Assessment, equity and language of learning : key issues for higher education selection in South Africa

Bibliography: p. 314-336.The central problem investigated by this study arises from the fact that South African Senior Certificate results are not, for the majority of educationally disadvantaged candidates, reliable predictors of academic success in Higher Education. Despite this limitation, however, the Senior Certificate examination plays a vital role in the education system. The aims of the study are thus to investigate procedures that could be used in addition to, rather than instead of, the Senior Certificate, and that would provide useful information about the future academic performance of educationally disadvantaged candidates. The purpose of these procedures is to widen effective access opportunities for such students. It is clear that such procedures need to provide different information from that provided by the Senior Certificate which, like all achievement tests, aims to test learners' understandings in terms of the knowledge and skills covered in a preceding course of instruction. In contexts where great educational disparities exist, as is the case in the South African education system, it is neither fair nor defensible to base key gate-keeping events (such as entry to Higher Education) entirely on performance on such an examination. Apart from issues of fairness, however, for students whose prior opportunities to learn have been grossly inadequate, achievement (curriculum-aligned) tests yield little useful information about candidates' underlying capacities and abilities. The study therefore investigates alternatives to achievement tests, and concludes that non curriculum-aligned testing of core skills and abilities could provide a workable alternative. However, moving from curriculum-aligned to non curriculum-aligned tests can not in itself address the assessment challenge posed in identifying talented students in highly heterogeneous populations, in terms of educational preparation. In such contexts, educationally disadvantaged students will inevitably perform poorly in competition with their more advantaged peers, regardless of the basis of the tests. The study therefore reviews various approaches to what has become known as dynamic assessment, and concludes that non curriculum-aligned, core skills tests developed as far as possible on dynamic lines may represent the most effective and fair approach to assessment in this context. After reviewing major theories of knowing and learning, the roles of language in teaching and learning processes, and the history and possibilities of language testing, a set of specifications (a construct) is developed and proposed as the basis for an academic literacy test designed on dynamic lines. The study then sets out to examine the Placement Tests in English for Educational Purposes (PTEEP), developed by the Alternative Admissions Research Project at the University of Cape Town. These tests aim to provide access opportunities for students whose Senior Certificate results do not necessarily reveal their potential to succeed at UCT. The investigation focuses on the extent to which the tests can be said to be (i) valid in terms of the construct established earlier, and (ii) useful in terms of providing useful, additional information about educationally disadvantaged candidates for selection purposes. In other words, the first part of the study is devoted to developing, on the basis of an extensive literature review, a set of requirements for an academic literacy test for selection to Higher Education in South Africa. The second part of the study assesses the extent to which a series of tests developed by the author and currently being used for selection in this context, can be considered to be valid in terms of the construct established in part one. Given the importance of English Second Language Higher Grade (ESL-HG) as the largest single subject registration in the Senior Certificate, and of English as language of learning, the study includes an investigation of the validity of the ESL-HG examinations, and of the usefulness of ESL-HG results for selection purposes. . The investigation employs both quantitative and qualitative research approaches. in summary, the analysis leads to the following major conclusions: + overall, the PTEEP tests can be considered to be valid in terms of construct and content validity; + the use of scaffolding within a test, for talented educationally disadvantaged candidates, can significantly enhance test performance; + on the basis of survival analysis techniques (Polakow 1999), the PTEEP tests are effective in predicting academic success at UCT. That is, students who score in the top quintile of their candidate pool are significantly less likely to be excluded than are comparable students who are admitted on the basis of their Senior Certificate resits alone. Students who score in the bottom quintile, however, have a very significantly higher risk of exclusion than their peers admitted on the basis of their Senior Certificate results alone; + the PTEEP tests and the ESL-HG examinations exhibit divergent validity (that is, they are not positively associated, but reveal either random or inverse correlations); and + ESL-HG and performance at UCT are not significantly associated. On the basis of these conclusions, the study recommends that Higher Education institutions include, as part of their selection criteria and in addition to Senior Certificate results, a test that is non curriculum-aligned; based on the domain of academic literacy as defined in the study; and developed on the basis of dynamic principles. The study also recommends that the potential contribution of such a test to strengthen quality assurance at the school-leaving/Higher Education interface be investigated by the national Department of Education. Finally, it is recommended that as a matter of urgency, the examining of ESL-HG be investigated, with particular reference to the extent to which the examination targets (and therefore contributes to promoting the development of) cognitive academic language proficiency

Critical questions? Some responses to issues raised in relation to the national benchmark tests project

The project represents an attempt to provide both schooling and higher education with important information on the competencies of their exiting (in the case of schools) and entering (in the case of universities) students: information that does not duplicate the essential information delivered by the school-leaving examination, but that provides an important extra dimension

Semi-submersible rigs: a vector transporting entire marine communities around the world

A virtually intact subtropical reef community (14 phyla, 40 families and 62 non-native taxa) was associated with a rig under tow from Brazil that became stranded on the remote island of Tristan da Cunha. This exposes rigs as a significant vector spreading alien marine organisms, and includes the first records of free-swimming marine finfish populations becoming established after unintentional movement. With relatively trivial effort, a pre-tow clean would have obviated the need to salvage and dispose of the rig (undertaken largely to address concerns about invasive species), at a cost of *US$20 million. Our findings show that towing biofouled structures across biogeographic boundaries present unexcelled opportunities for invasion to a wide diversity of marine species. Better control and management of this vector is required urgently. Simultaneous, unintentional introductions of viable populations of multiple marine organisms are rare events, and we develop a basic framework for rapid assessment of invasion risks

A synthesis of three decades of socio-ecological change in False Bay, South Africa: setting the scene for multidisciplinary research and management

Over the past three decades, marine resource management has shifted conceptually from top-down sectoral approaches towards the more systems-oriented multi-stakeholder frameworks of integrated coastal management and ecosystem-based conservation. However, the successful implementation of such frameworks is commonly hindered by a lack of cross-disciplinary knowledge transfer, especially between natural and social sciences. This review represents a holistic synthesis of three decades of change in the oceanography, biology and human dimension of False Bay, South Africa. The productivity of marine life in this bay and its close vicinity to the steadily growing metropolis of Cape Town have led to its socio-economic significance throughout history. Considerable research has highlighted shifts driven by climate change, human population growth, serial overfishing, and coastal development. Upwelling-inducing winds have increased in the region, leading to cooling and likely to nutrient enrichment of the bay. Subsequently the distributions of key components of the marine ecosystem have shifted eastward, including kelp, rock lobsters, seabirds, pelagic fish, and several alien invasive species. Increasing sea level and exposure to storm surges contribute to coastal erosion of the sandy shorelines in the bay, causing losses in coastal infrastructure and posing risk to coastal developments. Since the 1980s, the human population of Cape Town has doubled, and with it pollution has amplified. Overfishing has led to drastic declines in the catches of numerous commercially and recreationally targeted fish, and illegal fishing is widespread. The tourism value of the bay contributes substantially to the country’s economy, and whale watching, shark-cage diving and water sports have become important sources of revenue. Compliance with fisheries and environmental regulations would benefit from a systems- oriented approach whereby coastal systems are managed holistically, embracing both social and ecological goals. In this context, we synthesize knowledge and provide recommendations for multidisciplinary research and monitoring to achieve a better balance between developmental and environmental agendas

A participant observation study of the feasibility of enhancing student-teacher supervision procedures using Flanders' Interaction Analysis Categories

Includes bibliographies.The dissertation concerns the procedure of teacher supervision as presently conducted at the University of Cape Town's School of Education, and suggests ways in which this can be improved. It is argued that teacher education should be situated in the paradigm of Action Research, and within that, in the approach known as Participant Observation. The language of the classroom is chosen as the means whereby classroom practices can be investigated. A detailed account is provided of a full sequence of clinical supervision, and use is made of complete lesson and subsequent interview transcriptions in this account. The methodological techniques of participant observation, interviews, 'triangulation' procedures and fieldnotes to supplement the analysis of transcripts and interviews, are used. In addition, three different ways of analysing classroom language are described, viz . discourse analysis, insightful observation and coding schemes, and their appropriacy for teacher supervision purposes assessed. Finally, teacher conclusions are drawn regarding an effective model for supervision. It is suggested that FIAC (Flanders' Interaction Analysis Categories) be used in combination with lesson transcriptions, and stress is laid on the need for teacher trainees and trainers to observe at all times the criteria for participant observation. Suggestions are put forward concerning possible implementation of recommendations made, and the need for future research in this area is emphasised

Meslek yüksekokullarında öğretim ve öğrenme: öğretim elemanları, öğrenci ve yöneticilerin algıları ve deneyimleri üzerine bir olgubilim çalışması

The aim of this study is to explore the phenomenon of teaching and learning at higher vocational education schools through teachers’, students’ and administrators’, perceptions about effective vocational teaching and learning, and to investigate the challenges faced by the teachers, students and administrators, and their practices to cope with them. In line with this thrust, phenomenological research design was employed, and data were collected at eight higher vocational schools in Nevşehir, Turkey with the participation of 8 administrators, and 16 teachers and 70 students in sixteen focus groups, who were selected through maximum variation and snowball sampling strategies. Individual and focus group interviews were utilized as data collection methods, together with non-participant observation conducted to confirm and supplement interview data. Data analysis, conducted through inductive content analysis approach, revealed that effective vocational teaching and learning was defined from two perspectives: product-oriented teaching versus process-oriented teaching, and product-oriented learning versus process-oriented learning. Concerning characteristics of effective vocational teacher, emerging themes were teacher knowledge, teacher role and teacher traits while effective vocational learner characteristics were related to learners’ entry, affective and cognitive characteristics, and personal traits. Also, perceptions regarding aim of higher vocational education and characteristics of effective vocational program emerged from data. The challenges hindering effective vocational teaching and learning were found related to teachers, students, curriculum, context, system, employers and parents while the strategies to cope with those challenges were categorized as teacher-led, student-led and administrator-led practices. Finally, data revealed recommendations made to improve effectiveness of higher vocational education.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences. Curriculum and Instruction