Record Details
A study of selected teacher factors and learning outcomes in chemistry in secondary schools in South Australia
ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | A study of selected teacher factors and learning outcomes in chemistry in secondary schools in South Australia |
| Names |
Broadhurst, Norman Arthur
(creator) Fox, Fred W. (advisor) |
| Date Issued | 1968-07-17 (iso8601) |
| Note | Graduation date: 1969 |
| Abstract | This study was designed with two major aims. The first was to examine certain characteristics of both Departmental and Non- Departmental teachers who were teaching matriculation chemistry in South Australian secondary schools during 1967. The numbers of teachers who participated were: Departmental 40, and Non - Departmental 23. The second was to ascertain certain learning outcomes of matriculation chemistry students. The learning outcomes investigated were: critical thinking, understanding of science, and achievement in chemistry. The students were divided into four groups for comparison, viz. City Departmental, Country Departmental, Independent and Roman Catholic. There were approximately 200 students in each of the school groups. In order to secure the required information, the participating N I% \ chemistry teachers were asked to complete a Questionnaire for Chemistry Teachers while the students were asked to complete a Questionnaire for Students. A measure of two of the learning outcomes was obtained by administering the following tests: 1. Watson - Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal, Form Ym. 2. Test on Understanding Science, Form W. The measure of achievement in chemistry was taken from the results of the public examination in leaving chemistry. The responses to the student questionnaire were not treated by any specific statistical test. However, the responses revealed that nearly three quarters of the students desired a tertiary education while only six percent expressed any intention of becoming science teachers. A little more than half the students were doing chemistry because they had an interest in it. The average age of the students was 16. 10 years. The conclusions from the teacher questionnaire as well as the two tests are that the following null hypotheses should be accepted: 1. There is no difference in the teaching methods used by teachers in Departmental and Non - Departmental systems. 2. There is no difference in the objectives of science teaching held by the teachers in the two systems. 3. There is no difference in the teacher factors of the teachers in the two systems. There is no difference in the critical thinking abilities of the graduates from the four school groups, viz. City Departmental, Country Departmental,Independent and Roman Catholic. . 5. There is no difference in the understanding of science between the graduates from the four school groups. The following null hypotheses should be rejected: 6. There is no difference in the achievement in chemistry between the graduates from the four school groups. 7. There is no correlation between critical thinking ability and understanding of science of the graduates from the four school groups. 8. There is no correlation between the learning outcomes and the achievement in the public examination in chemistry of the graduates from the four school groups. |
| Genre | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Topic | Chemistry -- Study and teaching (Secondary) |
| Identifier | http://hdl.handle.net/1957/46544 |
