to support
or facilitate content in the first domain (p. 320).
An integrated curriculum is one in which a teacher, or teachers, explicitly
assimilates concepts from more than one discipline during instruction
(p. 321).
Needs driven was one researchers term to describe a fluid delivery of
instruction based on the current need instead of a daily schedule of
subjects. Beanes (1992) work supports this variable by describing the
flow of instruction as being concerned with the content or skill needed in
the moment.
Figure 1: The Matrix of Integration (MoI) displays, at one time, two variables involved
in integration.
Data Analysis
The unit of analysis in this study was the individual, and the method of analysis
was case study (Yin, 2003). The recordings were transcribed shortly following
each interview. These transcriptions were entered into the HyperRESEACHER
software program and coded as a case study. We used a combination of
inductive and deductive themes while coding these data. The deductive themes
arose from the pilot study and the review of the literature. Using
HyperRESEARCHs reporting feature, quotes were grouped by theme. From this
themed data, a case study was written and then emailed to the participant for
member checking to enhance reliability (Patton, 2002). All five case studies were
returned with positive comments. Finally, the case studies were compared in a
cross-case analysis to identify broader themes and highlight complex ideas (Yin,
2003).
Findings
Each of the five case studies are displayed in order according to the grade level
taught by the educator. At the conclusion of the individual cases, the cross-case
analysis is summarized.
Cullen Case
Ms. Cullen, a kindergarten teacher with 26 years of experience, saw integration
as making connections and a natural part of teaching. Boy, I think its really
hard not to. The minute I think of a topic, I think of the books that go with it
because thats just a love of mine and I think because Ive seen kids love that.
This type of organic teaching included subject area connections as well as
connections of any kind. Im a believer in connections. I dont really care what
the connection is. Its firing a synapse; its growing curiosity and questions and
interest. And those are all good things. Cullen believed that integration
enriched learning experiences by creating more connections and increased the
probability of meaningful learning. I think [reading] hits a different area. And I
dont want to say it cements it, but it either sparks interest, or it creates a
synapse connection to what they were doing with their hands. Therefore, when
Cullen planned for instruction, she often sought to integrate. She built her
integrated lessons around science content and the inquiry process, yet she did
not plan with a detailed structure designed to ensure a certain number of subject
areas or skills got brought into the lessons. Instead, she allowed for the
integration to occur more naturally. I guess I dont feel like I purposely set out
to integrate like, This will be a math table, and this will be a social studies
table. Because of this organic process, Cullen struggled to place her current
practice on the MoI (see Figure 2). I guess I have no idea where I would plot
myself, but I would of course like to bethis is where Im aiming (pointing to
upper right corner). Eventually, she agreed to place a triangle over the area that
most closely pictured her practice. Cullen conceded to this because she felt that
when she did integrate it was a natural process, and things were delivered
concurrently without a lot of planning for specific content areas.
The observed lesson was an inquiry-based science lesson that integrated ELA,
math, social studies, and art. It was a multiday lesson about water; the science
content involved the states of water, waters interaction with other materials,
and the water cycle. Cullen stated that tackling such lofty scientific learning
goals and such complex concepts was only possible through high levels of
integration. She particularly saw the value of integrating reading, writing, and
speaking. Reading was integrated in the books about water Cullen read to the
class, the station where an adult helper read books about water with small
groups, and the station where students explored books on their own. Writing
was integrated at the station where students created their own books about
water. Speaking was integrated throughout as Cullen used inquiry based
questioning to explore student understanding, as well as, at the end of the lesson
where students had a chance to present art work and their water books in front
of the class. As with placing her full practice on the integration matrix, Cullen
struggled to determine where the observed lesson belongedreadily admitting
the process was difficult. It is! Because I dont really set out planning, it just
kind of happens. Its the way that I see things. In an effort to help Cullen place
her lesson, we talked her through what we had seen. At that point, she readily
agreed that the lesson itself belonged up in the upper right hand corner of the
MoI.
In a perfect world, Cullen felt that she would like to balance out that ability to
integrate organically, with an increased level of structured planning so that she
had a more complete integration of all knowledge and skill. She referred to this
as a good balance between the delivery of content on the y axis and the
combination of content on the x axis. I would hope that it would be balanced
and thats hard in kindergarten because were always leading up to something
else . . . . I guess Id like it to be up here and be using both of these. She also felt
that this balanced approach should be in the upper right hand corner of the MoI,
where everything was integrated. At first she felt like some rote things needed to
be handled in isolation. But, as we discussed it, she determined that even low
level knowledge and skill could and should be integrated. Then I would go all
the way up because even those little rote things like drill and practice numbers
we could be making it slightly more exciting.
Knox Case
Ms. Knox, a first-grade teacher with 22 years of experience, described integration
through the lens of teamwork. While she acknowledged that integration did
occur within her classroom without the collaboration of fellow teachers, Knox
believed true integration involved grade level teamwork. What it looks like to
me is that youre team teaching with a group of people that have the same grade
level and the same subjects that you teach . . . . Thats the beauty of integration
when you work with teachers. Knox said that integration was a matter of
weaving together subject areas in the way that is best for kids. Its not how
many subjects you can teach at the same time. Its how well kids can relate to
real life situations. In her mind, single lessons done by individual teachers
could not be considered integration. Its an ongoing lesson; its not just one shot
. . . . We could do this for the rest of this year if we wanted. We could take
quality rather than quantity and just build on what we do this week. Ms. Knox
planned for integration by meeting with her grade level teaching team. They
met weekly and planned for special integrated units. These meetings were
inclusive and welcoming. Its an invitation to teachers, and Im learning that
you cant demand it . . . . Treat it as novelty and then build with the team. The
integration that followed provided meaningful learning that bound together all
subject areas. Because of the challenges of bringing team members on board and
the time involved in developing these fully integrated units, Knox placed her
current practice toward the bottom left corner of the MoI (See Figure 3). Yet, she
saw it moving up the center line through the year and ending close the middle
by the end of the year. Well, Ill get [more teachers] involved, and well plan
more science days . . . . You have to invite them and say, hey, wouldnt it be
great to save time if we did it this way? Knox stated that fully integrating all
the time with her team would be the perfect world situation. She placed this
near the upper right hand corner of the MoI because she believed there was
always room for improvement.
The observed lesson was a multiday social studies lesson that integrated
multiple subject areas. Because of this full integration, Knox placed the lesson in
the upper right hand corner of the MoI. The content of the lesson was learning
about mapping and focused on students moving from a map of their bedroom
up to a map of the world. Reading was integrated through a read-a-loud book.
Math was integrated when students used rulers as a tool for drawing their own
maps. As Ms. Knox discussed the lesson, which included ELA, social studies,
and math, she described how even that successful integration would be
strengthened by in involvement of her grade level team.
Havel Case
Ms. Havel, a first-grade teacher with seven years of teaching experience,
described integration as teaching two subjects at one time. While she did see
places for skills from one subject to be used as tools for mastering content
within the primary content area, true or full integration, Havel asserted,
needed to have lesson objectives for all subject areas being taught. She then
conceded that this was only her view. Are you integrating both subjects fully if
there arent objectives attached to both? I think youd hear arguments for and
against. Planning for integration came easily for Havel because she saw literacy
as a natural part of every content area. Regardless of what she was teaching, her
lessons involved reading, writing, speaking, and listening. [Literacy is] one
common subject thats in every subjecteveryday. Im constantly repeating a
word, having them repeat it backspeaking and listening, that covers that.
Writing down their thoughts in each of the subjects so you have writing
integrated with math and science and social studies. While discussing
integration, Havel never used the term continuum; however, she did employ
several other terms and descriptions. Mostly, she discussed different levels of
integration, but she exchanged this with full each time she described the
highest level of integration. Havel compared previously taught lessons by
discussing the difference in the degree of integration. This [lesson] would be
like a 1 or a 2on a scale of 1 to 5this would be a 2, and that would be a 4 or 5
because of the nature of how I did it.
Clearly having spent time considering how she was integrating as well as the
levels at which she tended to integrate, Havel identified the location of her
current practice on the MoI (see Figure 4) with some definitiveness and was able
to discuss in detail why. She placed herself just past half way to the right side
but well below the line. This was where Havel felt her practice belonged because
she was not able to integrate everything, yet she did so with every opportunity
she could find. She also felt that the inherit structure to her day limited her
ability to be any further up the y axis.
The observed lesson was a science inquiry lesson; however, the math and ELA
integrated into it were of equal importance to Havel. She felt like that was an
important feature of integration; each content area needed to have a purpose
within the integrationeven when its being used as a tool. I would say subject
area integration is teaching two subjects in the same lesson sequence. You know,
not less equally, so, with objectives in place for both . . . . I guess you could say
full integration or not true integration if the objectives on both sides arent
being met. She believed this one lesson was a good example of the content
areas she typically integrated, but placed it higher on the MoI since she was able
to integrate more seamlessly.
Ms. Havel was fairly content with the amount of subject area integration she was
able to do. The place she really wanted to have more flexibility was in the
delivery of her curriculum. In the perfect world she would have as much
blending of instructional time as she had connections between content. Her
practice would be balanced that way, on the center line of the MoI, up toward
the right hand corner. I think Id want to be up here; like this, but I still think
there would have to be some subject areas that I teach that would have to be
like spelling. I dont think I could teach it any other way just because of the
structure involved.
Bilas Case
Ms. Bilas, a third-grade teacher with nine years of experience, described
integration in terms of connections. These connections could be between subject
areas or bridging the gap between school and the real world. While regularly
planning for integration in a variety of ways, Bilas also saw the advantage of
connections that arise through teachable momentswhether they connected
subject areas or school learning and life. Bilas planned for subject area
integration because she believed that connecting reading and writing to her
content area units was critical to maximizing instructional time. So, like when I
was thinking about this last writing assignment . . . the first thing I thought
about was my social studies content. How can I build a writing assignment
around what Im going to be teaching in social studies? This was a regular
thought process for Bilas because there was so much ground to cover. Plus, from
a pragmatic standpoint, connecting subject areas only made sense. Why would
you be reading other nonfiction texts? That doesnt make any sense. Why not
teach your students how to read the nonfiction texts that give them the [social
studies and science] content? While she did not use the term continuum,
Bilas saw levels to integration where higher levels of integration would include
multiple content areas. I guess better integration, if it was on a scale, would be
when youre able to connect multiple disciplines. Bilas conceded that the
planning involved in high levels of integration is overwhelming. I think that it
can be difficult on a daily basis so any kind of connecting is beneficial rather
than having things taught completely in isolation, separate from each other.
Because of this challenge and the constraints of school wide structures, Bilas
placed herself towards the bottom left corner of the MoI (See Figure 5).
The observed lesson was part of a unit studying a traditional Native American
story; however, it was the reading skills and not the Native culture that formed
the foundation of the unit. The social studies content, science content, speaking,
and writing skills were given attention as they were needed. The reading skills
taught during the observation were the skill of recognizing traditional stories
and the skill of visualization. Social studies was integrated through the
traditional Native American story used for the visualization. ELA speaking skills
were applied as students presented group work. In other lessons of the unit
science knowledge about fire and skills of inquiry were learned and applied.
Even though these other subject areas played a small role, Bilas saw it belonging
above the center line on and on the left edge of the MoI. I think its always
going to be heavy on the reading . . . . If you look at the whole unit, its going to
be heavy on the reading throughout.
As Figure 5 shows, Bilas wanted to be integrating most subjects most of the time.
She still saw the need for some isolated instruction and isolated content. So, I
dont feel like I can be like, here (pointing to upper right hand corner of the MoI)
because math has to be taught in isolation. Especially the last two years Ive
spent here with these students because I think that they have, in some ways,
really weak math skills.
Donner Case
Ms. Donner, a fifth-grade teacher with eight years of experience, saw integration
as teaching multiple subject areas at the same time. She thought that it was
important for there to be a natural fit in the content being taught, and any
subject brought into the lesson needed to contribute to the purpose and goal of
the learning. If its a natural fit, Ill do it. If Im pushing, Ill think, Eh, maybe
this isnt the right thing. When we began our discussion about integration,
Donner felt that anytime another subject area was brought into a lesson (i.e.
writing about science content) integration was occurring. As we explored these
thoughts deeper and Donner spent time considering her own practice, she came
to the conclusion that true integration required knowledge or skill to be taught
for each subject being integrated.
Ms. Donners planning for integration occurred primarily around her science
content. The main reason for this structuring of curriculum was that she loved
science. Since her fifth-grade team rotated students for several subjects, science
was also the place where Donner had the greatest opportunities to integrate.
For me, my easiest way to integrate is in science. I look at my standards in
science, and Well, okay! This is kind of the big idea, and this is what I have to
teach. So, how do I push other subjects into that idea? For Donner, looking for
opportunities to integrate was a natural part of planning. She began with her
science standards, but that did not mean that content from other subjects was
used merely as a means to an end. She examined the standards of other subject
areas to determine what should be brought inwhat would be a natural fit and
also needed to be taught. I have an environments kit now, and so, I have to
look where Im at in the math standards . . . . If I can find objectives that meet my
objectives in science, thats when I put them together. Because of the challenge
of designing such experiences and finding the needed materials coupled with
practical limitations with schedules at her school, Donner placed her current
practice low on the y axis of the MoI (See Figure 6). She did put herself half way
through the x axis because of her focus on bringing subjects together whenever
possible.
The observed lesson was about environmental impact and integrated social
studies, mathematics, and ELA into the science content. It took multiple days to
complete. Working with a group, students developed their own stretch of land
bordering a river. Then, Donner explained the potential for pollution with each
plan. As students struggled with the realities of human impact, Donner
integrated reading through a nonfiction book about river pollution, and social
studies through an exploration of the industrial revolution. She then integrated
writing as students wrote critical pieces about technological advancement. Since
the lesson included nearly all of the subjects, Donner positioned it on the MoI far
on the right side. However, she felt that within the lesson there still was
significant separation between subject areas; therefore, Donner was not
comfortable placing the lesson very high on the y axis.
Cross-Case Analysis
A cross-case analysis revealed common themes within the cases and
discrepancies between the cases. Four compatible themes were found within the
cases: (1) an organizing description, (2) grounded in content, (3) range of
options, and (4) perfect world versus reality. The contrasting themes between
the cases were (1) philosophical foundations, (2) planning structure, and (3)
depth of integration.
Also, these educators saw integration as both a planned and natural process.
Bilas, Havel, and Donner all explicitly stated that they were constantly looking
for opportunities to combine subjects. Knox, emphasized the planning done with
a grade level team. Of the five, Cullen spoke the least about structured planning,
yet the lesson I observed contained a high level of subject area orchestration. At
the same time, each teacher spoke to one degree or another about the organic
elements of integrating. For Cullen, Knox, and Havel it was who they were as
teachers. Cullen questioned whether she could disintegrate if she tried. While
clearly more planning oriented, Bilas and Donner felt that true integration
required natural connections. They both spoke of combining subjects that had a
natural fit.
While none claimed it to be the only way to integrate, four of the five
participants described integration that was grounded in the content disciplines
of science or social studies. Cullen and Donner planned and taught that way
because of their love for scienceeach referred to the fact that it was how they
saw the world. Bilas regularly built her integrated units around science or social
studies in order to maximize instructional time and cover all of her ELA
standards. Havel integrated based upon science and social studies because she
saw literacy as being the one commonality throughout her day. Knox did not
discuss planning in this way; yet, the lesson we observed was a social studies
based lesson that had integrated other subjects into it.
Each of the five teachers recognized a range of options for integration. They all
quickly grasped the MoI and discussed the range present there. Four of them
readily acknowledged that their methods of integrating were not the only ways
to do it. Cullen and Donner, who most routinely integrated through science
only, discussed how their teaching peers had different strengths and passions.
Havel, Bilas, and Donner all discussed a range of levels for integration. Havel
most frequently termed these as levels. Bilas discussed the range in terms of
complexity of integration. Donner, referred to the highest level as best
practice. Even though Knox never directly discussed a range of integrated
options, she suggested that her own practice changed in the amount of
integration throughout the year.
Figure 7: The compiled MoI comparing all teachers current and preferred practice.
B=Bilas; C=Cullen; D=Donner; H=Havel; and K=Knox.
The final common theme across the cases was a discussion of the perfect world
versus reality. These educators all placed their current practice at low levels on
the MoI and their desired practice at very high levels (see Figure 7). The
uniformity in their desire to integrate at or near the full level of the upper
right hand corner of the matrix was very telling data. This shows that if possible,
each of these five educators would like to be integrating at a full or nearly full
level.
The cross-case analysis also revealed contrasting themes between the cases:
philosophical foundations, planning structure, and depth of integration. There
were philosophical ideas about integration that differed between cases. In her
discussion of integration, Cullen described it as teaching the whole instead of
the parts. She emphasized the need for students to see the whole so that it makes
sense. This idea was unique to Cullens description. None of the other teachers
referenced this view, but Knox discussed a different idea dealing with whole
versus parts. She described integration as something that extended through the
whole year. Because of this perspective, Knox did not see a single lesson taught
in isolation to be part of the domain of integration. Again, no other participant
mentioned anything similar. Also, Knox believed that true integration was a
team effort. Others mentioned this as an option but never attributed higher
value to the resulting integration.
A final difference between the cases was variations in the depth of integration.
In describing the range of options in the practice of integration, there was
general consensus about there being amounts of integration. At the same time,
participants were split over the details. Two teachers, Havel and Donner,
believed that true integration required lesson objectives or standards for each
subject area in the lesson. In other words, reading an article in science class
would not be considered integration of reading unless specific standards or
lesson objectives for reading were being met. The other three participants did
not state such an expectation.
Discussion
Knowing how teachers describe the domain of integration would be a helpful
addition to the literature. This is especially true in the United States with the
arrival of new standards emphasizing integration (i.e. English Language Arts and
Based on findings in this study, we propose a model that maps the domain of
subject area integration (hereafter referred to as the Model) comprised of four
variables. Table 1 describes and gives an example of a low, medium, and high
level for each variable. Evidence from the study, by means of participant quotes,
is presented for most variable levels. The first variable, subject areas in the
integration, identifies the number of subjects being combined. The range of
options within this variable was presented on the MoI used in the interviews.
The second variable, frequency of integration, was one of the most conversed
aspects of the practice. The educators in the study all desired to integrate more
often and gave detailed explanations about the challenges that make an increase
in frequency difficult. The third variable, delivery of integration, was also on the
MoI. The range of options within this variable are often challenged by factors
out of teachers control including district mandates, curricular programs, and
building schedules. Four of the five teachers in the study pointed to these issues
and others as hurdles to an integrated delivery. The final variable, depth of
integration, was discussed by four of the five educators. This variable has a
limited range, but according to some of the teachers in the study, the depth of
the combination can create distinct differences in learning experiences.
We believe that the interaction of the four variables in the Model provides
further clarity in mapping the domain of subject area integration. It also allows
for an individual to describe the patterns of personal integrated practice. By
utilizing a bubble chart, this interaction can be displayed visually. First, the
frequency of the integration and the subjects in integration are assigned to the x and
y axes. Figure 8 shows the positions along these axes. As the frequency of the
integration increases, the position of the plot moves to the right. Since the range
in this variable moves from a single lesson to every lesson in the year, half way
across the axis would describe half of the lessons in a given period (i.e. day,
month, or year) being integrated. The number of subjects being integrated is
displayed on the y axis. At the bottom of the axis only two subjects would be
integrated. The further up the axis the greater the number of subjects involved.
With an increase in both frequency and the number of subjects being integrated,
the position plotted would move toward the upper right hand corner of the
chart.
The third and fourth variables are associated with the circles used to plot the
position on the chart (Figure 9). The depth of the integration is displayed by the
size of the circlethe smaller the circle the lower the level of depth. A small
circle, then, would display a practice that uses one or more supporting subjects
to facilitate the learning in an emphasized subject. An increase in the level of this
variable is displayed by an increase in the size of the circle. Similarly, the delivery
of the integration is depicted by the shade of color in the circle. A light shade
represents a low level of integrated deliveryindicating that knowledge and
skill are delivered in isolation. For example, a teacher may have students write
about their science content, but the science work and the writing take place
during different periods of the day. As the tint darkens, the level of the delivery
increases. A dark color indicates that content is being delivered as needed
regardless of the subject area or a set schedule of classes.
Figure 10 displays the interaction of the four variables in the Model which is
designed to map the domain of subject area integration. Plotting a practice on
the Model, involves consideration of each variable. Moving from left to right
represents an increase in the frequency of the integration. Moving from bottom
to top represents an increase in the subject areas involved in the integration.
Increasing the circles diameter represents a deeper integration. Finally, a
darkening of the color shade indicates an increase in the integrated delivery.
Each circle plotted in Figure 10 represents an individual integrated practice.
Three plots have been labeled for the purpose of describing hypothetical
teachers. For clarity, we refer to the examples simply as Teachers A, B, and
C.
Figure 10: The four variable Model proposed to help map the domain of subject area
Integration.
Teacher A integrates frequently. Over half of the lessons she teaches are
integrated. These lessons have a high level of subject area integration as
well as a high level of depth in integration. Her curriculum is constructed
around real-world problems that are not driven by any one discipline but
require the knowledge and skills from most subject areas. Teacher A
delivers this integrated curriculum as knowledge and skill are needed
without regard for subject area.
Teacher B integrates English language arts into her science curriculum.
These are the only two subjects she integrates; however, her frequency of
the integration is high. Teacher B integrates with virtually every science
lesson she teaches throughout the year because she uses a science
notebook as a central piece to her program. The depth of this integration
is at a medium level. She has both science and ELA standards in mind as
students write in their science notebooks. Nevertheless, she has a set
schedule for her day and does not attempt to do any of the actual writing
instruction during her science block. This means that her delivery of
integration is at a low level.
Teacher C rarely teaches integrated lessons throughout the year. When
she does integrate, she usually builds these lessons around her social
studies content. These lessons connect all or nearly all of the subjects;
however, there is a low level of depth. Teacher C is focused only on
students understanding the social studies content. The ELA, math,
science, and art knowledge and skills that are brought into the
integration are only used as tools to support and add meaning to the
social studies content. Some of the time, the typical schedule of the day is
removed and knowledge and skill are used in the flow of the curriculum.
At other times, Teacher C keeps the schedule in place and just uses those
blocks of the day to work on pieces of the integration.
Conclusion
While interpreting the data, it became apparent that what educators described
and practiced did not fit into a simple linear continuum. Nor was the MoI
developed during a pilot study sufficient to capture the full domain of subject
area integration. In an attempt to help map this domain and its rich range of
options, a Model consisting of four variables was developed. These variables
captured key aspects discussed by participants in describing subject area
integration. The Model provides a fundamental framework for considering the
various options in the range of integrated practice. It could prove useful for a
number of stake holders in education. Departments of Education and
Curriculum Leadership Teams could compare integrated practice and current
teacher understandings of integrated expectations with actual expectations and
desired practice. Districts and administrators could use these findings to plan for
professional development. Finally, teacher training programs, in concert with
Departments of Education, could use these findings to update pre-service
teacher education.
The Model interpreted from the data in this study remains untested. Further
research on the variables of the Model would help to refine it. One aspect of
future research should be to attribute value to the levels of each variable. The
purpose behind the Model of the domain is to describe teacher practice and
promote professional development. However, without additional research it
remains unclear if each variable is equal in value. Should educators focus on
increasing their level of integration on one variable more than another? And,
how is the value of each variable influenced by the subject areas involved? These
and many more questions need answering to further understand the domain of
subject area integration. For now, we hope that the Model can serve to further
the conversation of educators everywhere.
Acknowledgement
We wish to acknowledge the contributions to the elementary educators who
gave their time and energy as they participated voluntarily in this study.
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Ann Thanaraj
University of Cumbria
Carlisle, United Kingdom
Introduction
This paper is an epistemological study which reports on a personal journey
using reflection to benefit and transform the development of the authors
thinking on key elements of leadership. The paper is written in a first person
speech in order to allow for personal reflection, drawing on lived experiences
and self-awareness as this develops.
Increasingly, however, I have realised there is much more to being a leader than
effectively fulfilling the responsibilities set out in the job description. I decided to
keep a reflective journal, posing questions and issues that I found I needed to
address around my values that underpin what I think leadership is; my
understanding of influence and its place within leadership, my character and its
impact on how I lead, what it means to lead, the emotional dimension to leading
and general people skills. These reflections are reported in this paper.
Methodology
Research focus
The research focus presented below guides the authors reflection on current
leadership experience.
The term leadership provides us with a mental picture of power, prestige, and
authority (Yukl 2002, p4). There is also some disconnect and ambiguity as to
what leadership is (Bryman, 2002, 2004). Some consider leadership as a function
or task for completion, or a role defined by the person carrying that
responsibility (Goodall, 2006). Others consider this to be a process of influence to
achieve common objectives (Northouse, 2004). It is acknowledged that skills
such as problem-solving, interpersonal skills, organising and planning, decision
making and delegating are absolutely crucial for successful leadership.
The aim of undertaking this reflection is to create some time and space to
consider personal characteristics, the values essential for leadership and to
develop awareness and reflect on current practices in higher education. Within a
wider context, it is hoped that this reflection may help to address whether good
leadership is derived from the personal traits of the leader or whether it is a
functional process.
As such, being a believer in the power of reflections and its ability to bring to
surface awareness, improvement and tackling challenges, I adopted reflection as
a part of my personal and professional development as an academic leader to
understand and recognise influences and improvements to my leadership
practice.
There are a variety of frameworks, for example from Argyris and Schn (1974);
Schn (1983, 1987); Dewey (1933); Brookfield (1995); Ghaye (2004); Boud and
Walker (1998) and Reynolds and Vince (2004) on reflective practice and how the
mental processing to achieve some anticipated outcome (Moon, 2005, Working
Paper 4), however a review of the literature shows that there is no one right way
of reflecting effectively. Instead a number of features of effective reflection need
to be present in order to draw out the process of learning from experience in
order to improve practice.
Deweys (1933) view has influenced theorists such as Kolb (1984); Schn (1983)
and Boud and Walker (1998) thinking about learning from reflection.
Kolbs (1984) experiential learning model features reflection as its nexus for
effective and active learning. It has been defined as fundamental to develop,
renew and expand ones knowledge and learning, achieved through a cyclical
process of identification, review, questioning and reconstruction through experience
(p.27).
Building on previous literature on reflection and its processes, Boud and Walker
(1998) explain that reflection is more than an intellectual exercise (p.194) and
acknowledges the emotional dimension of undertaking reflections. They offer a
structured approach to reflecting to encapsulate and harness the value of
emotions in reflections. They encourage one to begin with reflecting on an
experience by mentally replaying the experience and describing it in a
descriptive, non-judgemental way. After this, identify the positive and negative
feelings triggered by the experience and attempt to discharge negative feelings
which may obstruct the reflection. When the emotional dimension has been
expressed and acknowledged, re-evaluate the issue by associating new
information to what is already known and integrating new ideas with existing
knowledge. One is also encouraged to validate the authenticity of the newly
developed ideas, exploring inconsistencies or contradictions. Although they do
not explain how this process of validation may be achieved, I would be keen to
develop a reflective dialogue to inject a much needed social dimension to this
process. Finally, to adopt and appropriate the new knowledge or behaviour as
part of ones own practice to be applied in future circumstances.
Research shows that the ability to reflect on experience is evident in leaders who
exhibit higher levels of cognitive development seen through their thought
processes, problem solving and decision-making (Kegan, 1994; Kuhnert &
Lewis, 1987). Reflective leaders also seem to be self-aware, able to reconsider
their assumptions and current practices and are more open to new ideas
(Mezirow, 1998). Neck & Manz (2010) explain that through self-awareness comes
improved work performance (p. 185) and as such have higher productivity and
more fulfilling careers (p.195). Further, adopting reflection as part of ones
professional identity can also assist and encourage one to draw upon personal
values, examine personality traits and consider their ethical stance in light of
challenging situations (Gardner, Avolio, Luthans, May, & Walumbwa, 2005),
whilst developing ones capacity to be mindful of the emotional dimensions in
which leadership operates (Goleman et al. 2002).
Fook (2004) proposes that critical reflection is a valuable tool which leaders
could employ to help them consider and understand the power and political
relationships within organisations and as such it has the potential of offering a
transformational approach to the manner in which one leads (Kayes, Kayes and
Kolb 2005), both to the individual and team level (Ghaye 2005).
From my own experience, conscientious and structured critical reflection has the
potential to bring about new ideas, renew practices and a sense of confidence
over the way I lead and decisions I make.
(1995) Leading change: Why transformational efforts fail; Bennis & Nanus
(1985) Leaders: The strategy for taking charge).
This period of learning helped me to open up to new ideas and change as well as
realise the importance of adapting to new strategies (Napier & Fook, 2000). It
was this combination of reflection underpinned by critical theory which allowed
me to deconstruct and understand assumptions about practice and its influence,
explore perceptions and expectations and consider different ways to reconstruct
the incident with other possible outcomes in a structured manner.
I found that, over time, I became more confident and open to examining
assumptions and expectations about my values and personality which helped
me gain awareness on some of the key facets of leadership such as control,
management, uncertainty and change; all of which require more than just
decision making or problem solving skills. In fact, many of these facets require
personal strength in courage, integrity and values to succeed. From my
experience of critical reflection, I believe it is a powerful technique that has the
potential to bring about new understanding and confidence in knowing how to
handle a situation.
Leadership theorists suggested that ones personal values influence how leaders
shape an organisations culture (Peregrym and Wollf, 2013), which
consequently, can impact on how teams under ones leadership will conduct
themselves. In a business administration doctoral study, Lichtenstein(2005)
contextualised the importance of this by reviewing 163 managers and leaders.
The study found that a leaders personal values had a direct and significant
impact on organisational performance and influence, whilst their age,
experience and qualifications had no bearing on leadership (Lichtenstein, 2005,
p.57).
Adapting to fit
For example, when faced with situations in the workplace which disrupt the
normal operation of an academic delivery, I have been able to provide a rapid,
decisive and appropriate response to minimize the adverse effects for staff,
students and the organisation. However, this has been challenging for me as this
has sometimes meant that I have had to find a balance for objectives that involve
difficult trade-offs. From this, I have learnt that to be flexible and adaptive in my
approach to leadership, I should attempt to be proactive in planning how to
avoid anticipated problems and have a draft contingency plan to should a
difficult situation arise.
Ramsden (1998) argued that successful leadership is about how people relate to
each other (p.4). This is also known as emotional intelligence which is capable of
influencing leadership effectiveness (Mayer et al. 2000; Goldman 1999, 2002).
Apart from the functionalities of a leader, the process of leadership is a state of
mind underpin by personal values and characteristics, which evolve from
experience and reflection (Parry & Kempster, 2014).
I have always been driven by objectives and focus on achieving the desired
results in the interest of my team and students. In order to achieve a goal, I have
often ventured beyond familiar territory to pursue ambitious new outcomes, in
programme development, in identifying new opportunities for income
generation and in seeking collaborations nationally and internationally.
Despite being proactive and persistent with a clear sense of what needs to be
achieved, I have learnt that in order to achieve results, one cannot lead without
creating a positive, supportive and collaborative working environment with the
teams commitment and willingness to take forward objectives developed. I
have found it challenging at times to take the necessary time to ensure that
relevant stakeholders are on board with plans. However, I have learnt that
persuading academics to be open to proposed new practices by explaining their
perceived advantages and by ensuring that everyone is supported well, this has
helped to create collegiality in the department and to facilitate motivation.
Frequent communications on achievements, progress, new developments and
practices from other institutions and setting achievable tasks have all
contributed to motivating and promoting teamwork and sharing trials and
triumphs with each other.
However, being goal oriented, I am more concerned over the process and how to
achieve a goal. I have come to realise that effective leadership requires nurturing
of personality and the ability to empathise. I have in the past forgotten about
addressing expectations and engaging team members effectively. With
experience, as I have begun to realise the value and importance of the team and
their support, I have improved in the manner and frequency of communicating
our direction and creating a supportive and positive environment to encourage
best performance.
Overtime, I have become aware that professionals, such as law lecturers who
had practiced as lawyers before beginning their careers as academics require a
more subtle form of leadership rather than the traditional sense of providing
direction in the carrying out of tasks. This view is consistent with the literature
on the management of professionals, as Mintzberg (1995) suggests most
professional workers require little direct supervision from managers (p143). I have
found it to be quite a challenge in managing professionals, some of whom are
experienced academics and others who are new academics and all from
professional legal and non-legal backgrounds. There is a need to balance their
ability and experience in independent decision making and exercising
professional skills and judgement, with working within the policies of a well-
structured hierarchical organisation, following a regulated law curriculum,
meeting key statistics and objectives and operating as creatively using various
educational models of learning. As such, the structure of higher education
requires some degree of control and direction over the overarching aims and
mission of the department and university, whilst as a leader there is a need to
protect staffs freedom to undertake tasks within the creativity and judgement
necessary.
A leader needs to continually learn, reflect and develop. This is a continual and
evolving process, adapting where necessary. I have learned to become more self-
aware and more adaptive; recognising when change is necessary, provided it is
driven by common good and new opportunities. In uncertain situations, I make
decisions through deep thinking and rationalisation, weighing up the impact on
all stakeholders and considering all possible options. Through my own
leadership reflection journey I have realised what is important to me -
adaptability, transparency, decisiveness, courageousness and empathy to
successfully lead the team. Though seeking feedback from team members
annually, I learnt what worked for the team and areas for improvement; I tried
new approaches to situations and discovered new ways of working.
Within the realm of influencing others, my default position usually begins with
making requests politely and especially with being results focused, using
detailed justification, with supporting information and reasoning. Although this
is an effective way of achieving objectives, it lacked the empathy and the
necessary support required by stakeholders. Now, I ask what would be the best
way forward for others, in meeting the wider goals of the department and
organisation, rather than either give in or to carry forward with the plans.
Conclusion
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Dr. B. K. Oyewole
Department of Educational Management,
Faculty of Education,
Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria
and
Introduction
The vital role of education in the development of nation cannot be
overemphasised. In Nigeria, education has been a huge government venture as
the Federal Government is placing adequate attention on education because of
its role in national growth and development (FGN, 2004). Education has been
conceived as a veritable and vital tool towards ensuring a strong and virile
society rather than a means of civilisation and social reform. Now that education
has been recognized as a sensitive issue and an important factor for the
development of any nation, Nigeria puts a high premium on the education of
her citizenry. The economic growth of Nigeria hinges on the available personnel
who are highly equipped with sound education and not only the high quantity
of natural resources which are available (Oyewole, 2008).
The standard of education in the contemporary Nigeria has now become
a paramount issue for national debate as some are of the opinion that the
standards of education in Nigeria today are falling (Sam, 2014). Hence, the issue
is whether the falling standard of education in our country today is a myth or
reality. Eguavo (2013) noted that a nation without sound education lacks
adequately equipped future leaders who will help to propel development for the
future generation. Oladunni (2012) observed that the falling education standard
in Nigeria could be linked with inadequate dedication and commitment by the
teachers who are saddled with the responsibility to facilitate effective
instructional delivery and inadequate funding of education by the government
in accordance with the United Nations standard. He further observed that the
teachers at all tiers of our educational system as well as the government have not
performed up to the expectation in the process of providing and maintaining
good education standard in all our schools.Ochuba (2008) noted that the
contents that students learn in secondary school, retain in their memory and put
into action after graduation has a great role to play in national development.
In another perspective, Chinelo (2011) opined that the declining
education standard could be attributed to ineffective traditional education which
helps to inculcate important values of hardwork, diligence, integrity and high
productivity. It is pertinent to note that the quality of education in Nigeria has
dropped to an alarming rate which could portend great danger for the future of
our country (Atanda, 2014). Adebanjo (2013) was also of this view when he
asserted that the standard of education is falling. He observed that the problem
came as a result of neglect which education has to experience in the 1980s is
gradually resulting to the decay of the nations educational system. He noted
that a study was carried out to examine whether the standard of education in
Nigeria is actually declining or not. The results of the study revealed that 76% of
the total respondents were of the opinion that the standard of education is
declining while 24% disagreed. Based on the view of the respondents, it was
revealed that the major aspects of falling standards of education are controllable.
These include adequate finance, inadequate teaching aids and unconducive
classrooms, corruption, persistent strike, low remuneration for teachers and
dearth of qualified teachers in some states in Nigeria.
It is quite unfortunate that education standard in Nigeria is losing its
credibility in the global market as most graduates from universities do not
possess saleable skills as required by many employers of labour
(Omoregie,2008). It is pertinent to note that most students cram their notes and
textbooks during the examination and therefore answer question words for
words. After the examination, such students forget what they have read
(Oladunni, 2013). In higher institutions, this trend is referred to by the students
cultivate the reading culture as they are busy engaged in the social media
(Oyewole, 2015). Perhaps, this unwholesome attitude developed by the students
towards reading habit has not encouraged many of the school administrators to
place high premium on the acquisition of modern textbooks into the school
libraries as this could result into share waste of meager financial resources that
are available in the school.
the qualities of certificates from Nigerian schools are questioned in the light of
the growing challenges in the preparation and examination of the products of
the school system. It very unfortunate that universities graduates with first class
results are now put to test before they could be employed. There is urgent need
to wage war against examination malpractices in the nations educational system
through re-orientation and possible change in Nigerian value system,
developing better and more flexible evaluation system through continuous
assessment. The teachers handling pupils must be trained and experienced.
Teachers should seriously observe the conduct and performance of their
students. The continuous assessment on the students plus periodic tests results
should form the means of evaluation in order to determine the strength and
weakness of individual student. Those students who critically need assistance to
catch up should be given extra lessons to enable them cope with regular lessons.
There is also the need to enforce laid down laws/decrees on examination
malpractices thereby promoting quality assurance in sustaining education
standard.
References
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university education in Nigeria. In B. O. Emunemu & F. S. Akinwumi (Eds),
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John Iheukwumere Nwankwo, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. 389-396.
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in Delta State of Nigeria. A Journal of Contemporary Research; 8(3): 1-12.
Eguavo, O. E. (2013). Falling standard of education in Nigeria and the way out. Available
online at www.information.ng.com.
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Lagos: NERDC Press.
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Environmental influences and management strategies. International Journal of
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Nwagwu, E. T. Ehiametalor, M. A. Ogunnu & M.O.N. Nwadiani (eds), Current
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economic depression. Studies in Educational Planning and Administration (SEPA);
1(1): 41-47.
Introduction
Universities are major forces for the growth and development of individuals
and the nation. This is because through universities, skilled competent and high
quality manpower are trained to meet the need of the society at large. Thus,
universities are the highest citadel of learning where human beings are trained
to discover new knowledge and pass it on in order to produce quality
Admittedly, the high rate of demand for university education has over-stretched
the limited resources available thereby affecting the quality of programmes in
the universities. Hence, Okebukola (2008) described the Nigerian university
education as being at disequilibrium, matching student enrolment against
available resources, which are now obsolete and inappropriate. The problem is
further compounded by the low ranking of Nigerian Universities among the first
fifty universities in Africa. In 2015, it was revealed by online rating that five
Nigerian universities obtained the 20th, 23rd, 38th, 41st and 43rd positions among
the fifty universities in Africa. These include the University of Lagos, Obafemi
Awolowo University IleIfe, University of Ibadan, University of Ilorin and
Covenant University respectively (Channels Television May 18, 2015). In order
to maintain quality and standard of university education, the NUC in 2004
officially introduced and adopted the policy of carrying capacity. The policy
states the total number of students a university should admit in a year on the
basis of available facilities, staff and other resources. This is to ensure that the
universities offer high-quality education.
However, the sections (1) (4c) and (5c) of the NPE emphatically states that there
should be equal right to education by all children in the country without
exception (FRN, 2004). The policy further emphasized the need for equal access
to educational touch of the entire citizenry at all levels irrespective of level of
education, within and outside to formal system. Successive governments in
Nigeria are ensuring that the policy of education for all is implemented. These
efforts among others include increasing the establishment of higher institutions,
formulation of admission guidelines as well as issuance of certificate of
participation to private individuals and the establishment of Open and Distance
University in Nigeria. In spite of these steps taken by the government to expand
the provision of university education in the country, it is still obvious that many
do not still have access to it. Okebukola in Agboola (2011) remarked that social
pressure for expanded access are strong with only about 13 percent of qualified
candidates obtaining admission to university to study in spite of the
establishment of more universities. With this in mind, although the policy of
carrying capacity is to ensure quality but it seems to impact negatively on the
level of access to university education in Nigeria, knowing quite well that all
effort geared towards the expansion of access through increased supply appears
not to have yielded the desired level of access. This is probably why Emenalo
(2009) averred that although the principle of carrying capacity is meant to
enhance the quality and standards of university education in Nigeria so as to
measure up with the world standard, but we must not lose sight of access to
university education considering its enormous benefits. It is, against this back
drop that this paper focuses on the terms: carrying capacity and undertaking
university education. In addition, the paper stressed the quest for university
education and its provision in Nigeria. It also treats the issues in the policy of
carrying capacity, challenges to carrying capacity vis--vis access to university
education in Nigeria and the way forward.
From the model, it means that each of the components is crucial to deciding the
carrying capacity quotas for a university. As such all the components must be
taken care of in the required quantity and quality. This influence the number of
students NUC approves for each faculty in the universities in Nigeria. Table 1
below shows the enrolment and carrying capacity of Nigeria universities.
The above table shows that there is continuous craving for education at the level
of education under consideration. It also shows that about 84.7% to 94.8% of
qualified students who apply to be admitted into Nigerian universities were
denied admission on yearly basis. Atanda (2013), claims that the opening of
more institutions of this magnitude was a direct reaction to the increased
craving of same. He averred that although there was growth in the number of
universities established, the figure for students admitted annually is quite low in
comparison with the demand for university education. This situation has partly
been implicated in the policy of carrying capacity.
As evident from the above table, although there was yearly increase in the
carrying capacity quotas of universities, unfortunately, candidates who want to
gain admission into universities each year increased geometrically, thereby
making the increase in the carrying capacity quotas of each university not to be
felt.
The implication of this according to her is that Nigeria relies heavily on her
human resources for productivity. The human capacity requires proper and
adequate development and refinement of the potentialities and capabilities
through university education to be able to make effective, functional and
positive contributions to the advancement of the society. It is the human
resource in Nigeria that is being toyed with by not being given the opportunities
of university education vis--vis the principle of carrying capacity. Since
university education is a key contributor to economic, technological and
scientific growth and advancement as noted by Mohammed and Gbenu (2007),
how possible is it for our country Nigeria to realize that with this low or poor
access to university education? This situation portends poverty among the
Competitive Admission: Due to the policy of carrying capacity which states that
the total number of students each faculty in a university admits should be based
on available human and material resources, admission into universities has
become very cumbersome and competitive because of inadequate carrying
capacity quota. One significant outcome of this competitive admission into
Nigeria universities is increase in number of students studying abroad.
Currently, according to Osinowo (2006) it is estimated that about 71,000
Nigerian students are studying in universities in Ghana, 30,000 in Great Britain
and 7,000 in the USA. As a result of this, parents are now prepared to pay huge
amount of money to ensure that their children are admitted to any university in
Nigeria. It has equally resulted in examination malpractice during UTME and
post-UTME entrance examination which may have adverse effect on quality of
graduates.
Deviation from Carrying Capacity: This is a major and common issue in
carrying capacity in Nigeria universities. It is obvious that majority of
universities do not stick to the carrying capacity quotas (meaning that most
universities exceed their admission quotas). This is why students in most cases
stand outside lecture halls to receive lectures. This may negate the quality issues
for the adoption of the policy of carrying capacity by the NUC. However, the
reason for over enrollment may be due to large number of applicants that apply
for admission and equally qualified. Table 4 shows instances of deviation from
carrying capacity.
The table below shows some universities and their carrying capacity (admission
quotas) during the 2011/2012 academic session that was released by NUC, but
Table 5: Some Universities and their Carrying Capacity for 2011/2012 Academic Session
OWNERSHIP INSTITUTIO NUC ADMISSIO DIFFERENC
OF N QUOT N E
INSTITUTIO A
N
Federal ABU 6,688 7,397 -709
UNILAG 6,500 7,527 -1,027
UNN 5,970 8,267 -2,297
UI 5,720 2,989 2,731
UNIMAID 5,600 5,699 -99
UNIPORT 5,522 3,820 1,702
UNILORIN 5,514 7,098 -1,584
FUA,MAKUR 2,133 3,350 -1,217
DI
UMYU 1,600 1,996 -396
FULOKOJA 500 443 57
FUEBONYI 500 150 350
FUBAYELSA 500 498 2
FU OYE-EKITI 500 384 116
State LASU 5,294 1,103 4,191
EKSI 3,500 1,300 2,200
ANSU 2,500 1,408 1,092
CRUTECH 2,500 2,778 -278
NSU 2,500 3,113 -613
KASU 1,400 1,591 -191
AISU 800 484 316
OSUSTECH 800 397 403
KWASU 725 1,257 -532
Private TASUED 3,500 2,898 602
COVENANT 2,500 2,162 338
BABCOCK 2,337 3,561 -1,224
BENSON 1,260 867 393
IDAHOSA
AFE 1,200 2,372 -1,172
BABALOLA
AJAYI 1,000 474 526
CROWTHER
REDEEMERS 800 1,290 -490
Source: StatiSense (2014) Carrying Capacity of Nigeria Tertiary Institutions.
From the above table it is obvious that most universities exceed their
recommended carrying capacity. However, it is very glaring that over 70%
candidates were not given admission, despite the fact that they were qualified.
1999 23 11.2
2000 44.2 8.3
2001 39.9 7
2002 100.2 5.1
2003 64.8 11.8
2004 72.2 7.8
2005 92.6 8.3
2006 166.6 8.7
2007 137.5 6.1
2008 210 13
2009 183.4 7.2
Table 6 indicate clearly that Nigeria have never met the UNESCO
recommended 26% of annual budgetary allocation to education in developing
nations. A comparison of some African countries with Nigerias spending on
education as a percentage of Gross National Product (GNP) brings out clearly
the picture of Nigerias poor financing of education as indicated in table 7 below:
Table 7 shows that Nigeria spends the lowest percentage of its GNP on
education compared to other nine African countries. The implication is that
education in Nigeria is not appropriately and adequately funded and the
universities are no exception. An evidence of this is the trends in funding for
Federal Universities in Nigeria where the focus is more on recurrent expenditure
as against capital expenditure as shown in Table 8 below:
From table 8 above it is very clear that Federal government provides a budget
cap based on projected earnings and not on the needs of the universities. In this
way many universities have budget provisions well below their needs (Uvah,
2015).These funding patterns of universities have implications for the policy of
carrying capacity and access to university education due to lack of qualified
staff, incentives, dilapidated facilities and other material resources (Akpochafo,
2006) and inability to expand facilities and equipment, thus increasing lecturer-
students ratio. In effect the poor funding of universities has resulted in slow
physical growth and the required number of facilities to encourage the
introduction of new departments in line with societal need. In this way only
small percentage of the qualified thousands of students are given admission in
relations to the material and human resources in all the licensed conventional
universities.
place among the first 1000 universities in the world. This is quite worrisome. The
implication is that university education in Nigeria is facing serious challenges.
This is what informs the criteria stipulation with regards to carrying capacity.
National Open University of Nigeria: There is the need to expand the activities
of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) to accommodate more
candidates. This will solve the problem of high cost of establishing more
universities in Nigeria. Besides the cost and long gestation interval required in
getting a university properly established, it might take about ten years or more
for the impact to be felt. But allowing NOUN to promote online study
programmes in affiliation with some international institutions, many students
will avail themselves the opportunities provided to access highly reputable
foreign universities. In this way, universities in Nigeria will have the number of
candidates seeking admission not too far exceeding their carrying capacity.
Improved Human Resource: Adequate staff and facilities are crucial in the
management of the university/educational institutions and admitting fresh
candidates. In order to increase the carrying capacity level and access capacity
for qualified and competent applicants in universities in Nigeria, universities
need to employ more lecturers.
Conclusion
Education is the fulcrum for societal progress and development of individual for
survival and sustainable economic development. Through university education,
one is prepared to develop his full capacities to live and work, improve the
quality of ones live and ones taste and attitudes are fine-tuned. In this way
everyone that is qualified should be given equal access to high quality education
at this level in Nigeria. In order to achieve quality, every university has to admit
candidates based on their carrying capacity. However, in implementing the
policy of carrying capacity there are some challenges that were identified. Until
we appreciate and overcome the challenges to carrying capacity vis--vis access,
more qualified candidates shall continue to be denied the privilege of having
university education in Nigeria. Therefore, it is recommended that the
challenges militating against carrying capacity vis--vis access should be
handled properly through improved funding, facilities, dual mode universities,
and so on to enhance universities carrying capacity and increase access to
university education in Nigeria.
References
Abdulkareem, A.Y. & Muraina, M.B. (2014). Issues and challenges of access and
management of admission to universities in Nigeria. International Journal of
Education Research, 2(6); 449 460.
Adewale , T. M. (2014). Fundamentals of academic porgrammes carrying capacity in
Nigerian universities. Journal of Education Review, 7 (3); 320-325.
Adesulu, D. (2014). Limited admission spaces: Way out of admission problems by
stakeholders. Retrieved on 9th January, 2016 from www.vanguard
ngr.com/2014/07/limit.
Agboola, B.M. (2011). An analysis of demand and supply of university education in
Nigeria. African Journal of Studies in Education, 8(1&2); 150 161.
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cost in Nigeria education. Abuja: Nigerian Educational Research and Development
Council (NERDC).
Akpochafo, W.P. (2006). An overview of the barriers to curriculum implementation in
Nigerian universities. International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and
Lifelong Learning, x (xxxxx); 1 9.
Aluede, O., Idogho, P.O. & Imonikhe, J.S. (2012). Increasing access to university
education in Nigeria: Present challenges and suggestions for the future. The
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Introduction
The concept of an identity is based on three W questions - responses that a
person gives to three substantive questions: Who am I? Where am I going? And
which path should I choose? These three W questions elicit information
concerning an individuals goals, values and beliefs and their assessment of their
own strengths and weaknesses and their self-image (Vignoles, 2011). Scholars
have proposed various definitions of identity. One popular definition is an
organized summary of information, rooted in observable facts concerning
oneself, which includes such aspects as traits of character, values, social roles,
interests, physical characteristics and personal history (Bergner & Holmes,
2000). The anthropologist Margaret Mead (Mead 1934, in Korthagen, 2004) and
the psychologist Erik Erikson (1968) both saw personal identity as something
that develops over the years in socio-cultural contexts and is influenced by those
contexts. It is founded on interaction with the environment and internalization
of social roles.Given the understanding that the individual lives and acts in a
social environment and that this environment provides meaning for their
actions, the construction of such an identity is seen as a continuous process
involving interpretation and reinterpretation of experiences (Kerby, 1991).
Professional identity constitutes one dimension of an individuals personal
identity and answers the question: Who am I as a professional? In the context of
teaching, teachers ask themselves: Who am I as a teacher? What sort of teacher
do I want to be? How do I envisage my role as a teacher? (Korthagen, 2004).
Teachers may experience tension between the different components of their
identity since they are exposed to the expectations of varied stakeholders:
students, parents, colleagues, school leaders and superintendents (Warin et al.,
2006). The tension between personal and professional identities may mean that
the teachers have a sense of dissonance as they try to navigate between the
different objects of their work (Boyd & Tibke, 2012).
Research has shown that the behavior of the teacher in the classroom and the
pedagogic decisions that they make depend on their self-awareness. In other
words, they depend on the teachers perceptions, basic assumptions, beliefs and
values by which the teacher is guided (Stenberg, 2011). The teachers
consideration of questions of identity creates self-understanding, allowing them
to make decisions and to perform conscious choices (Kelchtermans &
Vanderberghe, 1994). Moreover, professional identity constitutes a major
Pete Boyd indicates that one of the challenges in teacher training arises due to
the uniqueness of student-teachers identity. They develop their identity
simultaneously as both learners and as teachers and the students are
committed at the same time to learning-to-teach and teaching-to-learn
(Loughran, 2006). He suggests that training programs should be seen as an
interplay, combining knowledge, identity development and practical wisdom
(Boyd & Bloxham, 2014).
Some researchers argue that, in their first year in teaching, teachers do not have
sufficient opportunities to develop a robust professional identity that would
allow them to cope with the challenges they face. They therefore argue that a
personal professional identity should be prepared in advance during teacher-
training (Korthagen, 2004). Helping student-teachers to acquire a professional
identity during their training could allow them to examine to what extent the
teaching profession is appropriate for them (Schempp, Sparkes & Templin,
1999). One of the challenges in the construction of identity is to deal with
exposure to subconscious aspects so that they become overt and conscious
(Webb, 2005). Different researchers have suggested a variety of ways to assist
this process, including involving student-teachers in dialogs, use of metaphors,
imagination and reflection (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009), writing
autobiographies, representation through paintings (Beltman et al., 2015), and
structured discussions concerning contradictions that exist in the field (Olsen,
2008) etc.
observation of the students personal profile and the profiles of others. The
characteristics of a meaningful teacher figure that influenced the students can be
understood from the student-teachers stories of their personal memories,
research texts and films dealing with the image of teachers that influence their
students. The different activities in the course offer the students a space in which
they look inwards on themselves, examining the strategies they use to cope with
various situations, while developing their awareness of their strengths and
weaknesses and examining the implications of these characteristics on their
teaching.
Methodology
The research examined student-teachers attitudes at different stages of their
teacher-training studies, concerning the contribution of their participation in the
Personal-professional identity course during their freshman year of studies in
an academic teacher-training college to the construction of their professional
identity as future teachers. The research used mixed methods, employing
qualitative and quantitative data-gathering and evaluation tools (Tashakkori &
Teddlie, 2010). Integration and cross-checking of the data from the different tools
permits profound understanding and describes a comprehensive picture of the
student-teachers attitudes at different points over the training period, regarding
their work on personal-professional identity.
Research questions
1. What attitudes do freshman student-teachers hold regarding the course
dealing with the subject Personal-professional identity taught in Year 1
of a teacher-training course?
2. What attitudes do Year 2 student-teachers hold regarding the
consideration of the subject of personal-professional identity at the
beginning of their training process?
3. What attitudes do student-teachers hold at the end of their training
period regarding the consideration of the subject of personal-professional
identity at the beginning of their training process?
Findings
Attitudes held by Year 1 student-teachers regarding the consideration of
personal-professional identity at the beginning of their training
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
% of student-teachers who
Statement agreed to a strong extent
very strong extent
I had an opportunity to clarify my attitudes
49
concerning my choice of teaching
I had an opportunity to clarify my strengths and
61
weaknesses
After the course I know myself better 61
As a result of the course I understand the reasons that
54
I came to study teaching
The course contributed to my understanding of the
link between my perceptions concerning teaching 58
and my past experiences
Table 1 shows that the student-teachers tended to agree to a strong very strong
extent that the course allowed them to clarify their strengths and weaknesses
and to get to know themselves better. It also emerged that a large proportion of
the student-teachers agreed to a strong very strong extent that the course
allowed them an opportunity to clarify their attitudes concerning their choice of
teaching and helped them to understand the reasons for their decision to study
teaching. It was clear that the course contributed to their understanding
regarding the link between their past experiences and their present perception of
teaching.
There were some respondents who felt that clarification of their choice of
the teaching profession (approximately 40% of the student-teachers) was
the contribution provided by the course:
[I] see the relevance, Its a preliminary process, where each one digs
within their inner self and decides whether they have made the right
choice. I am most satisfied with my decision (Source 1).
I received the answers to those questions for myself in the course,
whether I am fitting for teaching, I was able to organize things in my
mind, to understand why I had gone for teaching (Source 7).
The student-teachers also noted the attentiveness and empathy for others
in the course (approximately 25% of the students):
I reached very deep insights about myself in the course. For example,
the matter of attentiveness: I look back retrospectively on cases in my
life where I listened in a not so good way. It led me to change. I am
now happy with the way that I pay attention and I am changing it
we learnt about empathy, the correct and incorrect way to empathize.
Its a course that influenced me most because I learnt how to pay
attention to what is happening around me, to the pupils; to be more
alert, and when there is some sort of difficulty, to take care of it
(Source 16).
can suggest a way, a method and from there the person must
continue to progress. This is new learning of which I was not aware
before (Source 10)
At this stage, very few of the students talked about the advantages of the
Personal-Professional Identity course. They felt that the course had
contributed to them by offering them a place where it was possible to share
and receive support from the group:
The professional identity workshop encouraged us to talk about
feelings, fears, things with which we are less comfortable. It really
helped us. We all arrived as new, it was a sort of support group where
we saw that things were difficult for all of us and we were all afraid, it
helped us to cope with the fears. This was the way in which we got to
know girls from other streams (Source 15)
their identity. Student-teachers in Years 1 and 2 noted that learning about their
self through a continuous process over the course helped them to become
more aware of themselves and offered an opportunity to clarify their
weaknesses and strengths. In this way they were able to know themselves better
(Vignoles, 2011). In addition, clarification of attitudes regarding the choice of a
teaching career developed their awareness of the considerations involved in
their choices (Kelchtermans & Vanderberghe, 1994).
Discussion during the course about the image of the ideal teacher led to
exposure of covert beliefs and perceptions that the student-teachers had brought
with them to the teacher-training program, and this helped them to understand
the connection between their considerations as learners in the past with their
growing perceptions of teaching in the present (Sutherland, Howard &
Markauskaite, 2010).
It also emerged that the student-teachers who learned in a group with their
peers, experienced a dynamic group process and the group interaction helped
them to recognize the other. It therefore seems that assisting the students in
their construction of their personal-professional identity through a Personal-
Professional Identity course achieved its goals. Among the student-teachers
studying in Years 1 and 2, dealing with the issues of personal and professional
identity was experienced as something that prompted inner observation and
awareness. The reflective skills that the student-teachers developed at the
beginning of their training influenced the process of the formation of their
professional identity as teachers for the future (Korthagen, 2004).
However, student-teachers who were at the end of their training indicated the
problematic nature of putting such studies concerning identity at the beginning
of the training. They felt that the lack of real practical experience in the
classroom at the beginning of their training reduced their ability at that stage to
experience the course as something relevant for their teaching work. They
argued that at later stages of teacher-training, practical experience becomes more
continuous with intensive encounters with pupils and at that stage their
behavior in class surfaced their beliefs regarding teaching. They had to make
pedagogic decisions and these processes challenged the beliefs and values that
guided them. In their opinions, it would perversely be advisable to examine
aspects of personal and professional identities, when the student-teacher is
engaged intensively in the education and teaching field and in light of the
practical and theoretical knowledge that was built up during the training. This
attitude is in line with research in this field that indicated that professional
identity is constructed through interaction with the environment and in
professional experience (Kirpal, 2004). In the construction of a professional
identity, practical work, experience and work in the field with a target
population and with the professional community play an important part.
References
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issues in the literature and implications for teacher education. Cambridge Journal
of Education, 39(2), 175-189
Beijaard, D., Meijer, P. C., & Verloop, N. (2004). Reconsidering research on teachers
professional identity. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20(2), 107-128.
Beltman, S., Glass, C., Dinham, J., Chalk, B., & Nguyen, B. H. N. (2015). Drawing
identity: Beginning pre-service teachers' professional identities.Issues in
Educational Research, 25(3), 225-245.
Bergner, R. M., & Holmes, J. R. (2000). Self-concepts and self-concept change: A status
dynamic approach. Psychotherapy, 37(1), 3644.
Boyd, P., & Bloxham, S. (2014). A situative metaphor for teacher learning: the case of
university tutors learning to grade student coursework. British Educational
Research Journal, 40 (2), 337352. DOI: 10.1002/berj.3082
Boyd, P. & Tibke, J. (2012). Being a school-based teacher educator: developing pedagogy
and identity in facilitating work-based higher education in a professional field.
Practitioner Research in Higher Education, 6 (2), 4157. ISSN 17551382
Day, C., Kington, A., Stobart, G., & Sammons, P. (2006). The personal and professional
selves of teachers: stable and unstable identities. British Educational Research
Journal, 32(4), 601-616
Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity, youth and crisis. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
Feiman-Nemser, S. & Remillard, J. (1996). Perspectives on learning to teach. In F. Murray
(Ed.), The teacher educator's handbook: Building a knowledge base for the preparation of
teachers (pp. 63-91). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Fuller, F. F. & Bown, O. H. (1975). Becoming a teacher. In K. Ryan (Ed.), Teacher education:
The seventy-fourth yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education (pp. 25-
52). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Kelchtermans, G., & Vandenberghe, R. (1994). Teachers professional development: A
biographical perspective. Journal of curriculum studies, 26(1), 45-62.
Kerby, A. (1991). Narrative and the self. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
Kirpal, S. (2004). Work identities of nurses: Between caring and efficiency demand.
Emerald, 9, 274-304.
Korthagen, F. A. (2004). In search of the essence of a good teacher: Towards a more
holistic approach in teacher education. Teaching and teacher education, 20(1), 77-97.
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learning about teaching. New York: Routledge.
Introduction
The definition of Dyscalculia has gained significant interest by the scientific
world in the last four decades. A variety of terms, such as mathematics
disorder, learning disabilities in mathematics, specific learning disabilities in
mathematics, e.tc. have been used to describe the dyscalculia phenomenon. In
1970, Kosc was the first to highlight the developmental nature of the disorder
and define dyscalculia as an innate disorder with genetic base, that exists
without a simultaneous disorder of general mental functions (Kosc, 1974).
Currently, the term dyscalculia refers to the specific learning disabilities in
mathematics presented with difficulties in areas such as: number knowledge and
processing, learning and memorizing arithmetic facts, executing arithmetic
calculations fluently and accurately, as well as mathematic reasoning (American
Psychiatric Association, 2013). The prevalence rates of dyscalculia seem to be of
the same size with those of dyslexias. Several publications have appeared
documenting dyscalculia percentages of 5,6% (Dirks, Spyer, van Lieshout, & de
Sonneville, 2008), 6,1% (Landerl & Moll, 2010), 10,5% (Mogasale & Patil, 2012),
3,4% (Reigosa-Crespo, et al., 2011), 4,5% (Jovanovic, et al., 2013) and 2% (Dhanda
& Jagawat, 2013). As in any other disorder prevalence rates vary depending on
the age group, the screening measures applied and the discrepancy criteria
selected in each study. However, the above rates are in line with Geary (2004),
according to whom 5% to 8 % of the students have some kind of dyscalculia.
Although the strong presence of dyscalculia in the student population has led to
increased scientific interest about the study of the phenomenon and its
characteristics, dyslexia has still a dominant position in research. The fact that
dyslexia is a language disorder, manifested when students enter school, makes
teachers role highly important for its screening and future progress. This central
role of teachers in the academic and social inclusion of students with dyslexia
has been documented in a plethora of studies focusing specifically on either the
knowledge of the educators (Kerr, 1998; Moats, 2014; Ness & Southall, 2010;
Regan & Woods, 2000; Soriano-Ferrer & Echegaray-Bengoa, 2014; Soriano-Ferrer,
Echegaray-Bengoa, & Joshi, 2016; Wadlington & Wadlington, 2005; Washburn,
2009; Washburn, Joshi, & Binks Cantrell, 2011; Williams, 2012) or their attitudes
towards dyslexia (Gwernan-Jones & Burden, 2010; Hornstra, Denessen, Bakker,
van den Bergh, & Voeten, 2010; Kerr, 2001; Tsovili, 2004; Woolfson, Grant, &
Campbell, 2007).
Unfortunately, researchers have not shown the same interest about teachers
knowledge of and attitudes towards dyscalculia. Relevant research interest has
been expressed mostly by studying teachers beliefs of the nature and meaning
of mathematics and the instructional methods they use (Cady & Rearden, 2007;
Handal, 2003; Stipek, Givvin, Salmon, & MacGyvers, 2001). Educators
perceptions about the difficulty of the mathematics as a subject and about their
ability to teach (Cady & Rearden, 2007), their perspectives about the knowledge
they have or should have on the subject itself (Mosvold & Fauskanger, 2013), as
well as the assessment tools needed in order to fully evaluate students
performace (Adams & Yang Hsu, 1998; Watt, 2005) have been widely
investigated.
Only recently, considerable attention has been paid also to the phenomenon of
dyscalculia. The relevant research has focused on clarification of the definition
and the nature of the difficulties (i.e. Geary, 2004; Jimnez Gonzlez & Garcia
Espnel, 1999; Mazzocco & Myers, 2003; Martin, et al., 2012; Silver, Pennett,
Black, Fair, & Balise, 1999), the characteristics and the specific errors of students
in mathematics (i.e. Andersson, 2008; Bryant, Bryant, & Hammill, 2000;
Compton, Fuchs, Fuchs, Lambert, & Hamlett, 2012; Fuchs & Fuchs, 2002; Geary,
1990), the prediction, early identification and assessement of these difficulties
(i.e. Desoete, 2008; Desoete, Ceulemans, De Weerdt, & Pieters, 2012; Geary, 2011;
Geary, Bailey, Littlefield, Wood, Hoard, & Nugent, 2009; Gersten, Jordan, &
Flojo, 2005; Gilbertson Schulte, Elliot, & Kratochwill, 2001; Kling & Bay-
Williams, 2014; Morgan, Farkas, & Wu, 2009; Stock, Desoete, & Roeyers, 2009)
and the effective teaching practices that should be used (Gallagher Landi, 2001;
Gonsalves & Krawec, 2014; Ives, 2007; Leh & Jitendra, 2012; Montague, Warger,
& Morgan, 2000; Powell & Fuchs, 2015).
However, despite the large amount of academic knowledge available, very few
publications are available in the literature, to the authors best knowledge, that
address the issue of teacher knowledge of dyscalculia. The relationship between
secondary mathematics teachers beliefs and learning disabilities in mathematics
was examined by DeSimone & Parmar (2006) in a study with 226 middle school
mathematics inclusion teachers. Most of them had a Masters Degree and had
taken part in limited inclusion-or Learning Disabilities-related workshops.
Teachers were asked to answer a questionnaire about their beliefs regarding the
academic profile of students with learning disabilities in mathematics, as well as
their readiness beliefs to teach in inclusion classrooms. Although they stated
feeling quite comfortable or very comfortable in their abilities to adapt
instruction for students with learning disabilities, their comfort relied especially
to their general beliefs about their strategy knowledge they use to succesfully
adapt instruction. Based on the results reported, it was evident that they had an
unclear picture of students with learning disabilities in mathematics and the
majority of the teachers believed that there was no distinction between a student
with learning disabilities and a low-performing student. The indistinct picture of
students with dyscalculia characteristics is consistent with results from another
study by the same authors (DeSimone & Parmar, 2006), in which in-depth
interviews, surveys and classroom observations were conducted with seven
general education mathematics teachers. According to those teachers, students
with learning disabilities in mathematics are very slow in understanding and
In conclusion, it appears that very little is known about teachers knowledge and
their skills to efficiently teach students with dyscalculia, although currently the
presence of students with dyscalculia in school classrooms is increasing. On one
hand, instruction of these students is certainly challenging, especially for the
secondary mathematics teachers, since their academic training is focused mostly
on the subject of mathematics itself. On the other hand, while many efforts for
implementing interventions for students with dyscalculia in secondary
education are made (Graham, Bellert, & Pegg, 2007; Ives, 2007; Krawec &
Montague, 2014), the background knowledge of the teachers about the special
characteristics and difficulties of these students is not taken into account.
Our goal in the present study was to investigate the knowledge of secondary
mathematics teachers about dyscalculia. In particular, we focused on examining
their knowledge about: a) the nature and definition of dyscalculia and b) the
content of dyscalculia and the characteristics of students with dyscalculia.
Furthermore, possible relationships between teachers knowledge and their
teaching experience, as well as their relevant training were examined.
Methodology
Participants
One hundred and fourteen secondary mathematics teachers participated in the
survey, 47 of them male and 67 female. The majority of the teachers (n=48)
worked as private math tutors, 41 of them taught in public middle and high
schools and the rest of the participants taught in private afternoon tutoring
centres (phrontistiria). As far as their teaching experience, 42% worked six to 15
years, 31% worked up to five years, whereas the smallest part of them (27%) had
16 to 35 years of teaching experience. The percentage of the participants who did
not have any training in special education was 58%.
Instrumentation
A questionnaire designed by the authors was distributed to the participants
through the Internet, and data selection lasted three weeks. The questionnaire
consisted of 19 questions about teachers knowledge and teachers had to
respond by choosing between True or False. In particular, the first five
questions (A1 - A5) concerned the nature and definition of dyscalculia (e.g.
Dyscalculia isnt due to insufficient teaching) and the other 14 questions (A6 -
A19) referred to specific characteristics of students with dyscalculia (e.g. They
respond to word problems impulsively.)
Results
The analysis of the results indicated that less than half of the teachers (40.4%)
answered correctly to all of the questions about the definition and nature of
dyscalculia (A1 A5). Only two teachers gave the correct answers to questions
A6 to A19 and it was just one, who didnt give a single wrong answer to all 19
questions.
A5 86%
Questionnaire items
A4 86%
A3 69%
A2 74%
A1 83%
Regarding the content of dyscalculia (Figure 2), data analysis indicated that
almost all of the participants (99%) knew that linking arithmetic terms to their
symbols is an area of difficulty for these students. A large number of the
participants (95%) were aware of the fact that students have difficulties in
choosing the correct arithmetic operation in order to solve a problem, whereas
93% of the participants knew that students with dyscalculia find it difficult to
explain their answers. The comprehension of arithmetic terms (e.g. sum, bigger
than, e.tc.) and the retrieval of basic arithmetic facts was considered by 91% of
the teachers as a major difficulty of students with dyscalculia. A percentage of
84% of the teachers knew that students with dyscalculia respond to word
problems impulsively and 82% of them knew that students have difficulty in
manipulating measures of weight and length. Teachers, who knew about
students difficulties in memorizing multiplication tables, reached the
percentage of 73%, while 63% of the teachers knew that students face difficulties
in designing and interpreting a diagram and 60% of them were aware of
students money exchange difficulties. Only 58% of participants knew about
students difficulties in telling the time and 55% were correct about students
difficulty in translating the word information of the problem into visual
representation. Further, only 37% of the teachers recognized that the reason for
students mistakes in word problem solving is not only their difficulty in
reading. Regarding the ability to execute arithmetic algorithms, only one third of
the teachers (33%) knew that students mistakes werent due to the limited time
provided to them.
incorrectly an arithmetic algorithm even if they have plenty of time, A14. Their
difficulty in solving word problems isnt due to their difficulty in reading them, A15.
When they solve a word problem, they usually have difficulty in choosing the
appropriate arithmetic operation, A16. They cant translate the word information of a
problem into a visual representation (schema, picture, table, and diagram) in order to
solve it, A17. They respond to word problems impulsively, A18. They have difficulty
in designing and interpreting of diagrams, A19. They have difficulty in explaining the
answers they give.
No statistical significance was found between the total responses of the group of
teachers with no training courses taken and the one with some kind of training.
However, there was statistical significant difference between these two groups
in only 2 particular items of the questionnaire. Specifically, there was a statistical
significance (t=2.988, df 112, p=.003) between the no training group (M=1.53,
SD=.503) and the some kind of training group (M=1.27, SD=.447) regarding
their knowledge about students skills in money exchange. Statistically
significant was also the difference (t=2.545, df=112, p=.012) between the first
(M=1.53, SD=.503) and the second group (M=1.30, SD=.464), when responding
about students difficulty in telling the time. Finally, the one way analysis of
variance (ANOVA) performed, for the examination of the relationship between
the responses and the teaching experience, revealed no statistically significant
correlation.
Discussion
Another interesting finding from the current study refers to the role of
schooling. Participants were certain about the low contribution of insufficient
instruction to the appearance of dyscalculia, but they did not show the same
certainty, when they were asked about the connection between dyscalculia and
students school absence for a prolonged time. Although both the above notions
are not the cause of dyscalculia, we notice teachers tendency to blame student
attendance more easily, than their own teaching for any students difficulties. On
one hand, the misconception that learning gaps due to a prolonged students
school absence are connected with dyscalculia contradict almost all of the
traditional learning disabilities definitions, according to which learning
disabilities are not a result of insufficient and inappropriate instruction
(Bateman, 1965 in Hammill, 1990; Kass & Myklebust, 1969; Kirk & Kirk, 1983;
NJCLD, 1991). On the other hand and most importantly, we have to take into
consideration that learning disabilities, as defined by Individuals with
Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA, 2004), are manifested as
the lack of student progress and their academic failure despite the presence of
early, evidence-based instructional programs and practices. This, immediately,
highlights the significant role of the instructional methods teachers use before a
student is identified as a student with learning disabilities.
The majority of the teachers participating in this study knew about students
difficulty to understand the content of arithmetic terms and their connection
with their symbols, as well as to retrieve arithmetic facts. The participants of the
study also considered the explanation of the answers students give and the
memorization of multiplication tables as main difficulties presented by all
students with dyscalculia. Furthermore, they seemed to be aware of the fact that
students with dyscalculia give answers to the word problems without second
thought.
A small number of teachers were aware of students dificulties in telling the time
and dealing with money exchanges. More than half of them wrongly believed
that students with dyscalculia find it easy to tell the time. However, time
telling and especially digital time telling is as difficult as the decoding of one
and two-digit numbers is for these students, since time and minute values are
presented as numbers. In a survey conducted by Andersson (2008), results
showed that students with dyscalculia could not easily tell both analogical and
digital time. It should be pointed out, that the students in the above study were
students of 3rd and 4th grade of primary school, which is a much younger
population than the age group that secondary teachers have to teach everyday.
Time deficits were noticed in another research, too, in which students with
dyscalculia, from 10 to 14 years old, showed a low performance in tasks of
accurate time estimation and time production (Hurks & van Loosbroek, 2014).
The limited research in this area is the reason why the ability of students with
dyscalculia telling the time in middle and high school should be further
examined. The ability to tell the time, handle money exchanges and process the
measures of weight and length are applied math skills, dominant in every
dimension of students everyday life, especially as they move towards
adulthood. A further investigation of the appearence of these skills in students
with dyscalculia should be taken into consideration.
In summary, the findings of the present study revealed that although secondary
mathematics teachers appear to be certain about the high prevalence rates of
dyscalculia, they may be confused about the factors that lead to dyscalculia.
Moreover, while they seemed to know more about the manifestation of students
difficulties, they appeared to know less about the underlying cognitive deficits
of these difficulties. Furthermore, the results showed no connection between
teachers knowledge and their teaching experience, as well as teachers
knowledge and their relevant training, pointing to the need for more specific
and focused on dyscalculia teacher training.
The design of specific and intense training exclusively on the area of dyscalculia
is imperative and it seems that it is a demand of the teachers, too, who feel
inadequate to cope with the educational needs of students with disabilities
(Avramidis, Bayliss, & Burden, 2000; Easterday & Smith, 1992). Since intact
knowledge of students characteristics has a positive and strong effect on the
instructional effectiveness of teachers (Ernest, 1989), future informed teacher
practice may eventually contribute significantly to our scientific knowledge and
expand our comprehension of dyscalculia itself.
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1. Introduction
Rwandan primary education has changed a lot in recent years. Net enrolment
rate has gone up impressively from about 80% in 1999 to 98,7% in 2012, the
highest in Sub-Saharan Africa (EFA, 2105 p78, 233). In the same period grade
repetition has been brought down from 28% to 12% (EFA, 2015 p86).
From 2006 to 2010 new curricula were introduced for all subjects. The English
curriculum of 2010 has been revised to integrate learner-centred methods and
reflect the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) trends in
education. (Republic of Rwanda, 2010a).
Nevertheless, some schools succeed in performing much better than the average,
although their socio-economic context in no way is exceptional. In order to find
out what is behind this contrast between successful and average schools a case
study has been done for one district: Rulindo District in North Province. The
ultimate goal of this study is to provide head teachers and education officers at
sector and district level with tools for analysing and improving performance of
their schools.
This study analyses the results at primary six national school leaving
examination. It addresses: distribution over divisions, distribution of marks,
differences between subjects, comparison between the number one (#1)2 school
and an average school. Suggestions for improving teaching and leadership are
given.
The examination itself (questions, setting, marking) is taken for granted3 in this
study as it is outside the sphere of influence of head teachers and education
officers.
2. Research Questions
In this case study the results at national examinations of all primary schools of
Rulindo district and so defining the average school have been compared to
those of a few individual schools.
The research questions are: what tells the distribution over divisions about the
performance of a school, what reveals the distribution of marks about
3. Methodology
The analysis has been done for schools in Rulindo district, North Province.
Several sources were available:
Ranking of schools. The district education office has provided a spreadsheet that
contains the results for national examinations for all schools of the district with
numbers and percentages for subjects and divisions, leading to a ranking of
schools according to results at national examination.
For the ranking of schools the results at national examinations 2013 have been
used (Republic of Rwanda, 2014b).
Ranking of candidates. Head teachers receive a hard copy for their school of a list
with all candidates and their marks for all subjects. Candidates are ranked
according to the aggregate of their marks. The lists are produced by Rwanda
Education Board (REB), an agency of the Ministry of Education, and distributed
by the district office at the beginning of the following year. Aggregated results
for the whole district about the marks for each subject were not available.
In this study the listings of results at national examination 2014 of a number of
schools in Rulindo district have been used (Republic of Rwanda, 2015a, b, c, d).
direction of REB in a few centres at national level. REB collects the marks. In
January or February the results become available at district level.
For each subject a learner gets a mark between 1 (best) and 9 (worst). Then the
aggregate is calculated. This runs from 5 (all subjects scored 1) to 45 (all subjects
scored 9). According to their aggregated marks learners are classified in five
categories. From the listed results of the schools in Rulindo district at 2014
examinations (Republic of Rwanda, 2015a, b, c, d) one can deduce that the
following ordering criteria7 were used:
So even with an aggregate of 41, for instance with four 9s and one 5, a learner
will pass examination. As an example, this means that a learner who failed
completely for math, science and elementary technology, social studies and
English, and who has a mediocre result for Kinyarwanda would nevertheless
pass. That means that this grading system allows learners to pass examination
with extremely poor results.
So, when one wants to judge the performance of a particular school it is not
sufficient to look at the pass rate. One should also look at the distribution over
divisions.
4.2. Divisions
Only a very small proportion of learners earn a place in the first division. At
national level at 2015 examination no more than 4.04 % of candidates were
classified in div I (Tashobya, 2016). Learners who are classified in divisions I and
II get an admission letter for secondary boarding school.
The pass rate at 2013 school leaving examination in Rulindo District was 62.7%,
which is low compared to the nation-wide pass rate of 84% (Rwirahira, 2014).
The graph shows that in Rulindo District in 2013, notwithstanding a pass rate of
over sixty percent, two out of every three learners left primary school with
hardly any knowledge (div IV plus unclassified) as measured at national
examinations. The same pattern is seen in many schools in the district. So,
It is useful for head teachers to draw such a graph for their own school, in order
to get a better insight in how the pass rate at their school is built up.
Figure 1: Distribution over divisions at national examination 2013 all 6,021 learners
of the district
However, some schools deviate sharply from this average pattern, for instance
the #1 school of Rulindo district8.This is a rural public school, not at all in a
privileged socio-economic situation9. It had 41 learners in P6. All of them passed:
seventy percent in division II, no one in division IV. See figure 2 (by author,
based on Republic of Rwanda, 2015a). The graph shows a kind of bell shape
around an average value: the large majority of learners pass in division II, some
perform better, some perform less good. No one fails or leaves school with poor
knowledge (div IV).
4.3. Marks
As we have seen above (figure 1), the large majority of candidates in Rulindo
District are performing poorly. In most schools the average mark for all subjects
but Kinyarwanda is somewhere between 8 and 9. So it is quite useless to
calculate the average mark for a certain subject if one wants to evaluate the effect
of teaching in that subject. Therefore we decided to look at the distribution of
marks. As far as we know this has not been done before in Rwanda.
As no aggregate results for all schools of the district were available, we
calculated the distribution of marks from the listed results of individual schools,
in this case at national examination 2014 (Republic of Rwanda, 2015a, b, c, d).
Figure 3: Distribution of marks for all subjects at an average school and at the #1
school
Kinyarwanda
We juxtapose the results of schools A and B for Kinyarwanda. See figure 4 (by
author, based on Republic of Rwanda, 2015a, b). As could be expected, the
results for mother tongue examination are better than the overall picture of all
subjects together (figure 3). Both graphs have a similar form: more or less a bell
shape. But when looking closer, one sees an important difference. In school B,
the #1 school, about eighty percent of the learners have a satisfactory result (5 or
better), whereas in school A, the average GS, only a bit more than thirty percent
of the learners have a satisfactory mark for the mother tongue exam.
40%
Kinyarwanda school A Kinyarwanda school B
30% 30%
20% 20%
10% 10%
0% 0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Figure 4: Distribution of marks for Kinyarwanda at an average school and at the #1
school
English
Because for all subjects except Kinyarwanda English is the medium of
instruction and also of examination, it is essential that learners have a basic
knowledge of this language to be able to perform in other subjects as well.
However, a large majority of learners (57%) at school A have a very poor
knowledge of English (mark 8 or 9). See figure 5, left graph (by author, based on
Republic of Rwanda, 2015a). Clearly, learners do have problems to understand
and answer the questions at the mathematics, science and social studies exams
when their knowledge of English is inadequate. Only 17% of the candidates in
this average school show to have good or satisfactory knowledge of English
(marks 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5).
30% 30%
20% 20%
10% 10%
0% 0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Figure 5: Distribution of marks for English at an average school and at the #1 school
The situation is very different in the #1 school. See right graph in figure 5 (by
author, based on Republic of Rwanda, 2015b). Here 44% of the candidates
appear to have satisfactory knowledge of English. Only one learner got an 8
(2%), no one a 9.
* mathematics
Math is considered to be the most difficult subject. One can expect that learners
who have difficulty with English are specially at a disadvantage when doing
math exam.
Indeed, the results at the average school A are extremely low: seventy percent
of the learners got a 9. See figure 6 (by author, based on Republic of Rwanda,
2015a, b). A meagre 7% performed satisfactory (mark 5 or better). Although still
poor, the results at the #1 school, school B, are clearly better. Here the graph
shows the beginning of a bell shape. The percentage of learners who fail
completely (mark 9) is not higher than 16%.
math school A
80%
math school B
60% 40%
40% 20%
20% 0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
4.3.3. Partition
Now school C comes in. This EP (primary only) was praised rightly by district
authorities for having a relatively large number of learners who got an
admission letter for boarding school. So in this school talented learners are
served well at least in comparison with the average school.
60%
Kinyarwanda school C English school C math school C
50% 50% 50%
More or less the same applies to English and mathematics. See figure 7 centre
and right graphs. Especially the result for mathematics is much better than that
So this school C shows two faces. The graphs suggest that the learners in this P6-
class have been unintentionally without doubt - partitioned in two sub groups.
One sub group consists of learners who fail for all subjects. They seem to have
been lost on the way: not even for Kinyarwanda they succeed. The teaching has
not reached them. This regards about half of the learners.
In contrast, the second sub group seems to have been really involved in the
educational process. For every subject the marks produce a bell shape. And so
they deliver a bell shape for divisions. More than forty percent of the learners in
this sub group are either in division I or in division II, earning them an
admission letter to boarding school. So this is truly a result the school may be
proud of, although the overall picture is less bright: the general pass rate (52%) is
below the district average (63%).
IV. The only difference is: the percentages of learners in divisions I and II in
school D are even higher than in school B.
80% 80%
60% 60%
40% 40%
20% 20%
0%
0%
I II III IV U
I II III IV U
Also the underlying distributions of marks for Kinyarwanda, English and math
are similar. See figure 10 (by author, based on Republic of Rwanda, 2015d). Still,
in both schools there is space enough for improvement, especially with regard to
mathematics.
0% 0% 0%
1 3 5 7 9 1 3 5 7 9 1 3 5 7 9
50%
Kinyarwanda school D English school D math school D
40% 40%
0% 0% 0%
1 3 5 7 9 1 3 5 7 9 1 3 5 7 9
Learner centred methodology. All learners are involved in the lesson; they are
actively constructing knowledge and skills; progress is assessed continuously at
individual level; didactic materials are exposed at the walls; teachers show
personal interest in their pupils.
Leadership. The head teacher discusses educational policy and performance with
teaching staff and stimulates the development of a shared vision; the head
teacher sets an example (punctuality, behaviour, visibility); goals and targets are
shared by all; the head teacher promotes cooperation between teachers and
creates an atmosphere in which everyone is eager to learn from experiences; the
head teacher masters a variety of leadership styles according to what is
necessary in the specific situation. The result is shared leadership.
Planning. Strategic plans, action plans and lesson plans are made according to a
plandocheckact scheme; targets are formulated specific, measurable,
achievable, relevant, time-bound (SMART); bench marks are used to compare
school performance with other schools which serve as a reference.
These supposed prerequisites for success are in line with research findings.
Essential factors for effective teaching and learning include: curriculum,
pedagogy, didactic materials, continuous assessment, good teachers, learning
Although there are strong indications that the above-mentioned factors are
critical for success of the #1 schools, they remain to be supported by further
research.
The main reason behind the poor performance at the average school seems to be
that a large proportion of learners did not really particate in the educational
process. Their results for all subjects are very weak, even for the mother tongue
subject. This is not because they are lacking intellectual abilities, as under similar
circumstances their fellow learners at #1 schools perform well. So this suggests it
must be a consequence of the way they are taught.
The performance of school C indicates what progress can be achieved by better
addressing individual learners. Although half of the learners have not been able
to produce any good result, the distribution of the marks of the other learners
shows a bell shape around a mean value. Such a partition in haves and have-
nots is not desirable, of course. But the example of this school suggests that if
the proficiency in English is better and the teaching is more learner-centred a
larger proportion of learners can get satisfactory results.
Concluding, the first crucial factor for improvement seems to be mastery of the
medium of instruction by learners. According to a 2011 USAID study, 62% of
Rwandan Primary 6 students were unable to respond correctly to even one
comprehension question in a simple English text intended for children in
Primary 1 and Primary 2. (Reddick, 2015). In a study by Pearson (2014), none
of the Rwandan teachers (from both rural and urban schools) reported to have
sufficient skills to teach in English(Sibomana, 2014).
Our research shows the correlation between poor performance at English and
the results in other subjects that are taught and examined in English. Problems
with English seem to be at the root of disappointing results. Change of this state
of affairs cannot be achieved exclusively by better teaching in the English
lessons. Learners should be surrounded by the English language for many hours
each day. This can be achieved by a range of activities, such as meetings,
debates, competitions, etc. (Sibomana, 2014).
The government recognizes the need for addressing the role of English. That is
why in 2012 it introduced the English Language School-based Mentors
programme, by which over 800 mentors were recruited and distributed across
the country, but that programme has been suspended in 2015 to allow for
restructuring. The government wants all schools to have a resident mentor
(Buhungiro, 2015). It is yet unclear when and how the programme will be
resumed. So, schools should not wait for the government. There is a lot which
can be done, using the #1 schools as an example.
The second crucial factor for success regards pedagogy and didactics in general:
learner-centred methodology. Although a lot of effort has been given to promote
learner-centred teaching, in most schools teacher-centred methodology is
predominant. The implementation of new curricula for primary and secondary
schools between 2006 and 2010 in most schools of Rulindo has not done enough
to change this situation.
In retrospect these curricula are called knowledge based (Kwibuka, 2015), but
in fact they were already explicitly aiming for learner- centred approach
(Republic of Rwanda, 2010b). The new curriculum which is being implemented
currently is even more explicit: The curriculum must address learners
individual needs, interests, abilities and backgrounds, creating an environment
where learning activities are organized in a way that encourages learners to
construct the knowledge either individually or in groups in an active way. In
short: a competence-based approach (Republic of Rwanda, 2015g).
However, not necessarily the implementation of new curricula which are based
on learner-centred methodology leads to teaching on that basis, as experiences
from other developing countries show (Pritchett, 2012). In Uganda teachers told
researchers that they did not feel well equipped to implement the new thematic
curriculum. The confusion and inadequate information even lead to resentment
and opposition, which was not supportive for effective implementation
(Altinyelkin, 2010). In Tanzania, for secondary schools, it was found that the
majority of interviewed teachers did not grasp what is meant by the concept
competence-based (Komba, 2015).
When many teachers do not understand the implications of the new curriculum
for their way of teaching, they need to be trained to teach in a more learner-
centred way. Leadership will be needed to bring along necessary changes. The
quality of teaching and the quality of school leadership are dominant school-
related factors for learning results (Peeraer, 2014). The evaluation document of
26 education innovation projects in Rwanda concluded, Significantly, for
projects across all the themes, securing the support of head teachers was shown
to be crucial in the implementation of any innovation implemented in the school.
It became clear that head teachers need to be actively involved in some way with
discrete roles that enable them to support innovation. () School leaders need to
be clear of their given roles so that these are not at odds with their other
priorities or responsibilities. (Innovation for Education, 2016a)
7. Further Research
The aim of any school improvement should be: achieving learning outcomes for
all. It is clear that this goal is still far away for the average school in Rulindo
district.
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Internal document
Rwirahira R. (2014). Reforms, quality education see a higher pass rate in Rwanda. The
East African (Jan 25)
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http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/Rwanda/News/Reforms-and-quality-education-
see-a-higher-pass-rate-in-Rwanda/-/1433218/2159918/-/w8k0icz/-/index.html
Tashobya, A. (2016). P6, Olevel results out. New Times (Jan 14)
Retrieved August 28, 2016, from
http://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/article/2016-01-14/196102/
Notes
1 Retired CEO in secondary education in The Netherlands, independent replacement
head teacher and advisor. He worked for over a year for VSO as education
leadership advisor in Rulindo district, North Province.
Opinions expressed in this article are strictly his own.
2 As the number one (#1) school is seen the school which performs best according to
pass rate.
3 That doesnt take away that it would be useful to do research on the examination
itself. Are the school children failing the national examinations or vice versa; that
is, are the national examinations failing the school children? (HakiElimu, 2012).
Because the instrument used to measure students achievement is the cornerstone
of a national assessment, its quality will affect the use that can be made of findings.
() The tests used in many national assessments do not meet [the] conditions. They
may be limited to measuring lower order levels of knowledge and skills, they may
not contain a sufficient number of items, and they may be too difficult, with the
result that potential users do not have a reliable basis for policy and decisions.
(Kellaghan and Greaney, 2009).
4 January 2014 till March 2015, within the Achieving Learning Outcomes for All
project, UK Department for International Development (Innovation for Education,
2016a, b).
6 The Rwandan system is very similar to the system used in Uganda. Also the
subjects are the same. However, in Uganda there are only four subjects in national
primary school leaving examinations: there is no national examination in a local
language.
7 For the national examination at the end of lower secondary education, the same
division system is being used, with its own criteria for classifying in a certain
division.
9 Data about the socio-economic context of the #1 schools compared to the average
schools have not been found. The statement is based on oral information given by
head teachers and district office.
14 Head teachers and sector education officers of three sectors of Rulindo district.
Introduction
The provision of public education is one of the primary duties of any state. This
explains why the Government of Uganda, over the last two decades, has been
heavily investing in improving access to, and quality of public education.
Although access at both primary and secondary levels of education appears to
have been widened, the quality of education in the country generally seems to
remain a big challenge (Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Sports
[MoESTS], 2014; National Planning Authority [NPA], 2010). For instance,
according to the Directorate of Education Standards (DES) report of 2012, the
pedagogical practices in secondary schools in Uganda were at variance with the
expectations of Government and the curriculum planners. In fact, even the
subsequent annual reports of the Directorate have repeatedly revealed that the
way teachers working in the secondary schools in Uganda teach, does not
conform to the classroom standards set by the Directorate as well as the National
Curriculum Development Centre [NCDC] (Curriculum Assessment and
Examination [CURASSE], 2007). According to these reports, most teachers in
secondary schools in Uganda do not adequately prepare for lessons, and many
still use mainly teacher-centred instead of the desired student-centred
pedagogies. Besides, the teachers all seem bent on teaching students to cram
subject materials for passing national examinations rather than to equip the
students with high order thinking and life skills (Uganda National Examinations
Board [UNEB], 2012). All these are happening amidst efforts by Government to
introduce performance contracts that involve rigorous evaluations of how public
servants - including teachers do their work. This study was conducted to explore
the extent to which teacher evaluation influences the quality of pedagogical
practices in public secondary schools in Uganda.
In this study, two key concepts were considered: teacher evaluation and quality
of pedagogical practices. According to Darling-Hammond as cited by Zepeda
(2010), teacher evaluation refers to the process of establishing whether teachers
are conforming to set standards and procedures in the teaching and learning
process or not so that corrective measures can be taken. Phillips, Balan and
Manko (2014) meanwhile look at teacher evaluation as the means by which
school administrators provide a review of what has been accomplished and
what has to be done by teachers in the short and long-run. According to
Orenaiya, Adenowo, Aroyeum and Odosoga (2014), teacher evaluation enhances
accountability, motivates teachers, facilitates professional development,
promotes teaching quality; and above all, it augments students learning. In this
study, teacher evaluation was looked at in terms of formative and summative
evaluations. Formative evaluation - also known as developmental appraisal,
refers to a qualitative assessment on the teachers current practice, aimed at
identifying strengths and weaknesses and providing adequate professional
development opportunities to improve on their weaknesses (Isor, 2009, p.7).
It is carried out to determine the teachers mastery of his/her subject content,
and to identify areas in which a teacher is less competent (Harris, 1986) with the
aim of providing support through continuous professional development and
practice (Papay, 2012). In this study, formative evaluation was characterised by
regular short-visits to classrooms, review of teaching artefacts, and the provision
of feedback to teachers by head teachers. Summative teacher evaluation on the
other hand, is an overall assessment of the teachers performance, often used for
accountability and making personnel decisions such as on promotions (or
demotions) and salary increments (Elliott, 2015; OECD, 2013). In the case of
Uganda, summative evaluation of teachers is often undertaken in form of annual
performance appraisal, which according to the Public Service Standing Orders
(Ministry of Public Service, 2010), is expected to be conducted at school level by
head teachers who are the immediate supervisors of teachers by December 31st
of every year. In the case of this study, summative evaluation was looked in
terms of the evaluation conducted by respective public school head as
prescribed by the Ministry of Public Service of Uganda
The dependent variable in this study was quality of pedagogical practices. First,
pedagogical practices refer to teaching strategies that are used by teachers.
Therefore, when we talk about quality of pedagogical practices, Kahsay (2012)
says, they are teaching strategies that enhance learning and focus on the quality
of learning outcomes. In that case, quality of pedagogical practices is about the
effectiveness of teaching strategies used by teachers. For the case of Uganda,
NCDC and DES have set standards that define quality pedagogical practices.
The standards spell out what the teachers should be able to do in the process of
teaching. In this study, these standards were the ones that were used as
indicators of quality of pedagogical practices.
Literature Review
Theoretical Review. This study was underpinned by the PlanDoCheckAct
(PDCA) model of quality enhancement that was postulated in 1929 by Walter
Shewhart (Chaffee & Sherr, 1992). This model was later in the 1950s popularised
by the quality guru, Edwards Deming. According to the model, a continuous
feedback loop is essential in order to analyse, measure, and identify sources of
variation from customer requirements so as to take action for continual quality
improvement (Deming, 1986). As a result, the model indicates that any
improvement should always begin with systematic planning. This, the model
adds, should lead affective action, and finally proceed to systematic planning in
a cyclical manner. Oakland (1993) refers to this pattern of quality improvement
where the completion of one cycle continues with the beginning of the next -
Demings never ending quality cycle. The PDCA cycle is illustrated as in Figure
1:
Plan
Act Do
check
Figure 1: The PDCA cycle Source: Deming (1986) p.134)
According to Figure 1, the PDCA cycle goes through four phases. Phase 1, Plan
it involves establishing the objectives and processes required to deliver results in
agreement with the expected output. Phase 2, Do it involves executing the plan
or effecting the processes and making the product. Phase 3, Check it involves
studying the actual results and comparing them against the expected results.
Finally, Phase 4, Act it involves using the results to improve further what is
being done. According to Phillips, Balan and Manko (2014), the PDCA model is
relevant in ensuring quality improvement in different aspects of education,
including the quality of pedagogical practices. The researchers agree with this
observation. Thus, in this study, the model was opted for because the
researchers also concurred with Ayeni (2011) who hypothesised that to ensure
continuous improvement in the quality of education, the teaching and learning
activities need to be regularly evaluated against the set objectives and standards,
and corrective actions need to be taken to produce the desired changes with
regard to efficiency, quality, and satisfaction. As a result, it was believed that the
quality of pedagogical practices in secondary schools in Uganda would be
improved through the process of collecting data for evaluation purposes;
making classroom observations, evaluating the teaching practices, analysing
data to determine areas that need to be improved, and providing relevant
professional development for teachers following the PDCA cycle.
Related Literature. Some earlier scholars have already attempted to investigate the
linkage between evaluation and the performance of teachers in different settings.
Some of these studies established the existence of a strong relationship between
teacher evaluation and the quality of teaching and learning in schools.
Milanowski (2011) and Marshall (2009) for instance examined how teacher
evaluation influences the quality of pedagogical practices. They discovered that
formative evaluation through regular classroom observations, review of
classroom artefacts, and checking of learners note books by school
administrators lead to improved quality of teaching and learning. Pappy (2012)
did a similar study and concurred with Milanowski and Marshall - except she
emphasised the fact that for formative teacher evaluation to enhance the quality
of teaching and learning, it must be directly linked to teacher professional
growth and development.
Some studies have also been conducted on the linkage between summative
evaluation and the quality of teaching and learning. For instance, Mpokosa and
Ndaruhutse (2008) revealed that there is a significant relationship between
summative evaluation and the quality of teaching and learning. But while the
two authors assert that summative teacher evaluation plays a significant role in
enhancing the quality of pedagogical practices, Mielke and Frontier (2012) are of
the view that summative evaluations do not support teacher professional
growth since the judgmental nature of the evaluation impacts negatively on the
self-esteem of the teachers. In fact, they suggest that an evaluation system that
allows teachers to appraise themselves and suggest areas for professional
development is better than the one carried out at the end of the activity. Shorter
(2013) further reiterates that summative evaluation contributes to the
deterioration of collegial relationships, feelings of mistrust, fear, nervousness,
and tension during the time of appraisal (p.ii). Therefore, such kind of
appraisal can be harmful to the staff that are praised if it is not appropriated
conducted. Musaazi (2006) then advises that for summative evaluations to be
effective, they must be frequently conducted in a cordial and collaborative
manner. However, this does not seem to be the case in most secondary schools
in Uganda. A report from the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES, 2013a)
shows that summative teacher evaluations in Uganda are irregular and
inconsistent. In fact, in the Education and Sports Sector Annual Performance
Report (ESAPR) of 2014/15, (MoESTS, 2015) indicated that several schools had
not conducted annual teacher appraisals for the previous two years. Donald and
Peske (2010) in their study of schools in the USA attributed failure of the school
Methodology
The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional sample survey design. The
target population was comprised of teachers, head teachers and officials from
the Directorate of Education Standards (DES). The study sample consisted of 934
teachers selected through multi-stage sampling technique, 95 head teachers, and
two officials from DES who were purposively selected. Data were collected
using three different data collection methods, namely: survey, interview and
observation methods. Three different instruments were also used to collect data.
First, a questionnaire whose items were adopted and modified from the teaching
and learning assessment instrument of DES comprised of three sections: A, B
and C was used to collect data from the teachers. Section A of the questionnaire
had six questions pertaining to respondents background information. Section B
was composed of seven questions aimed at finding out the respondents
opinions pertaining to teacher evaluation; and section C had 11 items aimed at
collecting respondents opinions on quality of pedagogical practices in public
secondary schools. The items in sections B and C were measured on a 5-point
Likert scale with the following categories: Strongly Agree (5), Agree (4), Non-
committal (3), Disagree (2) and Strongly Disagree (1). The questionnaire was
preferred in this case because the respondents were many but they could also all
read and write. This helped to save time and costs during the study. Second, to
elicit the opinions of DES inspectors and head teachers of the selected schools on
the contribution of teacher evaluation to the quality of pedagogical practices, the
interview method and its corresponding interview guide were used. The
interview method was opted for because it enabled further probing of the issues
that were being investigated. Third, the researchers used the observation
method to collect data. An observation check-list was adopted from DESs
teaching and learning quality instrument and used to conduct the observations.
This method made it possible to triangulate the information obtained through
the use of the other two methods described above. Overall, the instruments used
were pre-tested before the actual data collection was carried out. Descriptive and
inferential statistical methods were used to analyze quantitative data.
Specifically, the logistic regression model was used to establish the extent to
Results
First, the researchers present herein the background characteristics of the
respondents in order to portray that data were collected from an authentic group
of subjects. The results are presented in Table 1.
Table 1: Demographic characteristics of the respondents
Variable Category Frequency Percentage
Age Less than 20 years 6 .6
20 - 40 years 664 71.1
40 years and 264 28.3
above
Gender Male 644 69.0
Female 290 31.0
Highest level of Diploma 208 22.3
education Bachelors 577 61.8
Post-Graduate 149 15.9
Length of years in Less than 3 years 175 18.7
the school 3 to 10 years 554 59.4
10 years above 205 21.9
The results in Table 1 show that majority (71.1%) of the teachers were aged
between 20 and 40 years, demonstrating that majority were young and energetic
to effectively discharge instructional tasks. Results also suggest a gender
disparity in employment of teachers in public secondary schools with more male
teachers (69.0%) employed compared to their female counterparts (31.0%). The
results also show that the majority (83%) of the teachers had the requisite
qualification (at least a diploma) to teach at secondary school level,
demonstrating that the teachers in the system have the necessary qualifications
to offer quality teaching. In relation to numbers of years spent in the schools,
findings in Table 1 show that majority (81.3%) of the teachers had spent more
than three years in the sampled schools while 18.7 percent had spent less than
three years, indicating that teachers had long standing cognate experience in
serving as teachers.
The results in Table 2 indicate that slightly over 50 percent of the teachers agreed
with their subject heads at the beginning of the academic term on the teaching
and learning targets and were appraised basing on these targets. Although 78
percent of the teachers agreed that they were annually appraised by the head
teachers, a lower percentage (63.2%) indicated that head teachers discussed with
them the results of the appraisals. This implied that several teachers did not
participate in setting performance targets and some head teachers did not give
feedback on the appraisals undertaken. The pattern of the responses was
maintained for all other questionnaire items concerning teacher evaluation.
Information from the interviews demonstrated that public secondary schools did
not have a systematic approach of evaluating teachers. Most schools evaluated
teachers basing on the students performance reflected in UNEB examination
results. The teachers whom the students performed well in their subjects were
rated as good performers and recognised with prizes! Furthermore, information
from the head teachers demonstrated that annual performance appraisal of
teachers in the majority of the selected secondary schools was not frequent
despite its being a requirement by the Ministry of Public Service. The
inconsistency in the annual appraisal of teachers was more pronounced in the
Universal Secondary Education (USE) schools than non-USE schools. Only 32
percent of the interviewed USE school head teachers had conducted staff
appraisals the previous year. Further analysis revealed that 42 percent of the
head teachers in the Elgon and 38 percent of head teachers in West Nile sub-
regions had not appraised their teachers for the previous two years.
Further findings showed that some head teachers lacked the competency to
effectively appraise the teachers. Head teachers in the districts of Bulambuli,
Manafwa and Ntungamo acknowledged failure to determine the key
performance indicators and targets that would be used to appraise teachers.
According to one head teacher, the design of the appraisal form was general for
all civil servants and tailoring the format to teacher appraisal was our big
challenge. Some head teachers from West Nile Sub-region confessed that they
invited senior head teachers from neighbouring schools towards the end of the
year to help in the appraisal of their teachers. However, some of those head
teachers were unwilling to help junior ones. This means that lack of evaluation
skills amongst head teachers could be responsible for the irregular teacher
evaluation in secondary schools in Uganda.
.
Descriptive Results of Teachers Opinions on Quality of Pedagogical
Practices
Information on quality of pedagogical practices in public secondary schools was
sought from teachers and the findings are also presented in Table 3 below.
Table 3: Descriptive results of teachers perceptions on quality of pedagogical
practices
Quality of Pedagogical Practices Disagree Non- Agree
committal
I make schemes of work at the beginning of 154 2 778
every term (16.5%) (0.2%) (83.3%)
I make lesson plans for all my lessons 527 40 367
(56.4%) (4.3%) (39.3%)
I prepare class exercises for students before 257 17 660
the lessons. (27.5%) (1.8%) (70.7%)
I assess the student's prior knowledge and 82 16 836
skills at the start of a lesson. (8.8%) (1.7%) (89.5%)
I use a variety of teaching methods to improve 325 5 604
the quality of teaching. (34.8%) (5%) (64.7%)
I find explaining concepts clearly to learners 374 35 525
using real life examples a challenge. (40%) (3.7%) (56.2%)
I mark the class exercises while in class 388 32 514
(41.5%) (3.4%) (55.0%)
I give homework at the end of each lesson. 89 27 818
(9.5%) (2.9%) (87.6%
I go through marked homework exercises 353 53 528
with the students at the start of the lesson. (37.8%) (5.7%) (56.5%)
I give at least two tests in my subject per term. 260 31 643
(27.8%) (3.3%) (68.8%)
I return marked scripts in time before the next 134 22 778
test. (14.3%) (2.4%) (83.3%)
I make corrections when I return marked 111 19 804
scripts to students. (11.9%) (2.0%) (86.1%)
Table 3 shows that whereas 83.3 percent of the teachers agreed that they made
schemes of work at the beginning of every term, 56.4 percent perceived making
lesson plans a waste of time and 70.7% indicated that they prepared class
exercises before their lessons. Other than making lesson plans, results indicate
that there is an effort made by teachers to prepare for lessons. Concerning the
teaching and learning process, 89.5 percent of the teachers indicated that they
assessed the students prior knowledge and skills at the beginning of the lesson
and 64.7 percent agreed that they used a variety of teaching methods to improve
the quality of teaching. Results also indicate that 54.8 percent of the teachers
gave class exercises while teaching. The majority (56.2%) of the teachers
indicated that they had challenges with explaining concepts using real life
examples. Regarding evaluation of students, 55.0 percent of the teachers marked
class exercises. Whereas 87.6 percent of the respondents agreed that they gave
homework, only 56.5 percent agreed that they revised marked homework with
the students. While 68.8 percent of the teachers gave at least two tests in the
subjects they taught per academic term, 83.3 percent returned marked scripts
before giving the next test. The majority (86.1%) of the respondents agreed that
they made corrections whenever they returned marked scripts. These results
show that teachers put more emphasis on marking tests other than the class
exercises and homework. Despite a general pattern of teachers indicating that
they were conforming to the set standard, interview with the head teachers,
lesson observation, and document review results demonstrated otherwise. This
cast doubt on the teachers positive responses to items on quality of pedagogical
practices. Could it have been that teachers feared to give negative responses to
items that examined their conformance to professional standards?
Although the majority of the teachers (83.3%) agreed that they made schemes of
work at every beginning of the term, document review revealed that most
schemes of work lacked evidence of planning for teaching or learning aids and
use of learner-based methods of teaching. Scrutiny of the schemes of work
revealed that most teachers did not refer to NCDC guidelines that emphasised
learner-based approaches of teaching and practical teaching of science subjects.
The head teachers explained that teachers found it difficult to go by the
guidelines because they would not be able to complete the syllabi in time for the
national examinations. Results of lesson observation showed that of the 106
teachers that were observed only 36 (33.9%) used learner-based methods. Of the
33.9 percent teachers who used a variety of teaching methods, 86 percent were
science or mathematics teachers. A review of 530 students exercise books
revealed that only 284 (53.5%) books had class exercises given and marked.
These findings were in agreement with descriptive results of the teachers
responses in Table 3 where 56.5 percent of the teachers indicated that they gave
and marked class exercises. Where class exercises or homework were marked,
only 196 (36%) of the teachers made constructive comments after marking the
students work. Overall, these results indicate the existence of poor quality of
pedagogical practices in the schools that were studied.
Factor analysis
Principal component factor analysis was conducted on the 7 variables related to
teacher evaluation to extract factors for regression analysis. The Rotated
Component Matrix showing factor loadings for each variable helped to identify
factors that each variable loaded most strongly on. The factor loading matrix is
presented in Table 4 below.
Table 4: Factor loadings with communalities based on a principal component
analysis with rotated factor loadings
Variable Factor
Formative Summative
evaluation evaluation
Q5. The head of department assesses the way I teach 0.710
Q6. I agree with my Head of Department on the 0.853
teaching and learning targets at the beginning of
every term.
Q7. Evaluations by Heads of Department are based on 0.851
the targets set and agreed upon at the beginning of
the term.
Q8. My head teacher annually appraises me. 0.443 0.734
Q9. The head teacher discusses with me the results of 0.467 0.700
the annual appraisal.
Q10. Appraisal of my work is fair assessment of my 0.819
performance as a teacher in this school.
Q11. Appraisal of my performance has a great impact 0.786
on the way I teach in the classroom.
Note: factor loadings < 0.3 were suppressed
Results in Table 4 indicate that two factors were extracted that were renamed
formative evaluation and summative evaluation. Items Q5, Q6, Q7 and Q10
loaded heavily on factor 1 that was renamed formative evaluation. And items
Q8, Q9, and Q11 loaded more on factor 2 that was renamed summative
evaluation.
Discussion of Findings
The findings of this study are in agreement with findings of earlier studies
(Phillips, Balan & Manko, 2014; Orenaiye et al., 2014) that reveal that formative
teacher evaluation plays a significant role in enhancing the quality of
pedagogical practices. Despite the significant contribution of formative teacher
evaluation to quality of pedagogical practices, several public secondary schools
in Uganda did not have a system of continuous evaluation of teachers output as
indicated in the ESAPR report of 2013/14 (MoESTS, 2014). There was, in fact, no
evidence of formative evaluation systems that focused on classroom activities or
specifically pedagogical practices such as teacher preparation, the teaching and
learning process, and assessment of learners on a continuous basis. Lack of such
systems is detrimental to teacher professional development and quality of
teaching (Papay, 2012). Finding of this study also demonstrated that teacher
performance was gauged by the students performance reflected in UNEB
examination results. Use of national examination results may not measure
teachers conformance to standard pedagogical practices. The study further
established that in the few schools where formative evaluations were conducted,
the approach was not for the purpose of continuous professional development,
but rather for punishing individuals with poor performance. For example, the
head teachers transfer of teachers to lower classes after establishing their low
performance levels without addressing the areas that needed to be improved
could be interpreted as punitive by the affected teachers. The OECD (2013)
asserts that evaluation feedback that is oriented towards judging and control of
teachers rather than professional growth and development cannot improve the
quality of pedagogical practices. Teacher evaluation systems should be used to
help teachers to know how they are teaching and how they can improve on their
teaching (Mpokosa & Ndaruhutse, 2008).
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New York: Eye on Education.
Introduction
treatment or training lasting for 20 weeks will also be carried out in the
second year. If the results of TOEFL scores after the training still show no
significant improvement, then the second cycle of training will be carried
out in the third year.
This article reports the findings attained in the first year of the overall
three year project (i.e. analyzing learning needs). This question is worth
researching for at least two reasons. Firstly, improving English skills often
involves a lengthy process of learning that can even last for many years. It
is most unlikely that someone can improve their English proficiency
within a short period of time (e.g. in a few months) unless they undergo a
very well arranged and effective training program or are exclusively
exposed to an English only speaking environment (e.g. undertaking
learning in English speaking countries). This research, in its second and
third year of implementation, seeks to carry out an intensive training
program incorporating teaching strategies that are of students interest
and the module designed according to the results of this current analysis
work. We argue that effective training should be accompanied by a well-
developed module and effective teaching strategies. Through this couple
of months training, students are expected to improve their TOEFL scores
significantly. Then, research looking into TOEFL test sub-skills requiring
improvement and preferred teaching strategies is still underrepresented
in the language testing literature. Most previous studies mainly
addressed the issues of items difficulty (e.g., Sung, Lin, & Hung, 2015),
factors affecting test performance (e.g., Al-Rawashdeh, 2010; Fahim,
Bagherkazemi, & Alemi, 2010; Ling, Powers, & Adler, 2014; Mahmud,
2014), test taking strategies (e.g., Heffernan, 2006), the relationship
between a certain variable and TOEFL performance (e.g., Fahim et al.,
2010). This study, thus, fills in this gap by presenting information about
kinds of sub-skills and teaching strategies that should be taken into
consideration in the process of module and teaching strategies
development prior to the delivery of the TOEFL training program.
Literature Review
Needs Analysis
Needs analysis or needs assessment is generally defined as activities
performed by an individual or a group of individuals aimed to identify
areas that require improvement (see Jordan, 1997; Long, 2015; Songhori,
2008; Wai et al., 1999). It offers value by providing logical and
disciplined methods for collecting useful information and making
decisions based on that information. This work is often done before any
action has been taken (Watkins, Meiers, & Visser, 2012, p. 2). According
to Akyel and Ozek (2010, p. 969) the answer to how educators or
practitioners develop effective curricula often lies in needs analysis.
Expressed in a similar fashion, Long (2015, p. 1) argues that in the context
of foreign and second language learning, a careful needs analysis is
important to be done as it is the prerequisite for effective course design
(see also Berwick, 1996). In other words, teaching a language without
knowing students learning need will result in inefficient outcome. Grier
(2005) mentions needs analysis as a way to identify reliable information
about what students need to learn. He suggests that teachers including
curriculum developers have to base their curricular decisions on the
careful process of needs analysis because only through which they can
collect valid information about their learners learning need (p.65)(see
also Brown, 1995; Fultcher, 1999; Songhori, 2008).
Needs Analysis
EVALUATION
Objectives
Testing
Materials
Teaching
Figure 1: Systematic approach to designing language curriculum (Brown, 1995)
In line with the above theories, this study partly seeks to identify learning
areas or sub-skills that students are still lacking. Such information is then
used as the means to develop a training module to be used in the
upcoming intensive program.
Teaching Strategies
Not less important than the above, teachers should also do whatever they
can to help raise students motivation, confidence and self-esteem. This
can be done in a number of ways to achieve these including finding
something unique and positive about each learner and pointing it out to
them, and taking an interest in their outside activities, as well as
developing a culture of shared responsibility and emphasizing collective
achievements (Duckett & Tatarkowski, 2005, p. 46 ) According to
Duckett and Tatarkowski, students can be more responsible with their
own learning if they can demonstrate their feelings of confidence and
motivation. In regard to this, teachers play a key role (Rosenshine, 2012).
The test results are reported in numeric scores where each skill (except
writing) will receive a score from 31 to 68 except for reading where the
score range is from 31 to 67. Then, the total scores in which test takers will
obtain are from 310 (the lowest possible score) and 677 (the highest score)
(refer to ETS, 2015b for more details ).
Methodology
To guide this study, the research questions were worded as follows:
Participants
This study involved 24 students (one class) who were in the first semester
of their three-year diploma study in information and technology. They
were voluntarily and conveniently recruited. They were also informed
that their involvement would not affect their study in any way and they
could cancel their involvement at any time. To maintain their identity,
codes (pseudonyms) were used in replacement of their names.
After the conclusion of the test, we calculated their scores and performed
item analysis to identify what sub-skills were being measured . To
facilitate this process, we adopted the sub-skills name(s) formulated by
Phillips (2003). Then, the participants test results were analyzed to
identify the sub-skills that the students found to be problematic. For this
reason, the percentage of correct and incorrect answers from each item
was displayed to identify the total number of participants who could get
it correct or wrong.
Results
The TOEFL test results prior to the intensive preparation program (see
table 1) indicated that the majority of students still had a lot of hard work
to do in order to improve their English proficiency. As the majority of
participants scored below 400 (N = 20), this proved that their English was
still far below the desired level. Even for work purposes, such scores
would not be considered at all since most companies and government
offices in the country usually set a minimum TOEFL score of 450.
Furthermore, working for companies overseas would not be possible for
these students if they graduate with similar scores. Data also showed that
there were only a few students (N = 3) who could achieve the scores of
equal or above 400 but still below 450. The best score of the current testing
event was 490 (N = 1). Overall, findings of this study suggested that a
carefully arranged TOEFL training is essential to enable students achieve
better scores.
Table 1:
Students TOEFL Scores
No Students initials Raw Score Total Score
Listening Structure Reading
1 IB 12 11 15 353
2 HA 21 11 15 377
3 RE 13 11 20 373
4 RO 18 14 18 390
5 LA 14 7 11 330
6 FI 13 14 33 413
7 AL 15 12 17 373
8 TI 22 18 23 423
9 IN 18 9 23 387
10 FA 18 13 19 390
11 DB 11 12 17 360
12 SY 21 14 13 380
13 RS 15 24 24 433
14 MI 11 6 16 333
15 AO 23 11 21 400
16 MF 11 16 12 357
17 QN 14 10 27 390
18 LR 21 13 14 380
19 IM 13 6 18 347
20 TA 11 9 13 337
21 TN 10 9 18 350
22 RH 27 27 33 490
23 MW 11 15 21 383
24 MT 16 7 17 357
online) and came to a conclusion that the sub-skills of the current test also
appeared in many other paper-based TOEFL test samples. Therefore, we
argued that the sub-skills tested in the current test were the ones
commonly measured in the actual paper-based TOEFL test.
The table below displays information about the sub-skills and number of
items in the test measuring them.
Table 2:
Sub-skills tested in the current paper-based TOEFL test
Reported speech
Affirmative agreement
Question tag
Gerund
Infinitive
Total of items 50 40 50
Sub-skills names were adapted from Phillips (2003, pp. iii-vii)
It could be learnt from the sub-skills table that certain sub-skills were
allocated more items than other sub-skills. In section 1 of TOEFL, for
example, listening for conclusion about who, what, where (part A),
listening for negative expressions (part A), and listening for conclusion
about what (part C) were allocated 7 and 6 items. Then, in section 2,
adverb of time and cause connectors, parallel structure with coordinate
conjunctions, correct form of the passive and basic adjectives and adverbs
were allocated 3 items each while using the correct tense and with time
expressions had 4 items. In section 3, answering stated detail questions
correctly, answering implied detail questions correctly, using context to
determine meanings of difficult words and using context to determine
meanings of simple words were allocated from 7 to 12 items. All these
sub-skills should be given more time proportion in the upcoming
intensive training program since their good understanding could
influence TOEFL score quite significantly.
Listening
Having seen students abilities in the listening section of TOEFL (see table
3 for the details), it could be argued that most of them still had difficulty
coping with some of the sub-skills tested. Areas or sub-skills that students
found most difficult were mostly located in Part A (i.e. listening for short
dialogues). For example, items related to the sub-skills of listening for
negative expressions and comparative expressions were answered
correctly by only 8% of students while the rest (82%) were incorrect. The
next most difficult sub-skills were listening for idioms and listening for
negative expressions of surprise where there were only around 21% who
chose the correct response and more than two third (79%) selected the
wrong ones.
Table 3:
Students performance in each of the listening sub-skills
Sub-skills No of participants with No of participants
correct answer (in percent) with wrong answer
(in percent)
Part A:
Focusing on the 2nd line 21 79
Choosing answers with 46 54
synonyms
Conclusion about who, what, 39 61
where
Listen for who and what with 29 71
multiple nouns
Listen for negative expressions 22 78
Listen for almost negative 8 92
expressions
Skill with negative with 8 92
comparatives
Expression of agreement 50 50
Expression of uncertainty and 33 67
suggestion
Emphatic expression of surprise 21 79
Untrue condition 54 46
Two and three-part verbs 29 71
Idioms 17 83
Part B:
Conclusion about what 42 68
Conclusion about when 25 75
Conclusion about where 48 52
Conclusion about why 22 78
Part C:
Conclusion about what 31 69
Conclusion about why 54 46
Conclusion about how 31 69
In this section of the test, there was only one sub-skill which was
considered least difficult by the majority of students. That skill was
pronoun reference for agreement. Results showed that items related to
this skill could be dealt with easily by more than two third (71%) of the
participants. Then, other sub-skills found to be less difficult by more than
The participants of this study found the sub-skill of subject and verb with
negatives to be the most difficult as there were over 90% of them who
could not answer the items correctly. Using the correct coordinate
connectors was also viewed as the second most difficult sub-skill by
majority of the participants. Items associated with this sub-skill could
only be well answered by 17% of the study participants. Details of the
sub-skills which were considered by more than half of the participants
could be viewed in table 4.
Table 4:
Students performance in each of the structure & WE sub-skills
Sub-skills No of participants No of participants with
with correct answer wrong answer (in
(in percent) percent)
Part A: Structure
Object of preposition 46 54
Past participle 33 67
Coordinate connectors 17 83
Adverb of time and cause connectors 36 64
Other adverb connectors 58 42
Reduced adjective clauses 25 75
Reduced adverb clauses 54 46
Invert subject and verb with negatives 8 92
Part B: Written Expression
Make verbs agree after prepositional 21 79
phrases
Parallel structure with coordinate 26 74
conjunctions
Using the past with the present 27 73
Using the correct tense and 30 70
with time expressions
Correct form of the passive 28 72
Active and passive meaning 21 79
Singular and plural noun 25 75
Countable and uncountable nouns 50 50
Distinguish the person form the thing 21 79
Pronounce reference for agreement 71 29
Basic adjectives and adverbs 31 69
Logical conclusion 38 62
Reported speech 25 75
Affirmative agreement 21 79
Question tag 33 67
Gerund 25 75
Infinitive 31 69
Reading
Reading skill was also still under the desired level where most of the
students still experienced difficulty responding to the questions
measuring their ability in identifying main ideas (22%); recognizing the
organization of Ideas (23%); answering stated detail questions (38%);
finding unstated details (29%); answering implied detail questions (35%);
answering transition questions (46%); finding definitions from structural
clues (49%); and using context to determine meanings of difficult words
(32%). Then, the items measuring the sub-skills of determining meaning
from word parts, using context to determine meanings of simple words,
and pronoun referents were considered the least difficult sub-skills since
they could be answered by half or more than half of the students (67%,
51%, and 50% respectively). Details of students performance could be
viewed in table 5 below:
Table 5:
Students performance in each of the reading sub-skills
Discussion
The main aims of this study were to identify sub-skills in the sections of
listening, structure and written expression, and reading of the paper-
based TOEFL which were still found to be problematic and examine
teaching strategies preferred by students. This information is necessary
since the next part of this research would be the development of training
module and teaching strategies which was to be developed following the
outcomes of this needs analysis stage. Results of the paper-based test,
overall, showed that majority of the participants attained low scores (
400) with only 3 persons gaining the score of over 400. Mahmud (2014)
points out that one of the main reasons affecting the Indonesian
university students poor performance in TOEFL is due to their poor
English mastery. These findings also imply that students of this study did
not learn English effectively during their 6-year-secondary education
study. It was also identified in the study performed by Mahmud that
university students majoring in non-English study programs were not
motivated to acquire English. Thus, the current study argues that the
upcoming intensive training program (i.e. to be carried out in the 2nd and
3rd year of this project) should also consider the inclusion of teaching
strategies which can arouse students learning interest. In other words, a
well-designed module should be accompanied with attractive teaching
approaches (Duckett & Tatarkowski, 2005). Rosenshine (2012, p. 17)
argues that optimal learning outcome can be best reached if teachers
perform attractive teaching (e.g. through hands-on activities) and spend
more time in guided practice, more time asking questions, more time
checking for understanding, and more time correcting errors.
The findings of this study regarding the preferred teaching strategies also
confirmed the concept of attractive learning proposed by Rosenshine and
Duckett & Tatarkowski where students put a high expectation that the
upcoming training would pay more attention to their learning
preferences, that is, for example though peer coaching activities.
Next, analysis of listening test items revealed that part A of this section of
TOEFL could not be coped with well by the participants. The reason that
might account for this matter was because the students of this study were
not used to listening to conversations performed by native users of
English. They might argue that the two speakers spoke too fast. In fact,
the dialogues were spoken at a normal speed like in their actual setting.
Thus, the future developed training module should provide more
weights, both in terms of time allocation and materials covered, for part
A. Figure 2 illustrates the proportion of time and materials which should
be considered in the module.
[PERCENTA
GE] Part A
[PERCENTA Part B
GE]
[PERCENTA Part C
[PERCENTA
GE]
GE]
Sub-skills with more
items
The above chart shows that part A of listening section should be given a
higher proportion than the two other parts. This study also suggests that
at least 30% of the time and materials to be allocated for part A should be
for the sub-skills of listening for negative expressions, comparative
expressions, idioms, and negative expressions of surprise, the sub-skills
which found to be most problematic my majority of students. Then, 10%
of the proportion should also be directed to deal with sub-skills which are
allocated more items in this section of the test.
The results of items analysis of section 2 of the test indicate that most of
the sub-skills excluding pronounce reference for agreement, reduced
adverb clauses, other adverb connectors, countable and uncountable
Sub-skills with
more items
Figure 3 explains that sub-skills with less than 20% of correct answers
should be given a higher proportion or 50% from the total time and
materials proportion while the ones with above 50% but less than 65%
correct answers should receive around 30% of time and materials
proportion. Then, other sub-skills gaining above 50% correct answers
should be given the third priority or 10% from the total time and
materials proportion. An additional 10% of proportion should be for sub-
skills with more items in the test.
Finally, data from reading items analysis proved that there was only one
sub-skill (i.e. determining from word parts) in which students of this
research were quite good at while most others were found to be rather
difficult. Therefore, majority of sub-skills in reading section needs to be
given priority in the training module. The proportion of time and
materials to be covered in the module might be shared according to the
following figure.
The figure indicates that sub-skills which attain less than 50% of correct
answers should be given a higher proportion while the ones with above
50% and less than 65% must receive the second priority or 30%. One sub-
skill considered the least difficult one might receive 10% of the total
amount of training time and materials. Then, another 10% should be
allocated for sub-skills with more items.
Overall, results of the current needs analysis work can then be used for
the development of TOEFL training module and teaching strategies.
Referring to language curriculum model proposed by Brown (1995), the
effectiveness of the module and teaching strategies resulting from the
current needs analysis research will be examined after the conclusion of
the first cycle and second cycle of the upcoming intensive preparation
programs.
Limitations
The present research does not include writing component in its needs
analysis work. As such, a further research can be directed to also include
writing in addition to listening, structure and written expression and
reading. This future study may also involve various approaches such as
interview and observation in collecting information about students
learning need since this research only used information from students
test results to arrive at a conclusion about their TOEFL learning needs.
The use of additional instruments may give better information about
students current language background, motivation level or learning
interest and teaching strategy preference.
This study could also observe results which suggest that the upcoming
intensive training program lasting for 20 weeks should be handled with
care since students still demonstrated weaknesses in many of TOEFL sub-
skills. Such weaknesses have to be dealt carefully, for example, by
creating a friendly classroom atmosphere and by always praising
students for their excellent work during the training sessions. Data from
students preferred teaching strategies also confirm the case where they
are in need of a stress-free learning atmosphere. This also indicates that
teachers or TOEFL trainers should come to the class with fun learning
activities enabling students to acquire English skills more effectively.
Next, correcting students mistakes is also necessary but it has to be
undertaken properly (e.g. through personal approach with an individual
student rather than correcting him/her before their classmates). It is
important that this be undertaken to ensure that students will not feel
uneasy when corrected.
Acknowledgement
The authors wish to thank the reviewers for helpful comments to improve
the article.
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