This study examines pre-service teachers' attitudes toward language diversity and linguistically diverse students. Two hundred seventy-one teacher education students were surveyed to determine relative effects of demographic, mediating variables and psychosocial variables on language attitude as measured by the Language Attitudes of Teachers Scale (LATS). Independent variables include gender, age, race/ethnicity, teacher certification sought, region, psychological insecurity, cognitive sophistication, and helpfulness viewpoint. Research questions are established and methodology is outlined. A review of related literature places the study in the context of research with a broad interdisciplinary perspective and then links the study to other research relevant to the field of education. The findings of the study indicate that gender, race/ethnicity, teacher certification sought, political ideology, psychological insecurity, and cognitive sophistication contribute significantly to the variation found in attitude toward language diversity. The paper concludes with analyses and discussions of the significant variables and suggestions for application in teacher preparation.

My diploma thesis focuses on including students from foreign countries in the first grade of primary school and problems related to these questions. It deals with Czech and foreign educational systems, which could help teachers to understand different approaches of parents from foreign countries and their children to education. This thesis explains multicultural differences, which could support better communication with students from foreign countries and their parents as well. This work offers possibilities of subvention of children from foreign countries in the process of including in the Czech educational system. On the basis of research it is obvious, that students from foreign countries are mostly successfully adapted to the educational system. Rarely there are problems with language boundaries or social and emotional development. Teachers consider admission of a student from a foreign country as a benefit but they often point out that it also means a harder work for them. In case of some difficulties teachers often cooperate with non-profit organisation Meta.

This diploma thesis deals with problematics of inclusive education in kindergarten. This study aimed to determine kindergarden teachers's attitudes to inclusive education. The other objectives of this project are to analyze proposals and recommendations of addressed teachers concerning increasing efficiency of inclusive education. Apart from that, the present work also describes how teachers perceive the role of teacher assistant in inclusive education. This research is divided into a theoretical and practical part. First part describes theoretical resources of inclusive education in kindergarten. It defines key notions of inclusive education, charakterizes preschool child, kindergarten itself and education of children with special educational needs in kindergartens. The practical part analyzes information, which was gained during dialogues with teachers in kindergarten. The objective of this part was to determine kindergarten teacher's oppinions and attitudes to inclusive education. In a conclusion of the research achieved konwledge is compared with conformable research, which where done in described problematics.

The purpose of this study was to examine and evaluate the perceptions of high school art teachers, parents of high school students and high school students themselves relative to the merits of goals of a district program for high school art education and to determine whether the three populations share a common perception of these goals. The reveiew of the literature indicated a lack of substantive art programs in the curriculum from kindergarten through grade 12. The emphasis on art productino goals was cited as a major reason art is given such low status in our nation's schools. Many authors believe that if art is to be valued as fundamental to a child's educational development, the emphasis on art production must be broadened to include art hsitory, critique and aesthetics. Because an official school curriculum is often established to reflect societal values, information on art teachers', parents' and students' perceptions of the merits of the goals of high school art programs is important. Such information can be used to plan a local strategy for generating support for and effecting a change in art curriculum. Twenty-two certified high school art teachers, 200 randomly selected parents and a representative sample of 240 high school students were asked to review a list of 20 goals for a high school art education program and to rate them on a seven point Likert scale. for the three groups included The survey instruments five art activities pertaining to each of the four major goal areas of the discipline-based art curriculum, namely art production, art history, critique and aesthetics. Seventy percent of the participants responded to the questionnaires. The objectives of this study were (1) to determine the variability of perception between and within each group, (2) to find whether the three groups possess common perceptions of the merits of alternative goals, (3) to ascertain whether art teachers with more than five years experience share a common perception with teachers with less than five years experience, (4) to determine whether students who have received secondary level art instruction differ in their perceptions from students who have not received instruction, and (5) to compare the ratings of production oriented goals with the other discipline-based art education goals. Major findings of the study were as follows: (1) The plot fo the mean ratings of the merit of the goals for teachers shows wider variability than either parents or students. (2) Students provided a lower mean rating than either the teacher or parent groups. (3) Lack of data. (4) Students and parents with more exposure to secondary art education tended to rate the goals lower than their counterparts with no art background. (5) In the One-Sample Runs test, the art production goals did not appear more predominant at one end of the list of rankings. Teachers, parents and students rated aesthetics and criticism moderately high. In conclusion, the findings indicate that teachers, parents and students do value critique and aesthetic goals in the high school art education curriculum. Continued in-depth research and study with wider populations will be beneficial if we are to meet the challenge to continue to broaden high school art curriculum goals.

This study is an attempt to determine the impact of teachers' attitudes on their classroom behaviour and therefore on their implementation of the Communicative Approach. A descriptive case study was conducted at six secondary schools in Harare, Zimbabwe (as ESL environment) to determine the effect of 38 O-level English teachers' attitudes on their classroom practice. Quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection, including a questionnaire, an observation instrument and a semistructured interview were used to gauge teachers' attitudes, assessing the extent to which attitudes are reflected in their classroom behaviour, and eliciting teachers' verbalisation of how they conceive of their professional task. The findings show that the effective implementation of the Communicative Approach was critically dependent on teachers' positive attitudes towards this approach in the five categories covered by this study. / Linguistics / M.A. (Applied Linguistics)

Thesis (MEdPsych))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / Bibliography / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Teachers have been strategically positioned to mediate information that might lead to increased HIV and AIDS knowledge and preventative measures among school-based youth. This study attempted to understand such teachers' knowledge and attitudes within a particular social context using the Bio-ecological systems model of Bronfenbrenner. The systems model provided the framework for understanding teachers' knowledge and attitudes of HIV and AIDS given their choices in terms of background, knowledge, attitude, and their links with multiple systems. The study was conducted within the qualitative paradigm. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirteen intermediate phase primary school teachers from seven primary schools in Phillipi, Cape Town. This study showed that teachers were aware of being part of complex systems. They expressed their difficulties with teaching HIV and AIDS education in the classroom, particularly conditioned by cultural taboos. This study further showed that teachers. interactions, particularly with people living with HIV and AIDS, changed their knowledge of, and attitudes towards, HIV and AIDS and the teaching thereof. It also pointed to the dissonance between teachers' beliefs and behaviours in serving people living with HIV and AIDS. For some teachers, religious beliefs provided the means with which to deal with the HIV and AIDS pandemic. For others, particularly some female teachers, unequal gendered roles and expectations with regard to sex and sexuality in their communities had a direct impact on the spread of HIV and AIDS and safe-sex practices (knowledge) in their communities. Finally, teachers were actively and critically engaged with systems that impact upon them; particularly, the Macrosystem of the Education Department (in this case, the Western Cape), and the Microsystems of the societies and communities within which their schools were located. In summary, the study showed that a contextual, system-related approach to teachers in the classroom highlighted how they related to HIV and AIDS. Such complex, and inter-connected relations cannot be ignored by teachers, educators, policy-makers, material developers and trainers. More studies will give us a better model of the challenges and opportunities facing those who are helping stem the tide of the pandemic. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Onderwysers is in 'n strategiese posisie om inligting oor te dra aan jong leerders wat sal lei tot meer kennis van MIV en ook sal voorkom dat dit versprei. In hierdie studie is onderneem om onderwysers se kennis en denkwyse in 'n besondere sosiale verband te verstaan, deur gebruik te maak van die Bio-ekologiese stelsels-model van Bronfenbrenner. Die stelsels-model voorsien die raamwerk om onderwysers se kennis en houdings van MIV/VIGS te verstaan, aangesien hulle keuses maak in terme van hulle agtergrond, kennis, denkwyse en hulle kontak met meervoudige stelsels. Hierdie studie is uitgevoer in die kwalitatiewe paradigma. Halfgestruktureerde onderhoude is uitgevoer met dertien intermediêre fase primêre-skool onderwysers by sewe primêre skole in Philippi, Kaapstad. Hierdie studie het bewys dat onderwysers bewus is daarvan dat hulle deel vorm van ingewikkelde stelsels. Hulle het te kenne gegee dat hulle dit moeilik vind om MIV/VIGS opvoeding te gee in die klaskamer, veral as gevolg van kulturele taboes. Hierdie studie het ook bewys dat onderwysers se interaksie, veral met mense wat met MIV/VIGS saamleef, hulle kennis van en houding teenoor MIV/VIGS, en die onderrig daarvan, verander het. Dit het ook die verskil tussen onderwysers se godsdienstige oortuigings en houdings uitgewys wanneer hulle in kontak kom met mense wat met MIV/VIGS saamleef. Sommige onderwysers het hulle godsdienstige oortuigings gebruik wanneer hulle met die MIV/VIGS pandemie gewerk het. Sommige onderwyseresse veral, het gevind dat ongelyke geslagsrolle en verwagtinge ten opsigte van seks en seksualiteit in hulle gemeenskappe 'n direkte invloed gehad het op die verspreiding van MIV/VIGS en veilige sekspraktyke in hulle gemeenskappe. Onderwysers was aktief betrokke by stelsels wat 'n invloed op hulle gehad het, veral die Makrostelsel van die Onderwysdepartement (in hierdie geval die Wes-Kaap), en die Mikrostelsels van die samelewings en gemeenskappe waar die skole hulself bevind. In opsomming, het hierdie studie bewys hoedat 'n kontekstuele, stelsel- verwante benadering tot onderwysers in die klaskamer in verhouding staan met kennis en houdings teenoor MIV/VIGS. Sulke komplekse en onderlinge verhoudings kan nie deur onderwysers, beleidmakers, materiële ontwikkelaars en afrigters geïgnoreer word nie. Verdere navorsing en studies sal vir ons 'n meer effektiewe model bied van die uitdagings en geleenthede wat onderwysers in die gesig staar en wat sal help om die pandemie hok te slaan.

This study is an attempt to determine the impact of teachers' attitudes on their classroom behaviour and therefore on their implementation of the Communicative Approach. A descriptive case study was conducted at six secondary schools in Harare, Zimbabwe (as ESL environment) to determine the effect of 38 O-level English teachers' attitudes on their classroom practice. Quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection, including a questionnaire, an observation instrument and a semistructured interview were used to gauge teachers' attitudes, assessing the extent to which attitudes are reflected in their classroom behaviour, and eliciting teachers' verbalisation of how they conceive of their professional task. The findings show that the effective implementation of the Communicative Approach was critically dependent on teachers' positive attitudes towards this approach in the five categories covered by this study. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (Applied Linguistics)