Sample Concept Paper for Masters Degree free essay sample

A study conducted by Hattie (2002) revealed that thirty percent of the variance in performance of students could be accounted for by what the teacher knows, does and cares about. He identified influences on the learner in terms of magnitude and concluded that the teachers’ feedback has the greatest influence on academic performance as compared to other factors. Teachers, in the education world, are considered as significant other in the life of their students and so, whatever their actions just like a parent toward the child, they are taken seriously and consequently have a very big impact in the student’s creation of self-fulfilling prophecies which contribute greatly to their academic self-esteem. Teachers communicate to learners about their own perceptions, beliefs, potentials and ability of the learner through feedback. Teacher’s feedback is considered one of the most powerful instructional variables in terms of enhancing student’s achievement. The feedback that they provide can be positive or negative, corrective or non-corrective. We will write a custom essay sample on Sample Concept Paper for Masters Degree or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In order to improve the academic self-esteem of the learner we have to be very careful in the way we provide feedback. Dweck (2000) argues that having a particular goal orientation (learning or performance goal) to base feedback on as opposed to person-oriented praise will be more effective in providing feedback. It is not always true that teachers provide positive corrective feedback to the learners. A positive academic self-esteem is key in the classroom as it contributes greatly to the academic achievement of the learner. Motivation, self-esteem and self-regulation are inextricably linked to academic achievement. Feedback can have a positive or negative effect on the motivation and on self-esteem; it influences how students feel about themselves, which in turn affects what and how the learn. (Grebenikamp;Rust,2002;Bostock,2004). 1. 2 Statement of the problem The central problem of this study is that due to the increasing pressure on the teachers to produce results, much time has been spent on impacting knowledge and the delivery of feedback has been long ignored. Peddie (2000),in his evaluation of the Ministry of Education’s Assessment for better learning professional development programme from 1995 to 1998, he asserted that future focus needed to be placed on formative assessments and feedback to students and parents. Further, he found out that teachers responses when asked how they give feedback lacked detail and warranted further research. Therefore, feedback is conceptually complex and a logistical challenge for classroom teachers and due to this there is need for serious study on it. The key drive behind this research is own experience and observation back at the ordinary school level. In addition to that, the absence of a definitive research about teacher’s feedback practices and academic self-esteem of the learners is another motivation for this study. 1. 3 Purpose of the study Based on the problem, the purpose of this study therefore to examine whether the academic self-esteem of the learners could differ and be linked with the different types of teacher’s classroom feedback and consequently, the extent to which this teacher’s feedback affects the academic self-esteem of the learners. Research Objectives The study will be guide by the following objectives; 1. To determine the importance of teacher’s feedback in the classroom. 2. To evaluate the effectiveness and impact of the different types of teacher’s feedback. 3. To examine teacher’s perception about the effectiveness of classroom feedback. 4. To analyze the student’s reactions to teacher’s feedback. 1. 4. 2 Research Questions The study will be guided by the following questions: 1. What is the importance of teacher’s feedback in the classroom? 2. How do the different types of teacher’s feedback differ in their effectiveness and impact? 3. What are the teacher’s perceptions about the effective classroom feedback? 4. What are the student’s reactions to teacher’s feedback? 1. 5 Theoretical Framework The study will be guided by the following three theories: Abraham’s Hierarchy of Needs theory and hierarchy of knowledge and understanding, Skinner’s motivation theory of learning and Carl Roger’s theory of personality. Significance of the study The findings of this study may be of benefit to the school administrators and teachers to make alterations or to improve on the overall quality of teaching through, changing ways of giving the feedback to learners in the classroom, based on their effectiveness and overall effects on the learners’ academic self-esteem. The changes if instituted may cater for the individual needs of the learners, some who always require reinforcements before they can exert their best in learning. 1. 7 Research design The study will adopt a correlational design because it is appropriate in discovering the relationships between variables and the degree to which the variables relate. Here, the relationship to be determined is whether the academic self-esteem of learners could be linked with and the extent to which it is affected by the teacher’s feedback. 1. 8 Variables The different teacher feedback strategies will be used to predict the academic self esteem of the learners . The independent variable therefore will be the teacher and the dependent will be the academic self-esteem of the learners. The study will be conducted in four public schools of Dadaab refugee camps in the North-Eastern part of Kenya. The location of the study has been chosen owing to the researcher’s familiarity with the area and convenience in terms of the time available for conducting the research. 2. 1 Target population The population of study will consist of four hundred secondary school students who are in form three and four, both boys and girls in four secondary schools and twenty teachers of the same schools. The chosen group is mainly because they are adolescence, in senior classes and so have a vast of experience with teachers in the classroom as compared to students in the junior classes. 2. 2 Sample sizeamp; Technique Four hundred students will be selected in the study sample since among the three camps the population will be limited to two camps. From the two camps, fifty students will be selected from each class and five teachers from each school. 2. 2. 0 Sampling techniques The following techniques will be employed: 1. Convenient sampling will be used to select four schools out of the nine secondary schools based on the accessibility of the schools due to security impediments as movement from one camp to another is enabled only by means of police escort. 2. Stratified random sampling would then be used to select students and teachers according to their respective classes, so form three and four classes would be selected together with teachers who teach them.