MNU Thesis - އެމް. އެން. ޔޫގެ ދަސްވެނީންގެ ތީސީސްތައް
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Item Population human capital and development in the Maldives(The University of Waikato, 2000) Hussain Niyaaz; ނިޔާޒް ހުސައިންItem A failed education system : issue with low achievers(2025) Ahmed, Zameer; ޒަމީރު އަހުމަދުThis article is about the Maldives Education system. In this article, the issue with low achievers has being discussed. How to overcome the major issue in education. The article is backed with literature.Item The practicum in teacher education in the Maldives : current practices, issues and future directions(Faculty of Education, Maldives National University, 2017-11-01) Rasheed, Suneena; ސުނީނާ ރަޝީދުThe teaching practicum is considered as a crucial core component of a teacher education program that has a significant impact on the quality of graduate teachers. Stakeholders regard the practicum as an invaluable component of pre-service teacher education. However, the recent literature review demonstrates that the value of the practicum is undermined by a range of problems. In short, stakeholders encounter several issues and challenges in their efforts to implement a successful practicum experience for the student teachers (STs) due to the complex and multifaceted nature of the practicum. This empirical exploratory study investigated the stakeholder perceptions regarding the current practices of the practicum in the Maldives to better identify the key issues, challenges and new possibilities; and to provide research-based evidence for policy and practices pertaining to the practicum in the Maldivian context. The stakeholders participated in the study include: 317 STs, 205 cooperating teachers (CTs), two supervising lecturers (SLs), ten school-based coordinators (SBCs) and three institutional-based coordinators (IBCs) who played the dual role of both IBCs and SLs. Having employed a mixed-method triangulation design and purposive selection of the participants, the study was conducted in four phases. In the first three phases, survey questionnaire for STs (STQ) and CTs (CTQ) were administered in 21 selected placement schools in four different zones (of six zones) across the country. In addition, observational data were also collected from 28 STs from early childhood education (ECE), primary and secondary during these phases. In the fourth phase, a total of 38 semi-structured interviews (face-to-face and telephone) were conducted with the selected stakeholders (12STs, 11CTs, 10SBCs, 3IBCs and 2SLs). Drawing upon data from these multiple sources and from multiple stakeholders (STs, CTs, SLs, SBCs, and IBCs), the findings of the study showed that there were several issues and challenges. Among those the most significant include: content issues that lead to a multitude of classroom management problems for STs, inadequate support from the stakeholders for STs, insufficient training for the stakeholders (in particular CTs) to undertake their essential roles; lack of coordination and cooperation among the key players, especially between teacher education institutions (TEIs) and placement schools; absence of national level policies on the practicum, and the deficiencies in the existing practicum structures, or models to address current issues.To address these perceived problems, that may undermine the quality of the practicum, and ultimately the quality of the graduate teachers, the study makes specific recommendations, in light of its empirical evidence and with reference to the existing literature. The recommendations were specifically related to the four prominent stakeholder (policy makers, TEIs, placement schools and future researchers) groups who could play a significant role in making the practicum an educative event for all involved. The study recommends that the relevant policy makers establish governing bodies (e.g., national council for teacher education/national teacher certification department at the Ministry of Education, MoE), formulate a national framework for teacher education together with a framework, or a guideline for the practicum. Similarly, the outcomes of the study suggest that the TEIs establish practicum departments, develop pre-practicum programs for STs, professional development programs for CTs, SLs and SBCs. In addition, it is recommended that TEIs revise the current practicum models and make greater use of technology-enhanced practicum possibilities (especially in such a geographically dispersed country). Correspondingly, it is suggested that the placement schools establish formal units that take the responsibility for working with TEIs in a more collaborative fashion to prepare CTs and SBCs, and move towards forming a ‘community of practice’ or a platform for the stakeholders to enhance their professional development.Item Policy processes in the evolution of education in the Maldives : 1900–2015(Faculty of Education, Maldives National University, 2017-06-15) Ali, Aishath; ޢާއިޝަތު ޢަލީThe aim of this study was to analyse key education policy reforms in the Maldives over the period 1900–2015, using an extended ‘policy trajectory’ framework to examine three policy contexts: policy influences, policy text production and policy practices/effects. For ease of analysis, the study period of 115 years was divided into five eras each named after a significant policy actor. A hybrid theoretical framework comprising critical theory and poststructuralism was used in this study to enable a comprehensive approach to policy analysis spanning global (macro) to local (micro) levels. These theoretical lenses underpin the concept of a ‘policy trajectory’ which forms the structural framework for the thesis, guiding research questions and presentation of findings. While policy ‘influences’, ‘texts’ and ‘practices’ are considered separately, their interconnected nature is also acknowledged. The study sought to answer four research questions. The first three research questions were framed around these three contexts. For the purpose of this study, the ‘global’ level included influences from particular international sources, the ‘national’ level encompassed the Maldivian government, and the ‘local’ level mainly comprised individual powerful policy actors. Through the fourth research question this study also sought to reveal the implications of the findings for the development of education policies in the Maldives for the future, especially with accelerating globalisation. Data collection involved a combination of document analysis and semistructured interviews. Almost all available policy documents of the study period were perused and 35 key policy actors were interviewed. Of the five eras into which the 115-year study period was divided, there were no living persons from Era 1 (1900–1934). Thus, only documents were used as data sources for this era. For the remaining four eras, both interviews and documents were used as data sources. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 35 participants between May 2014 and December 2016. Purposive and snowball sampling were used to determine participants who included past and present government policy elite members, institutional leaders, school administrators and teachers. The findings revealed several key themes in relation to the three contexts of the policy trajectory spanning 115 years of Maldivian education history. The dominant themes arising from the context of influences included international policy borrowing, global education trends, catering for national development needs, equity and access, resource shortages, relevance of education to the Maldives and available employment, and the role of particular powerful individual policy actors. The less prominent themes relating to influences were cultural considerations, impact on behaviour and learning and impact on schools and teachers. Quality concerns had both influenced the development of some education policies and raised them. The policy text production was characterised by the major themes: catering for national development needs, the role of particular powerful individual policy actors, equity and access, resource shortages, relevance of education to the Maldives and available employment, cultural considerations and governance. The themes relating to policy practices/effects over the study period were equity and access, catering for the national development needs, quality, resource shortages, governance, power concentration, and finally relevance of education to the Maldives and available employment. Based on these findings sixteen theoretical propositions were synthesised from the study of the evolution of education policy processes in the Maldives over five eras from 1900 to 2015. Several implications of the findings for the development of education policies in the Maldives were deduced from the study. The first of these implications deals with social efficiency, democratic equality, educational access, quality and resources. Other implications pertain to the need to contextualize overseas policies as well as improving regulatory mechanisms for quality and assessment. In addition, it was recommended that the Maldives revitalize both the technical and vocational education and training systems and higher education by prioritizing quality and labour market relevance of programmes. The thesis concludes by outlining a number of implications for future research and also providing an update on recent education policy developments in the Maldives between the conclusion of data collection in 2016 and thesis submission in mid2017.