The responsibility of educators continues to increase as they serve an increasingly diverse population, while attempting to narrow achievement disparities between students with mainstream backgrounds and those who are culturally diverse. Educator cultural perceptions remain unique to their own background and experiences, yet when presented with the challenge of educating the culturally diverse, teachers are often less than enthusiastic toward their instructional obligations. This study targeted how professional development can enhance teacher capability in a culturally diverse school, with the intent to add to existing literature regarding this topic. This twelve-week qualitative study examined teacher beliefs pertaining to their own culture and that of their students, and whether or not those beliefs would change once teachers had undergone professional development regarding culturally responsive instruction. This study also analyzed the extent of increase in teacher capability for meeting the needs of culturally diverse students once they had participated in professional development focusing on how to more successfully meet student needs. Three teachers were selected as case study participants and their ideas and instructional practices were critically examined throughout the semester. Several data sources were collected and evaluated, including surveys, pre/post interviews, classroom observations, and journal entries. Analysis of data alluded to the fact that an affirming attitude toward students who differ culturally and the implementation of culturally responsive instruction is vital to the enhancement of classroom instruction. After further data examination, the researcher concluded that educator life experiences, and especially with diverse cultures, is crucial in maximizing their ability to accommodate culturally diverse students. Case study participants’ personal belief systems and previous encounters were the most influential factors in their maturation throughout the semester. Implications of this study consisted of the necessity for professional development programs explicitly modeling how to engage in critical and reflective thinking, reminding teachers how imperative it is to develop an affirmative attitude toward diversity, and providing educators experiences with diverse settings and people. The researcher also determined that cultural competence is a persistent process.

The purpose of this essay is to examine what literary heritage teachers communicate in the school subject Swedish at upper secondary school. The overall research question for this work is: Which authors and/or works are mentioned by the teachers in the school subject Swedish at upper secondary school? How well do these authors and/or works answer towards a multicultural perspective? Which factors affect teachers´ selections of texts? Based on this purpose and these research questions, the aim is to answer the didactic question of what. To accomplish the purpose of the study a quantitative method has been used. The survey was conducted in two medium-sized cities in central Sweden, and was answered by 17 teachers. The study shows that the teachers ascribe the Western and Swedish literature great importance. Authorships and/or works outside the Western literary culture sphere are very few, as well as texts written by women and by Swedish writers with immigrant origin or belonging to national minorities. The factors that govern teachers’ selection of texts are agreement in the form of solid reading lists, cooperation and coordination, thematic work, resources and students. The conclusion that follows is that it seems to be the conservative and liberal multiculturalism that emerges most strongly when it comes to teaching literature in the school subject Swedish. / Syftet med föreliggande uppsats är att undersöka vilket litteraturarv lärare förmedlar genom skolämnet svenska i gymnasieskolan. De övergripande forskningsfrågorna är: Vilka för-fattarskap och/eller verk behandlar lärare i undervisningen i skolämnet svenska på gymnasiet? Hur väl svarar dessa författarskap och/eller verk mot ett mångkulturellt perspektiv? Vilka faktorer påverkar lärarnas texturval? Utifrån syftet och forskningsfrågorna är målsättningen att ge svar på den didaktiska vad-frågan. För att uppnå studiens syfte har en kvantitativ metod, i form av en enkätundersökning, anammats. Enkätundersökningen genomfördes i två medelstora städer i mellersta Sverige och besvarades av 17 svensklärare. Resultatet visar att undersökningsdeltagarna tillmäter den västerländska och svenska litteraturen stor betydelse. Författarskap och/eller verk utanför den västerländska litterära kultursfären är väldigt få, likaså texter författade av kvinnor och texter skrivna av svenska författare med invandrarbakgrund eller tillhörande nationella minoritetsgrupper. De faktorer som styr lärarnas texturval är överenskommelser i form av fasta litteraturlistor, samarbete och samordningar, tematiskt arbete, resurser och eleverna. Slutsatsen som följer är att det tycks vara den konservativa och liberala mångkulturalismen som framträder starkast i litteraturundervisningen i svenska.

The name of the study means “The short arm - a study in diversity and arm’s length in the cultural collaboration model”. Right now there is a reform in the Swedish cultural administration where the responsibility for handing out state funds and grants to cultural organizations is changing from the state government to the local regional governments. The purpose of this study is to map the organisational changes caused by the reform and investigate how this affects the regional policies concerning cultural diversity and the arm’s length principle. The study has found that the regional governments have mainly adapted existing structures to incorporate the necessary changes for the cultural collaboration model. The exception being the non government organizations that have made considerable changes to their organizations. While cultural diversity is still strong in the model arm’s length principle has been hollowed out. / Just nu pågår en stor reform inom kulturpolitiken där ansvaret för fördelningen av statens medel till kultur förflyttas från staten till regionerna och landstingen. Syftet med uppsatsen är att kartlägga den organisationsomvandling inom det kulturpolitiska fältet som sker på grund av reformen samt undersöka hur detta påverkar regionernas arbete med kulturell mångfald och armlängdsavstånd. Studien har funnit att inga större förändringar har skett i de regionala organisationerna, utan att de anpassat redan existerande organisationsstrukturer. Undantaget har varit intresseorganisationerna som gjort större förändringar i sina organisationer. Även om kulturell mångfald fortfarande är starkt i modellen har principen om armlängds avstånd blivit urholkad.

Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2003. / Härtill 6 uppsatser.

Diss. Stockholm: Univ., 2003.

Zugl.: Univ. of California, Diss., 2003. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Miami University, Dept. of Psychology, 2005. / Title from second page of PDF document. Document formatted into pages; contains [3], vi, 75 p. : ill. Includes bibliographical references (p. 35-37).

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:23:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2004-04-02Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:09:59Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 malheiros_ps_me_mar.pdf: 245224 bytes, checksum: fb97e8447039d008867b42c98ec72be7 (MD5) / A antropologia, enquanto ciência do homem, sempre se defrontou com o paradoxo da unidade biológica do homem frente à diversidade cultural. A dissertação aborda esta importante questão: como definir um objeto, o Homem, se em toda parte o que se encontram são homens? Qual a especificidade e a singularidade do homem como objeto de estudos frente à pluralidade cultural? Não é uma questão fácil, nem tão pouco resolvida pela antropologia, o dilema perpassa o pensamento de diversos autores, e não apenas em obras antropológica, mas também filosóficas e psicológicas. Especificamente a questão é tratada aqui a partir do pensamento de dois expressivos antropólogos, Malinowski, com formação inicial em ciências exatas, que produziu sua obra na primeira metade do século XX e Geertz, que se graduou em filosofia e inglês e produziu sua obra na segunda metade do século XX. São considerados alguns aspectos da vida e da obra de ambos os autores, procurando evidenciar a importância do momento histórico em que viveram e das influências teóricas que receberam. Percebe-se a partir daí que a problemática toma rumos diversos, pois enquanto Malinowski argumenta que a cultura surge para atender a necessidades biológicas e derivadas e nos fala em uma natureza humana entendida em termos biológicos, Geertz entende que o homem é um artefato cultural em um duplo sentido, a cultura interferiu no processo evolutivo da nossa espécie e ela se constitui de um conjunto de mecanismos de controle que governa o comportamento e dá sentido à existência humana. / The anthropology, as a manþs science, has always faced the paradox of biological unity of man in front of cultural diversity. The dissertation approaches this important question: how to define an object, the Man, if in everywhere what we find are men? Which is the specificity and singularity of man as object of studies in front of cultural plurality? It is not an easy question, neither solved by anthropology, the dilemma goes through several authorsþ thought, and not only in anthropological, but also philosophical and psychological works. The question here is specifically treated from the thought of two expressive anthropologists, Malinowski, with initial formation in exact science, producing his work in the first half of 20th century and Geertz, graduated in philosophy and english, producing his work in the second half of 20th century. Some aspects of life and work of both authors are considered, bringing to evidence the importance of historical moment in which they lived and theoretical influences received. It is perceived from this that the problem takes several ways, because as Malinowski argues that the culture arises to attend biological and derived needs and tells us about a human nature comprehended in biological terms, Geertz understands that the man is a cultural artefact in a double way: the culture has interfered in the evolutive process of our species and it is constituted of a group of control mechanisms that guides the behavior and gives sense to the human existence.