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Item 'I don't learn at school, so I take tuition' : an ethnographic study of classroom practices and private tuition settings in the Maldives : a dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Second Language Teaching at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2012) Mariya, MaryamThis study explores the classroom practices of both secondary classrooms and private tuition settings in the Maldives. By adopting ethnographic methods of data collection informed by an interview as social practice approach, the study aimed to further understanding of these practices in urban and rural classrooms and in private tuition settings in the context of the Maldives. Qualitative data was collected through observation, interview and document analysis over the course of nine months. Detailed observations of the learning sites and interview as social practice were applied when conducting interviews with teachers, students and parent in the three various settings. Participants of this study included six teachers from the two secondary schools; students and parents from both schools; six private tuition teachers; and four students and parents from private tuition settings. Rich contextual data was obtained relating to classroom practices, and private tuition settings and their interrelationship in the Maldives. The analysis of the data was on-going throughout the observations. Thematic analysis was adopted within an interview as social practice approach, by examining the ‘hows’ as well as the ‘whats’ of the interviews. The detailed ethnographic ‘thick descriptions’ were analysed, including in-depth reflection on the interviews and how they were used as communication tools in social situations. The findings of the study revealed that the practices of teachers and students in the classrooms were shaped by: the sustained mini exam sessions of teaching and learning, the absence of teachers’ voices in decision-making; teacher-centred approaches; passive learning; the physical conditions of the classrooms; and ever-present concerns about noise and managing time in the classroom. The analysis was extended to uncover the complex reasons that led students and their parents to opt for private tuition, and how these reasons were interrelated with classroom practices. In addition, it was found that teachers preferred to give private tuition not only for financial reasons, but also to counterbalance some of the pressures they experienced in classroom settings. The study revealed the value of the interview as social practice approach within an ethnographic study as well as the need for sustained enquiry within and across both classroom and private tuition settings so as to reveal the meaning and significance of the practices that form learning contexts in both public and private contexts in the Maldives.Item Distance education on the remote islands of Maldives : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD in Information Systems at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2005) Shareef, Ali FawazMaldives is a country in the Indian Ocean consisting of 200 inhabited islands. Due to the small population sizes in the rural islands infrastructure development had been a major hurdle in Maldives. This has led to the lack of secondary schools in most of the islands in the country. This research aimed at creating a distance education model that can provide access to secondary education to the students in these islands. The research looked at the existing infrastructure of Maldives and the different media used in other countries in the world to provide distance education. Based on these two sets of information a criteria was made to develop a distance education model suitable in Maldivian context. A theoretical model was then developed to suit these requirements in Maldives. The accessibility of this model was then evaluated through a field study in Maldives to find out whether the model was able to reach the students in the outer islands. A learning system was designed based on this theoretical model and implemented in different parts of the country. A questionnaire survey was then carried out to find whether the students accepted the learning system as a mode of study. The study showed that the theoretical model was able to provide access to the students in the outer islands of Maldives. Three aspects of accessibility in the outer islands were investigated, namely physical access, student learning, and student acceptance. Since the evaluation included a successful implementation of the proposed model in some of remotest inhabited islands in Maldives, physical accessibility was achieved. The study showed that the students using the proposed model were able to achieve grades similar or higher to those they obtain in normal schooling. This showed the students' ability to learn using the proposed model. Finally, the study showed that most students liked using the proposed model and were willing to use it for other courses.