Title: Swimming level of pupils of urban basic schools and village basic schools Objectives: The aim of this work is to ewaluate the records of the monitored records of input and output values of the swimming level of children of younger school age in compulsory swimming lessons at primary school. The basic criterion for the assessment will be whether the children will complete swimming lessons as part of their education at a city school or a village school. The results will be monitored in children of different classes and boys and girls. Methods: In this work, I used a mixed type of research, in which I used both qualitative and quantitative research of this problem. The qualitative part of the work is based on the study of available literature, respectively the study of printed and electronic sources. The qualitative part is based on the examination of the material, teaching records from teachers at the swimming school Aquasvět Chomutov. Data obtained from these materials were analyzed using descriptions, graphs and tables. The researched data were collected during the school year 2018/2019. The evaluation of the documents took place in 2020. Results: The result shows that there is no significant difference between the performance of urban primary school pupils and rural primary school pupils....

This narrative inquiry explores how the �Songs of the Spirit� Native American Flute curriculum, a culturally-responsive curriculum which involves learning to make and play a PVC version of the Native American Flute while learning the cultures and histories of this First Nations instrument, impacted spiritual and emotional aspects of the learning and lives of Aboriginal students, their families, their parents, and their school community. My research took place at an urban Aboriginal high school in Saskatchewan from January to March, 2006. I conducted recorded conversations with three students, two parents, two teachers, two administrators, two Elders, a former principal, a former school caretaker, an artistic director, and the young woman who inspired the Heart of the City Piano Program, a volunteer driven community piano program, in the fall of 1995. Aboriginal individuals, who have too often been silenced in education and in society (Giroux, 1997; Freire, 1989; Fine, 1987; Greene, 1995 & 1998; Grumet, 1999), were provided with a voice in this research.<p>Because of the voices of my research participants, I chose to use the Medicine Wheel and Tipi Teachings (Lee, 2006; Kind, Irwin, Grauer, & de Cosson, 2005) as a lens (Greene, 1995) rather than situating my research in a traditional Eurocentric body of literature. Along this journey, I reflected inwards and outwards, backwards and forwards on how my past storied experiences (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000) shaped my teaching practices and way of being in the world today. To better understand the hurt I observed and which was described by research participants as present in the lived lives and circumstances of many Aboriginal people, I moved backward in time as I reviewed the literature on the Residential School experience and gained a deeper sense of the impact of colonialism on generations of Aboriginal people. This inquiry foregrounded how hearing and playing the Northern Spirit Flute impacted the emotional and spiritual aspects of students� being, and contributed to a process of healing. When participants heard the music, �it [sounded] so eloquent and so spiritual. It [was] almost like the flute [was] weeping,� (Onawa Gaho, Recorded conversation, March 17, 2006, p. 5) bringing about �a calmness to the anger that some [Aboriginal students] have� (Sakima Qaletaqa, Recorded conversation, March 15, 2006, pp. 25-26). <p>The research findings indicate that the �Songs of the Spirit� curriculum, in honoring the holistic nature of traditional First Nations cultures and teachings, invites Aboriginal students functioning in �vigilance mode� to attend to their emotional and spiritual needs. They speak to a need for rethinking curricula in culturally-responsive ways, for attending to the importance of the arts in education, and for reforming teacher education. Sound files of the Northern Spirit Flute and selected research conversations have been embedded within the electronic version of this thesis to allow the reader to walk alongside me and share in my research journey.

This narrative inquiry explores how the �Songs of the Spirit� Native American Flute curriculum, a culturally-responsive curriculum which involves learning to make and play a PVC version of the Native American Flute while learning the cultures and histories of this First Nations instrument, impacted spiritual and emotional aspects of the learning and lives of Aboriginal students, their families, their parents, and their school community. My research took place at an urban Aboriginal high school in Saskatchewan from January to March, 2006. I conducted recorded conversations with three students, two parents, two teachers, two administrators, two Elders, a former principal, a former school caretaker, an artistic director, and the young woman who inspired the Heart of the City Piano Program, a volunteer driven community piano program, in the fall of 1995. Aboriginal individuals, who have too often been silenced in education and in society (Giroux, 1997; Freire, 1989; Fine, 1987; Greene, 1995 & 1998; Grumet, 1999), were provided with a voice in this research.<p>Because of the voices of my research participants, I chose to use the Medicine Wheel and Tipi Teachings (Lee, 2006; Kind, Irwin, Grauer, & de Cosson, 2005) as a lens (Greene, 1995) rather than situating my research in a traditional Eurocentric body of literature. Along this journey, I reflected inwards and outwards, backwards and forwards on how my past storied experiences (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000) shaped my teaching practices and way of being in the world today. To better understand the hurt I observed and which was described by research participants as present in the lived lives and circumstances of many Aboriginal people, I moved backward in time as I reviewed the literature on the Residential School experience and gained a deeper sense of the impact of colonialism on generations of Aboriginal people. This inquiry foregrounded how hearing and playing the Northern Spirit Flute impacted the emotional and spiritual aspects of students� being, and contributed to a process of healing. When participants heard the music, �it [sounded] so eloquent and so spiritual. It [was] almost like the flute [was] weeping,� (Onawa Gaho, Recorded conversation, March 17, 2006, p. 5) bringing about �a calmness to the anger that some [Aboriginal students] have� (Sakima Qaletaqa, Recorded conversation, March 15, 2006, pp. 25-26). <p>The research findings indicate that the �Songs of the Spirit� curriculum, in honoring the holistic nature of traditional First Nations cultures and teachings, invites Aboriginal students functioning in �vigilance mode� to attend to their emotional and spiritual needs. They speak to a need for rethinking curricula in culturally-responsive ways, for attending to the importance of the arts in education, and for reforming teacher education. Sound files of the Northern Spirit Flute and selected research conversations have been embedded within the electronic version of this thesis to allow the reader to walk alongside me and share in my research journey.

Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka och jämföra studie- och yrkesvägledares sätt att arbeta i småstadsskolor respektive storstadsskolor. Studien genomfördes i tre högstadieskolor i Stockholm läns förort och respektive tre högstadieskolor och en F-9 skola i liten stad och by Dalarnas län. Forskningsfrågor: Vi vill få svar på våra forskningsfrågor – hur arbetar studie- och yrkesvägledare med vägledning i småstad respektive storstad för att säkerhetsställa att verksamheten följer de nationella styrdokumenten som finns och vad är det som skiljer respondenternas arbetssätt. Metod: Som metod har vi valt en kvalitativ skriftlig enkät och innehållsanalys av kommunernas arbetsplaner. Genom att låta fyra studie- och yrkesvägledare besvara en enkät har vi fått en tydligare bild om hur det kan se ut i verkligheten. Resultat: Resultatet visar att det finns mer likheter än olikheter i studie- och yrkesvägledarnas arbetssätt och indikerade på vikten och behovet av djupare förståelse för vägledningsuppdraget i och för SYV:s roll i att uppnå den eftersträvade kvalité och likvärdighet. Slutsats: Med tanke på studiens storlek drar vi inga generaliserande slutsatser. Utifrån enkätstudien och den empirin vi fick från respondenterna kan vi dra slutsats att det är inte så markant skillnad om studie- och yrkesvägledare arbetar i småstad eller i storstad. Det som egentligen spelar roll är synen på uppdraget i sig och förståelsen från alla involverade parter i både storstads- och småstadsskolor. / Method: As a method, we have chosen a qualitative written questionnaire and content analysis of the municipal work plans. By having four study and career counselors answer a questionnaire, we have got a clearer picture of what it might look like in reality. Results: The results show that there are more similarities than differences in the study and career counselor’s working methods and indicated the importance and need for deeper understanding of the study and career counseling assignment and for their role in achieving the desired quality and equivalence. Conclusion: Given the size of the study, we do not make any generalizing conclusions. Based on the survey study and the empiricism we received from the respondents, we can conclude that it is not so significant difference if study and career counselors work in small towns or in big cities. What really matters is the vision of the mission itself and the understanding of all parties involved in both metropolitan and small-town schools.

This study investigated the impact of the years of teaching experience of classroom teachers on the achievement of third-grade students in inner-city Title I Schools; on the achievement of those third-grade students who were defined as high achievers, average achievers, and low achievers; and on the achievement of boys and girls in the third grade of inner-city Title I schools. An analysis and interpretation of the data revealed that there were no significant differences in reading and mathematics achievement of the third-grade students when the number of years of experience of the teacher was examined. Reading achievement of third-grade boys and third-grade girls did show significant differences. The more-experienced teacher appeared to have the greater increase in reading scores of the students. In addition to data concerning the hypotheses, information about other teacher variables was collected through a teacher self-report questionnaire. One hundred per cent of the teachers in the participating schools responded to the questionnaire. Data were tabulated by frequency of response in groups according to years of teacher experience. Variables included years of teaching experience in Title I schools, classroom size, and demographic data. Analysis of the data indicated that teachers having more years of experience in Title I schools appeared to have a greater increase in the reading and mathematics scores of students. Students in larger classes appeared to show greater gains than students in smaller classes in reading and mathematics. The majority of the teachers indicated that they felt the teacher, parent involvement, and class size had the most impact on achievement of students and staff development had the least impact.

The problem of this study was to determine the effect of academic self-concept, student aspiration, intellectual achievement responsibility, and certain other personal factors on the attendance patterns of selected ninth grade students, and to develop from data on all factors a typical profile of conditions likely to result in high absenteeism and make recommendations for initial steps in remediation. As a result of the statistical analysis and subsequent retention or rejection of the null hypotheses, the significant findings of this study may be summarized as follows. (1) Ninth grade attenders are significantly younger than non-attenders. (2) Attenders had more siblings than non-attenders. (3) Attenders are significantly more involved in school organizations than non-attenders. (4) There is a higher frequency in suspensions among non-attenders. Based on analysis of the findings of this study and within the limitations of the population described in the procedure section, the following conclusions were formulated. (1) Students who have been retained, started school later, or for some reason are older than their classmates, are more likely to attend school irregularly.(2) Educators cannot expect to find the major causes of student absenteeism to be academic self-concept, intellectual achievement responsibility, or student aspiration. (3) Family size may be an important consideration for educators to investigate when working with school non-attenders. (4) School attenders can be expected to be actively involved in the co-curricular elements of the school program. (5) Higher rates of student suspensions are more likely to increase attendance problems rather than reduce them. (6) How students use their time outside the school day is not likely to be the crucial factor in school attendance. (7) While students often complain about schedules, teacher selection, and proximity of friends, it is not likely that changes in these factors would influence student attendance.

There has been a significant increase in immigrant learners in South African schools. This research study captures the experiences of immigrant learners in selected inner city schools of Johannesburg. The May 2008 xenophobic violence prompted the researcher to investigate the extent of xenophobia. A survey of immigrant learners, South African learners and educators was conducted by means of interviews that allowed the research participants to express their feelings and experiences regarding the phenomenon of xenophobia. The result of the study revealed that immigrant learners do experience xenophobia in various forms by South African learners and, in some cases, educators as well. Immigrant learners were predominantly exposed to prejudice and xenophobic comments. They perceived South Africa as positive, giving them hope and opportunities. This research provided a baseline for more extensive research into this phenomenon. / Thesis (M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

Le contexte actuel de la profession enseignante au Québec est caractérisé par l’évolution manifeste qu’a connue l’enseignement depuis les dernières décennies, évolution marquée par une complexification de la tâche, accentuée par divers phénomènes sociaux. En dépit de l’épuisement professionnel et de l’attrition de certains, plusieurs enseignantes et enseignants relèvent le défi de l’enseignement en milieux difficiles et réussissent à se développer professionnellement. Ce phénomène s’apparente au concept de résilience. Parmi les facteurs personnels de protection qui favorisent la résilience, les habiletés et compétences professionnelles ont déjà été mises en évidence chez le personnel scolaire résilient. De son côté, la littérature sur le développement des compétences professionnelles valorise l’importance de la réflexion sur la pratique comme vecteur privilégié de ce processus. Dans cette perspective, la question de recherche posée est à savoir si des relations peuvent être établies entre la résilience et la réflexion sur la pratique en enseignement. Ainsi, suivant la conceptualisation de G.E. Richardson (2002), nous avons tenté d’explorer les relations entre la résilience et la réflexion du personnel enseignant, telle que conceptualisée par Korthagen (1985, 2004), à l’aide de stratégies mixtes de collecte et d’analyse des données. Nous avons d’abord opérationnalisé les deux concepts par des indices provenant de plusieurs instruments: questionnaire sur la qualité de vie au travail, journal d’autoévaluation du stress, entretien semi-dirigé. Vingt-et-une enseignantes et deux enseignants de sept écoles primaires parmi les plus défavorisées de Montréal ont participé à l’étude. Près de 7000 unités de sens ont été codées dans les entretiens. Des analyses quantitatives et qualitatives ont permis de décrire l’adversité (stress) vécue par les participants, leur qualité de vie au travail et leurs compétences professionnelles (adaptation positive), de même que leurs facteurs de risque et de protection, individuels et environnementaux. Cette démarche a permis de dégager quatre profils généraux de résilience parmi les 23 participants: très résilient (2), résilient (9), peu résilient (8) et non résilient (2). Parallèlement, le processus et les contenus de la réflexion des participants ont été analysés à partir des modèles théoriques choisis. On remarque que la plupart des participants se centrent davantage sur la description des situations problématiques, plutôt que sur la recherche de solutions, et sur les contenus environnementaux, plutôt que personnels. L’analyse verticale de quatre cas représentatifs des profils de résilience a permis des comparaisons approfondies au plan de la réflexion. Ce sont les enseignantes situées aux extrêmes du continuum de résilience (la plus résiliente et la moins résiliente de l’échantillon) qui ont montré les distinctions les plus nettes. Notamment, il semblerait qu’une faible résilience soit liée à une centration accrue sur les problèmes plutôt que sur les solutions, ainsi que sur les contenus réflexifs environnementaux plutôt que personnels, et inversement. Enfin, malgré certaines limites méthodologiques et conceptuelles, cette étude révèle l’existence de liens empiriques entre la réflexion et la résilience d’enseignantes et d’enseignants œuvrant en milieux défavorisés. Elle ouvre également la voie à des pistes pour développer la résilience du personnel scolaire et propose des idées de recherches prospectives. / The actual teaching context in Québec is undoubtedly influenced by changes of the profession throughout the last decades. These changes are marked by the growing complexity of the task and the challenging working conditions, especially in poor inner-city schools. While some teachers suffer from burnout or literally quit the profession, others take it as a challenge and find ways to improve themselves professionally; this could be termed resilience. Some studies point out that the professional competences and abilities are an important personal protective factor enhancing teacher resilience. Besides, the professional development literature stresses that teacher reflection is fairly significant in this process. In that perspective, we can wonder if some links could be emphasized between teacher resilience and reflection. Thus, according to G.E. Richardson’s (2002) conceptualization, we explored the relationship between teacher resilience and reflection on practice, as conceptualized by Korthagen (1985, 2004). To do so, we used a mixed method approach. Before data collection and analysis, we first had to operationalize these two concepts, by means of indicators form different instruments: a quality of work life questionnaire, a daily stress diary, a semi-structured interview. 23 teachers across seven Montréal underprivileged elementary schools participated to the whole study. Nearby 7000 segments were coded in the interviews. The quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data enabled us to describe the adversity (stress) faced by the participants, their quality of work life and their professional competences (positive adaptation), and their personal and environmental risk and protective factors. This procedure made it possible to identify four resilience profiles among the 23 teachers: 1) very resilient (2 teachers), 2) resilient (9 teachers), 3) less resilient (8 teachers), and 4) non resilient (2 teachers). Each teacher was then characterized according to his reflection, using the selected theoretical models. Most of the teachers seemed more concerned describing the problems than searching for solutions to solve them, and mostly centered on the environmental contents of reflection, instead the personal ones. Afterwards, the vertical analysis of four representative cases was compared to highlight the differences between the teachers, according to their reflection. These distinctions were stronger and clearer for the two teachers situated at the extremes of the resilience continuum (the most resilient and the less resilient teachers of the sample). Particularly, a low resilience seemed to be related to an increased emphasis on the problems instead of the solutions, and on the environmental instead of the personal reflective contents, and inversely. At last, despite some empirical and methodological limits, this research reveals the evidence of empirical relationships between resilience and reflection of elementary teachers working in poor inner-city schools. The study also highlights some avenues for professional development and teacher resilience, and suggests ideas for future research.

There has been a significant increase in immigrant learners in South African schools. This research study captures the experiences of immigrant learners in selected inner city schools of Johannesburg. The May 2008 xenophobic violence prompted the researcher to investigate the extent of xenophobia. A survey of immigrant learners, South African learners and educators was conducted by means of interviews that allowed the research participants to express their feelings and experiences regarding the phenomenon of xenophobia. The result of the study revealed that immigrant learners do experience xenophobia in various forms by South African learners and, in some cases, educators as well. Immigrant learners were predominantly exposed to prejudice and xenophobic comments. They perceived South Africa as positive, giving them hope and opportunities. This research provided a baseline for more extensive research into this phenomenon. / Thesis (M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

Purpose: Farm to School (F2S) Programs are increasing in number across the United States, yet research on teachers’ perceptions and practices about F2S is limited. Teachers are a key component of any F2S program, since their acceptance and support influences program implementation and sustainability. The purpose of this study was to examine teacher practices, attitudes, and perceptions about the Decatur F2S Program. Methods: City Schools of Decatur teachers completed a questionnaire designed to obtain information concerning their practices, attitudes, and perceptions regarding the Decatur F2S Program. Participants indicated their level of agreement with 18 statements using a Likert scale rating, answered an open-ended question, and recorded both implemented and desired F2S activities. Cumulative frequencies were determined for all questionnaire items, and themes were extracted for the open-ended question. Results: Seventy percent of K – 12 teachers would like to see F2S activities implemented in their classroom, and 28% of these teachers already implement some F2S activity. The majority of teachers had positive perceptions about the Decatur Farm to School Program’s impact on students, the local economy, and the environment. Teachers perceived that the F2S programs encompassed four themes: 1) supplying schools with locally grown foods; 2) educating children on healthy eating, food, and nutrition; 3) educating children on gardening and growing foods; and 4) building a strong connection between local farms, schools, and communities. Conclusion: There is a high degree of interest and support for the Decatur F2S Program by City Schools of Decatur teachers, which is consistent with efforts to implement F2S Programs across the country. Most teachers were not familiar with the CSD F2S Program but would desire F2S activities in their schools.