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The PGDE Programme of the Open University of Sri Lanka provides opportunities
for graduate teachers to get their professional training through distance mode.
It is a fifteen months programme which includes 9 subjects and practicum. A limited
number of Day schools and tutorials are provided to supplement the print material.
These teachers complete the programme while serving in their schools and attending
to family responsibilities. They give priority to their duties at schools and
at home leaving their studies behind. So the general tend is that these teachers
show low interest towards their study programme. This situation led to lower down
the achievement levels of student teachers in the final examination. For instance,
only a handful of students get a merit pass which is the basic requirement to
enroll in the Masters degree programmes of the Open University.
These student teachers must be able to apply the theoretical knowledge gained
in this professional training programme to their actual classroom situations.
It is further expected that these teachers will introduce radical changes to the
existing teaching-learning process in their schools. On the other hand, the quality
of teacher education and quality of teaching appear to be more strongly related
to student achievement. Therefore, the effectiveness of distance teacher education
programmes in developing the attitudes and skills required by teachers must be
investigated as a matter of great concern.
Many research findings show that females outperform males in different areas of
study. Further, there is evidence to prove that especially in the Post Graduate
Level, more women complete their study programmes than men ( Lekamge and Shironiika
, 2002) Therefore, this study mainly explored the gender differences between the
perception of success and the actual performance of student teachers who are following
the PGDE programme. As the second purpose, this exploredd the gender differences
in relation to correlations of CA marks, Teaching Practice marks and final examination
marks.
Review of Literature
Previous studies provided an insight into the formulation of research questions
and preparation of instruments of the present study. Heinze (1983) and Van Enckevort
(1986) revealed that demands of work and family commitments, which tie learners
to particular places and create time conflicts. Further, the research into gender
differences found that female students are not more likely to encounter situational
barriers than are males, but they are more likely to experience dispositional
barriers (Grace 1994, Norquay,1986) They further found that women more often
experience a lack of confidence in their academic abilities and reported fears
being unable to complete the course.
A study conducted by Gunawardena and Davies ( 1992) on the perception of teachers
on work and management was aimed at developing an appraisal schedule that could
be used for self- appraisal and staff development. As the study revealed the
female teachers felt that they should strive to enhance their personal skills/qualities
to improve their job satisfaction while male teachers felt that they should
try to improve their teaching. Further a higher percentage of women indicated
an interest in welfare work as a change in their professional career. However,
the study did not reveal a striking difference between female and male teachers
with regard to their expectations, satisfactions or fears regarding their careers.
Purnell,Cuskelly and Danaher (1996) pointed out that many female students face
additional pressures form the house when doing distance university studies.
Since the gender issue has been one of the major concerns in distance education
the programme designers and instructors should consider the different needs
and cognitions between men and women.
The Study
This study was aimed at finding out:
- whether male and female student teachers have different perceptions with
regard to the effectiveness of the PGDE Programme,
- whether the correlation between perception and actual performance is higher
among female student teachers than males
- whether the correlation between teaching practice Stage I marks and continuous
assessment marks is higher among female student teachers than males
- whether the correlation between the CA marks and final examination marks
is higher among female student teachers than males
- whether the correlation between Teaching Practice Stage 1 and final examination
marks is higher among females than males.
Sample of the study
There were two samples involved in the study.
- The First sample of student teachers was a representative stratified sample
selected medium-wise and centre-wise including approximately 25 % of the total
student population enrolled in the PGDE programme. Out of 500 students selected,
only 289 student teachers responded to the questionnaire. So they would be
the sample selected to correlate the perception and student performance in
the programme.
- Those who had sat for the final examination in Educational Technology and
completed Teaching Practice Stage I were included in the second sample. The
total number of student teachers included were 1050. This was to correlate
the CA marks, Teaching Practice Stage I marks and final examination marks
of student teachers to identify the gender differences.
Table 1- Sample I- Student Teachers by Gender and Centre
| Centre |
Gender |
| |
Male |
Female |
Total |
| |
No. |
% |
No. |
% |
No. |
% |
| Colombo |
48 |
37.8 |
79 |
62.2 |
127 |
43.9 |
| Kandy |
35 |
43.2 |
17 |
56.7 |
30 |
10.4 |
| Matara |
13 |
43.3 |
17 |
56.7 |
30 |
10.4 |
| Galle |
11 |
39.3 |
17 |
60.7 |
18 |
9.7 |
| Kurunegala |
5 |
38.5 |
8 |
61.5 |
13 |
4.5 |
| Anuradhapura |
5 |
50.0 |
5 |
50.0 |
10 |
3.5 |
| Total |
117 |
40.5 |
172 |
59.5 |
289 |
100.0 |
Methodology
The main data collection method was a questionnaire sent to student teachers'
sample I. The master teachers appointed to evaluate the progress that student
teachers have made in teaching also conducted classroom observations at the
beginning and end of teaching practice of a selected sample of student teachers.
The data related to sample II were collected using documentary information
available at the Examination Division of the Open University. In relation to
sample II the data in relation to background factors was not available other
than their gender. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, cross tabulations,
means and ANOVA were used to analyze questionnaire data. Spearman Correlation
was used to identify the correlations between CA marks, Teaching Practice marks
and Final examination marks of the student sample II.
Student teachers were asked to rate their satisfaction with the programme in
relation to seven major aspects namely
- Theoretical Knowledge
- Application of Theoretical Knowledge
- Inclusive Education
- Professional development
- Relationship with community
- Development of Teaching skills
- Child-centred education
Overall student ratings were calculated to identify the difference between
male and female student teachers with regard to their perceptions of success
and actual performance in the programme.
Results
In relation to the first objective of the study the data collected from the
questionnaire survey with regard to perception of teachers were analyzed to
check the difference between male and female teachers. Table 3 summarizes the
findings.
Table 3
Perception of male and female students with regard to the effectiveness of the
PGDE programme
| Aspects studied |
Mean Square |
F |
Sig |
Theoretical Knowledge- Between Within
|
.742
.360
|
2.064 |
.152 |
| Application of Theoretical Knowledge |
.412
.347
|
1.092 |
.297 |
| Inclusive Education |
1.665
.364
|
4.580 |
.033* |
| Professional development |
2.061
.433
|
4.762 |
.030* |
| Relationship with community |
5.994
.508
|
11.791 |
.001* |
| Development of Teaching skills |
8.546
.361
|
.237 |
.627 |
| Child centered education |
1.183
.356
|
2.682 |
.103 |
* significant
When ANOVA was calculated for overall ratings of the eight aspects that represents
the effectiveness of the PGDE Programme, the following results emerged.
As Table 3 indicates, there were significant differences between female and
male student teachers with regard to three aspects of effectiveness of the PGDE
namely Inclusive Education, Professional development and Relationship with Community.
Inclusive Education was a new subject offered in Colombo Centre so the student
teachers might not be aware fully about this course.. Interestingly, a significant
difference could not be found between female and male student teachers with
regard to either “ Application of theoretical knowledge” or “
Development of Teaching Skills” which were the main focus of the programme.
However, as the mean average of female teachers was higher for all the items
it can be concluded that female teachers have a higher perception than male
teachers with regard to the effectiveness of the programme.
It was interesting to find out whether there is a relationship between student
teachers’ perceptions and their actual performance in relation to the
selected areas of the study. The difference between male and female student
teachers could not be found as the necessary information was available only
about 35 students of the sample I. It was revealed that a negative relationship
( -158) was existent between the self ratings on acquisition of theoretical
knowledge and the application in teaching in Teaching Practice – Stage
1 of student teachers (Table 4)
Correlation between Students Self-rating on Theoretical Knowledge and
Performance in Teaching Practice (Stage 1)
| Variables |
No. of Students |
Pearson Rank Correlation Coefficient |
Student self rating on theoretical knowledge and their Teaching Practice
|
30 |
-158 |
Therefore, it could be concluded that no positive correlation existed between
student perceptions on the theoretical knowledge obtained by following the programme
and the average score received for Teaching Practice.
Using the data collected, it could also be revealed that there was no significant
correlation between the CA marks and performance of student teachers in Teaching
Practice Stage 1 ( Table 5 ).
Table 5 - Correlation between CA Marks in Educational Technology and
Performance in Teaching Practice (Stage 1)
| |
CA Marks
|
T. P |
| CA Marks Pearson Correlation Sig (2-tailed) |
1.000 |
162 |
T.P Pearson Correlation Sig (2-tailed)
|
162 |
1.000 |
The findings related to correlation between Teaching Practice, Final Examination
marks and the CA component of the male and female teachers in the Sample II
are as follows. These correlations were calculated using the documentary data
available.
Table 6 - Pearson Correlation between different components of the
programme according to Gender
| Gender |
Correlation between TP and CA |
Correlation between CA and Final Examination |
Correlation between TP and Final Examination |
| Female |
.533 |
185 |
.353 |
| Male |
.500 |
184 |
.438 |
According to Table 6, the correlation between Teaching Practice marks and Continuous
Assessment marks is substantially higher than the other correlations irrespective
of their gender. This results were somewhat different from the results obtained
for the small sample ( Table 5) However, it was interesting to find that the
correlation of female teachers is higher than the male teachers with regard
to the same aspects. In both categories correlation between Continuous assessment
and Final examination was lower than the other correlations. With regard to
Teaching Practice and Final examination, the correlation was higher in males
than their female counter parts. The difference was significant at .01 level.
Table 7
Means calculated for female teachers
| Components |
Mean |
SD |
| CA |
60.43 |
15.53 |
| Teaching Practice |
55.22 |
22.32 |
| Final Marks |
48.42 |
17.48 |
Means calculated for male teachers
| Components |
Mean |
SD |
| CA |
56.85 |
16.44 |
| Teaching Practice |
51.42 |
24.76 |
| Final Marks |
46.41 |
18.16 |
Table 7 shows that in all three components female teachers’ performance
was higher than the male teachers’ performance. The same trend could be
observed in the higher rating given by females about the effectiveness of the
programme. However, the means of CA, Final Examination and Teaching Practice
marks do not confirm the idea that the PGDE programme has a strong impact on
the performance of student teachers. The means fluctuate from 46.41 to 60.43
though the highest average was reported for CA. The lowest of the three was
related to the final Examination marks.
Discussion
The findings of the study surface several important implications regarding the
PGDE Programme. On the whole, the student teachers expressed a high satisfaction
with regard to the value of the programme in developing their knowledge, attitudes
and skills. These positive perceptions of student teachers have potential benefits
in encouraging them to practice what they have learnt unlike when they do not
even perceive a programme as significant. It will lead to improve student teachers
involvement in the programme thereby increasing their success in the programme.
However, the high ratings could also be a result of an unwillingness to criticize
a programme that is being conducted by teachers who are also the researchers
of this study.
Gender differences that emerged from the study show that female teachers have
higher self-ratings than male teachers with regard to some important aspects
under study. In relation to understanding of Theoretical Knowledge, Child-centred
Education, Professional Development and Relationship with community the difference
was visible. It was interesting to note that under " Development of Skills"
effective delivery methods (techniques and aids) and identifying and supporting
exceptional children a significant difference was emerged. The effective delivery
methods include methods that facilitate student interaction and student participation.
This provides evidence to believe that female teachers are keen on using student-centred
methods which will facilitate student-student and student-teacher interaction.
These findings confirm some of the conclusions of Gunawardena and Davies (1992).
However, in relation to application of theoretical knowledge, no significant
difference was found between female and male teachers in all the eight aspects
under study. In other words both female and male students expressed a high confidence
about their ability to apply knowledge acquired through participating in the
programme. These findings are not very surprising as the student teachers have
been teaching in schools without receiving any professional training to perform
their roles as teachers. Thus it is more likely that they may have rated themselves
highly in the application of theory into practice.
It was interesting to find out how perceptions of student teachers were related
to their actual performance in teaching-learning situations. The results did
not reveal a significant correlation between the perception and actual performance
of students. This confirms the idea that both male and female teachers over
estimated the effectiveness of the programme when they were asked to reveal
their perceptions. One of the reasons might be that the student teachers had
not reached the final stage of the programme to make a real judgment about the
programme.
It was not surprising to find a higher correlation between the CA marks and
Teaching Practice marks in relation to both male and female categories. Through
completion of home based assignments student teachers are expected to relate
the knowledge they have gained in the programme to actual teaching –learning
situations. On the other hand, in Teaching Practice Stage I, student teachers
are expected to practice what they have leaned under the supervision of a Master
Teacher.
The low correlation between the CA and Final examination is not very encouraging.
The students who received high marks for assignments did not receive high marks
for the Final examination. This situation would lower down the credibility of
the assessment criteria used to evaluate the student performance in this programme.
However, we must not forget that the student teachers complete assignments at
home using the modules provided and also discussing with fellow students or
fellow teachers working in the same school. In the examinations students have
to memorize what they have learned within a limited period of time in a highly
restricted setting.
It was revealed that the correlation between Teaching Practice marks and Final
examination marks was also low. Student teachers complete Teaching Practice
in their own schools though it is considered as a part of their final evaluation.
When calculating final examination marks only the subject “Educational
Technology” was considered. Therefore the difference may have existed
due to the two different settings under which the two evaluations were carried
out. However, no significant difference could be observed between the correlations
of male and female student teachers.
Means of different components prove the idea that the PGDE Programme is not
that effective in developing the professional competencies of student teachers.
Many have not performed up to the standards. This supports the idea that these
student teachers give priority to their family and work leaving their studies
behind. Interestingly, females outperformed their male counterparts in all three
components. Similarly the same category had given higher ratings when they were
asked to reveal their perceptions on the effectiveness of the programme.
Conclusions
Both male and female student teachers overestimated the effectiveness of the
PGDE programme when they were asked to reveal their perception on the knowledge
gained, development of skills and application of theoretical knowledge. They
were highly confident that the programme was effective in improving their professional
competencies.
A significant difference between female and male student teachers could be found
with regard to their perceptions on three aspects under study. They were related
to Inclusive Education, Professional Development and Relationship with the Community.
It was further revealed that the correlation between perception and actual performance
of female student teachers was higher than their male counterparts.
Irrespective of their gender, there were high correlations between Teaching
Practice Stage I marks and Continuous Assessment marks and teaching Practice
marks and final examination marks. A low correlation was reported between CA
marks and the Final Examination marks which was not something expected by the
researcher.
Finally, the highest correlation was reported in relation to Teaching Practice
marks and the CA marks of female teachers and Teaching Practice marks and Final
Examination marks for the male teachers.
The reasons for having high perceptions and low achievements among student teachers
about the PGDE programme to be explored further to make recommendations.
References
Gunawardena, Chandra and Davies , Lynn (1992) Women and Men in Educational management:
An International Inquiry International Institute for Educational Planning, Paris
Lekamge,G.D. & Karunanayake, S.P. Factors affecting the successful comp0letion
ofm the degree of Master of Education Programme at the Open University of Sri
Lanka, Paper presented at the AAOU Conference, September 2005, Jakarta , Indonesia
Purnell,Cuskelly and Danaher (1996) cited in Gender and Age Difference in Distance
Education, http// www.ct4me.net/gibson.htm
Powell,R.Conway,C.Ross,L. (1990) Effects of Student predisposing Characteristics
on Student Success, Journal of Distance Education, http//cade.athabasca.ca/vol15.1/8_powe;;_et_al.html
Worley, Hannah (1998) Perceptions of Macomb County teachers toward professional
staff development opportunities as identified by Macomb Intermediate School
District's Management Training Center, Canada
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