Shaping efl high school students perceptions of learner autonomy the roles of parental support m a

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY –HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE SHAPING EFL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF LEARNER AUTONOMY: THE ROLES OF PARENTAL SUPPORT A thesis submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL by H CH NHƢ Supervised by NG TẤN T N Ph D HO CHI MINH CITY, OCTOBER 2015 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY –HOCHIMINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE SHAPING EFL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF LEARNER AUTONOMY: THE ROLES OF PARENTAL SUPPORT A thesis submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL by H CH NHƢ Supervised by NG TẤN T N Ph D HO CHI MINH CITY, OCTOBER 2015 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First of all, I would like to express my sincere thanks and deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Dang Tan Tin for his invaluable guidance, assistance and support throughout the research He has steadily supported me from the very beginning stage to the completion of this thesis Without his tremendous support, sympathy and encouragement, my thesis might never have been completed Secondly, special thank goes to my devoted instructors of the Master course at Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities for their enthusiasm in providing me with profound knowledge and valuable experiences from the program Also I highly appreciate all members of the class TESOL 2012 for their help and encouragement during my work Thirdly, many thanks go to my colleagues and students at five high schools in Rach Gia city, who were willing to cooperate in completing the questionnaires and voluntarily took part in the focus group interviews This thesis would not have been completed without their outstanding cooperation Finally, I would like to thank my extended family, my husband and my little daughter for their love, encouragement and being with me along my academic journey and in my life i STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY I hereby certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled: SHAPING EFL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF LEARNER AUTONOMY: THE ROLES OF PARENTAL SUPPORT In terms of the statement of the requirements for the Thesis in Master’s Program issued by the Higher Degree Committee This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in other institution Ho Chi Minh City, October 2015 H ii H NHƢ RETENTION OF USE I hereby state that I, H ch Nhƣ, being the candidate for the degree of Master in TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Thesis deposited in the library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the library should be accessible for the purpose of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the library for the care, loan or reproduction of theses Ho Chi Minh City, October 2015 H iii H NHƢ TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements i Statement of originality ii Retention of use iii Table of contents iv List of tables viii List of figures x List of abbreviations xi List of appendices xii Abstract xiii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study 1.2 Rationale of the study 1.3 Aims of the study 1.4 Research questions 1.4 Significance of the study 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Organization of the study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Definition of learner autonomy 2.2 Learner autonomy in EFL education 2.3 Students’ perceptions of learner autonomy 2.4 Parental support 12 2.4.1 Definition of parental support 12 2.4.2 Parental support for learner autonomy in EFL learning 13 2.5 Effects of parents on students’ perceptions of learner autonomy 14 2.5.1 Parents’ effects in initiating learning process 14 2.5.2 Parents’ effects in monitoring learning process 15 2.5.3 Parents’ effects in evaluating learning process 16 2.5.4 Parents use ICTs to foster students’ learning process 16 iv 2.6 Students’ expectations of parental support in language learning 17 2.7 Conceptual Framework of the study 18 2.8 Chapter summary 18 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research questions 20 3.2 Research design 20 3.3 Context of the study 21 3.4 Participants 23 3.5 Instruments 24 3.5.1 Theoretical considerations 24 3.5.1.1 Questionnaire 24 3.5.1.2 Focus group interview 25 3.5.2 Instrument development 25 3.5.2.1 Questionnaire 25 3.5.2.2 Focus group interview 30 3.5.3 Validity and reliability 30 3.5.3.1 Reliability 31 3.5.3.2 Validity 31 3.6 Data collection procedure 32 3.7 Data analysis procedure 33 3.7.1 Analysis of data collected from the questionnaire 33 3.7.2 Analysis of data collected from the focus group interviews 34 3.8 Chapter Summary 35 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Analysis of data 36 4.1.1 Distribution of data 36 4.1.2 Reliability of the questionnaire 37 4.1.3 Students’perceptions of learner autonomy 40 4.1.3.1 Students’perceptions in the four dimensions of learner autonomy 40 v 4.1.3.2 Effect of gender on students’ perceptions of learner autonomy 41 4.1.3.3 Differences in students’ perceptions of learner autonomy among groups of school 43 4.1.4 Students’evaluation on their parental support 45 4.1.4.1 Parental support for the four dimensions of learner autonomy 45 4.1.4.2 Effect of gender on the evaluation towards parental support 47 4.1.4.3 Evaluation of students from different groups of schools on parental support 48 4.1.5 The relationship between high school students’perceptions of learner autonomy and their parental support 48 4.1.6 Students’expectations of parental support for their learner autonomy development 51 4.1.6.1 Students’ expectations for parental support in learning environment 52 4.1.6.2 Students’ expectations for parental support in motivation 56 4.1.6.3 Students’ expectations for parental support in time arrangement 59 4.1.6.4 Students’expectations for parental supervision in their learning process 61 4.1.7 Conclusion 64 4.2 Discussion of the findings 64 4.2.1 Students’ perceptions of learner autonomy 65 4.2.1.1 Students’perceptions on the four dimensions of learner autonomy 65 4.2.1.2 Effect of gender on students’ perceptions of learner autonomy 66 4.2.1.3 Differences in students’ perceptions of learner autonomy among groups of school 66 4.2.2 Students’evaluation on their parental support 67 4.2.2.1 Parental support for the four dimensions of learner autonomy 67 4.2.2.2 Effect of gender on students’ evaluation towards parental support 67 4.2.2.3 Effect of groups of schools on students’ evaluation towards parental support 68 4.2.3 The relationship between students’ perceptions of learner autonomy and their parental support 68 vi 4.2.4 Students’expectations of parental support for their learner autonomy development 69 4.2.4.1 Students’expectations for parental support in learning environment 69 4.2.4.2 Students’expectations for parental support in motivation 70 4.2.4.3 Students’expectations for parental support in time arrangement 70 4.2.4.4 Students’expectations for parental supervision in their learning process 71 4.2.4.5 Conclusion 72 4.3 Chapter summary 72 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 Summary 73 5.2 Pedagogical implications 75 5.3 Suggestions 76 5.3.1 Suggestions for teachers 76 5.3.2 Suggestions for parents 77 5.4 Limitations 78 5.5 Recommendations for further research 78 5.6 Conclusion 79 REFERENCES 81 APPENDICES 89 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: Summary of learner autonomy perceptions of students from literature review 11 Table 3.1: The description of groups of school from high schools 22 Table 3.2: The description of gender in the study 24 Table 3.3: Modification of some items in Initiating learning process 26 Table 3.4: Modification of some items in Monitoring learning process 27 Table 3.5: Modification of some items in Evaluating learning process 27 Table 3.6: Modification of some items in Using ICTs in learning process 28 Table 3.7: Extracted items from the questionnaire 29 Table 4.1: Distribution of gender in the five schools 37 Table 4.2: An extract from the descriptive statistics of questionnaire of students 38 Table 4.3: An extract from the descriptive statistics of questionnaire of parents 38 Table 4.4: Internal consistency of the four factor regarding student’s perceptions of learner autonomy 39 Table 4.5: Internal consistency of the four factors regarding parental support 39 Table 4.6: Descriptive statistics on mean difference among dimensions of learner autonomy 40 Table 4.7: Level differences in the four dimensions of learner autonomy perceptions 41 Table 4.8: Effect of gender on students ’perceptions of learner autonomy 42 Table 4.9: Descriptive statistics of gender on learner autonomy 43 Table 4.10: Mean difference of the three groups of school on learner autonomy 43 Table 4.11: Statistical description of post-hoc comparison 44 Table 4.12: Descriptive statistics of four dimensions of parental support 45 Table 4.13: omparing mean between students’ perceptions and parental viii Table Effect of gender on students’ perceptions of learner autonomy Independent Samples Test Levene's Test for Equality of Variances F Initiating learning process Equal variances assumed Sig 5.452 020 Equal variances not assumed Monitoring Equal learning variances process assumed 12.725 000 Equal variances not assumed Evaluating learning process Equal variances assumed 2.856 092 Equal variances not assumed Using ICTs Equal in learning variances process assumed Equal variances not assumed Appendix H 4.347 038 t-test for Equality of Means t -2.196 df Sig (2tailed) Std Mean Error Differe Differe nce nce 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper 472 029 -.08360 03807 -.15841 -.00878 -2.150 404.725 032 -.08360 03887 -.16002 -.00717 -2.174 472 030 -.09924 04564 -.18893 -.00956 -2.114 387.376 035 -.09924 04694 -.19153 -.00695 -2.032 472 043 -.08493 04179 -.16705 -.00281 -2.000 416.080 046 -.08493 04246 -.16840 -.00146 -2.278 472 023 -.13051 05729 -.24309 -.01792 -2.253 427.186 025 -.13051 05792 -.24435 -.01666 Page 125 Table 3: Descriptive statistics on mean difference of the three groups of school on learner autonomy Descriptives 95% Confidence Interval for Mean N Initiating learning process Monitoring learning process Evaluating learning process Using ICTs learning process Appendix H Mean Std Deviation Std Error Lower Bound Upper Bound Min Max Gifted school 97 4.1384 43274 04394 4.0512 4.2257 2.43 5.00 Normal public school 235 4.1313 40915 02669 4.0787 4.1839 2.57 5.00 Private school 142 4.0070 39586 03322 3.9414 4.0727 2.57 4.86 Total 474 4.0955 41340 01899 4.0582 4.1329 2.43 5.00 Gifted school 97 3.9323 42812 04347 3.8460 4.0185 2.57 4.71 Normal public school 235 3.8219 51063 03331 3.7563 3.8875 2.29 5.00 Private school 142 3.7626 50440 04233 3.6789 3.8463 2.29 4.71 Total 474 3.8267 49555 02276 3.7820 3.8714 2.29 5.00 Gifted school 97 3.9394 44856 04554 3.8490 4.0298 2.50 4.88 Normal public school 235 3.8654 44911 02930 3.8077 3.9231 2.00 5.00 Private school 142 3.8319 46176 03875 3.7553 3.9085 2.38 5.00 Total 474 3.8705 45345 02083 3.8296 3.9114 2.00 5.00 Gifted school 97 3.6495 58620 05952 3.5313 3.7676 2.13 4.75 Normal public school 235 3.6686 59239 03864 3.5925 3.7447 2.13 5.00 Private school 142 3.4648 67460 05661 3.3529 3.5767 1.75 5.00 Total 474 3.6036 62236 02859 3.5475 3.6598 1.75 5.00 Page 126 Table 4: Mean difference of the three groups of school on learner autonomy ANOVA Sum of Squares D1:Initiating Between Groups learning process Within Groups Total D2:Monitoring Between Groups learning process Within Groups Total D3:Evaluating Between Groups learning process Within Groups Total D4:Using ICTs Between Groups learning process Within Groups Total Appendix H Mean Square Df 1.591 796 79.245 471 168 80.837 473 1.670 835 114.483 471 243 116.153 473 679 339 96.577 471 205 97.256 473 3.934 1.967 179.272 471 381 183.206 473 F Sig 4.729 009 3.435 033 1.656 192 5.168 006 Page 127 Table 5: Statistical description of Post-hoc comparison Multiple Comparisons Dependent Variable Initiating learning process (I) School group Gifted school Normal public school Private school Monitoring learning process Gifted school Normal public school Private school Evaluating learning process Gifted school Normal public school Private school Using ICTs Gifted school in learning process Normal public school Private school (J) School group Normal public school Private school Gifted school Private school Gifted school Normal public school Normal public school Private school Gifted school Private school Gifted school Normal public school Normal public school Private school Gifted school Private school Gifted school Normal public school Normal public school Private school Gifted school Private school Gifted school Normal public school Mean Difference (I-J) 00713 13140* -.00713 12426* -.13140* -.12426* 11037 16968* -.11037 05931 -.16968* -.05931 07401 10757 -.07401 03356 -.10757 -.03356 -.01913 18470 01913 20383* -.18470 -.20383* Std Error 04950 05403 04950 04360 05403 04360 05950 06494 05950 05240 06494 05240 05465 05965 05465 04813 05965 04813 07446 08127 07446 06557 08127 06557 Sig .989 041 989 013 041 013 153 025 153 495 025 495 366 170 366 765 170 765 964 061 964 006 061 006 95% Confidence Interval Lower Upper Bound Bound -.1093 1235 0044 2584 -.1235 1093 0218 2268 -.2584 -.0044 -.2268 -.0218 -.0295 2503 0170 3224 -.2503 0295 -.0639 1825 -.3224 -.0170 -.1825 0639 -.0545 2025 -.0327 2478 -.2025 0545 -.0796 1467 -.2478 0327 -.1467 0796 -.1942 1559 -.0064 3758 -.1559 1942 0497 3580 -.3758 0064 -.3580 -.0497 * The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level Appendix H Page 128 APPENDIX H2 DIMENSIONS OF PARENTAL SUPPORT AND OTHER FACTORS Table Descriptive statistics of gender on students’ evaluation towards Parental support for the four dimensions of learner autonomy Group Statistics Gender N Parental support in initiating process Mean Std Std Error Deviation Mean male 210 3.7980 60504 04175 female 264 3.8014 58966 03629 male 210 3.6844 57896 03995 female 264 3.6726 60202 03705 male 210 3.6774 56982 03932 female 264 3.6586 60750 03739 Parents use ICTs to support for learning male 210 3.5006 73657 05083 process female 264 3.4844 72408 04456 Parental support in monitoring process Parental support in evaluating process Appendix H Page 129 Table 2: Effect of gender on students’ evaluation towards Parental support for the four dimensions of learner autonomy Independent Sample Test Levene's Test for Equality of Variances F Parental support in initiating process Equal variances assumed Parents use ICTs to support for learning process Appendix H 387 534 Equal variances not assumed Parentsal Equal support in variances monitoring assumed process Equal variances not assumed Parental support in evaluating process Sig Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed t -.063 df 472 -.062 443.110 353 553 1.160 282 Equal variances not assumed Equal variances assumed t-test for Equality of Means 1.115 291 Sig (2tailed) Mean Differen ce Std Error Differe nce 950 -.00345 05516 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper -.11183 10494 950 -.00345 05532 -.11217 10527 214 472 830 01173 05473 -.09581 11928 215 455.404 830 01173 05449 -.09535 11881 343 472 732 01876 05466 -.08864 12616 346 459.365 730 01876 05426 -.08786 12539 240 472 810 01622 06747 -.11635 14879 240 444.901 810 01622 06760 -.11663 14907 Page 130 Table 3: Descriptive statistics on mean difference of three groups of the evaluation parental support Descriptives 95% Confidence Interval for Mean Parental support in initiating process Parental support in monitoring process Parental support in evaluating process Std Error Lower Bound Upper Bound 71544 07154 3.6423 3.9262 1.14 5.00 3.7310 67862 04169 3.6489 3.8131 1.00 5.00 150 3.6333 69758 05696 3.5208 3.7459 2.00 5.00 Total 515 3.7129 69224 03050 3.6530 3.7728 1.00 5.00 Gifted school 100 3.6771 67637 06764 3.5429 3.8114 2.14 5.00 Normal public school 265 3.5585 71395 04386 3.4721 3.6448 1.00 5.00 Private school 150 3.5133 70920 05791 3.3989 3.6278 1.00 4.71 Total 515 3.5684 70637 03113 3.5072 3.6295 1.00 5.00 Gifted school 100 3.6238 57365 05736 3.5099 3.7376 1.88 5.00 Normal public school 265 3.5783 70577 04335 3.4929 3.6637 1.00 5.00 Private school 150 3.5725 64997 05307 3.4676 3.6774 2.00 4.63 Total 515 3.5854 66486 02930 3.5279 3.6430 1.00 5.00 100 3.3613 81299 08130 3.1999 3.5226 1.50 5.00 265 3.4802 75822 04658 3.3885 3.5719 1.00 5.00 Private school 150 3.3358 80765 06594 3.2055 3.4661 1.75 5.00 Total 515 3.4150 78502 03459 3.3471 3.4830 1.00 5.00 N Mean Gifted school 100 3.7843 Normal public school 265 Private school Parents use ICTs Gifted school to support for learning process Normal public school Appendix H Std Deviation Min Page 131 Max Table 4: Mean difference of the three groups on the evaluation of parental support ANOVA Sum of Squares Parental support in Between Groups initiating process Mean df Square 2.709 1.355 Within Groups 165.247 471 351 Total 167.956 473 1.268 634 348 Parental supportal in Between Groups monitoring process Within Groups 164.122 471 Total 165.390 473 405 202 349 Parental support in Between Groups evaluating process Within Groups 164.559 471 Total 164.964 473 1.894 947 530 Parents use ICTs to Between Groups support for learning Within Groups 249.416 471 process Total 251.310 473 Appendix H F Sig 3.861 022 1.820 163 579 561 1.788 168 Page 132 APPENDIX H3 CORRELATIONS BETWEEN STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF LEARNER AUTONOMY AND THEIR PARENTAL SUPPORT Table Correlations between students’ perceptions of learner autonomy and their parental support for the four dimensions of learner autonomy Initiating learning process Pearson Parental Parental Parents use support in support in support in ICTs to support initiating monitoring evaluating for learning process process process process 420** 309** 280** 351** Sig (2-tailed) 000 000 000 000 N 474 474 474 474 411** 472** 360** 389** Sig (2-tailed) 000 000 000 000 N 474 474 474 474 338** 362** 378** 387** Sig (2-tailed) 000 000 000 000 N 474 474 474 474 339** 362** 294** 528** 000 000 000 000 474 474 474 474 Correlation Monitoring learning process Pearson Correlation Evaluating learning process Parental Pearson Correlation Using ICTs learning process Pearson Correlation Sig (2-tailed) N ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed) Appendix H Page 133 APPENDIX I MODIFICATION OF QUESTIONNAIRE Dimension 1: Initiating learning process Table 1: Modification of items in Initiating learning process Items in current study Items in (7 items: - 7) Dang(2012) Reasons for modifications 1.be aware of the importance of English 55 think English is not important for their future to make it appropriate for the study purpose 2.identify goal in learning English 30 are determined to achieve the target which they set for their English study to make it clearer in meaning, simpler to understand 3.make a timetable for learning English at home 32 make their schedule so they will have enough time to study English as above 4.prepare a good environment to study English, e.g room, computer, cassette, reference books, etc 14 try to have a good environment to study English, e.g cleaning up the table before studying English at home To make it more suitable for the initial statement 5.try to find as many ways as possible to improve English try to find as many ways as they can to improve their English as above 6.look for opportunities to use English as much as possible look for opportunities to use English as much as possible no 7.study English voluntarily study English voluntarily no Appendix I Page 134 Dimension 2: Monitoring learning process Table 2: Modification of items in Monitoring learning process Items in current study Items in Modifications and (7 items: - 14) Dang(2012) Reasons 8.communicate with foreigners in English want to communicate with foreigners in English to make it more suitable to the initial statement maintain their timetable to study English carry out the learning plans once they have been made to facilitate students’ understanding 10 concentrate on English lesson right away when sitting at their study place at home 26 concentrate on their studies even if they happen to hear others talking to make it more suitable for the context of high school students 11 study things which were not taught in class 49 study things which were not from their class To make it more suitable to the initial statement 12 know the most suitable method and use it 62 know the method which suits them best and use it As above 13 make good use of materials and resources when studying English at home make good use of materials and resources when studying English at home no 14 notice their mistakes and use that information to help them study better 38 notice their mistakes and use that information to help them better To make it more specific Appendix I Page 135 Dimension 3: Evaluating learning process Table 3: Modification of items in Evaluating learning process Items in current study Items in Modifications and (7 items: - 7) Dang(2012) Reasons 15 reflect on what they’ve learnt to know important content 36 reflect on what they learn and look for something important to make it more suitable for high school context 16 self-evaluate their progress in learning English 25 not think about their progress in learning English transform from negative form into positive one 17 know their good points and weaknesses 15 not know their good points and weaknesses As above 18 try to improve their weaknesses 18 not try to improve their weaknesses As above 19 try to develop their good points 17 try to develop their good points no 20 practice speaking English with people outside class 60 not practice English with people outside class transform from negative form into positive one 21 check to make sure that they understood the lesson 43 check to make sure that they understood the lesson no 22 practice writing diary in English 21 write down their feelings towards English studies in a language learning diary make it more suitable for high school students Appendix I Page 136 Dimension 4: Using ICT in learning process Table 4: Modification of items in Using ICTs in learning process Items in current study Items in Modifications and (7 items: - 7) Dang(2012) Reasons 23 use computer applications to study English 31 like to study with computers to make it more specific 24 study English online 42 go online as a way of learning English to simplify it 25 a search on the internet if you have a question in English 33 will a search on the Internet if they have a question about English to make it more suitable to the initial statement 26 make friends on the internet to practice English 23 will use English to communicate if seeing a stranger on the Internet to make it more specific 27 take part in blogging, online English speaking group to use English more often not want to improve English by taking part in online communities such as forums, blogs, chatrooms to simplify it 28 listen to English news on the internet such as VOA and BBC 46 pay more attention when they see an English website to make it more specific 29 check their proficiency by doing English tests online 57 check their English proficiency by taking TOEIC, TOEFL or IELTS voluntarily to make it more suitable for high school students 30 check their English level by comparing it with the skills of others on the internet 35 check their English level by comparing it with the skills of others on the Internet no Appendix I Page 137 APPENDIX J 30 QUESTIONNAIRE ITEMS ADAPTED FROM DANG (2012) No STATEMENTS DEGREE OF AGREEMENT Students who succeed best with learning English: study English voluntarily want to communicate with foreigners in English 5 carry out the learning plans once they have been made make good use of materials and resources when studying English at home look for opportunities to use English as much as possible not want to improve English by taking part in online communities such as forums, blogs, chatrooms try to find as many ways as they can to improve their English 14 try to have a good environment to study English, e.g cleaning up the table before studying English at home 15 not know their good points and weaknesses 17 try to develop their good points 18 not try to improve their weaknesses 21 write down their feelings towards English studies in a language learning diary 22 learn English because they enjoy studying it 25 not think about their progress in learning English 26 concentrate on their studies even if they happen to hear others talking 30 are determined to achieve the target which they set for their English study 31 like to study with computers 32 make their schedule so they will have enough time to study English 33 will a search on the Internet if they have a question about English Appendix J Page 138 35 check their English level by comparing it with the skills of others on the Internet 36 reflect on what they learn and look for something important 38 notice their mistakes and use that information to help them better 42 go online as a way of learning English 43 check to make sure that they understood the lesson 46 pay more attention when they see an English website 49 study things which were not from their class 55 think English is not important for their future 57 check their English proficiency by taking TOEIC, TOEFL or IELTS voluntarily 60 not practice English with people outside class 62 know the method which suits them best and use it Appendix J Page 139 ... explore learner autonomy perceptions of high school students and the relationship between students? ?? perceptions of learner autonomy and their parental support Significance and limitations of the. .. for the co-operation between teacher and parents and more support from parents in stimulating learner autonomy of high school students in EFL learning Key words: Learner autonomy, parental support, ... PERCEPTIONS OF LEARNER AUTONOMY: THE ROLES OF PARENTAL SUPPORT In terms of the statement of the requirements for the Thesis in Master’s Program issued by the Higher Degree Committee This thesis has not