Browsing by Author "Hamilton, Marlene A."
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Item A study of certain personality, educational and environmental variables associated with science orientation, in a selected group of fifth form students, in secondary schools of Jamaica(1976) Hamilton, Marlene A.;This study sought to probe the effects of certain variables on science orientation in a select sample of Jamaican boys and girls completing their fifth form year of secondary schooling. Data were collected from a sample of 618 fifth form students (281 male, 337 female; 371 urban, 247 rural) from three types of secondary high schools (government owned or aided, single-sex boys' and girls', co-educational). Students' General Certificate of Education (GCE) O'Level grades were used as the criterion measure. Results of the data analysis revealed: 1) the existence of five factors: a) a "School Environmental Factor" for both male and female Ss; b) a "Scientific Ability Factor" for female Ss only; c) a "Scientific Inclinations Factor" for both groups; d) a "Social Environment Factor" for male Ss, and e) a weakly defined "Personality Factor," displayed only in the case of female Ss; 2) that the best predictors of science orientation were: i) Early Educational Experiences, Space Relations, and Scientific Attitude for female Ss; and ii) Vocational Aspirations, Type of Student, and Abstract Reasoning for male Ss; 3) that there was a sex difference in favour of male Ss on most variables associated with science orientation; 4) that for Ss continuing to sixth form, sciences were the most popular options selected; and 5) that for the practising Jamaican scientist, personality factors made little impact, but certain educational variables, such as Early School Experiences, Intellectual Ability, and Liking for Science were important determinants, positively related to science orientationsItem A suggested outline for the introduction of nutrition education at primary level in Jamaica(UNESCO, 1983) Hamilton, Marlene A.;This material was presented at the International Conference on Nutrition Education, Oxford, England, 1977. It describes a method of incorporating nutrition education into the primary curriculum as a part of, and not in addition to, the existing curriculum. Specific content links are identified. The necessity for a practical approach, for the encouragement of positive attitudes to nutrition education, and for placing in the primary system the prerequisites for work at the secondary level are emphasizedItem A survey of college-level nutrition education programmes in Jamaica(UNESCO, 1985) Hamilton, Marlene A.;This paper explores, in detail, one of the findings of a 1980 survey as it pertains to Jamaica. This concerns real entry qualifications for college, poor levels of academic performance at college, and less than desirable attitudes to nutrition education. Additional data were collected from college students and from college records (1979-1983). Nutrition education was interpreted in the college context as home economics and cookery. The study confirms the paucity of students who opt for nutrition education courses. The findings suggest that there was a general feeling that nutrition education is a "female" and low-prestige subject, although some respondents thought men would make as good teachers and should be encouraged into the field. Attainment and entry qualifications tended to be better in single-sex than at co-educational institutionsItem Advanced level performance in the sciences in single-sex and coeducational Jamaican schools(National Science Foundation, University of Michigan, 1987) Hamilton, Marlene A.; Daniels, J.This study examines the performance level of Jamaican students in the General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced Level science examinations to establish whether the trend observed at the Ordinary Level, whereby students of both sexes attending single-sex institutions outperform their counterparts in the co-educational setting, especially in the sciences, was maintained. Data were collected for 1,877 candidates in the 1985/1986 base year from a sample of 38 schools--7 boys' single-sex, 9 girls' single-sex, and 22 co-educational schools. Findings showed that, at the Advanced Level, girls in the single-sex setting outperformed their counterparts attending co-educational schools, in the sciences. The performance of boys in the co-educational schools was significantly improved over their performance at the Ordinary LevelItem An investigation of the relationship between social class, success in the Common Entrance Examination and performance in the GCE `O' level examinations, Jamaica, 1975(Sep. 1979) Hamilton, Marlene A.;This paper examines the relationship between social class, success in the Common Entrance (CE) examination (11+) and performance in the General Certificate of Education (GCE) O'Level examination (1975) for a sample of 574 Jamaican students randomly selected from high schools in urban and rural Jamaica. The major dependent variable was the average grade gained by each student in the GCE, but there was also a secondary dependent variable in the form of the average number of subjects entered for. It is hypothesized that these two measures would be consistent, and thus serve to provide validation for the findings. Independent variables were 11+ performance, socio-economic stratum (SES) of students, location of school, and sex of student. The data were statistically analysed to identify instances of significant differences in performance among the various categories of students. The main findings were as follows: 1) urban boys of the upper SES who had not passed the 11+ examination entered for the largest number of GCE subjects; next were upper SES urban boys who had passed the 11+ examination, followed by their female counterparts; 2) in terms of the average grade obtained, urban girls in the upper SES category who had passed 11+, achieved the highest score, followed by urban upper SES boys who had not passed 11+, and then by those who had passed; 3) overall, students with 11+ passes achieved significantly better in the GCE than those without, hence the predictive value of the CE examination was substantiated; 4) it was found that, especially in the case of urban boys, SES was a more powerful and influential variable on GCE performance than 11+ performance; and 5) students in urban schools appeared more susceptible to SES and 11+ influences than their rural counterpartsItem Education and Society in the Caribbean: Jamaican Educational Research; A Summary and Commentary(Faculty of Education, University of the West Indies, 1989) Hamilton, Marlene A.The paper reviews educational research, mainly in the formal system, during the 1970s and 1980s in Jamaica, which provides information on access to education, educational achievement and socialization.Item Jamaican students' attitude to science as it relates to achievement in external examinations(Apr. 1982) Hamilton, Marlene A.;Science Attitude was measured by the Moore and Sutman (1970) Science Attitude Inventory and performance at O' and A'Levels of the General Certificate of Education (GCE) examinations were the indices of achievement in this two-phase study. Of 248 boys and 328 girls in the original O'Level sample (1975), 56 boys and 26 girls (more than half of those who proceeded to A'Level) were included in the later (1977) sample. Of the several findings drawn from the data, the study stresses the fact that although at O'Level, there was for both sexes a significant relationship between the O'Level science achievement and science attitude in the fifth form sample overall, for those students classified as high achievers, this relationship existed for the girls only, indicating that for the latter, attitudes may have played a greater role in high level performance than for boysItem Jamaicanizing"" the Mednick Remote Associates Test of Creativity(Aug. 1982) Hamilton, Marlene A.;The validity of a culture-specific modification/adaptation of the Remote Associates Test (RAT) made for Jamaica was examined with other measures of creativity in 11th grade students. Factor analysis showed the Jamaican RAT loading with the Circles Test on an apparent fluency factor of creativityItem Nutrition education in colleges of education in the English-speaking Caribbean(CANDI, 1982) Hamilton, Marlene A.; Bogues, J. L., ed.This paper discusses the findings of a survey of colleges of education in 10 Caribbean territories. Among aspects investigated were: local resources used in drawing up nutrition curricula, degree of emphasis placed on nutrition education, teaching methods employed, and teaching aids used. The results indicate an ambiguous situation with some institutions making a noteworthy contribution and others paying scant attention to the subjectItem Nutrition education: The role of the college of education(UNESCO, 1983) Hamilton, Marlene A.;Trends in the role of colleges of education in preparing nutrition educators are discussed in eight world regions--North America, Europe, Australasia, Africa, Arab States, Asia, and South and Central America, but with special emphasis on the Caribbean. Data were obtained by a literature review of the first seven regions, but by means of a survey for the Caribbean. It was found that: 1) there was a dearth of adequately trained nutrition educators worldwide; 2) nutrition education appeared to be more easily incorporated into formal programmes as a part of other courses; 3) more attention needed to be given to indigenous foods, the science of nutrition, and pedagogic principles to be used in passing this on; 4) there be continuing support of international agencies in this field and cooperation among rich and poor countries; and 5) colleges should expand their outreach services to provide inservice teacher training, as well as to function as centres for information and advice on nutrition aspectsItem Performance levels in science and other subjects for Jamaican adolescents attending single-sex and coeducational high schools(Jul. 1985) Hamilton, Marlene A.;The General Certificate of Education (GCE) O'Level examination results of 1,146 Jamaican high school students (529 boys and 617 girls) in single-sex and co-educational schools were analysed. Boys and girls from single-sex schools outperformed their counterparts in co-educational schools for both the total sample and the sub-sample of 337 investigated in greater depth. Significant favourable differences emerged for geography, chemistry, and biology for students in the single-sex schools. Girls in this type of school registered the highest grades in chemistry and biology. Possible explanations for these differences are exploredItem Preliminary work on the development of a science attitude scale for Jamaican high school students(Jan. 1983) Hamilton, Marlene A.;This paper describes, in some detail, stages in the development of a Science Attitude Scale for Jamaican 10th grade students. The statistical techniques employed with the original item pool (and which resulted in a 36-item scale being proposed as a suitable instrument for the purpose intended) are discussed. Reliability and preliminary validation exercises are also reported, and proposals for further refinement of the scale are outlinedItem Project report [on Jamaica](UNESCO, 1978) Hamilton, Marlene A.;This paper reports the findings of a joint UNESCO/School of Education Nutrition Education Project, encompassing the designing, implementation, and evaluation of nutrition education curricula suitable for Grade 9 students in secondary schools in Jamaica. Separate curricula for nutrition in the areas of general science, home economics, and agriculture had been designed in the engagement curriculum design outlined in a 1975 UNESCO publication. The main objective of the project was to compare each of these new curricula with the appropriate section of the curricula in regular use in Jamaican schools, which had been designed by the Ministry of Education. As a spin-off, it also served as an evaluation exercise for these latter curricula. The report details the background to and design of the research, discusses findings, and makes recommendations that largely bear on the need for teacher trainingItem Sex roles and secondary education in Jamaica(Kogan Page, 1984) Hamilton, Marlene A.; Acker, SandraA brief outline of the structure of Jamaica's educational system sets the stage for a discussion of sex role differences at the secondary level of schooling. These are identified mainly through a review of local research carried out during the decade 1974-1984. Differential access to secondary schooling, the part played by the school in the socialization process, and the outcomes of this socialization in terms of cognitive abilities, personality characteristics, and academic attainment are examined and discussed to reveal the implications for sex role development. Despite certain similarities between the sexes, especially in important areas such as motivation and achievement, the differences identified suggest that the active, independent male and passive, dependent female stereotypes still persistItem Strategies for curriculum and materials development in environmental education for primary and secondary schools and teacher education institutions (a Jamaican perspective)Hamilton, Marlene A.;This paper proposes criteria for: 1) the selection of environmental elements for the school curriculum, 2) strategies for the preparation of materials with the involvement of teachers, 3) articulation across the various levels of the educational system, and 4) for the efficient use of existing personnel and infrastructure in the implementation processItem The attitudes of older Jamaican adolescents to `Women in Science'(Faculty of Education, UWI, 1985) Hamilton, Marlene A.;A 35-item "Attitude to Women in Science" scale was developed along dimensions of gender roles, vocational concern, personality/temperament, educational considerations, and cognitive concerns. This was administered to a sample of 88 girls (58 from a single sex, 30 from a co-educational school) and 93 boys (60 from a single-sex, 33 from a co-educational school). Girls scored significantly higher on the scale than boys; the girls from single-sex schools registering a more favourable attitude than the rest of the sample. Means for both sexes in the co-educational institution were almost identical. Schools had been matched for prestige, size, quality of staff, physical plant, and range of academic offeringsItem The development of an introductory ecology course for third year students in secondary schools of Jamaica(1976) Hamilton, Marlene A.;A series of 12 units based on the themes: populations, environments, species and communities, interdependence of species, and food cycles in nature was designed, together with details of materials and equipment needed (low cost, local emphasis), methodology (stressing student participation and practical work), and consolidation. Consideration was also given to arranging the course as a base for future study of ecology. A number of factors, for example, teacher enthusiasm and extent of student prerequisite knowledge, which might influence the success of the course are outlinedItem The practising Jamaican scientist - A profile(1979) Hamilton, Marlene A.;Based on several tests, including ones on science attitude, convergency/divergency, personal adjustment, verbal- spatial-mathematical aptitude, this article presents the patterns emerging from the analysis as a "profile" of the "average" practising Jamaican scientist. Characteristics of this profile include: being the first-born child of a middle-class family, high academic performance throughout school and university, high involvement in and satisfaction with his profession and family life, and well-adjusted personalityItem The University of the West Indies Distance Teaching Experiment(1988) Hamilton, Marlene A.;Item Women in higher education: A Caribbean perspective(Institute of Social and Economic Research, UWI, 1996) Hamilton, Marlene A.; Craig, Dennis R.This study sought to examine access patterns and graduation rates of Caribbean women pursuing undergraduate degrees at The University of the West Indies (UWI), and to explore variations in academic staffing at UWI, by gender, during the period 1648/49 to 1985/86. An attempt is made to suggest reasons/causes for any marked trends over the period under review, which can be attributed to gender