Using readability, comprehensibility and lexical coverage to evaluate the suitability of an introductory accountancy textbook to its readership

At universities, textbooks are still a primary source of course content. However, this can only be efficacious if the intended readers are able to comprehend the content of the textbooks adequately. This study investigated three possible approaches to determining whether the intended readership of a prescribed Introductory Accountancy textbook (Cornelius & Weyers 2011) will be able to make meaning of that textbook. Such an investigation has important implications for authors, publishers of textbooks and subject lecturers prescribing the texts. Readability of the textbook was determined by using the Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kinkaid Grade Level indices, as well as the average of five conveniently calculated grade level reading indices. A Cloze procedure test was administered to a selection of students to determine their reading comprehension of a reading text. Finally, Nations’ Vocabulary Size Test (Nation and Beglar 2007: 9, 11) was used to determine whether the vocabulary size of the selection of students provides adequate lexical coverage of the lexis used in the textbook to enable comprehension of the text. The findings were somewhat conflicting. The readability indices, and to a lesser extent the vocabulary size test, indicated suitability of the textbook to its intended readership. The Cloze test results suggested contradictory findings that users of the textbook will be reading at their frustration level. These conflicting findings are discussed.Keywords: readability, reading comprehension, vocabulary size, higher educatio

An inductively derived research framework for student satisfaction in ODL : the Higher Education environment

Student satisfaction, as a key psychological-affective outcome of tertiary education, is a direct measure of the success of Open Distance Learning (ODL). It is therefore vital for ODL Higher Education Institutions to assess and improve student satisfaction constantly. Existing theories on student satisfaction are mostly derived from deductive research, i.e. from research that considers the existing body of knowledge, followed by an investigation of a specific aspect or component, in order to reach a specific conclusion. We, however, maintain the inductive stance that a research framework for student satisfaction in ODL should be derived from students themselves. Accordingly, we purposively collected qualitative data from N=34 South African postgraduate ODL students, representative of various cultural language groups, with regard to student satisfaction. Supported by Atlas.ti, we composed an integrated dataset comprised of students' responses to two focus-group interviews, as well as students' written narratives in response to qualitative questions. Through meticulous qualitative data-analysis, we detected data categories, sub-categories, patterns and regularities in the integrated dataset. Theories and findings from the existing corpus of knowledge pertaining to student satisfaction in ODL illuminated our qualitative findings. This paper reports on the knowledge we gained from our participants pertaining to their student satisfaction with the Higher Education (HE) environment, the first of three main research components of an inductively derived research framework for student satisfaction in ODL

South Africa, Tanzania and Finland: mathematics teacher-students' opinions about information and communication technology

Low achievement in Mathematics at school level and during higher education remains a problem not only in South Africa but also worldwide. Information and Communication Technology provides endless opportunities to enhance the teaching and learning of Mathematics. The purpose of this study is to determine and compare teacher-students' attitudes to Mathematics and ICT in order to plan for efficient, effective and appropriate methods in Mathematics education. A quantitative cross-sectional survey design, comprising a single mode research questionnaire, was distributed to groups of Mathematics teacher-students in South Africa, Tanzania and Finland. Descriptive statistical techniques, reliability and validity of the instrument scale, inferential statistics (ANOVA), and cross-tabulations were used and, where appropriate, effect sizes were calculated. A comparison of the perspectives revealed that the South African and Tanzanian teacher-students had a more positive perspective on ICT than the Finnish students. The teacher-students in the two African countries were also more willing to use ICT than the students in Finland, despite the latter's increased exposure and access to technology. Future research should be done to determine the appropriate types of technology to enhance teaching and learning as well as teacher-students' experiences regarding the use of technology in Mathematics education

Games for learning in accountancy education: a systematic literature review

Background: Games for learning (educational games) are viewed as instructional strategies requiring students to engage in competitive activities with predetermined rules and conditions. Various studies propose beneficial effects of games for learning and predict their increased future use. The elements of games for learning contribute towards making them pedagogically sound and teachers and higher education lecturers have increasingly become interested in using them to enhance traditional teaching and learning environments. Aim: This paper documents a systematic review of empirical and theoretical articles on the use of games for learning in teaching and learning in order to determine how games for learning could contribute towards Accountancy Education. Method: Articles listed in digital academic databases were systematically reviewed according to: (i) the timespan as 2011-2017; (ii) the document type as journal articles; (iii) the keywords as “educational games AND student curiosity;” “educational games AND engagement;” “educational games AND skills” and “educational games AND active learning.” Although the authors prefer the use of the construct of games for learning instead of educational games, the literature still related to educational games. Conclusions: The study concludes on: (i) how enjoyable do students experience games for learning; (ii) how games influence, shape, and enrich learning; (iii) how students gain, process and assimilate information from games for learning; (iv) the limited availability of information on how games for learning stimulate students’ curiosity for learning; (v) how students engage with one another to develop skills while engaging with games for learning; and (vi) the need for further research to assess the effectiveness of games for learning. recommendations: (i) The decision to use games for learning in teaching and learning should be based on a well-grounded theory of learning, as well as on the skills required for the learning area; and (ii) games for learning should be employed as learning tools, and not as stand-alone instruction

Technological pedagogical content knowledge in South African mathematics classrooms: A secondary analysis of SITES 2006 data

This article reports on a secondary data analysis conducted on the South African mathematics teachers’ dataset of the Second Information Technology in Education Study (SITES 2006). The sample consisted of a stratified sample of 640 mathematics teachers from 504 randomly selected computer-using and non–computer-using schools that completed the SITES 2006 teachers’ questionnaire, which investigated their pedagogical use of Information Communication Technology (ICT). The purpose of the current investigation was to investigate the level of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) of mathematics teachers, and how TPACK attributes contribute towards more effective Grade 8 mathematics teaching in South African schools, using the TPACK conceptual framework. The findings are presented according to the three clusters identified through the association between the main variables of the TPACK model and other variables on the SITES 2006 teachers’ questionnaire: (1) impact of ICT use, (2) teacher practices and (3) barriers. A Cramér V of between 0.3 and 0.4 was considered to signal a medium effect that tended towards practically significant association, and a Cramér V of 0.4 or larger was considered to signal a large effect with practically significant association. The results indicate that the TPACK of mathematics teachers contributes towards more effective Grade 8 mathematics teaching in South African schools

Silencing dissent in an online discussion forum of a higher education institution

In an online forum at a higher education institution in South Africa, interventions from management in order to moderate discussions, result in antagonism and the smothering of dissident discourse. Critical poststructuralist theory, the model of communicative democratic discourse as held by Iris Marion Young, and the tenets of ideal speech as held by Jürgen Habermas, inform the study while it investigates how the internal and external moderation of the forum limit and terminate essential discourse which could be instrumental in the critical construction of meaning and the exercise of freedom of speech. The methodology of grounded theory and the approach of critical discourse analysis direct the exploration of interview transcripts and forum text. In the analysis of characteristics displayed in discursive moderating strategies, the researchers are enabled to propose a form of emancipatory moderation within the discourse which could result in better understanding among opposing parties. The hegemonous and distant character as seen in the discourse concerning current moderation is subversed to allow participatory and equal moderation for the establishment of an enabling, accepting and diverse online environment. Keywords: moderation of online forum; higher education institution; freedom of speech; censorship; democratic discours

Snapshots of student-teachers’ experiencies of DVDs in a learner support programme in a developing ODL context

The School of Continuing Teacher Education (SCTE) in South Africa delivers an Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE) Learner Support Programme to Open Distance Learning (ODL) students in Namibia, a developing sub-Saharan African country. This paper examines the experiences of student-teachers using DVDs included in the tutorial package. Fifteen participants from rural and remote areas of Namibia took part in a semi-structured focus group and individual interviews. A first phase analysis identified a set of codes and categories that guided the researchers to two themes to using DVDs: frustration and attitude. Student-teachers’ frustration and attitude towards DVDs are linked to sufficient appropriate information, also available as a paper-based tutorial package. Although electronic learning material can assist in achieving curriculum goals and enrich students’ learning experiences, students’ expectations are paramount in the design and development of instructional DVDs.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/18146627.2014.935002http://www.tandfonline.com/action/showCitFormats?doi=10.1080/18146627.2014.93500