School Certificate Level Research Articles

Factors contributing to poor academic performance in English composition writing among grade12 learners in Kabwe District, Zambia

There has been dissatisfaction with school leavers’ English language skills, especially in composition writing and pupils’ academic performance at the school certificate level is not as expected in most secondary schools. Therefore, this study aimed to assess factors contributing to poor academic performance in English Composition writing among Grade 12 learners in some selected secondary schools in Kabwe district of Central Province, Zambia. Eight (8) head teachers, (8) eight teachers, (4) four education standards officers, and eighty (80) learners from the eight secondary schools in Kabwe district were sampled for the study. Data was collected using questionnaires and in-depth interviews to allow the researchers a platform to ask open-response questions and to explore the respondents’ perspectives about the factors contributing to poor academic performance in English Composition writing among Grade 12 learners. The data was analyzed by use of the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) computer package and Microsoft Word. The study revealed factors contributing to poor academic performance in English Composition writing among Grade 12 learners such as poor attitude, contact time, composition writing skills, poor teaching methods and techniques, and teachers lacking skills in various important areas of teaching composition in secondary schools at O’ level. These areas include composition skills, teaching approach, and other factors revealed. Hence, the study recommended that head teachers should come up with programmes in schools through school-related activities to educate teachers on composition writing.

Development and Validation of Worksheets in Physics Based on Science Process Skills at HSSC Level

Science process skills (SPS) are necessary skills that should be acquired in the 21st century. Assessment of student’s competency level in science process skills is a major challenge for teachers. It is necessary to have a validated science process skills instrument that could measure the level of competency for science process skills among science students. This study focused on developing a valid and reliable instrument to measure students' competency level in science process skills. This research study is based on the research and development process. The researcher followed a systematic method based on the 4D instructional development model used by Thiagarajan et al. (1974). This model splits the instructional development process into four phases: define, design, develop, and disseminate. In the first phase, the physics curriculum was critically analyzed at the higher secondary school certificate level to select the four experiments in the subject of physics that were based on science process skills. The construction of item indicators, i.e., the aspects of SPS, were selected in this phase. The second stage was designed in which the researcher developed four worksheets for four experiments. In this stage, items were constructed. In the third stage, items were revised in the light of the expert’s judgment. In the fourth stage, the research instruments passed through a field trial after validation. The subject of the field trial was 60 Physics students of grade XII of two top-level colleges in the city of Rawalpindi. The third phase was the evaluation phase, in which scoring rubrics for worksheets were developed. The validation yielded 22 items for the worksheet of Experiment I, 22 items for the worksheet of Experiment II, 19 items for the worksheet of Experiment III, and 15 items for the worksheet of Experiment IV. The reliability coefficient of Worksheet I is 0.79; it was 0.88 for Worksheet II. For worksheet III, it was 0.71, and 0.82 for worksheet IV. The statistical values confirmed that all four worksheets were empirically valid and reliable for assessing science process skills.

A Comparative Study of Basic Science Process Skills of Science Students at Higher Secondary Level in District Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Science process skills (SPS) had a pivotal role in scientific investigation. SPS are very important to be developed in science learning because with the help of SPS students develop their thoughts to make discoveries using scientific investigation. In the 21st century SPS are needed in science learning. In Pakistan results of many studies showed that private sector institutes’ students were performing better than the public sector institutes’ students in the subject of science. Better performance in science is only possible when students have a high level of science process skills. The main purpose of this study was to determine students’ level of performance on basic science process skill and to compare the performance of public and private school Physics students in science process skills at the H.S.S.C. level. A Simple comparative research design was used to compare the skill level of students. In the present study four aspects, of basic science process skills (Observation, Communication, Measurement, and Relationship) were observed. Through purposive sampling technique two top-level colleges, one from the public school system and one from the private school system of the city of Rawalpindi, were selected for the study. For data collection researcher used an observation sheet and worksheet based on four experiments of physics at higher secondary school certificate level. Measurement of SPS was done when students were performing experiments in practical labs. t-test was employed to compare the performance of public and private school students. The result of the research stated that there was a significant difference in basic science process skills of public and private school physics students at the H.S.S.C level. The mean score of performance of public and private school students was observed to be good in the aspects of observation and relationship skills but still teachers need to improve the performance of students in the aspects of communication and measurement skills. Further it is recommended that exam system may give more weightage to science process skills so that students and teacher of science subjects may be able to concentrate more on this aspect of learning.

Re-Engineering the Teaching and Learning of Geography in Six Selected Secondary Schools of Livingstone District, Southern Province, Zambia

The teaching and learning of Geography in Zambian senior secondary schools should be re – engineered if high academic performance should be attained. Academic performance in Geography at School Certificate level, consistently for some time now is neither impressive nor competitive with other subjects at all. The question is how should geography be taught to make it a must do subject by many senior secondary school learners? There is a need therefore, to remodel or restructure how geography content should be taught and learned. The main objective of this study was to explore how best geography could be taught and learned in selected Schools of Livingstone District. This study is anchored on descriptive design, of the qualitative approach. Operant conditioning by Skinner (1971), who believed that ‘changes in behaviour are a result of an individual’s response to events (stimuli) that occur in the environment’. The study used heterogeneous purposive sampling technique to select schools and participants respectively. A total of six heterogeneous schools, 30 learners and 18 teachers of Geography were sampled bringing the total number to 48 participants. The selection criteria included schools with diverse range of pupil populations and geography teachers with varying levels of experience. Data was collected using Focus Group Discussion (FGD) administered to learners of Geography, and semi – structured interview schedule administered to selected learners and teachers. The qualitative data collected from both learners and teachers of geography were analysed thematically by identifying patterns and themes in the data. Teachers and learners experienced challenges/problems, such as inadequate or lack of teaching and learning resources, absenteeism from both teachers and learners, and inadequate or lack of teachers. The main findings were that teachers and learners of geography needed well organised field work excursions; learners wished to be in a driving seat of learning through presentations, discussions, hands – on experiences, continuous assessment, and ‘equal opportunity’ provision from their teachers. The study recommends that learners need to experience ‘equal opportunity provision from their teachers in the way they are taught. The study also recommends removing sub – regional geography from the curriculum and intensify well organised and sponsored field work excursions. Also, that the Ministry of Education should provide adequate teaching and learning resources such as textbooks, models, and Maps.

Gender Effect in Using Strategies for Learning English Language: A Context of Aliya Madrasa Education in Bangladesh

Language learning strategies can be referred to a number of effective techniques, conscious behaviors or steps for proper acquisition of a second language. Several studies reported that females use more language learning strategies than males do, while some other research opined that there were no significant differences in the usage of learning strategies across genders. In Bangladesh, Aliya Madrasa students learn English language as a compulsory subject from Ebtedayi level that is equivalent to primary level and continues until Dakhil level which is equivalent to secondary school certificate level. However, from the very recent report of BANBEIS and World Bank of 2015 it has been observed that the English language proficiency level of the students of Aliya madaras are far below the acceptable level. The English language proficiency of the female Aliya madrasa students are more disappointing. Therefore, the researcher endeavors to identify weather differences exist between male and female English language learners of Aliya Madrasa in using different strategies to learn a second language. This study was conducted through a questionnaire survey and telephone interviews in which the researcher has made efforts to find out the various learning strategies applied by male and female learners ( at madrasa ) for successful acquisition of a second language. 160 learners of four different Aliya Madrasas participated in the study. Data were collected using a questionnaire adapted and modified from SILL (Oxford 1990) i.e., Strategy Inventory of language learning. Besides identifying the different kinds of strategies, the researcher also provides suggestions and recommendations for improving English language learning at Dakhil level, which will facilitate updating the education system in question and help the stakeholders to bring qualitative changes in the students’ learning outcome.

Perception and Preventive Behaviour about COVID-19 Pandemic among the Members of a Selected Cantonment in Bangladesh

Introduction: Appropriate knowledge, attitude and practice against any infectious disease improve perception and consequently adopt preventive practices toward disease transmission. Good perception and preventive practice is the key to prevent infectious disease like COVID-19. Objective: To assess the perception and protective behaviour against COVID-19 among the members of Shaheed Salahuddin Cantonment, Ghatail. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Shaheed Salahuddin Cantonment from March 2022 to May 2022 among conveniently selected 1315 respondents. Data were collected through face-to-face interview using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire. Results: The majority (79.8%) of the respondents were male, residing in the sainik line (72.3%) having monthly income of <15000 taka. Three-fourth of the respondents were lance corporal/sainik, 30.8% were currently married having secondary school certificate level of educational qualification. Study revealed that more than two-third (62.5%) respondents had moderate perception about COVID-19 and about 87.3% respondents showed good preventive behaviour. Preventive behaviour is significantly associated with male gender (χ2=2.49; p < .05), lower age group (<20 years) respondents (χ2=9.93, p < .05) who were qualified in secondary school certificate education (χ2=8.54, p<.05), married (χ2=4.97, p < .05), stayed in sainik line (χ2=9.19, p<.05) and in lance corporal/sainik respondents (χ2=13.12, df =4, p =.01) Conclusion: Extensive health education program should be undertaken to create good perception and preventive behaviour among susceptible respondents like female gender, aged, unmarried respondents of Shaheed Salahuddin Cantonment. JAFMC Bangladesh. Vol 18, No 1 (June) 2022: 80-85

THE STRUCTURES AND FUNCTIONS OF LEXICAL BUNDLES IN PAKISTANI BIOLOGY TEXTBOOKS

This study investigated and explored the structures and functions of 100 common lexical bundles of four-word, considering the structural and functional classification of lexical bundles, defined by (Biber, 2004 , p. 381 - 384), which was used as the theoretical framework also. This study is a corpus-based study of the four-word lexical bundles taken from biology textbooks which are being taught at the Pakistani Higher Secondary School Certificate level (HSSC) in KPK. The specified corpus of these textbooks was run in the AntConc software to perceive and detached LBs in the corpus. The bundles were then analyzed and classified according to (Biber et al., 2004) structural and functional taxonomy of lexical bundles. Structural analysis showed that lexical bundles incorporating dependent clause fragments, verb phrase with passive verb and preposition phrase were the most corporate type of bundles produced by biology textbooks. In terms of the functions, the majority of the bundles served as discourse organizers and referential expressions. These discoveries have educational endeavors and can be utilized in English for academic and special purposes. Keywords: Lexical bundles, Corpus-based study, Pakistani academic textbooks, English language teaching, English for academic purpose.

TRENDS IN STUDENT ENROLMENT AND PERFORMANCE IN GEOGRAPHY IN MAURITIUS 2012-2019

In this study, statistics from the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate (MES) were used to show trends in the Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) enrolment and performances in Geography for the period 2012 to 2019 at School Certificate level. All school candidates who sat for these examinations within the years under review constituted the target population for the study. Statistical data analysis was carried out using Microsoft Excel with its in-built trend line capabilities. Quantitative analysis showed an overall decline of 15.2% in the number of students opting for Geography at School Certificate level from 2012 to 2019. Findings also demonstrated that male candidates were more likely to achieve a pass mark than female candidates. A t-test analysis revealed a statistically significant difference between grades achieved by girls and boys at p < 0.05. Ultimately, a thorough analysis of chief examiners’ reports indicated that the recurring weak performances were often associated with rubric offences, and poor question comprehension.

Principals’ Perceptions of Deteriorating Quality of Education at Secondary School Certificate Level in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

This descriptive study was carried out in six different districts of KP province of Pakistan and they were Mansehra, Malakand, Kohat, Dera Ismail Khan, Charsadda, and Bannu. There was the common objection that the quality of education has declined at various stages of education. This study focused on the analysis of the main causes of deterioration of quality at the Secondary School Level in the province of KP, Pakistan. These major causes of deterioration of excellence in education were revealed by a review of the study. Some key factors, considered to be the foundation of quality education, were highlighted. The methodology of the study was properly described. The researcher himself visited the sampled institutions and administered the questionnaire to the respondents to collect the data. Out of six different districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 440 Principals of Government Boys' Secondary Schools were selected as the population of this study. The sample contained 132 principals (30%). The tool of the study included a structured interview containing six open-ended items. Both qualitative and quantitative treatment was given to the analysis of data and presented in graphical and tabular forms. The study uncovered major causes of deterioration about quality at the secondary level, which is an ineffective system of monitoring and accountability, flawed examination system, insufficient infrastructural facilities, congested classrooms, lack of competent and trained teaching faculty, un-warranted political involvement, outdated teaching methods, and inadequate latest teaching facilities. The study also suggested various teaching strategies, which are suitable for various types of learners and could be applied in classrooms.

Nature and extent of forest resource extraction from Modhupur Sal forest by the community

The study was undertaken to document the nature and extent of forest resource extraction from the Modhupur Sal forest by the community people. It was conducted at Rosulpur village in Muktagachha Upazila which is adjacent to Modhupur Upazila of Tangail district. A total of 60 households were selected for data collection using purposive sampling technique. The collected data through field survey method were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The majority of the forest users was aged between 25 to 34 years and had a literacy status of below secondary school certificate level. Around 30% of the forest users depend on agriculture but forest resource extraction was the subsidiary occupation for most of the households that was done by mostly female members of the respondents’ family. Forty percent of the forest users’ income varies from Tk. 10000 to Tk. 15000 per month. Besides these, majority of them had 0.51 to 1.0 acre of cultivable lands. Though different resources are extracted from Modhupur Sal forest such as timber, fuel wood, medicinal plants, etc, but timber is collected by 100% of the respondents. Number of livestock, level of landholding and labor time spent for forest resources collection were the influencing factors for household’s forest resources collection. The majority of the forest users suggested that government need to invest in awareness building program and enforce rules and regulations so that community people can contribute and participate to conserve the forest.Progressive Agriculture 28 (2): 148-155, 2017

Assessment of performance and livelihood generated through community based goat production in Bangladesh

The study was undertaken to investigate the performance of Black Bengal goats and livelihood generated through goat rearing at 3 different villages namely Kaichapur, Salia and Shimulia at Phulpur Upazila (GPS: 24.9500°N and 90.3500°E) of Mymensingh district in Bangladesh. The average birth weight, body weight at 6 and 12 months of Black Bengal goat (BBG) were 1.03 ± 0.01 kg, 7.75 ± 0.09 and 12.77 ± 0.16 kg, respectively and daily body weight gain at 0-6 and 6-12 months of age were 34.38±0.54 and 24.62±0.57 g respectively. The average litter size of does was 1.51±0.05 and kid mortality rate was 12.58%. The study revealed that, most of the goat owners were housewives. The educational status and goat rearing system of the farmers were also observed. Most of the farmers were either Primary (55%) or illiterate (38.3%). About 3.33% were below Secondary School certificate and 1.67% Higher Secondary School certificate level. Few farmers have completed their graduation (1.67%). The average net profit from one goat in a year was Tk.754. The expenditure on food purchase, health care, education, clothing, housing condition and social status of the farmers were increased, respectively at a scale of 22.79%, 6.56%, 14.47%, 4.34%, 14.22% and 19.35% due to increase of their income from goat rearing.SAARC J. Agri., 14(2): 12-19 (2016)

Resolving Nigerian Secondary School Students’ Learning Difficulties in Nuclear Chemistry Using Computer Animation Solutions

Chemistry is a central science subject because it is required at Senior School Certificate level for entry into nearly all basic and applied science courses at the tertiary level of education in Nigeria. Nigerian students have, for many decades, performed very poorly in Chemistry at the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE). Students’ persistent mass failure in SSCE Chemistry has been attributed to many factors among which are the many topics which research has identified to be difficult for students to learn. Nuclear Chemistry (NC) is one of these difficult topics. Considering the importance of NC in national development in terms of energy, medicine, research, armament etc, efforts are being made to determine why it is found difficult by students, and to resolve the difficulties for better students’ learning achievement. This study was aimed at resolving identified Nigerian students’ learning difficulties in NC using simulated computer animation teaching strategies. A sample of 63 SSIII (grade 12) students who have been identified as indicating widespread learning difficulties in NC were exposed to 4 weeks of instruction on NC concepts using computer simulation animation strategies. The sample (35 females and 28 males) were in 4 intact classes in 4 public secondary schools in Calabar Municipal Area Council, South - South zone of Nigeria. The instrument for data collection was a 30-item short-answer essay test called Nuclear Chemistry Learning Difficulties Diagnostic Test (NCLDDT). Data was analysed using frequency and percentage. It was found that the use of computer simulation animation teaching strategy reduced the widespread of the learning difficulties experienced by SSIII Chemistry students in Nuclear Chemistry. This teaching strategy was therefore recommended for teaching NC concepts and other difficult concepts in Chemistry at SSCE level.

Effect of Vocabulary Building Instruction on Technical School Students’ Achievement in Algebraic Word Problems in Benue State, Nigeria

Mathematics is used in everyday life, be it social, economic, arts, science or technology. However, empirical evidence shows that students achieve poorly in the subject at School Certificate level especially in the algebraic expression. Research findings have indicated that this low achievement may be attributed to inappropriate pedagogies used by teachers and this necessitated this study. The study made use of a quasi-experimental design of the non-equivalent control group. The sample of 604 part II students was drawn from technical schools in educational zones A and B using multistage sampling technique. Three research questions were raised and three hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The instrument- AWPAT whose reliability was established using Cronbach Alpha to be 0.722 was used for data collection. Data collected was analyzed using mean and standard deviations to answer research questions and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to test the hypotheses. The result showed that the Vocabulary Building Instruction method used has enhanced students’ achievement significantly. The gap between male and female students on achievement was also minimized. Based on the findings of the study, technical school teachers were recommended to adopt method not only for algebra but other difficult topics in mathematics.

National Constitution: A Foundation for Exemplary Leadership and Development in African Transition Economies

National constitution: A foundation for exemplary leadership and development in African transition economies. The study sets out to accomplish these objectives to: investigate the causes of the low speed accumulation of human capital; ascertain why Nigerian leaders make disastrous choices resulting in failing health and educational system as well as examine why Military Decree No 24 CFRN (1999) continues to serve as CFRNA in a democratic dispensation. The study used a secondary instrument for data collection from relevant journals, magazines, books and internet. The gap in literature shows that most African States are still chained to Military Decrees as their respective constitutions. The supreme court over rules itself, consequently any sovereign, military or civilian, can overrule itself. The findings are that: the military personnel attained minimal educational level, consequently, its decree No 24 CFRN (1999) perpetuates illiteracy; and the military rule left in its wake, a sad legacy of human rights violations, stunted national growth a corporatism and static state, increased corruption and posing the greatest threat to democracy and national integration. Based on these findings, the recommendations are that: Decree No 24 CFRNA is being stretched beyond its usefulness: This paper advocates for a transition period for the formulation of a progressive democratic constitution and the raising of the educational level to a good first Degree from a recognized university for membership of the National Assembly. The conclusion is that Decree 24 CFRNA (1999) and its – up to at least school certificate level turns retired wealthy military generals and officers as unprepared political leaders and actors politically. The Nigerian culture of illiteracy is the exact symbol of its laws.

A correlated analysis of students' SSCE grade and performance in first year Use-of-English: A case study of Fountain University, Osogbo

As a result of globalization, there has been need for people of varying backgrounds to interact at both the official and unofficial levels and certain languages such as English, French, German and Arabic have become second languages in many communities of the world, where they serve as languages of communication, interaction and relationships. Nigeria, being a British colony, adopted the English Language as its official language and invariably, a second language to its citizenry. English is therefore taught as a subject at all levels of the Nigerian educational system. This study examined the correlation between performances in two of these levels; school certificate level and first year the University level. Using Fountain University, Osogbo as a case study, secondary data from the students’ records and their performances in the Use of English examinations were used. A total of one hundred and ninety four students were used. Using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation, the study revealed no correlation between the SSCE grades and the Use of English scores. Therefore, the performance at the school certificate level could not be used to predict the performance at the university level. The study also revealed that students who attended private secondary schools (35%) are those that have high mean performance. The performance of the students of the natural and applied sciences was better than those of the social sciences. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that Post-JAMB testing should focus mainly on English Language testing. English Language should be one of the compulsory subjects for admission into tertiary institutions. Finally, there should be intensified efforts on the teaching of English Language at the secondary levels. Key words: English Language, globalization, second-language, official-language.

The outdoor classroom: School camping as education in NSW 1890–1960s

IntroductionOutdoor education is now a well-established subject area in New South Wales schools and is popular at primary and secondary school levels in both public and corporate schools. Neill (2001) noted that, "a reasonable hypothesis is that most Australian students would at some point during their schooling participate in at least one substantial camping or outdoor education program" (p. 2). At the Higher School Certificate level the subject even forms an elective part of the Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) Stage 6 Syllabus (NSW Board of Studies, 2009). Furthermore, many Australian universities offer specific units of study related to outdoor education as part of physical education teacher education programs. Beyond specialist physical education teacher preparation a wide range of students from fields such as health education and arts enrol in outdoor education programs. There is also a significant market for outdoor education courses of study for fee paying study abroad students. These outdoor education units of study offer international students the opportunity of combining studies with the exploration of the unique Australian landscape. At some universities such as La Trobe University and Wollongong University, outdoor education is a designated area of scholarship, with associated students from undergraduate level to PhD level. Even in primary schools, where there is concern by educational researchers and practitioners with the sparse amount of time offered in physical education within generalist primary pre-service programs, (see for example, Light & Georgakis, 2007), some programs, such as that at the University of Melbourne, feature a strong outdoor education component.Outdoor education has a significant presence in schools and teacher preparation programs and there is a body of research published on different aspects of the subject area, in journals such as the Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, but there is little research that has specifically focused on its educational history. This is surprising when one considers the situation in the associated areas of the history of school sport (Collins et al., 1990; Sherington 1983) and physical education (see for example, Kirk, 1998) where histories of school sport and physical education have been used to historically locate a range of research (see for example, Light & Kirk, 2000, 2001). In addition to these areas there is a distinct field of research in the history of sport that boasts a large and significant body of literature on sport across the globe with a range of international journals in the area such as the respected journals, International Journal of the History of Sport and the Journal of Sports History. While these journals cover a range of areas of research in the history of sport and associated activities they are silent on the history of outdoor education. Perhaps one reason may be that scholars do not see outdoor education as being sport or connected to it in any way. Others such as Brookes (2002) noted that the lack of attention to outdoor education as a district area of curriculum is due to the perception that:From a curriculum studies perspective, outdoor education appears as a confusing tangle of influences and associations, which range, at least vestigially, from evangelical Christianity through military training to communitarianism. Moreover, the Australian outdoor-education literature may fail to convince anyone that there is much of curriculum significance in the mix. Considering some criticisms that have been made of some outdoor education, silence in curriculum studies on the subject of outdoor education might be seen as appropriate or tactful. (pp. 21- 22)The literature that focuses specifically on the history of Australian outdoor education is limited to a few articles (Brookes, 2002; Lugg & Martin 2001; Neill, 2001; Neill & Gray, 2001). The perception in other articles is that outdoor education in Australia is a post-World War II phenomenon established at around the time of the arrival of Outward Bound in Australia in 1956 (Gass, 1998; Herbert, 1998). …

Mangrove and Salt Marsh Studies for Secondary School Students.

The excursion to the mangrove swamp has long been a part of the educational experience of secondary school students of biology on the east coast of Australia. It is felt that the time has come to update this traditional experience in the light of an increased awareness of the importance of out coastal wetlands and estuarine areas, and an increased understanding of the complex and fascinating physiology of mangroves as a whole. The experiments and observations described in this paper have been developed from a series of activities presented during the Youth Programme of the XIII International Botanical Congress held in Sydney during August 1981. They include both laboratory and field experiments and observations which would be suitable for students of varying ages. By selecting activities suitable to the particular age group, it should be possible for teachers to develop an understanding of the saltmarsh-mangrove community in pupils from the upper primary levels through to the Higher School Certificate level. The general theme of the activities might best be summed up as “Mangrove and the problems that they face”. The aim of the exercise is to present a picture of the mangrove as a whole. In presenting the exercises, it is particularly important to avoid the test-tube approach where problems are presented as isolated phenomena rather than as parts of an integrated whole.

Improving the scientific literacy of Aboriginal students through astronomy

AbstractSeventy per cent of Aboriginal students drop out of school before the end of their secondary school years and very few go on to do science at the Higher School Certificate level. As a result of this statistics reveal that only 0.003% of the 9000 university science graduates in 2005 in Australia were of Aboriginal origin. This paper discusses an astronomy project which seeks to improve the scientific literacy of Aboriginal students so as to motivate them to take up careers in science and engineering.

Predicting success for introductory accounting students: some further Hong Kong evidence

This study, which examines the factors that affect first year (Hong Kong) accounting student performance, is motivated by two considerations. First, such studies are important in providing comparative evidence from recently developed countries such as Hong Kong in the context of calls for the harmonization of international accounting education. Second, prior studies seldom consider the variable student personality type as one of the predictor variables. Results using 455 students in the introductory accounting class as subjects, and a multiple regression model indicate that self-expectation of examination results, English secondary school education, high school certificate level grades in English and Mathematics, personality type, intention to obtain a business degree and previous knowledge of accounting were significant predictors of student performance.

Teacher Training and Aboriginal Studies

ABSTRACTOne of the most important issues in planning and implementing Aboriginal Studies at Higher School Certificate level is that of teacher quality. We need to consider the kinds of people who will be teaching Aboriginal Studies since this will have a direct bearing on the kind of program we end up with. There are a number of different perspectives which need to be considered.