This dissertation examines the impact of student teachers' cultural congruence, specifically in terms of race, home language, and gender, on cognitive learning in the information systems and technology discipline. The research conducted as part of this study examines culture-based academic achievement differences and the impact on cognitive learning by matching teachers and students in terms of race, home language, and gender among first-year information systems and technology students at a public university in South Africa.
Context and relevance of study
Furthermore, the proportion of African ICT graduates has increased over the past few years and will continue to do so at least until 2014. More worrying is the fact that there is a steady decline in Indian, white graduates and of ICT color and the total number of graduates in ICT universities will decline between 2006 and 2014 by 12% (ISETT SETA, 2010).
Research problem
Given the government's 85% Black employment profile target, there is a clear sense of urgency around the need to address the issues related to quality ICT education and skills development and particularly those related to the culture-based academic achievement gap. Improving the return on education and training investment that stakeholders can realize in the development of IS&T skills in South Africa.
Objectives and research questions
Sub-Question 3.1 (SQ3.1): “Do students' perceptions of collective self-efficacy (particularly regarding teacher competence) differ between racial groups?” Sub-Question 3.3 (SQ3.3): “Do students' perceptions of collective self-efficacy (particularly regarding with the teacher's abilities) differentiates between gender groups?'
Overview of research approach
Research Question 3(RQ3): "Do students' perceptions of collective self-efficacy (regarding teaching skills) work across cultural groupings?". Sub-Question 3.2(SQ3.2): "Do students' perceptions of collective self-efficacy (specifically with respect to teaching skills) differ between home language groupings?".
Structure of thesis
An investigation of race, home language, and gender as predictors of cognitive test performance in information systems and technology education;. Research on the impact of teacher-student matching based on race, native language, and gender on students' cognitive test performance in information systems and technology education.
Introduction
Key concepts defined
Return on investment
Return on Investment (ROI) level 5 evaluates the monetary value of the business impact of the training program. Business impact data is converted to a monetary value and the total cost of the training program is.
Culture
Additionally, it is hoped that further research will follow on the impact of pedagogical strategies aimed at closing the race-based achievement gap for the ICT sector as a whole. It is in this context that the Philips ROI analysis model will provide a useful model to measure the impact of the skills development related projects and initiatives in which the sector as a whole invests.
Culture and cognitive learning
- Culture and the performance gap-a scan of international research
- Culture and computer science
- Explaining the performance gap
- Nature vs. Nurture
- Cultural learning differences- education according to Hofstede
- Multicultural pedagogy
This is illustrated by the demographics of students taking the Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science exam in the United States. In a similar study, Woodrow et al. 2001) compared the learning preferences of British-Chinese and British-European students in Greater Manchester schools in the United Kingdom.
Teacher student congruence as a predictor of performance
Congruence and academic performance- a scan of international research
The value of teacher-student matching based on ethnicity has received considerable attention in the United States, particularly since the official desegregation of schools. The literature reports a number of studies conducted in the United States and elsewhere that examine the impact of teacher-student matching on learning by ethnicity.
Immediacy, affinity and cultural consonance
- The role of immediacy
- The role of affinity
- Race and immediacy
To overcome certain limitations inherent in the self-report approach, Kelley and Gorham (1988) conducted a study that involved 'new learning' (i.e., the content being tested was not known to participants prior to the study). Wilson (2006) makes a similar point about the importance of a strong sense of affinity between student and teacher and expresses the opinion that immediate behavior is merely a subset of all those actions that demonstrate affinity between teacher and student (or, simply put, that a teacher 'likes' the student).
Racial identity and the role of perception in student academic performance
In their study, students' perceptions of various prosocial behaviors (affirmation, clarity, and immediacy) on the part of their teachers accounted for significant percentages of the variance in instructor credibility and learning outcomes. Glascock and Ruggiero (2006) similarly examine university students' perceptions of professor credibility, but include an examination of the extent to which gender and ethnicity play a role in the results.
Social cognitive theory in computer education
Social modeling and observational learning
Although different authors and studies have different areas of focus, the connection seems to lie in the resulting attitude or perception of the student and his sense of affinity with the teacher in the classroom. Thus, it appears that student perception is a key aspect in any discussion of factors influencing student performance in the multicultural classroom.
Self-efficacy and computer education
Busch (1995) makes an interesting observation about cultural differences in how computer self-efficacy is experienced, referring to the "socialization process." Similarly, Makrakis (1992) compared gender differences in computer self-efficacy between Japanese and Swedish students and found that for both genders, Swedish students had higher levels of computer self-efficacy than Japanese students.
The unique South African context
- A history of inequality in education
- The United States of America
- South Africa
- The current education and skills development landscape in South Africa
- Basic education
- Higher education
- Vocational training
- The ICT sector
- A uniquely diverse cultural landscape
- Culture and the performance gap-a South African perspective
- Explaining the performance gap
- The lingering legacy of Apartheid
- Language factors
- Cultural learning differences
South Africa's higher education graduation rate of 15% is one of the lowest in the world. Their discussion and conclusions about the study's findings focus on socio-economic explanations. Perhaps one of the most serious of such problems facing education in South Africa concerns persistent, deep-seated racism in higher education.
Conclusion
Introduction
Research problem
Research questions
Sub-Question 2.1 (SQ2.1): “Does teacher-student racial matching affect students' cognitive test performance in information systems and technology education?”. Sub-Question 2.2 (SQ2.2): "Does teacher-student home language matching affect students' cognitive test performance in information systems and technology education?". Sub-Question 2.3(SQ2.3): "Does teacher-student gender matching affect students' cognitive test performance in information systems and technology education?".
Theoretical framework
Social Cognitive Theory
- Background
- Development of the theory
- Current Social Learning Theory perspective
- Key constructs of Bandura’s Social Cognition Theory
- Self-efficacy
Experience of mastery: Bandura explains that the experience of mastering a task in itself fosters a sense of self-efficacy. Acknowledging the importance of an individual's experiences at school in developing a positive (or negative) sense of self. One very important influence on the development of a student's sense of self-efficacy is the teacher.
Phillips’ 5 level framework for ROI in training analysis
It measures the application of skills learned on Course DB101 in terms of the extent to which students/agents are able to apply what they have learned on the course at level 2 to their work, as measured in this case by ' an increase in cases that are each solved. day compared to pre-training performance ('baseline performance'). For example, in Figure 3-4, 'monthly database development team revenue from completed projects' is identified at level 4. In turn, the learning that takes place at level 2 enables participants to perform more effectively in terms of the objectives related to 'application' in the workplace, as measured at level 3.
Research model
According to Bandura, observational learning is enhanced both when the model resembles the observer and when the model has credibility in the eyes of the observer. On the one hand, when model and observer are similar, and the model has credibility in the observer's eyes, which in turn depends on the collective sense of self-efficacy the observer's reference group has of itself, learning is enhanced. The impact of these three factors on collective self-efficacy is moderated by cultural factors, such as race, home language, and gender of the observer.
Research design
Cohort one
- Research sample
- Data collection methods and tools
- Data analysis models
The component of the study concerned the investigation of student perceptions of collective self-efficacy related to the same group of students from which the cognitive test component obtained its sample, viz. Which of the following is true about your teacher speaking your home language while teaching you. In the case of the match/mismatch components of this study, the independent variable is indeed dichotomous (either match or mismatch) and thus ideally suited to this model.
Cohorts two and three
- Research sample
- Data collection methods and tools
- Data analysis models
Given the highly correlated nature of the data sets for cohorts two and three (due to multiple repeated measures (test scores and S-CTSE survey responses) per student and per teacher (T-CTSE survey responses)), GEE was selected for the first phase of analysis. The analyzes of the student teacher mismatch effect on student test scores (Table 4-36 through Table 4-44) apply a Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) model to the data sets representing cohorts two and three (Institutions 1 and 2, respectively). For the CTSE analyses, a subset of the total data set for cohorts two and three was extracted based on those students and teachers who completed the collective teaching self-efficacy surveys from each institution.
Conclusion
In phase two of the CTSE part of the study, a variety of higher-order statistical models were applied (including comparisons of means (paired-sample T-tests and single-sample T-tests), multiple regression and robust regression (M- type and S-type) and non-parametric repeated measures ANOVA (Friedman K-way ANOVA)) to provide a more nuanced analysis than that offered by the GEE models (see 4.2.3.3.b Phase 2: Further analysis of the collective self-efficacy effect in teaching using higher order statistical methods). Cohorts two and three increased the sample size and variation within those samples, refined the research instruments, and attempted to apply higher order statistical analysis methods, such as structural equation modeling, general linear modeling, repeated measures, and nonparametric analysis, in an effort confirm the results and provide more nuanced data analyzes than those of cohort one. The next chapter presents the research results and provides an analysis and discussion of the main findings in light of Bandura's social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1989).
Results and data analysis
Introduction
Results and data analysis
- Overview
- Results
- Summary of findings
- Teacher student congruence as a predictor of cognitive test performance
- Overview
- Cohort one
- Cohorts two and three
- Summary of findings for cohorts two and three
- Student perceptions of collective self-efficacy
- Overview
- Cohort one
- Cohorts two and three
Improvement scores were regressed on native language match/mismatch and controlled for pretest score. Models to measure the effect of match/mismatch variables on posttest outcome. The dependent variable was the post-test score and the independent variable was the match/mismatch variable.
Race match/mismatch was a significant predictor with race match scoring significantly higher at posttest than race mismatch for the spreadsheet course. Mother tongue match/mismatch was a significant predictor with mother tongue match score significantly higher at posttest than mother tongue mismatch.
Conclusion
Introduction
Summary of key findings
Implications and recommendations
Limitations, gaps and anomalies
Contribution to the body of knowledge
Conclusion
