Um dos maiores desafios da educação, em especial da Matemática, é fazer com que o aluno, ao produzir conhecimentos, o faça de forma significativa. É nesse sentido que, esta dissertação busca mostrar, através de uma pesquisa-ação, como atividades investigativas abrem caminhos para a busca de conhecimentos de forma crítica e reflexiva, além de possibilitar o desenvolvimento pessoal e ser capaz de integrar conteúdos das disciplinas com o cotidiano do educando. A aplicação desta metodologia para alunos do sétimo ano de uma escola pública mostrou que a parceria entre professor e alunos edifica e fortalece esta construção dos saberes e que a existência de um contrato didático negociado foi fundamental nesse processo / One of the biggest challenges in education, especially in mathematics, is to provide students the production of significant knowledge. In that sense, this paper seeks to show, with a qualitative action-research, how investigative activities open paths to the search for knowledge in a critical and reflective way, to enable personal development, and integrate content from disciplines with the students everyday experiences. The application of this methodology to seventh grade students in a public school showed that the partnership between teacher and pupils builds and strengthens this construction of knowledge, and that the existence of a negotiated didactic contract was essential to this process

Cette thèse porte sur la mise en place d’un ERP (Enterprise Resource planning) dans un groupe de petites filiales à travers une recherche action canonique multi-cycles menée par le chercheur, directeur de projet ERP durant deux ans. Les filiales sont confrontées à de multiples défis : déployer un ERP standard tout en préservant leur flexibilité, concilier les contraintes groupe et contraintes locales, faire avec les moyens du bord vu les ressources limitées. Ce contexte constitue une opportunité pour approfondir la théorie du bricolage, peu mobilisée dans la littérature ERP. Les résultats montrent des processus de bricolage collectif multi-niveaux : intra-filiales, inter-filiales et groupe. Ces processus de bricolage permettent une amélioration continue de l’ERP et son appropriation, et conduisent au final à la conception et l’usage de solutions difficiles à imiter, ce qui génère un avantage compétitif. Ces processus de bricolage collectif supposent des conditions initiales propices, et une évolution d’une symbolique contraignante (ERP standard, best practices) vers une symbolique habilitante. Chemin faisant, le bricolage contribue à développer le réservoir et les capacités créatives, ce qui décuple en retour le potentiel du bricolage, favorisant simultanément les innovations technologiques et managériales. / This PhD thesis focuses on the implementation of an ERP in a group of small subsidiaries through a multi-cycle canonical action research conducted by the researcher, ERP project manager for two years. Subsidiaries face multiple challenges : deploying a standard ERP while preserving their flexibility, reconciling the group constraints and local constraints, making do with means at hand given the limited resources. This context is an opportunity to deepen the theory of bricolage, little mobilized in the ERP literature. The results show multilevel collective bricolage processes: intra-affiliates, inter-affiliates and group. These bricolage processes allow continuous improvement of the ERP and its appropriation, and ultimately lead to the design and use of solutions that are difficult to imitate, which generates a competitive advantage. These collective bricolage processes assume favorable initial conditions and an evolution from a constraining symbolic (standard ERP, best practices) to an enabling symbolic. Along the way, bricolage contributes to developing thecreative reservoir and capacities, which in turn increases the potential of bricolage, while simultaneously promoting technological and managerial innovations.

This thesis critically analyses, reconstructs and deconstructs the Living Educational Theory (LET) approach. It examines, challenges and modifies it, dialectically transforms it and offers a more suitable alternative to it. Whilst LET has not been well received in academia for two decades, this thesis is being written at a point in time when LET has greater recognition and influence. The thesis is composed of three parts. The first part examines and reconstructs the LET approach as a theoretical possibility and a practical methodological and heuristic approach. It introduces the LET approach and its key features, components, intentions and practices. It examines and interrelates the writings of the developers of that approach and its history and development. It also relates that approach to educational, action, reflective practice, practitioner and ontological research and the work and educational development of this author. The second part criticises, deconstructs and transforms the LET approach and proposes an alternative heuristic tool, solution and approach. It criticises the claim of living educational theorists that LET is an improved approach to the theorisation of a human existence and the educational, ontological, professional and epistemological development of practitioners. As well as criticising the new directions which the LET approach has recently taken, it introduces an alternative educational action research heuristic tool and approach that is based on self-dialectical reflective enquiry. The proposed alternative is based on creative and auto-phenomenological writing, self-dialectical and cathartic logging, public blogging and enquiring-within-writing logging into the question: how do I lead a more meaningful existence in the world for myself? It seeks to transform the LET approach into a deeper ontological, auto-phenomenological, and self-therapeutic auto-analysis, self-reevaluation and auto-empowerment. The third part concludes the thesis and reflects on my learning from my engagement with the LET approach and my hopes and intentions for the future.

The thesis presents and inquires into a first person research story about the development of a ‘Community of Practice’ for asset-based rural development practitioners from across the UK and Republic of Ireland. It includes an account of how geographically remote members of the CoP were supported to come together over eighteen months to co-produce an online handbook called ‘Exploring Community Resilience’ (included as Appendix 1). Findings include: - Social networking and social media technologies can be powerful enablers of third and second person inquiry; - A compass tool (included here) can help hosts and curators make good design and facilitation choices as they host the emergence of complex, large scale social learning architectures (which this thesis calls ‘Digital Forests’); - Action researchers can benefit from developing skills as digital curators, producers of social media, and hosts of transformative learning processes; - Future generations of social media are likely to challenge the assumptions, methods and findings of this thesis. As we navigate our way into this fast changing future, it will be helpful to inquire into their impacts of new generations of digital technologies on our personal and collective psychological, cultural and social wellbeing.

This is a largely qualitative, part quantitative, inquiry into the effectiveness of classroom modelling in helping tertiary students prepare for their AS-level examinations. Classroom modelling, a form of peer modelling developed by the author, draws substantially upon neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), a discipline regarded as controversial in education. Classroom modelling involves students investigating each other's more successful practices and drawing out elements that might be woven into their own practice.

Middle school programs occupy a unique place in choral music education. This study builds upon and makes a unique contribution to the body of literature in choral music education by introducing critical participatory action research into the social ecology (Shotter, 1993) of the middle school choral classroom during the “regular” school day with a non-select choral ensemble. I employed critical participatory action research methodology—a collaborative approach to understanding specific problems in education—because it is a systematic research process conducted for the purpose of generating knowledge that is valid and vital for the well being of learners, communities of learners, and for promoting social change (Carr & Kemmis, 1986; Herr & Anderson, 2005; Kemmis and McTaggart, 1987; Mills, 2010). The purpose of this critical participatory action research study was to create a collaborative model of practice in order to make sixth grade choral music education more relevant and meaningful for learners. In order to accomplish this, I created a constructionist learning environment, applying domains of relevance set forth by Gergen (2001), and examined how this model of practice impacted the pedagogical practices of 19 sixth grade chorus students and their chorus teacher over the period of one semester. All participants collected evidence in the form of video recordings, interviews, journals and portfolios. All evidence was considered in light of the changes that occurred—individually and collectively—in pedagogical and organizational practices and in regard to the original research questions. This report illuminates ways that constructionist principles might be used to create a collaborative model of middle school choral music education and the pedagogical and social practices that emerge when beginning sixth grade students and their chorus teacher share responsibility for teaching and learning.

The Storyline method requires learners to create a fictive world and take on the role of characters in a story which they develop themselves. The story, co-created with the teacher, is based around a topic in the curriculum. In the course of the story, key questions based on curriculum-mandated aims are asked by the teacher in order to engage the learners in tasks during which learning occurs. Although Storyline has been used for many years in the classroom, its applicability to the foreign language classroom has only been researched recently and not extensively. By establishing a simulated ‘real world’ and providing students with ownership of their learning, students can use and improve their language skills, developing intercultural communicative competence in a meaningful context. This action research case study investigated the impact of the Storyline method on the foreign language classroom in the context of teaching military linguist cadets at a Russian university. A fictive base of a United Nations military observation mission, invented by the students themselves, served as a meaningful context for learning. The aim of the study was to improve the effectiveness of teaching in terms of developing language skills and raising student motivation, in the context of teaching English as a foreign language to military linguist cadets. The study found that the student response was positive, with improvements in motivation and satisfaction with the teaching and learning process. Moreover, students also showed improvements in terms of English language skills. It was also discovered that Storyline could benefit from adaption to include form-focused instruction for teaching grammar points. Additionally, explicit explanations of certain Storyline activities, in particular art work, might be beneficial when working with military linguist cadets. Ultimately Storyline was found to be an effective foreign language teaching method for military linguist cadets in Russia and has potential for use in other foreign language teaching for specific purposes contexts owing to its capacity for making language learning more relevant to the real life contexts in which professionals find themselves.

A systematic narrative literature review explored views of young child sexual abuse (CSA) survivors whose abuse was unknown to authorities, about confidentiality. Due to paucity of research, the review included literature about sexual health service users. Seventeen databases and eleven journals were searched and thirty-three papers were identified. Analysis involved exploratory interpretist approach focusing on emergent themes and methodologies. Findings indicated limited participation and that young people want; (i) confidentiality (ii) control of their lives and (iii) they fear child protection agencies. Empirical research then explored views about confidentiality with young CSA survivors whose abuse was unknown to child protection agencies. Eight survivors engaged as co-researchers in participatory action research utilising a mixed methods approach; using surveys, focus groups, online chats, graffiti walls and interviews. One hundred and forty survivors participated. Age range was 11- 30, with 25 males, 114 females and 1 gender neutral. Researchers designed tools, gathered and analysed qualitative and quantitative data using a social construction thematic approach. Results found (i) all participants wanted higher confidentiality, with males and under 16's demanding highest confidentiality (ii) males were reluctant to disclose CSA compared to females (iii) abuse retractions were related to loss of confidentiality (iv) involvement as co-researchers was positive and empowering. With limited confidentiality the identified themes for young people were: fear of consequences, lost control, abuse retractions and protecting abusers. With high confidentiality themes were: talking openly, control, empowerment, exploring options, respect and being believed. Young researchers reported improvement in self-esteem and positive life changes. Conclusions: Young CSA survivors whose abuse was unknown to child protection services want higher confidentiality to build trust and be able to talk about abuse; and involvement of young people in participatory research is positive and empowering. Recommendations: There appears to be a need for increased confidentiality if young people whose abuse is unknown to child protection services are to disclose their abuse. Further participatory research is needed to explore whether other groups of young people unknown to services report similar and/or different needs.

Submitted by JOSIANE SANTOS DE OLIVEIRA (josianeso) on 2017-06-28T13:59:49Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Adriana Machado Dias_.pdf: 1937653 bytes, checksum: a73de48896f6b0564bfb235754e04ea3 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-28T13:59:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Adriana Machado Dias_.pdf: 1937653 bytes, checksum: a73de48896f6b0564bfb235754e04ea3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-04-25 / Nenhuma / Situações de violência na escola, apesar de não configurar um fenômeno recente, apresentam-se como um problema constante, constituindo uma contínua preocupação para equipes diretivas e demais profissionais. Diante disso, este trabalho aborda questões e desafios em torno da temática, a partir de pesquisa desenvolvida em uma escola pública municipal, localizada na periferia da área metropolitana de Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. Dentre as questões provocadoras do estudo constam aquelas que buscam saber como a violência se manifesta na escola investigada e quais são os respectivos encaminhamentos adotados pela direção e/ou pelo corpo docente nesses casos. Assim, após trazer à tona ideias de teóricos que têm se dedicado ao tema, como Hannah Arendt, Miriam Abramovay, Marcos Rolim e Marília Sposito, entre outros, bem como alguns aportes que tratam das implicações dessa problemática para a gestão escolar, o texto desdobra relatos e reflexões decorrentes de encontros da pesquisadora com o grupo de crianças e a professora da turma investigada. Partindo do pressuposto de que alunos – ao encontrarem espaço e momentos de escuta e tendo vez e voz – podem conviver sem agressões e até atuar como mediadores dos conflitos, desenvolveram-se atividades ao longo de três semestres letivos. Utilizaram-se, para isso, procedimentos metodológicos baseados na pesquisa-ação, conforme Maria Amélia Santoro Franco e Mari Forster, de modo que os registros e comentários em caderno de campo consistiram em uma das principais ferramentas operacionais. Dentre os resultados obtidos, fica evidente o comprometimento dos alunos quando exercitam ações como sujeitos protagonistas e responsáveis. Com isso, diferentemente da expectativa inicial, constata-se que a violência maior não advém das crianças e de suas atitudes: ela aparece muito mais no que cada um consegue dizer e/ou denunciar no grupo sobre acontecimentos vividos na própria escola ou em suas vidas. Assim, considerando o papel determinante da gestão escolar nesse contexto, o estudo sugere, entre outras reflexões, a necessidade de uma radical atitude de diálogo e escuta aos alunos e docentes, bem como de oportunidades de formação pedagógica permanente, sensibilizando e capacitando professoras ante os desafios cotidianos. / Situations of violence in the school, although it is not a recent phenomenon, are a constant problem, constituting a continuous concern for management teams and other professionals. In this context, this academic paper discusses issues and challenges related to this theme, based on the research developed in a municipal public school, located on the outskirts of the metropolitan area of the city of Porto Alegre, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Among the questions that provoke this study, are those that seek to know how violence is manifested in the investigated school and what are the respective guidelines adopted by the management team and/or the faculty in these cases. Therefore, after discussing theoretical ideas dedicated to the theme from Hannah Arendt, Miriam Abramovay, Marcos Rolim e Marília Sposito, as well as some contributions to the comprehension of the implication of this issue for school management, this study analyzes reports and reflections resulting from meetings of the researcher with the students and the teacher who participated on the study. Based on the assumption that students – when they find space and moments of listening and have opportunities and voice – can live without aggression and even act as mediators of conflicts, activities were developed over three academic semesters. For this, the methodological procedures used were action research based on Maria Amélia Santoro Franco e Mari Forster’s ideas, so, the records and comments in the field dairy consisted of one of the main operational tools. Among the results obtained, it is evident the students' commitment when they exercise actions as protagonists and responsible subjects. Hence, unlike the initial expectation, it can be seen that major violence does not come from children and their attitudes: it appears much more in what each one can say and/or denounce in the group about events lived in the school itself or in their lives. Thus, considering the determinant role of school management in this context, this study suggests, among other reflections, there is a need for a radical attitude of dialogue and listening to students and teachers, as well as opportunities for continuous pedagogical training, sensitizing and empowering teachers to daily life challenges.

In this thesis we aim to study the librarians’ and library users’ views on librarianship and the library at National University of Rwanda. Accordingly, we have gathered information from these groups. The information is based on qualitative interviews as well as observations and participation in a work group for library promotion. The latter made it possible to investigate how respondents consider these issues and how librarians’ self image is expressed in their daily work and in promotion. We analyze the most important frame factors that impede on librarians’ self image and library users’ perception of library services. This makes it possible to understand what probably affects the actual situation at NUR’s library. Marked impeding frame factors established are for example the economy and the organization. Information provided through this thesis could to be shared among library personnel and used as a base for their further development of library services. Our thesis points out library users’ opinions about the library in general as well as the areas that are most critical to improve. These areas are service at the circulation desk, acquisitions and courses in how to retrieve information. It also points out the need for a more explicit professional librarian identity and that the librarians need to work more as knowledge librarians. An explicit identity would imply unified library personnel that would make it possible to work towards common goals and clarify how to conduct daily work.