La lecture joue un grand rôle dans le processus d’enseignement-apprentissage. Elle constitue une base solide de la formation didactique de l’apprenant pour s’adapter à la société. Il existe quatre niveaux de compréhension en lecture : littérale, inférentielle ou interprétative, critique et créative. Les habiletés de ces quatre niveaux de compréhension sont organisées selon la hiérarchie de la taxonomie de Bloom. Notre recherche portait sur le niveau de la compréhension critique en lecture : la lecture critique. À la suite d’une recension de la littérature scientifique, nous avons constaté que les recherches connues à ce jour appuient l’importance de s’intéresser à la didactique de la lecture en classe de français. Cependant, les résultats semblent peu concluants à l’égard de la lecture critique, malgré son importance. La problématique de notre recherche consiste au fait que les apprenants du Français Langue Étrangère (FLE) éprouvent des difficultés en lecture critique. Ils tendent vers une compréhension globale du texte sans chercher ni comprendre le sens implicite. D’une part, différents auteurs ont montré que les raisons de ces difficultés ne sont pas dues seulement aux étudiants eux-mêmes mais aussi aux méthodes d'enseignement non appropriées à enseigner la lecture critique en FLE. Dans le domaine de l'enseignement des langues étrangères aux locuteurs d'autres langues, certains auteurs préconisent également la didactique de la lecture critique où les enseignants ne font pas juste enseigner aux étudiants les compétences linguistiques de base ou de former leurs habiletés de communication, mais aussi le besoin de développer la conscience critique chez les apprenants qui leur permettent de poser des questions plutôt que d'accepter passivement l'information qu'ils trouvent. D’autre part, la recension a montré que l’enseignement basé sur la caricature semble motivant et amène les apprenants à réfléchir, mais que ce support didactique n’a pas été utilisé auprès d’apprenants de français, surtout au niveau universitaire. Des études ont prouvé l’efficacité de la caricature dans l’enseignement de l’histoire, les sciences et la littératie visuelle et politique. Aucune étude, d’après notre recension d’écrits, n’a porté sur la caricature en didactique de FLE. D’ailleurs c’est un domaine peu investigué. Notre recherche exploratoire voulait intégrer la caricature dans l'enseignement de la lecture critique en FLE. En définitive, notre recherche visait à répondre à la question générale suivante : Quelle est la contribution de la caricature comme support didactique au développement des habiletés de la lecture critique chez les apprenants du FLE ? De cette question découlent les questions spécifiques suivantes : 1- Quel est le rôle de la caricature comme support didactique dans le développement de la lecture critique chez les apprenants du FLE ? Et 2- quelles sont les perceptions des apprenants ciblés à l’égard de la caricature ? Pour ce faire, notre recherche a impliqué l’élaboration d’un dispositif didactique au cœur duquel figurait la caricature. Afin de recueillir les données, nous avons choisi un échantillon volontaire parmi des étudiants adultes qui apprennent le FLE, à l’Université de Sherbrooke. Notre expérimentation didactique consistait à leur faire vivre des activités de lecture critique de textes basés sur la caricature en trois séances complémentaires. Les outils de collecte de données étaient les suivants : des prétests qui précédaient chaque séance du dispositif didactique pour diagnostiquer le niveau des étudiants en lecture critique, des posttests en lecture critique qui suivaient chacune des séances, des entrevues pour identifier les perceptions et les productions des participants. Nous avons analysé l'ensemble des données. Il s’agissait d’une analyse évaluative des réponses des participants dans les pré/posttests; d’une analyse thématique du verbatim des entrevues afin d’identifier les perceptions des participants ; et d’une analyse du contenu des caricatures produites par les participants pour appuyer les résultats obtenus. Les résultats de l’analyse ont indiqué que la caricature a contribué au développement de la lecture critique chez les apprenants du FLE : grandement chez les débutants et les intermédiaires et partiellement chez les avancés. En parallèle, la caricature était positivement perçue par tous les participants. Ceux-ci ont avancé que la caricature était pour eux une expérience originale, motivante et transférable. Ces résultats combinés avec ceux des recherches antérieures dans le même domaine laissent entrevoir que la caricature comme support didactique pourrait favoriser la compréhension en lecture en général chez les apprenants adultes. / Abstract: Reading plays an important role in the teaching / learning process. It constitutes a solid basis for the didactic training of the learner to adapt to society. There are four levels of reading comprehension: literal, inferential or interpretive, critical and creative. The skills of these four levels of understanding are organized according to the hierarchy of Bloom's taxonomy. Our research focused on the level of critical reading comprehension: critical reading. Following a review of the scientific literature, we found that the research known to date supports the importance of taking an interest in reading literacy in French. However, the results seem inconclusive with regard to critical reading, despite its importance. The problem of our research is that the learners of the French Foreign Language (FFL) have difficulties in critical reading. They tend towards a global understanding of the text without going further in the implicit sense. On the one hand, different authors have shown that the reasons for these difficulties are not only due to the students themselves but also to the teaching methods not appropriate to teach critical reading in FFL. In the field of foreign language teaching to speakers of other languages, some authors also advocate the teaching of critical reading where teachers do not just teach students basic language skills or train their communication skills, but also the need to develop critical awareness in learners that allow them to ask questions rather than passively accepting the information they find. On the other hand, the review showed that teaching based on caricature seems motivating and leads learners to think, but that this didactic support was not used with learners of French, especially at the university level. Studies have proven the effectiveness of caricature in the teaching of history, science and visual and political literacy. No study, according to our review of writings, has focused on the caricature in didactics of FFL. Besides, it is a little investigated field. Our exploratory research wanted to integrate caricature into the teaching of critical reading in FFL. As a conclusion, our research aimed to answer the following general question: What is the contribution of caricature as a didactic medium to the development of the skills of critical reading in the learners of the FFL? From this issue arise the following specific questions: 1- What is the role of caricature as a didactic medium in the development of critical reading in the learners of the FFL? And what are the perceptions of targeted learners about caricature? To do this, our research involved the development of a didactic system at the heart of which caricature was included. In order to collect the data, we chose a sample of adult learners who were studying at the University of Sherbrooke. Our didactic experimentation consisted in making them live the activities of critical reading of texts based on caricature in three complementary stages. The data collection tools included pre-tests that preceded each stage of the didactic experimentation to diagnose the participant’s level in critical reading; post-tests that followed each stage; interviews to identify their perceptions, and drawings produced by them. We analyzed all the data. This was an evaluative analysis of the students' responses in pre / posttests; a thematic analysis of the interview verbatim in order to identify their perceptions; and an analysis of the content of the caricatures produced in support of the results obtained. The results of the analysis showed that caricature has greatly contributed to the development of critical reading in FFL among the beginners and intermediates and partially among the advanced students. At the same time, the caricature was positively perceived by all participants. These ones argued that caricature was an original, motivating and transferable experience. These results, combined with previous research in the same field, suggest that caricature as a didactic medium could promote reading comprehension in adult learners in general.

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / This study ultimately aimed to explore children' and adolescents' perceptions of exposure to community violence. More specifically, the study investigated the meanings that adolescents assign to personal safety and security and the extent to which these assignations explain child and adolescent well-being. At a methodological level, the study followed a qualitative methodological framework and collected data from 14 adolescents between the ages of 14 and 15. Two focus groups were used to collect the data which consisted of seven participants each. Participants were purposively selected from a high school located in a low income community in Cape Town. Thematic analysis was used to analyse and interpret the findings and the study was framed using Bronfenbrenner's ecological framework and the theoretical perspectives of Bulhan's theory of violence, social identity theory, psychological theories, social learning theory, and social disorganization theory. Key findings indicated that the participants were exposed to violence, both through witnessing and being subjected to it within their school, home, and community. Some children perceived a lack of safety within the environments with which they interacted. Data further indicated that exposure to violence created feelings of insecurity, such as fear and anxiety. Similarly, exposure to violence was perceived to have various detrimental effects on the well-being of a child and adolescent. These effects included injury, poor academic performance, post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, fear, hopelessness, and many others. In addition to this, and based on these results, this study is significant because it taps into the realities faced by many children so that an awareness can be created and a safe space provided for these children to be children. / South Africa

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Companies are under pressure to develop and design effective incentive schemes for their employees with an aim of attracting and retaining talent. Whilst other organisations consider various methods to motivate employees, employee share schemes have dominated the agenda in many companies. It is expected that share schemes would achieve the desired objective through aligning the objectives of the employer with those of the employees. In the study, employee perceptions of share schemes are investigated to establish if the above objective is maintained. A medium sized company listed on the JSE was selected for the study with 105 respondents being solicited for a population of 242. The results confirmed that employee shareholders do have perceptions ranging from expectations of empowerment to employee engagement in decision-making. The study contributes to the body of knowledge and research in remuneration strategies for today‟s work environment, and makes recommendations for companies with the intention to improve the worker‟s social well-being. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Background: Research on communication intervention with young children provides support for the involvement of primary caregivers in their child’s language intervention (Kaiser, & Roberts, 2011; Roberts, & Kaiser, 2011). Research suggests that the perceptions of these caregivers regarding their child’s language development and their role in the language development process are important to their willingness to use intervention strategies (Kaiser, & Hancock, 2003; Leffel, & Suskind, 2013). Furthermore, studies suggest that the severity of child language difficulties may impact on these perceptions (Brady et al., 2006; Romski et al., 2011). However, there is a lack of research on how primary caregivers from non-Western, non-English-speaking backgrounds perceive their child’s language development and understand their role. Aims: The study investigated the perceptions of isiXhosa-speaking primary caregivers of children who receive speech-language therapy regarding their child’s language development across three expressive language groups (i.e. not speaking, speaking in single words and phrases, speaking in sentences). Perceptions on the basis of duration and frequency of the speech-language therapy, and child age are also described. Methods: Thirty primary caregivers of young children (30 to 70 months) completed the South African Caregiver Perception of Language Development (SA-CPOLD) in a structured interview format using the Talking Mats™ visual framework (Murphy, & Boa, 2012). These results were compared across three child expressive language groups, as determined by scores on the Mullen Scale of Early Learning, and language sample analysis data (i.e. mean length of utterance and number of different words). Results: The primary caregivers of the children who were speaking in either single words and phrases or speaking in sentences demonstrated more positive perceptions than caregivers of children who were not speaking, although this did not reach a conventional level of significance. Caregivers of children across the three expressive language groups acknowledged their child’s language difficulties, however primary caregivers of the children who were non-speaking agreed more with statements related to their child’s difficulty. Perceptions did not appear to differ on the additional variables (i.e. duration and frequency of speech-language therapy, and child age). Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that isiXhosa-speaking caregivers’ perceptions of their child’s language skills are related to their expressive language skills to some extent and that these caregivers are able to accurately report on their child’s language difficulties. Keywords: caregiver perceptions, disability and developmental delays, early language intervention, isiXhosa, language delays, South Africa / Mini Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) / MAAC / Unrestricted

Democratization in China has been receiving attention from all over the world. In the US, a large percentage of media reports about China contribute to report democratization related political issues. And as a mainland Chinese citizen living under an undemocratic regime, I have always felt compelled to do research on democratization in China society. This thesis describes a research study conducted to understand how Chinese people understand the notion of democracy, and with this notion how they perceive to democratize their society. The result of this research's analysis shows that Chinese people view democracy similar to a western notion; and they believe to help Chinese public to develop democratic cultural values is the most important in the course of democratizing China society. In common words, to democratize people would eventually democratize the society. This research works on data collected from the internet. The use of internet data is money saving and helps explore research on internet data. This research hopefully can provide a reference view for Chinese people themselves and people who care about China in understanding the current situation and predicting the prospect of democratization in China. And with a better understanding Chinese people might be able to take more strategic steps and earn strategic support from the world in the course of democratization of China's society.

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The purpose of this study is to examine faculty perceptions of instructional satisfaction and support when teaching distance education at a university located in the southeastern United States. Two research questions were included to determine what factors of instructional support faculty perceive as promoting/impeding their satisfaction when they participate in distance education, and to determine if there are any meaningful and significant relationships or differences between faculty perceptions of instructional satisfaction and demographic information. Data were collected via email using Google Docs, then compared to determine any significant difference in any of the categories. Descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, ANOVA, and the follow-up Tukey HSD test were used to determine if there were significant differences among faculty members in different demographic categories. Male participants are more satisfied with technology support, appropriate workload, and fair tenure process than females. Females are more satisfied than males with the potential growth opportunities. Overall Caucasians are more satisfied than African-Americans and participants aged 40-49 are more satisfied than any other age participants when teaching distance education. Generally, faculty with higher academic rank (Professor and Associate Professor) are more satisfied than lower academic rank faculty (Assistant Professor and Instructor). Tenured faculty are more satisfied than non-tenured faculty, and full-time faculty are more satisfied than part-time faculty. Participants who earned the highest salaries are more satisfied than participants earning lower salaries. Finally, generally the participants with more years of teaching experience were more satisfied than participants in the early years of their career. Tenure is a positive factor and factor workload is a negative factor impacting faculty satisfaction when teaching distance education.

All public schools in the United States have been caught up in educational reform. This has especially been true since the 1980’s. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was a major component in how schools have changed the process of educating students. In response to reform efforts, many schools have relied on their own knowledge to achieve higher test scores. In the last several years, accountability standards have been increasing. Schools are being assessed according to national standards. Because of this, many schools are using different methods of instruction for students at-risk of failing. One method of instruction that many schools have turned to is tutoring. Tutoring has been used in education for a long period of time. The use of tutoring and its effectiveness have been well established in the literature. However, there is not much literature on why tutoring is effective. There is also limited research on the tutor perceptions of the tutoring program. The focus of this study is to examine the use of tutors in Northeast Mississippi school districts. This study explores the grade levels and subjects tutors work in, how the tutoring sessions are organized, and the focus and materials of the tutoring sessions. Additionally, the backgrounds, experiences, training, and perceptions of the tutors regarding the tutoring program are explored. The results of this study suggest that tutors of schools in the Northeast Mississippi districts are utilized in a manner consistent with the research on effective tutoring. Additionally, the findings of this study add to the literature in regards to the organization, focus, and materials of the tutoring sessions. The findings show that some schools in Northeast Mississippi have a good organized tutoring program, but that others do not. Conversely, the focus and materials used in most of the tutoring sessions are consistent with ones shown to be effective in research. The findings also give some insight into tutor perspectives regarding tutoring sessions. Tutor perspectives coincide with research findings that show one-to-one and small group tutoring is effective and that tutors need training, observation, and feedback on tutoring to be most successful.

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