A partir des pratiques éducatives des paysans zapatistes du Chiapas, l’autonomie se conceptualise comme la construction collective d’un projet des peuples indiens dans un champ de domination et de résistance sociale. Au cœur de la dispute avec l’Etat nation, le contrôle des communautés sur les éducateurs qu’elles désignent et évaluent est mis en perspective avec d’autres contextes, discours et actions d’organisations politiques autochtones en Amérique latine. Avant 1994, des programmes indiens d’éducation, d’abord clandestins, comme dans le Quiché guatémaltèque et le Cauca colombien, constituent des antécédents à l’expérience zapatiste d’autonomie radicale. En tant que politiques endogènes, sui generis, et historiquement situés dans des territoires ou des refuges multiculturels, ils remettent en question la capacité et la légitimité de l’Etat nation dans la gestion administrative et pédagogique des écoles. Avec l’autorité de l’assemblée des familles et de nouvelles charges communautaires [notamment les « promoteurs d’éducation »], les relations de pouvoir et les positions d’intermédiation sociale se reconfigurent entre les acteurs de l’Etat et des territoires rebelles. La participation active des militants Tzeltal contribue à l’appropriation sociale de l’école, en étant un frein à la différenciation sociale et à l’assimilation culturelle. Elle est un moteur de la dignité et de la légitimité de gérer l’espace et le temps scolaire, mais aussi les méthodes et les contenus. Les changements liés à l’autonomie bousculent ainsi les continuités de l’organisation de l’école, du rôle politique et du travail des enseignants, et des choix pédagogiques pertinents du point de vue des Indiens zapatistes. / Based on the educational practices of the Zapatista peasants of Chiapas, autonomy is conceptualized as the collective construction of a project of Indian peoples in a field of domination and social resistance. At the center of the dispute with the nation state, control over educators by the communities who designate and evaluate them is put into perspective with other contexts, discourses and actions of indigenous political organizations in Latin America. Before 1994, Indian education programs, primarily clandestine, as in the Quiché [Guatemala] and Cauca [Colombia], were antecedents to the Zapatista experience of radical autonomy. As endogenous policies, sui generis, and historically located in multicultural territories or refuges, they call into question the capacity and legitimacy of the nation state in the administrative and pedagogical management of schools. With the authority of the assembly of families and of new communitarian roles! [including the “promoters of education”], the power relations and the social positions of intermediation are being reconfigured between State actors and rebel territories. The active participation of Tzeltal activists contributes to the social appropriation of the school, thus becoming a barrier against social differentiation and cultural assimilation. This participation is an engine for dignity and legitimacy in managing space and time at school, as well as methods and contents. Changes related to autonomy destabilize the status quo in terms of the organization of the school, the political role and work of teachers, and the educational choices relevant for Zapatistas indigenous people.

Partant du constat du faible nombre de travaux portant sur la question ethnique à l’école, nous nous attachons à analyser le phénomène d’ethnicisation des rapports sociaux au collège. Le défi réside dans l’analyse et la compréhension de cette ethnicisation à partir d’une méthodologie quantitative. Nous interrogeons les conséquences de la ségrégation sur la subjectivité des élèves. Il s’agit de se placer du point de vue des collégiens, pour comprendre de quelle façon ils voient le monde qui les entoure, rendre compte des phénomènes de saillance et de catégorisation ethnique. Nous étudions la façon dont se construisent et se meuvent les frontières ethniques et comment elles se superposent ou pas aux frontières sociales. Notre approche consiste à appréhender les mécanismes de production des identités ethniques. Nous faisons l’hypothèse qu’ils s’expliquent en partie au moins par le contexte scolaire ségrégué. Pour ce faire, nous avons élaboré un questionnaire qui a été administré à plus de 1300 élèves scolarisés dans six collèges parmi les plus ségrégués de Bordeaux et de Créteil. Ce matériau se complète de 200 questionnaires passés auprès de familles. Nous cherchons donc à étudier les conséquences de la ségrégation ethnique au collège sur la construction de soi et le rapport à soi et à l’institution scolaire des collégiens. Nous faisons aussi l’hypothèse que la construction de soi en fonction de catégories ethniques n’est pas un processus uniquement lié à la ségrégation. Elle dépend de l’ensemble des acteurs de l’école. Ceci amène donc à se questionner sur ses modalités de variation en fonction des contextes diversifiés liés au degré de ségrégation (ethnique, sociale et scolaire notamment), des politiques d’établissements mises en œuvre et de l’action des élèves eux-mêmes. Nous montrons que ceux-ci ne sont pas totalement dominés par leurs appartenances sociales et ethniques, ils opèrent un travail de redéfinition identitaire qui leur permet de « retourner le stigmate ». / Based on the observation that only few studies question the issue of ethnicity in the school context, the present work aims at addressing the phenomenon of ethnicization of social relations in high schools. More specifically, we address the consequences of segregation on students’ subjectivity. By adopting their perspective, we intend to understand how the students perceive the world that surrounds them and to document ethnic salience and categorization. We question the way ethnic boundaries emerge and move, and how they overlap with social boundaries. Hence, our approach intends to grasp the mechanisms of production of ethic identities, and we predict that these mechanisms are, at least in part, accounted for by the segregated school context. Methodologically, the main challenge of the present study lies in the use of a quantitative methodology to analyze and grasp the ethnicization process. In this line, we used a questionnaire administered to over 1’300 students, in six high schools amongst the most segregated in Bordeaux and Créteil. We additionally used 200 questionnaires administered to students’ families. By means of this survey, we investigated the consequences of ethnic segregation at school on the construction of the self. We also questioned the relation of the students to their own selves and to the institution. In our approach of the construction of the self as a function of ethnic categories, we have considered the additional contributions of all actors in school. Our work leads us to point out different modalities of variations, including contexts with different degrees of segregation (mainly ethnic, social, and educational), differences in institutional policies, and differences in the actions of the students themselves. Ultimately, we demonstrated that the students are not entirely dominated by their social and ethnic memberships. Rather, they operate an identity redefinition which allows them to « turn the stigmata over ».

Orientador: Denis Domeneghetti Badia / Banca: Vera Teresa Valdemarin / Banca: Raquel Discini de Campos / Banca: Nelyse Apparecida Melro Salzedas / Banca: José Carlos de Paula Carvalho / Resumo: O trabalho que ora apresentamos tem como objetivo analisar a concepção de ciência no pensamento educacional brasileiro, tendo como base três gerações de intelectuais com reconhecida contribuição no campo educacional: Alberto Torres, Fernando de Azevedo e Florestan Fernandes. Esses autores consolidaram interpretações teóricas, científicas sobre os fenômenos educacionais. Alberto Torres esteve preocupado em organizar a República; a educação era um fator de organização nacional, mantendo o homem no meio agrícola, devido à fatalidade geográfica e histórica do país. Torres alicerçou as bases de seu pensamento no positivismo comteano, adaptando-a à realidade brasileira, pretendendo um país soberano e um Estado forte. Fernando de Azevedo procurou dar moldes científicos aos estudos educacionais; a ciência proposta é teórica, utiliza Durkheim, mas recontextualiza-o, dando uma nova interpretação dos fatos sociais, que na sua visão são múltiplos e diversos, e as ciências humanas calcadas nesta visão devem ter como premissa a imprevisibilidade dos acontecimentos humanos. Florestan rearticula o pensamento de seus predecessores, estabelecendo novos parâmetros do proceder científico, em que estão presentes o planejamento, a racionalidade, a previsibilidade e a intencionalidade. Denominamos as mudanças ocorridas como rupturas paradigmáticas, ocasionadas através de conflitos. O que torna a concepção de Florestan hegemônica é o fato de o sociólogo constituir uma escola de pensamento. Observamos, ainda, que essas mudanças não são apenas teóricas; Florestan utiliza técnicas retóricas como a dissociação de noções e a petição de princípio no intuito de persuadir e convencer o seu auditório para que sua visão de ciência torne-se hegemônica. / Abstract: The work which is now presented aimed to analyze the conception of science in Brazilian educational thought, based on three generations intellectuals, with recognized contribution in the educational field: Alberto Torres, Fernando de Azevedo and Florestan Fernandes. These authors consolidated theoretical, scientific interpretations on the educational phenomena. Alberto Torres was concerned with organizing the Republic; education was a factor of national organization in keeping the in the man agricultural environment, due to geographical and historical fate of the country. Torres founded the basis of his thinking on Comte's positivism, adapting it to Brazilian reality, having in his mind a sovereign country and a strong State. Fernando de Azevedo tried to shape studies on education scientifically, the proposed science is theoretical, he uses Durkheim's theories but recontextualizes them by giving them a new interpretation to social facts, which in his view are many and various, and human sciences based on this vision must have as a premise the unpredictability of human events. Florestan Fernandes rearticulates the thought of his predecessors, setting new standards of scientific procedures, in which planning, rationality, predictability and intentionality are present. We consider these changes as paradigmatic ruptures, provoked by conflicts. What makes Florestan Fernandes's conception hegemonic is the fact that he established a school of thought. We also can observe that these changes are not just theoretical; Florestan uses rhetorical techniques such as decoupling of concepts and the petition of principle in order to persuade and convince his audience so that his vision of science becomes hegemonic. / Doutor

A presente dissertação tem como objeto de estudo os dilemas e avanços referentes ao ensino médio brasileiro. Para tanto, tomou-se como base a Escola Estadual Deputado Silva Prado que possui a reputação de uma boa escola em sua região. Construímos este trabalho por meio de: a) informações institucionais (história, índices educacionais e dados oficiais dos governos); b) dados socioeconômicos coletados por meio de questionários aplicados aos alunos e ex-alunos da escola; c) entrevistas realizadas com jovens concluintes do ensino médio.\'\' Como principais resultados obtidos constatou-se que a identificação positiva da escola foi possível graças a alguns fatores que puderam ser identificados, como a permanência longa de gestores e os mecanismos de seleção de alunos empregados e a preservação das características sociais dos estudantes. No atual contexto, porém, essa reputação tem sido objeto de contestação por parte de docentes e educandos / The present dissertation has as object of study the dilemmas and advances referring to the Brazilian high school. For this purpose, the State School Dep. Silva Prado wasfounded as a foundation that has a reputation as a good school in its region. We construct this work through: a) institutional information (history, educational indexes and official government data); b) socioeconomic data collected through questionnaires applied to students and alumni of the school; c) interviews with high school graduates. \'\' As main results, it was found that the positive identification of the school was possible thanks to some factors that could be identified, such as the long stay of managers and the mechanisms of student selection employees and the preservation of students\' social characteristics. In the present context, however, this reputation has been challenged by teachers and students

Frente ao importante papel educativo dos museus na atualidade, e considerando a ampliação do tratamento de temáticas ambientais nessas instituições, este trabalho busca compreender aspectos dos processos e práticas da educação museal relacionados à biodiversidade e à sua conservação em exposições de imersão. O presente trabalho se debruçou à análise sociológica do processo de produção dos discursos expositivos, com base na teoria de Basil Bernstein. Tal referencial teórico permite uma análise com forte potencial de descrição dos mecanismos internos e externos da constituição e funcionamento dos processos educacionais. Utilizamos também as discussões da área de educação em museus, além daquelas relacionadas às abordagens da biodiversidade em diferentes contextos educacionais. Com base nas perspectivas educacionais das exposições, esta pesquisa buscou identificar os campos recontextualizadores e os discursos oficiais dos museus, bem como caracterizar o processo de recontextualização específico à produção dos discursos expositivos. Foi também realizada a caracterização desses discursos buscando compreender quais são os significados legítimos sobre biodiversidade presentes nas mensagens de exposições de imersão, e quais são as formas legítimas da transmissão desses significados. Ainda, considerando que os discursos expositivos são resultado de processos de recontextualização, buscamos também relacionar as características deles com os processos que os geraram. A abordagem metodológica utilizada tem como base a pesquisa mista em educação, tendo como universo de análise duas exposições de imersão cuja temática tratada são biomas brasileiros. A análise dos campos recontextualizadores dos museus mostrou que há uma diversidade de agências que participam desses processos, bem como há diversas políticas públicas destinadas à educação em instituições museais. Essa diversidade está relacionada às diferentes tipologias de museus e suas afiliações. Ressaltamos a importância de diferentes agências de governo, do campo da economia e associações não-governamentais no fomento das ações de educação em museus. A análise dos processos de recontextualização dos discursos expositivos mostra que a regulação das agências às quais as instituições são vinculadas é fraca. A caracterização dos discursos expositivos mostrou que as exposições podem contribuir para o acesso a conhecimentos sobre biodiversidade relativamente complexos. Em particular, destacamos que as potencialidades das competências cognitivas são maiores que a complexidade dos conhecimentos. Esse fato está relacionado tanto às especificidades das exposições quanto à presença do objeto e o espaço, sendo de especial relevância a estrutura imersiva das exposições. É possível perceber que a expografia exerce papel importante para a ampliação das relações entre discursos de diferentes áreas (interdisciplinaridade), assim como a própria temática da biodiversidade. Quanto às relações entre humanos e natureza há predomínio de abordagens menos integradoras, chamando a atenção para que sejam adotados discursos mais atuais sobre a biodiversidade e conservação, que incluam, para além do seu significado na ciência, vieses sociais, políticos e culturais. Considerando a definição científica do termo, nota-se quanto às relações entre os componentes de composição, estrutura e funcionamento da biodiversidade, que os discursos apresentam um grau intermediário de relacionamento entre esses componentes, trabalhando especialmente os aspectos composicionais, que são justamente aqueles mais presentes nas concepções do público sobre biodiversidade. Finalmente, considerando o contexto não-formal de educação e a heterogeneidade dos níveis de conhecimentos dos visitantes, concluímos que as exposições têm importante potencial para o processo de aquisição de conhecimentos sobre biodiversidade. Os discursos expositivos, no que se refere ao nível de exigência dos conteúdos relacionados ao tema, podem contribuir para acessar conhecimentos relativamente complexos, que possibilitem obter informações confiáveis e outros pontos de vista para a reflexão sobre as questões ambientais. / This work seeks to understand aspects of the processes and practices of museum education related to biodiversity and its conservation in immersion exhibitions. This understanding is necessary because of the important educational role of museums today, and considering the broader treatment of environmental themes in these institutions. A sociological analysis of the production process of expository discourses was carried out, based on Basil Bernstein \'s theory. This theoretical reference allows an analysis with strong potential to describe the internal and external mechanisms of the constitution and functioning of educational processes. The discussions of the area of museum education were also used, in addition to those related to biodiversity approaches in different educational contexts. This research aimed to identify the recontextualizing fields and the official discourses of the museums, as well as to characterize the specific recontextualization process to the production of the expository discourses based on the educational perspectives of the exhibitions. The purpose of the characterization of these discourses was to understand what are the legitimate meanings about biodiversity present in the messages of immersion exhibitions, and what are the legitimate ways of transmitting those meanings. Still, considering that expository discourses are the result of recontextualization processes, we also try to relate their characteristics to the processes that generated them. The methodological approach used is based on mixed research in education, having as the universe of analysis two immersion expositions whose theme is Brazilian biomes. The analysis of the recontextualizing fields of the museums showed that there are a diversity of agencies that participate in these processes, as well as there are several public policies destined to the education in museums institutions. This diversity is related to the different typologies of museums and their affiliations. We emphasize the importance of different agencies of government, the field of economics and nongovernmental associations in the promotion of educational actions in museums. The analysis of the recontextualization processes of the expository discourses shows that the regulation of the agencies to which the institutions are linked is weak. The characterization of the expository discourses showed that the expositions can contribute to the access to knowledge on biodiversity relatively complex. In particular, we emphasize that the potentialities of cognitive skills are greater than the complexity of knowledge. This fact is related both to the specificities of the exposures as to the presence of the object and the space, being of special relevance the immersive structure of the expositions. It is possible to realize that the expography plays an important role for the expansion of the relations between discourses of different areas, as well as the biodiversity theme itself. Regarding the relationship between humans and nature, there is a predominance of less integrative approaches, drawing attention to the adoption of more current discourses on biodiversity and conservation, including, in addition to their meaning in science, social, political and cultural biases. Considering the scientific definition of the term, it is possible to notice the relations between the components of composition, structure and functioning of biodiversity, that the discourses present an intermediate degree of relationship between these components, working especially the compositional aspects, which are precisely those more present In public views on biodiversity. Finally, considering the non-formal context of education and the heterogeneity of visitor knowledge levels, we conclude that the exhibitions have important potential for the process of acquiring knowledge about biodiversity. The exposition speeches, regarding the level of demand of the contents related to the theme, can contribute to access relatively complex knowledge, that allow to obtain reliable information and other points of view for the reflection on the environmental questions.

Esta pesquisa visa reconstituir as dinâmicas de acesso ao Ensino Superior de jovens de frações relativamente privilegiadas das camadas populares, ingressantes em um cursinho popular localizado na zona norte da cidade de São Paulo. Em primeiro lugar, o estudo busca delinear e compreender a gênese social tanto das aspirações de ingresso no Ensino Superior quanto das dificuldades e barreiras subjetivamente experienciadas por esses jovens ao longo de suas tentativas de acesso ao sistema universitário. Além de evidenciar quais condicionamentos e modulações específicas dos processos de socialização e de escolarização, a que esses jovens foram submetidos, podem enraizar trajetórias bem sucedidas de acesso ao nível universitário, o estudo busca, igualmente, demonstrar como as diferentes redes de relações em que esses jovens encontram-se inseridos podem se refletir em diferentes estilizações de seus modos de experimentação da condição juvenil. Por fim, a natureza eminentemente política da iniciativa também conduziu o estudo à investigação dos modos como afinidades ou dissonâncias entre as origens e trajetórias dos professores e alunos do cursinho estruturam as dinâmicas interacionais a partir das quais pode ocorrer a transmissão das visões políticas de mundo e dos destinos universitários e ocupacionais que esses professores buscam projetar sobre seus alunos. / This work aims to reconstruct the educational and social trajectories of underprivileged students in their attempts to access Higher Education by attending a free-tuition prep course, located in the north of the city of Sao Paulo. First, the study seeks to delineate and understand the social genesis of both the aspirations towards Higher Education and the difficulties and barriers subjectively experienced by these students. Besides evidencing the specific conditions that might pave the way of these students towards what they acknowledge as successful paths, the study also seeks to demonstrate how the different peer groups in which they are engaged can be reflected in their different ways of experiencing their transitions to adulthood. Finally, the thick political atmosphere that characterizes the initiative has also conducted the study to investigate how affinities or dissonance between the origins and trajectories of the students, on one side, and the teacher of this prep course, on the other structure the interactional dynamics from which the transmission of political dispositions, as well as the inclinations towards determined career paths (in both the university system and the job market), can be observed.

Esta pesquisa visa reconstituir as dinâmicas de acesso ao Ensino Superior de jovens de frações relativamente privilegiadas das camadas populares, ingressantes em um cursinho popular localizado na zona norte da cidade de São Paulo. Em primeiro lugar, o estudo busca delinear e compreender a gênese social tanto das aspirações de ingresso no Ensino Superior quanto das dificuldades e barreiras subjetivamente experienciadas por esses jovens ao longo de suas tentativas de acesso ao sistema universitário. Além de evidenciar quais condicionamentos e modulações específicas dos processos de socialização e de escolarização, a que esses jovens foram submetidos, podem enraizar trajetórias bem sucedidas de acesso ao nível universitário, o estudo busca, igualmente, demonstrar como as diferentes redes de relações em que esses jovens encontram-se inseridos podem se refletir em diferentes estilizações de seus modos de experimentação da condição juvenil. Por fim, a natureza eminentemente política da iniciativa também conduziu o estudo à investigação dos modos como afinidades ou dissonâncias entre as origens e trajetórias dos professores e alunos do cursinho estruturam as dinâmicas interacionais a partir das quais pode ocorrer a transmissão das visões políticas de mundo e dos destinos universitários e ocupacionais que esses professores buscam projetar sobre seus alunos. / This work aims to reconstruct the educational and social trajectories of underprivileged students in their attempts to access Higher Education by attending a free-tuition prep course, located in the north of the city of Sao Paulo. First, the study seeks to delineate and understand the social genesis of both the aspirations towards Higher Education and the difficulties and barriers subjectively experienced by these students. Besides evidencing the specific conditions that might pave the way of these students towards what they acknowledge as successful paths, the study also seeks to demonstrate how the different peer groups in which they are engaged can be reflected in their different ways of experiencing their transitions to adulthood. Finally, the thick political atmosphere that characterizes the initiative has also conducted the study to investigate how affinities or dissonance between the origins and trajectories of the students, on one side, and the teacher of this prep course, on the other structure the interactional dynamics from which the transmission of political dispositions, as well as the inclinations towards determined career paths (in both the university system and the job market), can be observed.

Este trabalho trata da especificidade da constituição da educação museal. Partindo da hipótese de que essa tipologia educacional tem características em seu funcionamento que a diferenciam de outras modalidades educacionais, e que se mantêm à revelia das diferentes tipologias institucionais, optou-se por um estudo que possibilitasse a apreensão dos seus elementos singulares. A abordagem metodológica utilizou o referencial das pesquisas qualitativas em educação, tomando-se como foco de análise as práticas estabelecidas pelos setores educativos dessas instituições. Para a coleta de dados foram selecionadas três instituições com consolidada prática educacional e que possibilitassem um olhar comparativo entre diferentes tipos de museus: o Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia da Universidade de São Paulo (SP), um museu de ciências humanas; o Museu de Astronomia e Ciências Afins do Ministério da Ciência e Tecnologia (RJ), um museu de ciência e tecnologia; e a Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo (SP), um museu de artes plásticas. O referencial teórico adotado como base para a análise foi o conceito de dispositivo pedagógico, do sociólogo da educação Basil Bernstein, por considerar que ele oferece a possibilidade de uma visão sistêmica sobre os mecanismos de constituição e funcionamento dos processos educacionais existentes nos museus. Também foram utilizadas as discussões sobre o papel da educação em museus empreendidas por estudiosos nacionais e internacionais que se debruçam sobre esse tema. Os resultados obtidos demonstram a existência de uma especificidade nos processos de constituição da educação em museus. Um primeiro aspecto dessa especificidade é a existência de um campo interessado na criação de políticas públicas para as instituições museais. Compreendido a partir do que Bernstein qualifica como campo recontextualizador oficial, nele atuam órgãos do Estado, em cujas políticas os museus participam por adesão, configurando uma esfera, até o momento, de pouca influência na determinação da prática educativa dessas instituições. Também externa aos museus existe uma segunda esfera de regulação constituída pelos órgãos de financiamento da ação educativa, públicos e privados. Um segundo aspecto evidenciado pelas análises é a autonomia dos educadores na proposição de seus objetivos e práticas educacionais, situação parcialmente tributária do posicionamento da educação no interior da instituição museal. Como decorrência, os educadores aparecem como produtores dos textos originais sobre educação em museus, além de responsáveis pela determinação de suas práticas educativas. Essa afirmação é sustentada pela existência de um campo intelectual da educação em museus, com forte crescimento nacional e internacional nos últimos anos, no qual os educadores têm um papel importante de conformação. Para a análise das condicionantes que atuam no contexto da prática educativa dos museus foram escolhidas três categorias analíticas: o tempo, o espaço e os discursos. A relação entre esses três elementos é determinada a partir de uma lógica própria da educação museal, mas que comporta especificidades a partir dos conteúdos/acervos de cada instituição. Por meio das análises empreendidas contatou-se que a prática instrucional dos museus estudados é fortemente marcada pelo caráter dialógico, caracterizando o que Bernstein denomina de prática instrucional indireta. Nessa prática tempo, espaço e objeto/discurso específicos são constantemente negociados a partir dos parâmetros estabelecidos pelas características do público e pelos objetivos da prática educacional de cada museu. / This work presents the complexities involved in museum education. The hypothesis is that this type of education has certain characteristics differentiating it from other education modalities, and that remain in absence of the institutional museum typologies. The objective of this study is to understand the singular elements of this type of education. We applied the methodological background used by qualitative research in education; the analysis focused on practices established by the educational sectors of the museums. In order to collect the data, we have selected three museums that have consolidated educational practice and enabled the comparison: The Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia da Universidade de São Paulo (São Paulo), a human sciences museum; the Museu de Astronomia e Ciências Afins do Ministério da Ciência e Tecnologia (Rio de Janeiro), a museum devoted to science and technology; and the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo (São Paulo), a museum of fine arts. The theoretical referential selected is the one developed by Basil Bernstein, the pedagogical device, which offers a systemic view of the mechanisms of the functioning and constitution of educational processes that take place in the museums. Other national and international authors were also consulted. Results show that there are specificities involved in this type of education. The first aspect is the existence of a field interested in the creation of public policies for museums. Bernstein names it an official field of recontextualisation, where the State power acts and the museums take part by adhesion, a sphere, up to present, of small influence in the determination of educative practices in these institutions. There is also an external sphere of regulation constituted by funding agencies of educational action, public and private. A second aspect evidenced by this analysis is the autonomy of educators to establish their objectives and educational practices, a situation that owes its configuration to the concept of education proposed by the museums. As a result, the educators are responsible for the production of original texts about education in museums and for the determination of their own educational practices. This situation is sustained by the existence of an intellectual field of education in museums that has become notorious nationally and internationally in recent years in part due to the work of educators. We have selected three analytical categories in order to analyze the determining factors in the context of the educational practice in the museums: time, space and discourses. The relation among these elements is determined by a museum educational logic, which presents specific practices due to the content/collection of each institution. Results show that the educational practice employed by the museums studied has a considerable dialogic content, what Bernstein refers to as indirect teaching practice. This practice, time, space and specific discourse/object are constantly negotiated by making use of parameters that are established and by taking into consideration the characteristics of the public and the educational objectives of each museum.

This thesis seeks to explore the factors that limit the freedom of choice and access of the Indian community to tertiary level education in Malaysia. Issues of ethnic minorities are of concern for all multi-cultural societies. In Malaysia, it was the indentured labour system, introduced by the British colonial rulers who brought non-Malays into this previously mono-ethnic society. British colonisation has influenced the position of the Indian community in Malaysia in a number of ways, which are explored in this thesis. The aim of this study was to gain an understanding of the complexity of this plural society and its implications for one of its ethnic minority groups, particularly in terms of education. This sector has been examined as education is a fundamental component for socio-economic development and upward social mobility. Malaysia, a classic modern day plural society, has its own complexity in terms of issues of ethnic minorities. The findings of this thesis indicate four main factors limiting the freedom of choice and access to tertiary level education for the Indian community. These factors are the country’s education policies, the financial situation of Indo-Malaysians, the attitude and awareness of the students, and the community’s values. The findings are significant as it is believed that the advancement of the Indian community in Malaysia is currently obstructed through lack of access to tertiary level education. Before this situation can be improved it needs to be understood.

Economic change requiring a more highly skilled workforce prompted worldwide concern over high school drop out. Dropouts are young people who leave school early, often without attaining formal educational qualifications. Much previous research centred on at-risk students and a range of individual, social, family and school factors associated with drop out were identified. This case study of student drop out and retention at three girls’ state secondary schools over 2003 suggests that early leaving behaviour cannot be understood outside of the settings in which it occurs. Adopting an ecological perspective facilitated a deeper understanding of the complex interactions between the dropouts and their environment. From a narratives and numbers approach rich stories of early leaving emerged. Patterns of leaving were consistent with national trends: The lower decile school had the highest drop out rate, and dropouts were more likely to be Maori and Pasifika than European. Dropping out was shown to be a complicated and iterative process in which the influence of the environment is very important. Family and school relationships had a major impact but which had the greatest influence was inconclusive because there was a high level of interconnectedness between these proximal settings within the mesosystem and the bigger picture education and welfare systems. The extent of the contribution each level made to early leaving varied across individual stories, between schools and over time. Leaving school is an ecological transition that involves changing roles from high school pupil to that of tertiary student, mother, worker or benefit recipient. The students’ stories show drop out to be both an outcome, and an initiator, of developmental change. An important challenge for schools is not necessarily to reduce the number of early leavers but to establish effective transition programmes that assist students to become proactive in navigating the many transitions anticipated over their life course. The implementation of such school programmes needs to be supported by parallel changes in government policy.