The effects of calibration amongst management students in higher education

This study contributes to the on-going discourse on calibration among University students. The study examines the understanding of student self-reflectivity in relation to class written tests and assignments, and of the fact that students’ expected results rarely match the actual results. A quantitative research approach was adopted to collect data from third-year and honours management students at a university in South Africa. The sample population for the class test was 105 out of 205 students, while the sample population for the assignment was 71 out of 205 students. The method applied involved asking students to forecast their result before and after the class test or the assignment. The evaluation process involved a comparison of students’ expected results and the actual performance in both cases. The findings reveal that students’ perception and understanding of the questions in the class test and the assignment contribute immensely to their individual performance. A limitation on this study is that data were collected from students within the management discipline only. Insights from this study can be used to develop assessment methods that are in sync with changes in the present-day education environment. The study contributes to an understanding of curriculum development within the context of challenges facing the educational system in South Africa.     

Effectiveness of instruction based on the constructivist approach on understanding chemical equilibrium concepts

The purpose of this study was to identify misconceptions concerning chemical equilibrium concepts and to investigate the effectiveness of instruction based on the constructivist approach over traditional instruction on 10th grade students' understanding of chemical equilibrium concepts. The subjects of this study consisted of 71 10th grade students from two chemistry classes of the same teacher. Each teaching strategy was randomly assigned to one class. The data were obtained from 32 students in the experimental group taught with instruction informed by the constructivist approach and 39 students in the control group taught with traditional instruction. The data were analysed using analysis of covariance. The results indicated that the students who used the constructivist principles-oriented instruction earned significantly higher scores than those taught by traditional instruction in terms of achievement related to chemical equilibrium concepts. In addition, students' previous learning and science process skills each made a significant contribution to the achievement related to chemical equilibrium concepts. In light of the findings obtained from the results, an additional misconception of chemical equilibrium concepts was determined in addition to the misconceptions in related literature. This misconception is that when one of the reactants is added to the equilibrium system, the concentration of the substance that was added will decrease below its value at the initial equilibrium.     

Book reviews

Lee, Irving J. and Lee, Laura L., Handling Barriers in Communication. Harper and Brothers, 49 East 33 Street, New York 16, New York. 1957, $5. Paper.

Auer, J. Jeffery, An Introduction to Research in Speech. Harper and Brothers, 49 East 33 Street, New York 16, New York. 1959, $5.

Brown, Charles T., Introduction to Speech. Houghton Mifflin Company, 432 Park Avenue South, New York 16, New York. 1955.

Uris, Dorothy, Everybody's Book of Better Speaking. David McKay Company, Inc., 119 West 40 Street, New York 18, New York. 1960, $4.95.

Braden, Waldo W., Speech Methods and Resources: A Textbook for the Teacher of Speech. Harper and Brothers, 49 East 33 Street, New York 16, New York. 1961, $6.50.

Marra, Waldo J., How to Streamline Your Letters. National Retail Credit Association, 375 Jackson Avenue, St. Louis 30, Missouri. Multilithed, paper.

Windes, Russell R. and Kruger, Arthur N., Championship Debating. J. Weston Walch, Box 1075, Portland, Maine. 1961 ; paper cover, $3.50 ; plastic cover, $4.50.     

In pursuit of African scholarship: unpacking engagement

Engagement between higher education and other societal sectors is a key theme in higher education discourse in South Africa, as it is in other countries. In South Africa, however, engagement has gained additional status as an appropriate strategy for pursuing African Scholarship. On the ground, however, inequitable power relationships and erratic participation have posed serious challenges to the effectiveness and sustainability of engagement initiatives. From the experiences of seven South African academics and the local community members and service-providers with whom they engaged in service-learning, three factors emerged as mediating the power/participation dynamic of their engagement. The impact of these factors, namely, structure, meaning, and place and time, are discussed, leading to the conclusions that scholarly engagement requires ideological and practical support from higher education institutions and further study in South African contexts.

Is the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) a good predictor of academic achievement? Examining the mediating role of achievement-related classroom behaviours

Studies have shown that the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ)—which provides a measure of student approaches to learning—is a relatively weak predictor of academic achievement. The present study sought to explore whether students’ achievement-related classroom behaviours, as observed by teachers, can be used as a mediator between student approaches to learning and academic achievement. The SPQ was administered to 1,608 students enrolled in six different diploma programmes offered by a polytechnic in Singapore. Data were analysed by means of correlation and path analysis. In line with existing studies, the results revealed that student approaches to learning was a weak predictor of academic achievement. However, achievement-related classroom behaviours turned out to be a significant mediator between student approaches to learning and academic achievement, effectively doubling the explained variance in academic achievement. Implications of these findings for using the SPQ are discussed.     

Deaf Culture and Competing Discourses in a Residential School for the Deaf: “Can Do” Versus “Can't Do”

From an ethnographic case study of a state-funded residential school for the Deaf, the authors employed Critical Discourse Analysis to identify competing discourses in the talk of educators. These discourses are embedded in the historical oppression and labeling of deaf people as disabled and the development of Deaf culture as a counter-discourse. Implications include changing teacher/administrator hiring practices, improving professional development options, and distributing power between Deaf and hearing educators.     

Iron status in Winter Olympic sports

Iron status was surveyed amongst 92 Winter Olympic sport athletes from Nordic and Alpine skiing, figure and speed skating and ice hockey. Haemoglobin and serum ferritin values were obtained by physicians as part of a monitoring programme, since iron deficiency would have an adverse effect on maximal performance. Four (7%) of 56 men were anaemic (Hb less than 14.0 g dl-1) and three (8%) of 36 women had haemoglobin values less than 12.0 g dl-1. Nine men (16%) and 14 women (39%) had prelatent iron deficiency (serum ferritin less than 30 ng ml-1). Ice hockey had the lowest while Nordic skiing had the highest incidence of sub-optimal iron status. A total of 50% of Nordic women skiers had prelatent iron deficiency and 7% were anaemic. An equal percentage of women speed skaters were low in serum ferritin as well. Only one of 20 male ice hockey players was low in serum ferritin. These results suggest there would be value in instituting screening procedures for iron status in Winter Olympic Sports.