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Swazi college students' mastery of English logical connectives in science
Bibliography: pages 66-73.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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School of Education
2016
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| _version_ | 1867613246731583488 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Cumming, Janet Marian |
| author2 | Rochford, Kevin |
| author_browse | Cumming, Janet Marian Rochford, Kevin |
| author_facet | Rochford, Kevin Cumming, Janet Marian |
| author_sort | Cumming, Janet Marian |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Bibliography: pages 66-73. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/17276 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:33:05.164Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publishDateRange | 2016 |
| publishDateSort | 2016 |
| publisher | School of Education |
| publisherStr | School of Education |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/17276 Swazi college students' mastery of English logical connectives in science Cumming, Janet Marian Rochford, Kevin Science - Study and teaching - South Africa - Case studies English language - Connectives Science Education Bibliography: pages 66-73. Based on the educational theorists Gardner (1977(a)), Ehindero (1980), Mawasha ( 197 6-1984) and Ogunniyi ( 1985) and extending earlier findings by McNaught (1980) in Zimbabwe, my investigation sought to answer the following questions: 1. How do the item facilities of a group of African (Swazi) college science students, on two parallel tests of logical connectives, based on Gardner's work, each consisting of the same 34 logical connectives, but different in presentation format compare? 2. Are there significant correlations between the item facilities obtained by the Swazi first year science students on the tests of logical connectives and their scores obtained in Matriculation English and Biology and college English communication and General science? 3. Is there evidence of learning of logical connectives without direct instructional intervention over a period of six months when exposed to English first language speaking lecturers? 4. In what ways are the works of Gardner and McNaught expanded, confirmed, or enriched by further investigation in a totally different culture? Diagnostic and pre-test - post-test methods were used to gather data on the comprehension of the 34 logical connectives, and on academic achievement scores, of 65 Swazi teachers-in-training in KaNgwane, a subtropical, rural-agricultural region in Southern Africa. The data were collected by means of modified Gap Filling and Sentence Completion items, derived from Gardner's pioneering work, by adapting and refining certain items to be more relevant and meaningful in the local South African context. The data was processed by means of comparing Gardner's form N pupils' item facilities with the Swazi students' item facilities on each logical connective. The differences were analysed by means of Chi square tests, Spearman's Test, McNemars' Test and a correlation matrix. The chief findings -were that Swazi students' item facilities compared favourably with those obtained by Gardner's form N pupils on the 34 logical connectives· overall. The Swazi students found 7 easier than the Australian pupils, 16 equally as difficult and 15 more difficult than the Australian pupils, but this was dependent on the format. The thesis concludes by making recommendations to teachers, textbook writers, publishers and educational authorities on issues in science education with regard to English second language, particularly in terms of teacher training. 2016-02-26T07:19:27Z 2016-02-26T07:19:27Z 1991 Master Thesis Masters MEd http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17276 eng application/pdf School of Education Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Science - Study and teaching - South Africa - Case studies English language - Connectives Science Education Cumming, Janet Marian Swazi college students' mastery of English logical connectives in science |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Swazi college students' mastery of English logical connectives in science |
| title_full | Swazi college students' mastery of English logical connectives in science |
| title_fullStr | Swazi college students' mastery of English logical connectives in science |
| title_full_unstemmed | Swazi college students' mastery of English logical connectives in science |
| title_short | Swazi college students' mastery of English logical connectives in science |
| title_sort | swazi college students mastery of english logical connectives in science |
| topic | Science - Study and teaching - South Africa - Case studies English language - Connectives Science Education |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17276 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT cummingjanetmarian swazicollegestudentsmasteryofenglishlogicalconnectivesinscience |