This study uses a mixed methods approach to investigate how individuals perceive nature and engage with Texas state park (TSP) programs and resources while also identifying major barriers that visitors perceive/encounter when visiting TSPs. This study looks through the anthropological lens by using theoretical frameworks such as habitus, presentation of the social self, space and place, as well as communities of practice (CoP), to better understand the factors that influence the establishment and maintenance of an individual's relationship to nature and participation in related practices. This study illustrates how an individual's relationship to nature is influenced by experiences in early life that involve activities, landscape or bioregion, and social factors. Relationships with nature are strengthened through social support especially when CoPs are involved. By understanding park visitor experiences through motivations and limitations to participating in the outdoors, parks can expand engagement tactics, foster existing and create new CoP related to nature that aid in the introduction and adoption of outdoor learning and experiences creating lifelong stewards. The study offers recommendations on how TSPs can address visitor barriers and increase nature affinity with the use of targeted outreach and engagement methods through agency interpretive resources and programs with the goal of expanding the public's relationship with nature.

Sustainability is seen as the solution to the wicked crisis of our unsustainability. However, the ways in which we know, understand, and enact sustainable solutions can often mean our participation reinforces the systems, institutions, and paradigms which have created our unsustainable societies in the first place. So how can we learn to be, do, think differently within them? Guided by a post-qualitative approach, this project investigates the relationship between knowledge systems and sustainable transformations, in an attempt to understand how we “know” sustainability and how such knowledge affects our ability to enact it. By deconstructing this relationship and situating it within communities of practice and the socio-historical frames of capitalism and colonialism, one’s own role emerges as a learner, researcher, and participant in transformation. In this situatedness, the need for concurrent transformations becomes clear: of not just the political and economic systems that drive our constant growth, but also the knowledge systems which underpin them. In this light, the Open Knowledge movement and Braided Knowledges are used as two case studies of knowledge system transformation, which provide an early glimpse into how our relationships with knowledge may help lead the way towards sustainable futures.

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The body of literature clearly articulates the unique needs of newly qualified teachers and the challenges they experience during their early career years. In addition, literature advocates for implementation of induction programmes to enable a smooth transition of the beginners into the profession. This empirical phenomenological study explored the induction experiences of newly qualified primary school teachers in Zimbabwe in an attempt to gain insights into the everyday issues they contend with. Purposive sampling was employed to select twenty participants who comprised of ten newly qualified teachers, five beginners whose experience in the field ranged from one to three years and five mentors. Data were collected mainly through three semi-structured interviews with newly qualified teachers and mentors, reflective essays written by beginners who were not so new in the profession and a focus group discussion with selected beginners. The protocol used for data explication was a simplified version of Hycner’s (1985) framework for phenomenological analysis suggested by Groenewald (2004). The findings yielded six themes and revealed that: new teachers experienced adaptation challenges relating to forging of new relationships, location of schools and nature of host communities; induction was largely informal and incidental, and the induction supports experienced by the new teachers were limited; the beginners had various teaching and social concerns that needed to be addressed; and, while the new teachers had derived some lessons from their first year of teaching, these were outweighed by their concerns and might not have made a significant impact on their classroom practices. The data also revealed that the partnership between teacher education institutions and schools in providing for teacher professional development was weak. The study concluded that the absence of a policy on induction in the country has resulted in lack of appreciation of the centrality of induction on the teacher development continuum and the haphazard manner in which issues of induction are being handled. The main recommendations from the study were that a policy on induction should be put in place, that schools are empowered to provide induction and induction supports that are amenable to the country’s context be fully exploited. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the for the degree of Master of Technology in Photography, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015. / This dissertation is a self-study that involves inquiring into my mentoring practice to change and improve my situation and find a sense of belonging. The centre of the inquiry into 'self' lies in the search and claiming of an identity that consolidates the development of my artistic, mentoring and research practices during my 'first time' employment experience, as a junior lecturer in a Photography program, 2009-2011. I reflect on three years of lecturing experience in a tertiary education setting at the Durban University of Technology, in which doing a Masters was obligatory. I entered this position, with little experience in research and lecturing or photographic expertise. During this study, I made myself known as osmosisliza, the name of the ‘cyborg’ who journeys in cyberspace. I claim to be a ‘photographer horticulturalist’, a mentor concerned with cultivating collective online spaces, to create movement to connect in cyberspace for social learning purposes. I ask “Who is osmosisliza?”. My class motto is “what you think, know and believe helps us all to be more”, a personal belief for building knowledge through exchange and collaboration with others. I employed a variety of free Web 2.0 applications, like Gmail, Blogger, Buzz, Picasa Web Albums, Google Bookmarks and YouTube to create online spaces in which I could position my living educational theory. I called this place the Google Lens (GL). The Google Lens formed the mechanism to cultivate communities of practice for social learning, to develop confidence, motivation and engagement. The Google Lens was also the repository for qualitative and quantitative data. Mostly I analyse verbal and visual text, writings, photographs and video exchanges between learners and myself archived in the Google Lens to address my research question and sub-question. Through the lens of Google I did action research to improve my practice, and analyse my development as a newcomer to academia. I investigate how successful I was in using the Google Lens to achieve my mentoring goals. I also made photographs during the process of this inquiry to visually address abstract identity dilemmas, concerns and thoughts in my place of work, to engage my ‘I’ in my ‘eye’ as photographer. I exhibit these in cyberspace. I call these electronic postcards. Electronic postcards are blog posts in a weblog called osmosisLIZA. I made 98 blog posts and sent 98 electronic postcards in this dissertation. An electronic postcard consists of a photograph, an illustration, labels and a text heading. In this document the electronic postcards run alongside the writings for this self-study, functioning as text and message of the experiences of a developing academic as well as evidence of the developmental questions I was continuously asking to improve my practice.

This research set out to explore the curriculum experiences of French-speaking students in a private tertiary education institution. The study was qualitative in nature and utilized narrative inquiry and the case study approach. Data-gathering methods included a blend of semistructured interviews, document analysis, participant observation and field notes. Data analysis employed content and thematic analyses. Findings that emerged from the study were seven-fold: First, the academic experiences of French-speaking students from pre-degree to third-year degree programme entailed a rigorous negotiation with the LoLT. They negotiated the pre-degree route to mainstream degree programme due to non-compliance with academic standards set for higher education. Second, French-speaking students negotiated the pre-degree route to mainstream degree programme because their curricula of study, while they negotiated secondary school education in French-speaking countries were not recognized by most South African public universities. Third, French-speaking students experienced a number of hidden curriculum experiences which were not visible but influenced the planned, enacted and assessed curricula. Fourth, the deportment of lecturers was a useful asset. Lecturers were sourced from different sociocultural perspectives of the world. The impact of lecturers’ deportment led to commitment to achieve excellence and dedication towards student learning. Fifth, the use of Zulu, Sotho and sporadic use of Afrikaans languages by lecturers became sociocultural experiences of French-speaking students. The impact of this was felt by French-speaking students when they took a longer time to negotiate transition from French-speaking to English-speaking. The rate at which white lecturers spoke and the unfamiliar accents of black South African lecturers became important aspects of experiences they negotiated at Montana College. Sixth, learning ensues when there is a hybridization of the three sociocultural factors namely language of communication, acculturation to the domain of influence and mediated identity. Seventh, it was found that power relations manifested themselves in different perspectives at Montana College. Lave and Wenger (1991) proposed that power relations exist in the field of education where teachers exercise their roles as facilitators of learning and students see that they are in possession of economic power, by virtue of the fact that they pay fees. Consequently the issues of power relations abound in the form of the “continuity-displacement contradictions” as suggested by Lave and Wenger (1991:115-116). Much new knowledge came to light, especially in terms of the three sociocultural factors (language, acculturation and identity). When these are in a state of redress, there is an emergent learning, depending on the extent of hybridization between the sociocultural factors. The magnitude of learning is conceptualized to depend on the extent of redress or hybridization among the sociocultural factors. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

本研究旨在探討新創教育公司創業階段發展歷程之產學合作中的組織學習與社群發展活動。依公司的創業發展程度區分兩個時期: 初期與成長期進行分析。期待能夠提供一些實務與學理的貢獻。 本研究方法乃採用「個案研究法」來進行。透過新創教育公司的個案研究可以較深入去探討實務上，如何的進行於產學合作中的各項活動。 本研究之問題有四: 1.在創業階段的不同時期中，產學合作的資源連結方面分別如何 ? 2. 在創業階段的不同時期中，產學合作的主要問題及解決方案為何 ? 3.創業階段，不同時期中，實踐社群的培育重點為何 ? 以及社群培育與維繫的問題 ? 4.創業階段，創業團隊，於組織學習方面，如何達到有效學習 ? 學習來源和主要方式為何 ? 本研究獲得以下之主要結論: 本研究分析所得的主要結論 : 一、創業階段，不同時期需求，產學合作的非正式資源聯結重點不同。 二、價值觀及新公司無品牌吸引力是創業兩階段的產學合作困擾發生的主 因，而成長期的學校教師流動也造成產學合作的困擾。 三、創業階段初期，立即開始實踐社群的培育，有助於產學合作的完成。 四、以共同活動的參與有助於實踐社群的發展。 五、個人的專業認知差異和地域關係，都會影響社群的永久發展。 六、重視目標達成、知識創新、知識推廣及容許失敗實驗的學習，都有助 於組織學習效果的提升。 七、親身體驗及實驗學習都是跨領域創業組織學習的有效方式。 / The purposes of this study were to explore the industry-academic cooperation of the development of an entrepreneurial stage of a new education firm in organizational learning and cultivating communities of practice. Based on a real case study, the entrepreneurial stages of this new firm’s industry-academic cooperation activities can be divided into two stages including early stage and growth stage. According to the different entrepreneurial stage of a new education firm, the study aims to investigate the questions: 1.How about the main resource linkage between the firm and the academic in the industry-academic cooperation? 2. What are the main problem and the solution in the industry-academic cooperation activities? 3. What is the key point of the cultivating communities of practice? 4. For the Firm’s organizational learning, how to get the effective learning in which learning resource and learning type? According to the different entrepreneurial stage of a new education firm, the main findings of the study were as follows: 一、The different resource linkages demanding existed in different stage. 二、The concept of value and the new firm without brand are the main problem in the industry-academic cooperation activities. The teacher will be transferred to another school is the problem of the industry-academic cooperation activities in the growth stage. 三、The cultivating communities of practice from the early stage are helpful to develop the industry-academic cooperation. 四、The co-work is helpful to develop the community of practice. 五、The community will not be retained by the expert who holds on one’s own views and the different area where the community people live. 六、The effective learning of the organizational learning is to pay attention to the target approaching, knowledge creation, knowledge spreading and failure permitting. 七、Learning through practice and demonstration are effective resource and type.

This study takes its starting point in a person experience where I had a difficult time dealing with a group of students who had come together in a formation when they spent time away from their classmates during the first weeks of having after-school activities. The other children later felt excluded by the group that had then taken form. Using different methods, I attempted to get the group in question to participate in activities with the other children, but my efforts were in vain. With the help of Etienne Wenger’s theory of the alliance building and communities of practice, I want to investigate in finding answer to why the children grouped themselves in this way and the investigation in its turn led me to reflecting upon if the children felt secure at the after-school center. The aim of this investigation is to contribute to increasing the sense of fellowship among the children at the after-school center and to help me, as well as other working educators, to find tools for how one can take action in similar situations. The method I have chosen to use for the study is the academic essay, and the question I seek to answer is: How can I, as an after-school educator, work so that everyone in a class can be included in the same community? I conclude that I have not found a solution but rather an opening for how I can support the group as they develop confidence in us adults and become secure participants in the operations together with the other children. Such an opening can occur, for example when the children in the group are fighting with each other, or when there are other ways to reach these closed groups of children. When these openings occur, it is especially important for the pedagogue to not try to seize the opportunity and split the peer group. Instead, it is important that the adults are trying to build the children's confidence in them by treating them with respect and take the time to try to see each child. / Den här undersökningen tar sin utgångspunkt ur en självupplevd händelse. I situationen får jag svårt att hantera en grupp med barn som grupperat sig när de spenderat tid utan sina klasskamrater de första veckorna på fritids. De andra klasskamraterna känner sig senare exkluderade av den grupp som bildats. Jag försöker med olika metoder få gruppen att delta i aktiviteter med de andra barnen, men förgäves. Med hjälp av Etienne Wengers teori om alliansbildningar och praktikgemenskaper till hjälp vill jag finna svar på varför barnen grupperar sig, detta leder i sin tur fram till att jag reflekterar kring om barnen är trygga på fritidshemmet. Syftet med undersökningen är att jag vill öka samhörigheten bland barnen på fritidshemmet och att jag, men även andra yrkesverksamma pedagoger ska kunna finna verktyg för hur man kan agera i liknande situationer. Metoden jag valt att använda för undersökningen är den vetenskapliga essän och den frågeställning jag vill svara på är: Hur kan jag som fritidspedagog arbeta för att alla i klassen ska ingå i en och samma gemenskap? Som slutsats kommer jag fram till att jag inte funnit en lösning, men en öppning för hur jag kan stötta gruppen till att känna tillit till oss vuxna och bli trygga deltagare i verksamheten tillsammans med de andra barnen. En sådan öppning kan exempelvis uppstå när barnen i gruppen blir osams med varandra eller när det finns andra vägar att nå fram till de slutna barngrupperna. När dessa öppningar uppstår är det särskilt viktigt för pedagogerna att inte försöka ta tillfället i akt och splittra kamratgruppen. Det är istället viktigt att de vuxna försöker bygga upp barnens förtroende för dem genom att behandla barnen respektfullt och ta sig tiden till att försöka se varje barn.

This thesis presents an ethnographic investigation of teachers’ peer-to-peer engagement in online social spaces, using the concept of teachers’ professional identity as a framework to shape and focus the study. Using Religious Education (RE) as a strong example of the wider phenomenon of teachers’ online engagement, three online social spaces (the Times Educational Supplement’s RE Forum, the National Association of Teachers of RE Facebook Page, and the Save RE Facebook Group) were investigated as case studies. A year was spent in these spaces with digital ethnographic research taking place simultaneously in each one. Data gathering primarily took the form of participant observations, in depth analysis of time-based sampled text (three 8-week samples from each space), online and offline narrative based interviews and, to a lesser extent, questionnaires, elite interviews and analysis of grey literature. The study finds that engagement in the online social spaces offered teachers opportunities to perform and construct their professional identities across a variety of topics ranging from local practical concerns to national political issues. In more practical topics the spaces could often be observed as acting as communities of practice in which professional learning took place and identities were constructed, with such online professional development influencing offline classroom practice. However, engaging across this spectrum of topics afforded users a broad conception of what it means to be a teacher, where professional identity was understood as going beyond classroom practice and integrating engagement with subject-wide, political and policy related issues at a national level. Such engagement provided many users with a feeling of belonging to a national community of peers, which, alongside political activism initiated in online interaction and meaning making debates concerning the future and identity of the subject, provided teachers with feelings of empowerment and a sense of ownership of their subject. However, the study found that teachers’ online engagement took place within structures embedded in the online social spaces that influenced and shaped engagement and the ways in which users’ professional identities were performed and constructed. These structures were linked with the design and technical affordances of the spaces, the agendas of the parent organisations that provided the spaces, and the discourses that dominated the spaces. These aspects of the spaces provided a structure that limited engagement, content and available online identity positions while additionally projecting ideal identity positions, distinctive in each space. These ideal identity positions had a constructive influence over many users who aspired to these ideals, often gaining confidence through expressing such socially validated ideals or feeling inadequate when failing to perform such ideal identity positions. Thus, this study finds a complex relationship between agency linked with active online identity performance and the constructive influence of embedded structures that contributed to the shaping of users’ engagement and their understandings of themselves as professionals and their subject.