Kuwaiti Students’ Achievements in Mathematics: Findings From the TIMSS Assessments: Reality and Reasons

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 215824402110319
Author(s):  
Farah Al-Mutawa ◽  
Ghazi Al-Rasheedi ◽  
Dalal Al-Maie
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
Arabic Language ◽  
Slight Improvement ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Mathematics Assessments ◽  
Systematic Effort ◽  
Low Performance ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Level Of Thinking

Kuwait, has participated in international TIMSS test for many years, however, there has been little systematic effort to compile and assess changes between genders. This study attempts to look at the results of Kuwaiti students on the TIMSS mathematics assessments in general and according to gender in particular and the views of supervisors on the relatively low performance of Kuwaiti students. The study employed a mixed method approach in which data analysis of test results, IEA-issued documents, and statistics and official reports were used. Two focus group interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of nine educational supervisors from mathematics and science. The results show that the performance of Kuwaiti students in both the fourth and eighth grades was extremely low on the TIMSS mathematics assessments in general and in content areas in particular, since the first participation in 1995, even though the performance of eighth graders showed a slight improvement in 2015 in all areas. The TIMSS results also show that the higher the level of thinking that was assessed, the lower the performance of Kuwaiti students was. The data indicate that throughout all years, Kuwaiti girls outperformed boys, considering the slight improvement especially in 2015, yet both performances lagged behind international norms. Focus group transcript analysis reveals that supervisors perceived that students’ low performance on the TIMSS assessment test is related to a number of reasons as lack of interest in TIMSS test, unfamiliarity with TIMSS questions, and students’ weakness in the Arabic language. The paper concludes the need to systematically evaluate the TIMSS results, and develop interventions and a competent national curriculum in Kuwait.

scholarly journals KAVA CONSUMPTION AND FAMILY VIOLENCE

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 303-310
Author(s):  
Malakai Ofanoa ◽  
Samuela Ofanoa
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Family Violence ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Family Income ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
The Family ◽  
Group Interviews

Kava drinking has become an intrinsic part of Tongan culture. It involves regular participation and high consumption of kava drink in kava clubs and other kava venues in Tonga and New Zealand. However, mounting evidence has indicated that the reasons for, and perceived effects of kava consumption are yet to be fully understood (Nosa and Ofanoa, 2009, Ofanoa, 2010). A qualitative study to explore the issues related with Tongan men abusing kava consumption was conducted in Tonga and Auckland, New Zealand (Ofanoa, 2010).   The study used culturally safe, Pacific qualitative research approaches of Kakala (Thaman, 1997) and Talanga (Ofanoa, 2010) to obtain information related to the issue. There were focus group interviews conducted with a convenience sample of 104 Tongan men across 5 kava clubs each in Tonga and Auckland, New Zealand. The analysis of the focus group interviews in both places involved a general inductive approach.   The findings reported that kava use is socially sanctioned and easily accessible in both countries.  Further, kava presents concerning health and social issues. It increases poor family relationships that leads to family violence. Usually the family violence happens after kava sessions. The Kava men sleep long hours; they spent a lot of their family income in Kava sessions and makes many excuses. Moreover, kava men are usually very lazy to work, and slow to recover in the next day. Hence, the poor wives usually shoulder everything in the family. In many instances, some of them behave violently and aggressively.  When such practices happen consistently, family violence starts, and many husbands physically abuse their wives. Evidently, one end up in the hospital with serious injuries or both husband and wife appear in court. The study concludes that Tongan men in both countries cannot continue to hide the truth that their abusive consumption of kava contributes to family violence. Hence, there is a tremendous need for urgent actions to prevent and minimize this practice. Further, since addressing the issue is sensitive and complex, a call for multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary effort with the Tongan society in both Tonga and New Zealand is required to minimize the risks and optimize the benefits of kava use.

scholarly journals Children’s knowledge of bushfire emergency response

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Briony Towers
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Emergency Response ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Royal Commission ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Education Process

In the aftermath of the Black Saturday bushfire disaster, the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission recommended that bushfire education be made a formal part of the Australian national curriculum. Crucially, the success of any hazards education program depends on the degree to which the learner’s existing knowledge and experience is accommodated in the education process. Yet accommodating children’s knowledge in bushfire education is hampered by a lack of research on how children conceptualise bushfire hazards. To address this gap, this paper presents a detailed qualitative analysis of children’s knowledge of bushfire hazards with a specific focus on emergency response. Across four bushfire-prone locations in south-eastern Australia, 26 focus group interviews were conducted with 87 children aged between 8 and 12 years. To better understand the construction of children’s knowledge, individual interviews were also conducted with 37 parents. Through their engagement in the research process, children demonstrated a capacity for engaging in serious discussions about bushfire hazards and although their knowledge was often characterised by gaps and misconceptions, they also demonstrated a capacity for understanding the fundamental principles of emergency response, particularly when they had been involved in bushfire planning within their household.

scholarly journals 155 The Development of a National Transfer Document for Older Persons, when Transferring Between Residential and Acute Care Settings

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. iii17-iii65
Author(s):  
Pauline O'Reilly ◽  
Pauline Meskell ◽  
Owen Doody ◽  
Michelle Kiely ◽  
Jane O'Doherty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Acute Care ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Integrative Review ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Acute Care Settings ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Qualitative Methodologies

Abstract Background The transition of older persons between care settings is recognised as a particularly critical and vulnerable period (Renom-Guiteras et al. 2014). Appropriate documentation and processes are key in assisting the provision of quality, safe, person-centred care when transferring older persons from residential to acute care settings. This paper reports on the design phase of a national transfer document for older persons. The objective was to inform the development of a draft national transfer document. Methods Development consisted of two phases 1) an integrative review and 2) focus group interviews with stakeholders. The review was guided by Whittemore and Knafl‘s (2005) integrative review framework. Data from studies using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies were extracted and thematically analysed. Using a qualitative descriptive approach, focus group interviews (n=8) were conducted with a convenience sample of key stakeholders (n=68) to establish their perspectives regarding transfer documents. Data were analysed using content analysis. Results from both phases were integrated to guide the development of the draft document. A multidisciplinary panel of experts in older persons care, reviewed and provided feedback on the draft transfer document. Results Within the review, thirty identified papers focused on transfer documentation between residential and acute care. Results indicated that using a standardised document can potentiate the delivery and acceptance of relevant person-centred information between all parties when transferring an older person between residential and acute care settings. Qualitative interview findings highlighted important aspects for consideration regarding the layout, content and format of future transfer documentation. Following collaboration with the expert panel the transfer document was developed for piloting. Conclusion Consistency and clarity of information is key for a successful transfer of older persons from residential to acute settings. Information needs to be evidence-based, current, and subject to response and change in accordance with best available international practice.

Management Strategy for Distributing Questionnaires and Interview Guidelines in the Research Data Collection Process

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-111
Author(s):  
Po. Abas Sunarya ◽  
George Iwan Marantika ◽  
Adam Faturahman
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Management Strategy ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Good Management ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Data Collection Process ◽  
Group Interviews

Writing can mean lowering or describing graphic symbols that describe a languageunderstood by someone. For a researcher, management of research preparation is a veryimportant step because this step greatly determines the success or failure of all researchactivities. Before a person starts with research activities, he must make a written plan commonlyreferred to as the management of research data collection. In the process of collecting researchdata, of course we can do the management of questionnaires as well as the preparation ofinterview guidelines to disseminate and obtain accurate information. With the arrangement ofplanning and conducting interviews: the ethics of conducting interviews, the advantages anddisadvantages of interviews, the formulation of interview questions, the schedule of interviews,group and focus group interviews, interviews using recording devices, and interview bias.making a questionnaire must be designed with very good management by giving to theinformation needed, in accordance with the problem and all that does not cause problems at thestage of analysis and interpretation.

scholarly journals Counter-talk as symbolic boundary drawing: Challenging legitimate cultural practices in individual and focus group interviews in the lower regions of social space

2021 ◽  
pp. 003802612110144
Author(s):  
Riie Heikkilä ◽  
Anu Katainen
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Social Space ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Moral Boundaries ◽  
Popular Classes ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Symbolic Boundary

In qualitative interviews, challenges such as deviations from the topic, interruptions, silences or counter-questions are inevitable. It is debatable whether the researcher should try to alleviate them or consider them as important indicators of power relations. In this methodological article, we adopt the latter view and examine the episodes of counter-talk that emerge in qualitative interviews on cultural practices among underprivileged popular classes by drawing on 49 individual and focus group interviews conducted in the highly egalitarian context of Finland. Our main aim is to demonstrate how counter-talk emerging in interview situations could be fruitfully analysed as moral boundary drawing. We identify three types of counter-talk: resisting the situation, resisting the topic, and resisting the interviewer. While the first type unites many of the typical challenges inherent to qualitative interviewing in general (silences, deviations from the topic and so forth), the second one shows that explicit taste distinctions are an important feature of counter-talk, yet the interviewees mostly discuss them as something belonging to the personal sphere. Finally, the third type reveals how the strongest counter-talk and clearest moral boundary stemmed from the interviewees’ attitudes towards the interviewer herself. We argue that counter-talk in general should be given more importance as a key element of the qualitative interview. We demonstrate that all three types of counter-talk are crucial to properly understanding the power relations and moral boundaries present in qualitative interviews and that cultural practices are a particularly good topic to tease them out.

scholarly journals We Want More Than Life-Sustaining Treatment during End-of-Life Care: Focus-Group Interviews

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 4415
Author(s):  
Mirinae Kim ◽  
Minju Kim
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Treatment Needs ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Basic Care ◽  
Life Sustaining Treatment ◽  
Group Interviews

We qualitatively investigated end-of-life care needs. Data were collected via focus-group interviews with three groups: young adults, middle-aged adults, and older adults. The key question was, “What kind of care would you like to receive at the end of life?” Interview data were transcribed and analyzed using content analysis. End-of-life care needs were classified into six categories: life-sustaining treatment needs, physical care needs, emotional care needs, environmental needs, needs for respect, and needs for preparation for death. Because the Korean culture is family-oriented and talking about death is taboo, Korean patients at the end of their life do not make decisions about life-sustaining treatment or actively prepare for death. Therefore, to provide proper end-of-life care, conversations and shared decision-making among patients and their families are crucial. Further, we must respect patients’ dignity and help them achieve a good death by understanding patients’ basic care preferences. Future research should continue examining end-of-life care needs that reflect the social and cultural context of Korea to inform instrument development.

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