The study explores the role and contribution of education in developing a localized and relevant HIV/AIDS prevention strategy through a multi-voiced approach, involving the educational institutions, as well as the traditional leaders, community-members, including parents. The study comprised all public schools in one Zambian province from 2002-2008.  The study explores, among other factors, the role of traditional culture in mitigating and exacerbating the spread of the disease. Zambia was one of the countries hardest hit by the HIV/AIDs epidemic, and one of the few countries in the region that, in 2002, had a clear policy on the role of education in fighting the epidemic. Through the process of developing and implementing a learner-centered interactive HIV/AIDS education program in the province. based upon MOE`s  HIV/AIDS policies and strategies, syllabi, and teachers guides, and at the same time emphasizing the broader community as a point of departure. The qualitative and interpretivist research was conducted within a constructivist grounded theoretical approach. The study applies comprehensive and multilayered perspectives while utilizing a broad range of methods.   Documentary analyses, structured and semi-structured interviews, in depth conversations with traditional and educational leaders, teachers, parents and pupils, were all carried out during the period of the study. Nvivo, a computer-supported data analysis tool was used to support the process of categorizing the qualitative data and the study applied Cultural- and Historical Activity Theory for analytic purposes. The study revealed the mismatch between the decentralized, national HIV/AIDS prevention education approach, as stated in the policy documents and the global UNAIDS, centralized and cross-sectoral strategies favored by the Zambian government. The uncoordinated efforts did not reach  the grassroots level, where professionals, at district and school level, perceived and applied policies in highly different ways, if at all reaching students and the communities. The main categories of drivers of the epidemic were of socio-cultural and economic character, e.g. polygamy, sexual cleansing, local healing, gender inequality and poverty,  sexual violence, multiple concurrent sexual partners and prostitution, but there were also variety of local drivers, depending upon context. When analyzing the participatory approaches of the HIV/AIDS prevention strategy, predominantly, at the school-community level, the findings revealed that the traditional leaders, being legitimate leaders in their kingdoms, and the custodians of culture and traditions, were found to be gate openers to promote behavioral change and cultural transformation in their villages. The traditional leaders worked hand in hand with the schools and the villagers. Their involvement legitimated that discourses and HIV/AIDS prevention actions were taken at school as well as within their own chiefdom. Utilizing their traditional leadership structures, the chiefs sustained their cultural rites, e.g. cleansing, in order to chase away the evil spirits, by turning the rites into practices that do no put people at risk for contracting HIV. Particularly at the global and state level, culture has been seen as drivers of the epidemic. The study revealed that the traditional leaders used their role as significant others, became gate-openers, using their legitimate role as custodians of culture to transform cultural rites and practices.

Orientador: Suzi Marques Spatti Cavalari / Resumo: Este estudo tem por objetivo investigar o que dizem os professores de inglês a respeito da utilização de tecnologias nas escolas públicas de uma cidade do interior de São Paulo. A discussão teórica se embasa nos pressupostos da Teoria da Atividade (ENGESTRÖM, 1999; 2001), nos documentos oficiais que orientam a educação básica no Brasil (PCN, PCNEM, LDB, OCEM, BNCC, PME), nas Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais para Formação Inicial e Continuada em Nível Superior de Profissionais do Magistério para a Educação Básica (BRASIL, 2002; 2015) e nos fatores que influenciam a utilização de tecnologias no contexto escolar (RODRIGUES, 2010; ALVARENGA; AZZI, 2013; ROSA; AZENHA, 2015; MAYRINK; COSTA, 2017). Trata-se de um estudo misto (quantitativo e qualitativo) do tipo survey cujos dados foram gerados por meio de um questionário composto por questões abertas e fechadas realizado com 16 professores de inglês atuantes nas escolas públicas da cidade focal. Além disso, adotou-se como fonte de dados complementar a tomada de notas feita pelo pesquisador em visita a cada uma instituições pesquisadas, totalizando dez escolas estaduais e uma municipal. Os dados apontaram que há utilização de tecnologias, contudo, apenas em alguns momentos da prática pedagógica dos docentes, conforme afirmaram os professores. Os tipos de atividade predominantes foram de pesquisa, escuta, pronúncia e vocabulário e as mídias mais utilizadas foram músicas, filmes, vídeos e jogos. Em relação aos objetivos, os docentes ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: This study aims at researching what English teachers say about the use of technologies in classroom in the context of public schools in a city in the countryside of São Paulo State. The theoretical discussion sets its bases on the principles of the Activity Theory (ENGESTRÖM, 1999; 2001), on the official documents which orient the Brazilian basic education (PCN, PCNEM, LDB, BNCC, PME), on the National Curricular Guidelines to Higher and In-service education for basic education teaching professionals (BRASIL, 2002; 2015) and on the factors that influence the use of technologies in a public school context (RODRIGUES, 2010; ALVARENGA; AZZI, 2013; ROSA; AZENHA, 2015; MAYRINK; COSTA, 2017). This study employs quantitative and qualitative approaches and it is characterized as a survey type work. A questionnaire composed by closed and open-ended questions and answered by 16 public school English teachers is adopted as the main source of data. As a secondary data collection instrument, the researcher employed note taking about the schools’ infrastructure while visiting them. In total, ten state schools and one municipal school were visited. The data pointed out that the use of technology in this context exists, however, only in some moments of the teachers’ pedagogical practice. The predominant kinds of activity were research, listening, pronunciation, and vocabulary exercises done through songs, movies, videos, and games. Concerning the objectives, the teachers claimed to use the te... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

[pt] Muitas das práticas construídas na sala de aula convencional não falam mais ao aluno de hoje e, por conseguinte, não motivam sua participação. Para essa geração, acostumada aos discursos altamente semiotizados e interativos das telas de TV e do computador, a escola convencional parece ser pouco atraente e nada desafiadora. Este estudo nasce a partir da associação desse panorama à falta de interesse e engajamento de muitos alunos nas aulas de inglês como língua estrangeira (ILE) no contexto onde atuo - uma instituição federal situada no Rio de Janeiro. Este trabalho traz reflexões sobre os efeitos da instauração de um programa de ações pedagógico-discursivas, norteado pela perspectiva dos multiletramentos, em uma turma de nível intermediário, do nono ano do ensino fundamental, utilizando a metodologia da pesquisa-ação. Com base em uma visão sociointeracional de ensino-aprendizagem e dialógica de linguagem, tem-se como objetivo contribuir para uma melhor compreensão de como a referida proposta pode favorecer a ressignificação da interação na aula de ILE, com vistas a promover um ambiente de ensino-aprendizagem mais colaborativo e com uma participação mais espontânea e efetiva daqueles alunos. Os dados foram gerados ao longo do ano letivo de 2010, por meio de gravações em áudio das conversas sobre textos midiáticos. À luz das contribuições da Análise da Conversa e da Sociolinguística Interacional, foram identificados quatro movimentos característicos do jogo interacional. A análise indicou que a construção de uma sala de aula participativa se dá em conjunto e demanda mudanças nas ações, práticas e regras típicas que regem a interação e a comunicação entre professores e alunos. Apontou ainda que os aprendizes se tornam menos passivos ao serem estimulados a participar do processo de gerenciamento das atividades, principalmente com tarefas que envolvam interação em pares ou em pequenos grupos e a discussão de temas instigantes ou relacionados à sua realidade. Constatou-se que as atividades realizadas contribuíram de forma efetiva para a solidificação dessa prática mais cooperativa, possibilitando não apenas a expansão de repertório de sentidos e esquemas de conhecimentos dos alunos, mas, sobretudo, levando-os a ter uma postura crítico-reflexiva. Esta investigação mostrou, por fim, que o uso de textos variados, em particular, vídeos do YouTube pode ser um caminho para chegar ao aluno e motivá-lo a participar de forma mais ativa, iniciando um processo de reconfiguração dos papéis de professor-alunos e contribuindo para uma reversão paulatina do modelo de interação da sala de aula. Isso se dá pela gama de temas atuais que o Youtube oferece e pelo fascínio que as telas exercem sobre os jovens. Dentre as principais mudanças observadas, destacam-se a ampliação da participação e a colaboração entre os aprendizes, dando-lhes um papel mais ativo e autônomo - o de colaborador ativo na interação -, confirmada pela tomada de turno, autosseleção e retroalimentação dos turnos de fala e pela atenção à fala dos colegas. Quanto ao professor, observa-se a solidificação de uma prática mais descentralizadora na condução da aula, expressa na redução de sua dominância discursiva e no exercício do papel de mediador ou observador do processo interacional. / [en] Many of the practices constructed in conventional classroom settings no longer speak to the students of today, and thus don t trigger their participation. For this generation, accustomed to the highly semiotized discourses and the interactivity of the TV and computer screens, the conventional school seems to be neither appealing nor challenging. This research arises from the association of this scenario with the lack of interest and engagement of many students in the classes of English as a foreign language (EFL), in the context in which I work - a federal institution located in Rio de Janeiro. By means of an action research, this study raises reflections upon the effects of the implementation of a set of pedagogical and discursive procedures, guided by the perspective of multiliteracies, in a ninth-grade class of intermediate level of English from a junior high school. Based on a dialogical conception of language and a sociointeractional view of teaching-learning, it is intended to contribute to a better understanding of how this proposal can favor the redefinition of interaction in the EFL class. Such proposal envisages the promotion of a more collaborative teaching-learning environment as well as a more spontaneous and effective participation of those students. The data were generated throughout the year of 2010 by means of audio recordings of media text talk. In light of the contributions of the Conversation Analysis and Interactional Sociolinguistics, four defining movements of the interactional game have been identified. The analysis pointed out that the achievement of a participatory classroom is a joint construction and demands changes in actions, practices and typical rules that lead interaction and communication between teachers and students. It also emphasized that learners take a more active role when encouraged to participate in the management of the activities, mainly tasks that involve peer or small group interaction and discussions of thought-provoking themes more related to their reality. It was noticed that the activities performed contributed in an effective manner to the consolidation of a more cooperative practice, which allowed not only the expansion of the students repertoire of meanings but also their knowledge schemata, taking them to develop a more reflective and critical attitude. This research finally showed that the use of different texts, particularly, videos from YouTube may be a way to approach the students and motivate them to participate more actively, and thus triggering a process of redefining the teacher-students roles and contributing to the gradual redescription of the classroom interaction model. This happens due to the array of current themes offered by YouTube coupled with the fascination that screens exert on the young. Within the main changes observed, the ones that stand out are the broadening scope of participation and cooperation among learners, giving them a more active and autonomous role, that is, the one of active participants in the interaction, which is confirmed by turn-taking, self-selection and back-channeling of the turns of talk and by the attention driven to classmates talk. As to the teacher s role, it has been observed the consolidation of a more decentralizing class management, expressed by the reduction of his discursive dynamics and his role as a mediator or observer of the interaction process.

A presente dissertação possui como problemática de pesquisa o evento Masterclass hands on em física de partícul as em sua dimensã o educativa sobre o fazer cient ífico . O evento é organizado por cientistas que colaboraram nas pesquisas realizadas pela Organização Europeia para a Pesquisa Nuclear CERN. A estrutura do evento está centrada em propiciar que os estudante s tenham uma experiência de \" ser cientista por um dia\" e atender demandas presentes na educação cient ífic a sobre o conhecimento da física produzida no século XXI, todavia pouco tem sido explorado sobre a sua contribuição educativa em especial sobre o senti do das práticas cient ífi cas presentes no evento. Como base teórica e metodológica, foi utilizada a Teoria da Atividade, que serviu como instrumento para olhar o evento como uma atividade e localizar os diferentes sentidos que são atribuídos a ele quanto as atividades desenvolvidas pelos participantes. A escolha desse instrumento teórico metodológico justifica se pelo olhar para atividade humana como produção e reprodução dos nossos conhecimentos e valores culturais, históricos e sociais, em que a ação indiv idual não pode ser compreendida sem considerar a relação que se estabelece com a atividade coletiva. A s fonte s de dados foram entrevistas semiestruturadas com os professores, estudantes e cientistas, participantes da edição Masterclass 2016 organizado pelo São Paulo Reseach and Analysis Centrer SPRACE , além da documentação disponível sobre o evento . A análise dos dados possibilitou identificar as contradições que expressam alguns sentidos atribuídos ao fazer cient ífic o, relacionados aos procedimentos real izados pelo cientista e reproduzidos pelos estudantes e também sobre o objetivo do evento. Tais contradições permitiram compreender o evento Masterclass além de uma observação mais imediata do mesmo , conhecer suas potencialidades e também suas limitações c omo atividade educativa não formal, para que seja possível sugerir adaptaç ões para uma atividade mais coordenada com os objetivos presentes do evento. / Th e present dissertation has as object of research the event Masterclass hands on in particle physics in its educational dimension about doing on science. The event is organized by scientists who have collaborated in research conducted by the European Organi zation for Nuclear Research (CERN). The structure of the event is focused on enabling students to have an experience of \"being a scientist for a day\" and attending demands on science education about the knowledge of physics developed in the 21st century, b ut little has been explored about their educational contribution on the meaning of the scientific process present at the event. As a theoretical a nd methodological framework, the Activity Theory was used. This theory served as an instrument to look at the event as an activity and to locate the different meaning of the activities developed by the participants. The choice of this theoretical methodological instrument is justified as we see the human activity as production and reproduction of our knowledge and cultural, historical and social values, in which the individual action cannot be understood without considering the relation established with the collective activity. The data sources were from semi structured interviews with teachers, students and scient ists, participants of the Masterclass 2016 edition organized by the São Paulo Research and Analysis Center SPRACE, in addition to the available documentation on the event. The analysis of the data made it possible to identify the contradictions that expr ess some meanings attributed to the scientific making, related to the procedures performed by the scientist and reproduced by the students and also about the objective of the event. These contradictions allowed us to understand the Masterclass event beyond our perceptions because of the immediate observation s from event, we saw the program\'s potential and its limitations as a non formal educational activity. These observations made it is possible to suggest adaptations for an educational activity more coord inated with the present objectives of the event.

The current study is focussed on teachers' beliefs in inclusion and dyslexia and how these are linked to their professional practice when working with dyslexic learners in their primary classrooms in two cultural contexts; in Cyprus and in North West England. The study is guided by the theoretical framework of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) which was used as the descriptive and analytical tool to explore teachers' personal interpretations and inclusive practice. A qualitative research design is used and includes semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and follow-up discussions with ten teachers in total, five Greek-Cypriot and five British teachers. The findings indicate that the teachers presented both similarities and differences on the way the concepts of inclusion and dyslexia are perceived and understood. For example, teachers interpret 'inclusion' as a shared objective to work collectively towards, making reference to shared values such as 'human rights' and 'equal participation'. One difference identified in some of the Cypriot teachers was that that they appeared more critical about teaching disabled students (e.g. students with more complex needs) in relation to their counterparts. In terms of dyslexia, most of the Cypriot and British teachers conceptualised it as a disorder with a biological basis but, at the same time, they refer to the mediating role played by the environment in contributing further to students' difficulties with literacy. Teachers who engage in practices in their classrooms in order to be more inclusive were identified as those who propose innovation in their activities. On the other hand, there are teachers who seem less inclusive, by creating learning opportunities which are not sufficiently made available for everyone and can allow dyslexic students to access the curriculum. The study enriches the international literature on teachers' beliefs and how they are can influence teachers' professional practice. Cultural Historical Activity Theory, contributed into understanding the factors that can influence teachers' practice for inclusion and their between interactive relationship in an activity system. This is an important area of investigation since changing teachers' beliefs about students' ability can reflect changes in their professional practice.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo principal analisar as atividades experimentais como recurso de ensino-aprendizagem, com base na Teoria da atividade. As atividades experimentais têm sido apontadas por muitos professores e pesquisadores como responsável por diminuir as dificuldades e proporcionar uma aprendizagem mais prazerosa. Porém, pesquisas ainda não mostraram de maneira clara qual a relação entre a realização de atividades deste tipo e a aprendizagem. Diante da diversidade de sentidos atribuídos à atividade experimental buscamos entender como este tipo de atividade tem sido concebida. Este panorama geral nos permite entender o grande número de abordagens que se pode conseguir com este recurso. Com isso, evidenciamos problemas que têm sido associados a realização de atividades experimentais, os quais exploramos, sob a perspectiva cultural-histórica, suas origens. Nesta perspectiva, entendemos que a Física é uma manifestação da atividade do homem no mundo, isto é, não pode ser compreendida de maneira descontextualizada, fora das práticas humanas. Dessa forma, a educação deve proporcionar aos sujeitos a imersão nas práticas culturais já estabelecidas e fornecer a ele instrumentos de mediação, inclusive os da ciência, para que atue no mundo de maneira consciente. A atividade experimental, como parte dessa produção cultural, só adquire sentidos quando mergulhada em uma práxis, onde sujeitos compreendem seu papel na atividade, quando compartilham certos instrumentos mediadores comuns que os farão ter acesso ao mesmo objeto, ou seja, participar de uma mesma atividade. Como fruto desta atividade, após um processo de significação e ressignificação, de reconhecimento dos contextos de validade dos instrumentos mediadores, os sujeitos, de posse destes instrumentos, tem chance de atuar em outros contextos dando novos significados a sua vivência. / The main objective of this work is to analyze the experimental activities as tools for teaching and learning based on Activity Theory. The experimental activities have been pointed out by many teachers and researchers as responsible for reducing the difficulties and provide a more enjoyable learning. However, researches do not show clearly what is the relationship between perform such activities and learning. Facing the diversity of meanings attributed to the experimental activity we initially review the literature about the ways this type of activity has been designed. This overview allows us to understand the numerous approaches that can be achieved with this resource. Then, we highlight problems that have been associated with the use of experiments and we explore them from the cultural-historical perspective. From this point of view, we understand that physics is a manifestation of human activity in the world, i.e. cannot be understood decontextualized from the human practices. Thus, education should provide subjects\' immersion in the cultural practices already established and providing mediation tools, including science, to act consciously in the world. The experimental activity, as part of cultural production, only acquires meaning when imbibed into a practice where subjects understand their role in the activity, they share common mediating tools that will provide access to the same object, or part of the same activity. As a result of this activity, after a process of meaning and reinterpretation, the recognition of the contexts of validity of the mediators\' instruments, the subjects in possession of these instruments have a chance to perform in other contexts, giving new meaning to their living situation.

In Developmental Work Research and its Change Laboratory methodology, development is understood as being when a group of people collaboratively change their material object. This study argues that this understanding ignores personal zones of proximal development and personal history as a beginning, and functional concepts as an outcome. Perceiving the subject of an activity as a homogenous group, I claim, is tantamount to an assimilation model of integration. Integration models that aim at homogenization rely on abstract concepts of others and require retooling in order to be more empathetic and expansive. Switzerland in 1998 adopted an acculturation model of assimilation that was thought to be the only possible solution for the maintenance of national unity. The model has been referred to as a national capitalistic ‘steamroller’ based on homogenization and exclusion. Under this perspective, migrant and refugee parents are categorised by mainstream educators as desisting from their children’s formal education, and national parents represent the perfect model. The empirical work was carried out within a home-school project in a French-speaking canton in Switzerland. The project was designed by a group of special education teachers. The study explores the potential of Developmental Work Research and Change Laboratory methodology, as developed by Engeström (1987), to produce radical and sustained organisational change in a social context. Through the inclusion of an analysis of subject positioning, the findings show that Change Laboratory offers a solid background for retooling new concepts of immigrant people to one that is more empathetic and expansive. The conflicts that ensued within the Change Laboratory sessions opened a developmental zone in which the concepts of being a national or a foreigner were reconstructed. The study suggests ways of improving Change Laboratory methodology for better understanding of subject positioning.

Aspirations for equality between the English and Welsh languages are widely held in Wales although Welsh is spoken by a minority of the population. Practitioners working through the medium of Welsh face particular challenges which include shortages of resources and limited access to support from Welsh speaking professionals. This thesis describes an intervention over time to strengthen the marginal position of a team of practitioners whose practice takes place through the medium of the Welsh language. Drawing on discursive evidence gathered in a series of team meetings conducted through the medium of Welsh the case study explores the potential of developmental project work to provide a context within which to effect change for practice, professional development and professional identity. The research is grounded in Engeström’s theory of expansive learning and uses methodology based on Vygotsky’s notion of dual stimulation. Forms of discourse analysis is applied to transcripts and textual records of the communicative action of the team. The study charts trajectories of change for the team and team members occurring during the study and beyond. Outcomes have included the establishment of self directed working practices in the development of resources which are valued by local, regional, national and commercial colleagues. The study provides an illustration of how this interventionist approach to support practitioners apply and extend their knowledge and expertise in developmental project work also contributed to professional development through reconstructions of professional identity.

This study addresses the question: How do the structural conditions of university organisation modulate subject position, social relations and discourse and therefore shape individual consciousness and activity? The response is informed by an empirical pedagogical problem located at the tertiary level in Japan: What makes acquirers attain higher levels of language mastery in foreign language (Spanish) settings informed by communicative language teaching? The attempted answer is framed within cultural-historical activity theory, the cultural theory of Holland et al. (2001), and Basil Bernstein’s code theory. These theories have been combined using Marxian-Hegelian notions of culture and subject, which allow language development and mastery to be treated as the acquisition by an individual of a cultural tool (semiotic mediation) subject to both individual agency and historical forces. The organisational and pedagogical contexts of three institutions engaged in Spanish language education have been analysed using motive-action/educational task as the unit of analysis that situates the observation in between micro and macro levels of analysis, in combination with the methodologies for ascertaining subject position provided by Bernstein’s code theory and the cultural theory of Holland et al. This procedure made it possible to determine acquirers’ coding orientations (orientations to meaning) and to establish comparisons between organisation and learning settings. The findings indicate that acquirers who have a formal trajectory of language learning and who are able to recognise grammar instructional discourse – i.e., who possess a representational gaze – attain better levels of language mastery (active realisation) than those with informal trajectories (e.g. learning languages overseas in a conversational fashion without following a formal programme) and who do not recognise grammar instructional discourse. Evidence is provided to indicate that there is no way to avoid representational-function programmes. The bottom-up move within Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development is suggested as a feasible intervention without a drastic reshaping of the programmes.

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