The influence of social climate in classroom on a self-concept of pupils with specific learning disabilities. The aim of the thesis was to outline the problems of the self-concept of pupils with specific learning disabilities in the classroom social climate. The thesis has the form of an overview study followed by a research probe into the given problems. The theoretical part of the thesis deals with the definition of the following main terms based on the literature studied: specific learning disabilities, self-concept, social climate in the classroom. Furthermore, symptoms of the specific learning disabilities and their impact on the self-concept of pupils within the social climate in the classroom are described. The practical part of the thesis deals with the research probe. The research sample is represented by seven classes of 7th and 8th grade pupils from two Central Bohemia schools and three Prague schools. The research probe has the form of a non-standard survey study. In conclusion, the necessity of further research in the area is emphasized. Key words Specific learning disabilities, self-concept, social climate in classroom, academic self-concept

The topic of this thesis is the self-concept of school success of a pupils with autism spectrum disorder. It focuses on academic self-concept and academic self-efficacy as two important and related concepts. These concepts are also compared. We know from available researches that pupils with autism spectrum disorder have lower self-concept in some areas than normal pupils. This research project aimed to compare the self- concept of school success with pupils with autism spectrum disorder with a normative sample of normal pupils and also with pupils with other difficulties in each category. Questionnaire method and interview were used. The results show that child with autism spectrum disorder have just a higher self-concept of orthography than normal child. Also they have higher self-concept at maths, reading, orthography, writing, self- confidence and global score of self-concept than dyslexic child. Next they have higher global self-concept and self-concept of maths than child with mild brain dysfunction. The others scales showed no statistically significant difference. The interview showed that about 40% of children with autism spectrum disorder don't like math and 40% of children with autism spectrum disorder have problem in maths. KEY WORDS Autism Spectrum Disorder, self-concept, academic...

Syftet med intervjustudien är att beskriva några elevers känsla av begriplighet, hanterbarhet och meningsfullhet av sin skolvardag utifrån det särskilda stöd som ges i relation till språk, - läs – och skrivutveckling. Undersökningen utgår från ett elevperspektiv med fokus på elevernas upplevelser och uppfattningar av sin skolvardag kopplat till hinder och svårigheter de möter kring skoluppgifter de får i skolan. Samtliga intervjuade elever i studien går andra året på gymnasiet och har läs- och skrivsvårigheter, samt är i behov av särskilt stöd. Vår empiri är insamlad genom kvalitativa elevintervjuer som analyserats med hjälp av tematisk analys. Vi har i vår studie en teoretisk utgångspunkt i den salutogena teorin med fokus på KASAM (Antonovsky, 1987). Studiens resultat pekar på att det finns ett samband mellan elevernas känsla av sammanhang kopplat till upplevd stress, samt att elevernas känsla av begriplighet och hanterbarhet är tätt förknippade med varandra. Våra intervjuundersökningar visar att elevernas självbild påverkar hur de ser på de hinder och svårigheter som de möter i sin skolvardag. De ämnen som särskilt pekas ut som svåra att ta sig an av eleverna, är de ämnen som har ord och begrepp som ska förstås i ett särskilt sammanhang och ämnet svenska pekades ut flest gånger av informanterna. I resultaten framkommer även att det särskilda stöd som förekommer på gymnasiet, skiljer sig från det tidigare erbjudna stödet på högstadiet. De slutsatser som med hjälp av denna kvalitativa studie kan dras, är att samtliga intervjuade elever beskriver en bild av det särskilda stödet på gymnasiet som varken tillgängligt eller utformat på rätt sätt, för att de ska kunna uppleva en känsla av sammanhang av sin skolvardag. Detta skapar i sin tur en frustration och en känsla av otillräcklighet hos eleverna, då det ofta bli de själva som får föra fram sina stödbehov och strida för att få tillgång till det stöd de har rätt till. Eleverna beskriver också att lärarna på gymnasiet inte har tillräcklig kunskap gällande stödbehovet kopplat till deras faktiska svårigheter. Ytterligare en slutsats som vi utifrån vår analys kan dra, är att samtliga elever uttrycker ett behov av stöd utanför klassrummet i en lugn miljö, vilket är i motsats till vad tidigare forskning kommit fram till. Sammanfattningsvis kan sägas att vår slutsats blir att utifrån våra intervjuanalyser konstatera att det finns ett samband mellan KASAM och hur eleverna hanterar sin skolvardag och de uppgifter de får. Att begripa vad som förväntas och på så sätt hantera sin situation tolkas utifrån vår studie som avgörande för att få till en fungerande kunskapsutveckling och ett bra mående utan stress. Att kunna skapa en skoltillvaro med meningsfullhet och begriplighet verkar vara avgörande för hur eleverna lyckas med att få till en känsla av sammanhang av sin skoltillvaro.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Syftet med studien är att förstå hur två gymnasieelever i läs- och skrivsvårigheter, på olika yrkesprogram, upplever sin undervisning i kursen Engelska 5. Följande frågeställningar har valts för att nå studiens syfte: Hur upplever eleverna att deras läs- och skrivsvårigheter påverkat deras studieresultat i kursen Engelska 5? Hur upplever eleverna att studieresultaten i kursen Engelska 5 påverkat den akademiska självbilden? Hur upplever eleverna olika bedömningspraktiker i engelskundervisningen? Studien har en kvalitativ ansats med livsberättelseintervju som metod. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten i studien är fenomenologi och Amedo Giorgis femstegsmodell har tillämpats för att analysera studiens data. I resultatet framkommer att eleverna upplever att deras läs- och skrivsvårigheter har påverkat både studieresultatet i kursen Engelska 5 och den akademiska självbilden negativt. De upplever att undervisningens upplägg, med stora undervisningsgrupper, begränsat lärarstöd och inga stödinsatser, är bidragande orsaker till att de inte lyckats nå kunskapskraven i kursen Engelska 5. Eleverna upplever att den muntliga feedbacken från läraren är mest effektiv för kunskapsinhämtandet samt att strategin kamratbedömning upplevs som negativ på grund av nya gruppkonstellationer varje läsår i kursen Engelska 5. Båda elever anser att de kommer ut i ett yrke efter gymnasiestudierna oavsett om de lyckas nå kunskapskraven i kursen Engelska 5 eller ej. / The purpose of the study is to understand how two students in upper secondary school, with reading- and writing difficulties, experience their education in the course English 5. To clarify and deepen the aim of the study three questions have been used: Do the students experience that their reading- and writing difficulties have affected their academic results? In what way do the students experience that their academic results have affected their academic self-concept? How do the students experience different types of assessment? The study has a qualitative approach with life stories as a method and the theoretical frame of the study is phenomenology. Amedo Giorgi's five steps model has been used to analyze the data of the study. The results show that the students experience that their reading- and writing difficulties have affected both their academic results and their academic self-concept negatively. They experience that the structure of their lessons, with big classes, limited teacher support and no special educational support, affect their possibility to accomplish the knowledge requirements. The students experience that the oral feedback from the teacher is the most important thing to accomplish knowledge. The strategy peer review is experienced as negative due to new classes every semester in the course English 5. Both students are convinced that they will be employable after their studies regardless if they have accomplished the knowledge requirements in the course English 5 or not.

As increasing emphasis is being placed on student college and career readiness, instructional approaches seek to develop content and skill proficiency. I gathered student perspectives on teacher expectations and instructional opportunities in core content classes in order to determine if expectation bias influences college readiness preparation in the classroom. Student academic self-concept and college readiness were examined alongside beliefs about teacher expectations and instructional opportunities in a conceptual framework for student perceptions. In this qualitative study, I utilized four focus groups of high school students from two cohorts to analyze perceptions across students from mostly on-level core classes and those from mostly advanced core classes. Findings showed students held high expectations of their own current and future performance, as well as perceived teachers generally hold high expectations, though this was shown through the development of relational capacity rather than instructional opportunities to develop college readiness skills or connect to students' future ambitions. The results of the study provide insight to educators seeking to create stronger connections for students between current educational experiences and future postsecondary opportunities.

The Education White Paper 6 has set South Africa on the course for implementing a policy of inclusive education and participation in its schools. It is argued that an essential criterion to establish the congruency between the inclusive education and participation policy and its implementation is the academic self-concept (ASC) of learners. The ASC is influenced by context, thereby including all the systems which contribute to context, such as the education, school, class and social systems. As the product of different factors in various systems, the ASC may have significant diagnostic value in a school and class system. For this study, the ASC of learners with hearing impairment (HI), as an example of an impairment to be included in schools, was explored, involving two public school contexts: special and full-service inclusion schools. The research design incorporated a multi- and mixed method design, as quantitative data, to measure, describe and analyse the nature of the ASC of learners with HI, was augmented with qualitative data, to further explore the nature of the relation between the ASC and HI, especially in respect of the dynamics of the ASC. The investigation entailed developing and administering ASC questionnaires to Grade Seven learners with and without HI in special and full-service inclusion schools, observing classroom interactions, conducting interviews with the principals, educators and learners with HI, and collecting background information on the learners with HI. In answer to the main research question, What is the ASC of Grade Seven learners with HI in the contexts of special and full-service inclusion schools?, the data suggested that school context (full-service inclusion or special schools) did not play a primary role in influencing the ASC of learners with HI. The first sub-question related to the role HI plays in the ASC of Grade Seven learners in the two school contexts. The results suggested that HI greatly influenced the first language ASC (LASC) of the learners with HI in the special school and one of the full-service schools. HI did not seem to play a strong role in the mathematics ASC (MASC) of learners with HI, provided that there was adequate and effective support for the learners with HI. The second sub-question addressed the outcome(s) related to the ASC of Grade Seven learners with HI, which could be regarded as indicative of the successful conversion of primary schools to full-service inclusion schools. The results suggested that a general ASC (GASC) and LASC which are moderately lower than the GASC and LASC of the learners with no HI, and a MASC that is similar to the MASC of the learners with no HI, is acceptable. The third sub-question addressed guidelines to improve the conversion of primary schools to full-service inclusion schools. From the data, early identification of HI, appropriate technical and early specialised learning support, and the accessibility and knowledge of educators appeared to contribute the most to the ASC of learners with HI. Understanding some of the functional and accidental limitations of the research places the findings and conclusions in perspective. / Thesis (PhD (Educational Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

Eurocentric and marginalizing schooling practices hinder Latino student persistence in US Schools. Furthermore, an intentional focus placed on Latinas uncovers compounding layers of oppression permeating the educational system. Through an analysis of testimonios, this qualitative critical narrative study better understands the schooling experiences and academic self-concept of seven Latina junior high students. Guided by Latino Critical Race (LatCrit) and Intersectionality Theories, it contributes to understandings of how Latina youth experience the transition from elementary to junior high school and how they perceived themselves as scholars. Testimonios were captured through a three-part series of semi-structured videoconference interviews. Data analysis utilized tenets from both LatCrit and Intersectionality frameworks and revealed navigating academic challenges, language challenges in the classroom, and overall belonging were key for participants. Gender and ethnic identity also surfaced as significant factors that impact academic self-concept of Latina student's academic perceptions. The findings lead to suggestions for liberatory pedagogical, political, and social schooling practices.

No description available.

Ziel des Dissertationsprojekts war eine differenzierte Betrachtung des akademischen Selbstkonzepts in den naturwissenschaftlichen Fächern. Unter anderen wurden die Abgrenzung des akademischen Selbstkonzepts von Selbstwirksamkeitserwartungen, seine dimensionale Struktur, Geschlechtsunterschiede sowie seine Beeinflussung durch die Konzeption des Naturwissenschaftsunterrichts und durch dimensionale Vergleiche untersucht. Im Mittelpunkt der ersten Teilstudie stand die Frage nach der empirischen Trennbarkeit von akademischem Selbstkonzept und Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung in den Naturwissenschaften. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass die beiden Konstrukte messtheoretisch klar abgrenzbar sind und differentielle Zusammenhänge zu anderen Konstrukten aufweisen: Das Selbstkonzept wurde stärker durch soziale Vergleiche, Selbstwirksamkeitserwartungen stärker durch Unterrichtscharakteristika beeinflusst. In der zweiten Teilstudie wurde die fachspezifische Ausdifferenzierung naturwissenschaftlicher Selbstkonzepte untersucht. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass Schüler zwischen den Selbstkonzeptfacetten in Biologie, Chemie und Physik unterscheiden und diese drei Facetten differentielle Zusammenhänge zu Leistungsmaßen und zum Geschlecht aufweisen. Die dritte Teilstudie beschäftigte sich mit interdisziplinärem Naturwissenschaftsunterricht als Einflussfaktor auf die Selbstkonzeptstruktur. Dabei konnte gezeigt werden, dass Schüler, die interdisziplinär beschult werden, deutlich höhere Zusammenhänge zwischen den Selbstkonzeptfacetten in Biologie, Chemie und Physik aufweisen als Schüler, die getrennt in den drei Fächern unterrichtet werden. In der vierten Teilstudie wurde der Einfluss dimensionaler Leistungsvergleiche auf naturwissenschaftliche Selbstkonzepte sowie Mathematik und Deutsch untersucht. Es zeigten sich Kontrasteffekte zwischen Mathematik, Physik und Chemie auf der einen und Deutsch auf der anderen Seite. Die Befunde haben Implikationen für die Theorie dimensionaler Vergleiche. / In this dissertation project, academic self-concept in the science subjects is scrutinized. Amongst others, its separability from self-efficacy, its dimensionality, and gender differences were examined. The dissertation includes four research articles. All are based on data from large-scale assessment studies. In the first research article, we examined whether academic self-concept and self-efficacy in the science subjects can be distinguished empirically. We found a moderate positive correlation between self-concept and self-efficacy in science, advocating distinguishable constructs. Furthermore, science self-concept was better predicted by the average peer achievement, whereas science self-efficacy was more strongly affected by inquiry-based learning opportunities. The second research article focused on the internal structure of academic self-concept in the sciences. It could be shown that students differentiate between their abilities in biology, chemistry and physics and that the subject-specific self-concept facets are differentially related to achievement and gender. For example, stereotypical gender differences in favor of boys were found for chemistry and physics. The effect of interdisciplinary science teaching on the structure of academic self-concept in the sciences was examined in the third research article. Students who were taught science as an interdisciplinary subject showed substantially higher relations between the self-concept facets in biology, chemistry, and physics than students who were taught these subjects separately. In the fourth research article, the effects of dimensional comparisons on academic self-concepts in the sciences as well as mathematics and German were scrutinized. We found contrast effects between the German and math, physics, and chemistry as well as assimilation effects between math, physics, and chemistry. The results further advance dimensional comparison theory.