School of Education

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Browsing School of Education by Subject "Academic achievement"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 61
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    Academic achievement, pupil participation, and integration of group work skills in secondary school classrooms in the Caribbean
    (School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2006) Kutnick, Peter; Layne, Anthony; Jules, Vena; Layne, Bereneice Clarissa
    This study sought to implement and evaluate a group work pedagogic method intended to encourage classroom participation and learning. It was especially concerned with teachers initiating and implementing within-class activities to enhance the performance of the lowest attaining students among both sexes. The 12 teachers identified to participate in the study were selected from those undertaking the inservice training in the postgraduate Diploma in Education (Dip.Ed.) programme at the Cave Hill, Barbados and St. Augustine, Trinidad campuses of The University of the West Indies (UWI). Data were collected from nearly 300 students in January and July of the 2003-2004 academic year. It was found that: 1) virtually all students improved their academic performance through the two terms of group work in their classrooms. This was especially evident among the lowest achieving students (particularly boys); 2) students showed generally improving attitudes towards working in groups and achievement in school over the two terms (especially among low achievers); and 3) teachers' attitudes and understanding of a "good pupil" changed over the course of study--moving away from simple individual skills (good knowledge, good concentration, etc.) to the recognition of the importance of social inclusion and relational skills
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    Choice and performance in CSEC and CAPE TVET subjects: A comparison with more conventional subjects
    (School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2013) Griffith, Stafford A.
    The study was undertaken to ascertain the extent to which students in their last years of schooling in the Caribbean were opting to pursue technical vocational education and training (TVET) courses of study and examinations, compared with more traditional academic offerings, and whether it was the poor-performing students who were taking TVET courses of study and examinations. The research utilized examinations data from the total population of students in the 16 member countries of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) over a five-year period. The study found that a rather small number of students were opting to pursue TVET courses of study, compared with the number opting to pursue more traditional subjects, such as the natural sciences. The study posited that the small number entering for TVET subjects might well be a consequence of the lack of a large enough range of TVET offerings in schools, the continuing low status accorded to TVET subjects in the employment sector, and the perception that much of the emphasis of the CXC programmes is on providing the theoretical foundations for further education and training rather than on providing employable skills. The findings of the study did not support the view that it is the poor-performing students who are pursuing TVET courses of study and examinations
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    Deagriculturalization, industrialization, deindustrialization, postindustrialization, and Black academic underachievement in the United States and United Kingdom
    (2013-06-24) Mocombe, Paul C.; Tomlin, Carol; Wright, Cecile
    This article focuses on how the capitalist processes of deindustrialization and postindustrialization in the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) contributed to and perpetuates the academic underachievement of black American and black British Caribbean youths in the US and UK, respectively. It is concluded that, contemporarily, the academic achievement gap between black Americans and whites in the US, and black British Caribbean youths and whites in the UK, is a result of what Paul C. Mocombe (2010) refers to as "a mismatch of linguistic structure and social class function," grounded in the relational processes of the capitalist social structure of class inequality of the two societies. In other words, the reason that 1) blacks have more limited skills in processing information from articles, books, tables, charts, and graphs compared with their white counterparts; and 2) the students who lose the most ground are the higher-achieving black children is due to the linguistic structure and social class functions of the black underclasses in the US and UK , which, with the help of corporate finance capital, have become the bearers of ideological and linguistic domination for young black folks around the world. The article offers Mocombe's "mismatch of linguistic structure and social class function" as an heuristic tool for guiding future research on the black/white achievement gap in the US, UK, and globally
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    Differential item functioning and male-female differences in a large-scale mathematics assessment in Trinidad and Tobago: An examination of Standard 1 mathematics assessment
    (School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2007) Brown, Launcelot I.; Kanyongo, Gibbs Y.
    This study investigates gender differences and the existence of gender-related differential item functioning (DIF) in a large-scale Standard 1 mathematics assessment in Trinidad and Tobago. Although research consistently shows that mathematics scores for male students are usually higher than for female students at the secondary and tertiary levels, the differences are not very clear at the primary level. Actually, results from this study show that female students performed slightly better than male students on this examination. Logistic regression procedure was used to detect DIF items, and the results show that about 17 percent of the items in the examination displayed gender-related DIF; however, for all DIF items the effect sizes were negligible
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    Dragging eleven-plus measurement practice into the fourth quadrant: The Trinidad and Tobago SEA as a gendered sieve
    (School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2006) De Lisle, Jerome
    This paper expands upon concerns expressed about the relationship between Eleven-Plus test design and patterns of gendered achievement in Trinidad and Tobago. It includes: 1) a critical analysis of gender fairness issues, 2) an empirical evaluation of gendered impact, and 3) a consideration of proposals for resolving gender fairness issues. Datasets used in the analysis were from the 2001-2003 Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) and the 1998-2000 Common Entrance Examination (CEE). The results confirmed that the gender gap was significantly greater for the SEA compared with the CEE, and that both males and females were disadvantaged in different ways by the placement system. The results also confirmed the existence of medium-sized gender differentials across urban-rural educational districts, literacy constructs, and high-low ability groups. A proposal to change the way the composite score is calculated did little to reduce the overall female advantage. Moreover, misclassification rates for the current remediation cutscore set at 30 percent were relatively high. These fairness issues are not easily resolved, but suggest the need for evidence-based test designs, test validation studies, and a re-examination of the need for selection
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    The effect of POGIL on academic performance and academic confidence
    (International Council of Associations for Science Education, 2015) De Gale, Stefan; Boisselle, Laila N.
    POGIL (Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning) is a collaborative learning technique that employs guided inquiry within a cyclic system of exploration, concept invention, and application. This action research explores students’ academic performance on a unit of organic chemistry work taught using POGIL, in addition to the effect of POGIL on their academic confidence. The academic performance was measured using a summative assessment at the end of the study, while academic confidence was measured using a pre- and post-test questionnaire. A qualitative comparison to the previous term’s academic scores suggested a varied academic performance, while tests of significance indicated an improved level of academic confidence among the students involved.
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    The Effect of Teacher Morale on Student Achievement in an Urban Denominational Elementary School
    (2013-05-10) Phillip-Regis, Lou Anne
    This study sought to determine whether teacher morale affected the standard of academic achievement at an urban denominational primary school in Trinidad and Tobago. Data were collected from 10 teachers through a questionnaire, as well as from the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) examination scores at both the school and national level. Findings indicated that: 1) there was a low level of achievement at the school, 2) teacher morale was moderately positive, and 3) there was a weak positive correlation between teacher morale and student achievement, suggesting that high teacher morale would lead to high student achievement and vice versa.
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    Ethnic and gender differences in self-reported achievement and achievement-related attitudes in secondary school students in Trinidad
    (School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2006) Worrell, Frank C.
    This study examined self-reported achievement, achievement-related behaviours, and achievement-related attitudes of 1,434 students attending secondary schools in Trinidad. Females reported higher achievement than males, and males reported cutting class more than females, and both of these differences yielded medium effect sizes. Females also reported completing homework more frequently and higher academic perceived life chances than males. East Indian students reported higher achievement, homework completion, time on schoolwork, and academic perceived life chances than their Black and Mixed counterparts, as well as spending less time with friends during the week and lower rates of cutting class. However, all of the ethnic comparisons yielded low effect sizes. Given the differences found and the potential for achievement differences to increase over time, more research on gender and ethnic group differences is recommended
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    An Evaluation of the Levels of Parental Involvement in Activities That Support Student Learning and How It Impacts on Student Performance
    (2014-01-17) Dookie, Sharlene S.
    This mixed methods case study investigated and evaluated the levels of parental involvement, both at home and at school, which resulted in improved student performance. It also sought to determine whether a correlation existed between levels of parental involvement and academic achievement. Data were collected through a survey administered to the parents or guardians of 17 students of a Standard 5 class at a primary school in Trinidad and Tobago. Other data were obtained through interviews and observations. Among the findings were that: 1) parental involvement was generally found to be high, or of an acceptable level, even in instances where parents reported several barriers to their involvement; 2) the parents/guardians who reported lower levels of involvement in their children’s academic development did not display characteristics suggestive of any particular stereotype, but, rather, a combination of several factors contributed to their being less than optimally involved; 2) generally, parental involvement was paralleled by students’ test scores ; and 3) the greatest barriers to parental involvement emanated from the school as a result of lack of information and communication.
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