A multiple-case study of high school students' biology test-preparation : an exploration of what students do and why they do it

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dc.contributor.advisorHardman , Joanneen_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorLaugksch, Rüdigeren_ZA
dc.contributor.authorBuchanan, James Alanen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2016-06-17T06:30:47Z
dc.date.available2016-06-17T06:30:47Z
dc.date.issued2015en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThe South African schooling system is criticised for having low pass rates and marks inflated by low standards, and is seen as partially accountable for the high drop-out rates among the 'academically successful' students who make it to university. Remediation attempts have been made through curriculum changes but achievement in the schooling system continues to rely heavily on marks in tests and examinations, yet test-preparation in South Africa is poorly researched. This study regarded test-preparation as an overlooked area of possible remediation and aimed to explore test-preparation practices by asking what students do as they prepare for tests, what the thinking is behind their actions, and what leads them to prepare as they do. Self-regulated learning (SRL)(Zimmerman, 1989) was selected as the appropriate conceptual lens, which saw this research guided by the field's principal dimensions, namely, behaviour, metacognition, and motivation. The research methodology was influenced by calls from the SRL field for naturalistic research of test-preparation that takes students views into account; hence an exploratory, multiple-case study approach was adopted. Cases comprised six male and five female, Grade 11 students from four private and state schools writing the state examination in the Western Cape of South Africa, a top-performing province in national educational rankings. Schools placing strong emphasis on providing access to university were chosen as a 'best-case' scenario of test-preparation. Students' 'typical' test-preparation for Biology was explored in light of a standardised target test. Diaries, supported by study artefacts, were used to collect data about students' preparation over the seven days before the test. This was supplemented by semi-structured, post-test interviews conducted with individual students, and their teachers and parents.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationBuchanan, J. A. (2015). <i>A multiple-case study of high school students' biology test-preparation : an exploration of what students do and why they do it</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,School of Education. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20037en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationBuchanan, James Alan. <i>"A multiple-case study of high school students' biology test-preparation : an exploration of what students do and why they do it."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,School of Education, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20037en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationBuchanan, J. 2015. A multiple-case study of high school students' biology test-preparation : an exploration of what students do and why they do it. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Buchanan, James Alan AB - The South African schooling system is criticised for having low pass rates and marks inflated by low standards, and is seen as partially accountable for the high drop-out rates among the 'academically successful' students who make it to university. Remediation attempts have been made through curriculum changes but achievement in the schooling system continues to rely heavily on marks in tests and examinations, yet test-preparation in South Africa is poorly researched. This study regarded test-preparation as an overlooked area of possible remediation and aimed to explore test-preparation practices by asking what students do as they prepare for tests, what the thinking is behind their actions, and what leads them to prepare as they do. Self-regulated learning (SRL)(Zimmerman, 1989) was selected as the appropriate conceptual lens, which saw this research guided by the field's principal dimensions, namely, behaviour, metacognition, and motivation. The research methodology was influenced by calls from the SRL field for naturalistic research of test-preparation that takes students views into account; hence an exploratory, multiple-case study approach was adopted. Cases comprised six male and five female, Grade 11 students from four private and state schools writing the state examination in the Western Cape of South Africa, a top-performing province in national educational rankings. Schools placing strong emphasis on providing access to university were chosen as a 'best-case' scenario of test-preparation. Students' 'typical' test-preparation for Biology was explored in light of a standardised target test. Diaries, supported by study artefacts, were used to collect data about students' preparation over the seven days before the test. This was supplemented by semi-structured, post-test interviews conducted with individual students, and their teachers and parents. DA - 2015 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2015 T1 - A multiple-case study of high school students' biology test-preparation : an exploration of what students do and why they do it TI - A multiple-case study of high school students' biology test-preparation : an exploration of what students do and why they do it UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20037 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/20037
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationBuchanan JA. A multiple-case study of high school students' biology test-preparation : an exploration of what students do and why they do it. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,School of Education, 2015 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20037en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentSchool of Educationen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherEducationen_ZA
dc.titleA multiple-case study of high school students' biology test-preparation : an exploration of what students do and why they do iten_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMEden_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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