Why is BC Best? The Role of Provincial and Reserve School Systems in Explaining Aboriginal Student Performance

Author(s):  
John Richards
2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (Spring 2019) ◽  
pp. 25-41
Author(s):  
Sidra Iqbal ◽  
Mah Nazir Riaz

The present study compared cognitive abilities and academic achievement of adolescents studying in three different school systems namely Urdu medium schools, English medium schools, and Cambridge system schools. The sample comprised of 1001 secondary school student. Cognitive abilities were assessed by Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices (1960) and marks obtained by the students in the last annual examination were used as an index of academic achievement. Results showed that cognitive abilities of the students were positively associated with academic achievement of the respondents. It was further found that cognitive abilities and academic achievement of students studying in Cambridge school system was better as compared to those studying in other systems. Post-hoc comparison revealed that level of academic achievement of Urdu medium schools was lower as compared to English medium and Cambridge system of schools. The findings suggest that difference in schooling system influenced cognitive abilities and academic achievement of the students. Results further demonstrated that gender was a significant predictor of academic achievement in both Urdu and English medium schools. Future implications of the study were also discussed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 17-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth J. Smith ◽  
David J. Emerson

ABSTRACT Recently there has been much discourse regarding the existence, extent, causes, and consequences of a purported divide between accounting practice and academia. The crux of this issue relates to the charge that many new-generation faculty have a primary focus on academic research, but lack significant practical experience or certification, and the related claim that students may lack the requisite skills upon graduation. This study addresses these concerns by examining the incidence and trend in the possession of practice credentials, experience, and other activities among accounting faculty who graduated between 1994 and 2013. We evaluate how differences in institutional focus, possession of a practice credential, and proportion of credentialed faculty manifest in research propensities, current business experience, and student performance on the CPA exam. We identify a downward trend in practice credential possession that is more pronounced at research-oriented institutions. We further find significant differences in experience and publication activity across levels of both institutional focus and possession of a practice credential. We also find that students from research-oriented universities, schools with separate AACSB accounting accreditation, and those with a higher percentage credentialed faculty perform better on the CPA exam. Other results and the role of adjunct faculty in bridging this alleged divide are also examined.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-227
Author(s):  
Zuraimi Zakaria ◽  

While there is a significant amount of research and literature to explain the role of reflective practice in teaching, there is little research that reported the extent of such practice on classroom instructions and its spill effects on student learning outcomes. For this reason, this paper looks at the magnitude of reflective practice in shaping classroom instructions and how it facilitates for better student performance within the context of teachers’ professional development (PD) programs. Hence, the focus of the paper is two-fold: examining teachers’ PD programs that promoted reflective practice; and the relationship between reflective practice and student performance. The discussion on teachers’ reflective practice is timely. In particular, with the growing educational research and increasing body of evidence that pointed towards PD as having a significant influence on student achievement (Achinstein & Athanases, 2006; Fullan, 1990; Little, 2001). In addition, most PD efforts focused on teacher collaboration as a strategy for teaching improvement and eventually better academic performance of the students (Achinstein & Athanases, 2006). Many educators (Fendler, 2003; Loughran, 2002; Schon, 1983; Walkington, 2005) viewed reflective practice as situated at the heart of PD programs that sought teachers to examine their practice for improvement. This paper assists policy makers and education reformists in re-examining their PD efforts in targeting for variables that matter.


2001 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 531-547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jefferson P. Jones ◽  
Kent T. Fields

This study investigates empirically the role of supplemental instruction (SI) as a means of enhancing student performance in the first accounting course. SI is a proactive educational intervention program that targets traditionally “high-risk” courses and employs collaborative learning techniques emphasizing learning strategies and critical-thinking skills. This emphasis on “learning to learn” has been advocated by the Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC) as a goal of the first accounting course. ANCOVA-based results from 1,359 students in nine sessions of Principles of Accounting indicate that SI was effective at increasing academic performance; after controlling for self-selection bias, participation in both voluntary and mandatory SI sessions was found to be positively associated with the total points earned in the course. Additionally, a step pattern is observed in the increased performance for both the voluntary and mandatory attendance phases of the study, indicating that the level of SI attendance may play a role in the benefits obtained. The implications of this analysis for the accounting curriculum are addressed.


Author(s):  
Anna Maria D'Amore

With the development of approaches and methods in Modern Language teaching that favoured oral communication skills and advocated more “natural” methods of second/foreign language acquisition, methodology calling for translation in the classroom was shunned. Nonetheless, translation used as a resource designed to assist the student in improving his or her knowledge of the foreign language through reading comprehension exercises, contrastive analysis, and reflection on written texts continues to be practiced. By examining student performance in problem-solving tasks at the Autonomous University of Zacatecas, this chapter aims to demonstrate the validity of “pedagogical translation” in ELT in Mexico, particularly at undergraduate level where it is an integral part of English reading courses in Humanities study programmes, not as an end in itself, but as a means to perfecting reading skills in a foreign language and furthermore as an aid for consolidating writing and communication skills in the student's first language.


The objective of teaching is learning, not teaching. Improving student performance means improving teacher performance. Research shows that teaching for critical thought isn't widespread in our classrooms. Teaching teachers new approaches to instruction demands effective professional development. This chapter discusses the role of teacher in the classroom. Additionally, a discussion on emphasizing social capital in the school network increases teacher ability to teach and learner ability to learn.


2019 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 395-412
Author(s):  
Amanda L. Sullivan ◽  
Daniel Osher

Disproportionality research has been subject to multiple reviews, but there has been less critical examination of the policy dimension of this enduring educational problem. Given the relevance of federal policies, and interpretations thereof, to educators’ and scholars’ conceptualization of disproportionality and schools’ resultant policies and practices, we provide a brief overview of disproportionality scholarship before focusing on its policy dimensions. We describe the role of federal policy and resultant interpretations to how disproportionality is addressed and our approach to identifying and synthesizing these interpretations. We then analyze the themes apparent in these interpretations: requirements for states’ numerical analysis of “significant disproportionality,” parameters for school systems’ allocation of resources for early intervening services when significant disproportionality is found, and schools’ obligations for nondiscriminatory application of policies and procedures. Finally, we distill implications for school policies, practices, and procedures. We close with discussion of implications for how disproportionality is conceptualized and studied.


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