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Many immigrants in Sweden have not had the chance to learn to read and write, for various reasons. In Sweden, literacy is a prerequisite to being able to function in the cultural community, and for many immigrants this is the first time that they experience their inability to read and write as a handicap or see themselves as “illiterate”. The aim of this study is to use a socio-cultural, second language and gender approach to describe, analyse and understand how a number of adult, illiterate, immigrant women experience their situation when they are expected to simultaneously learn to speak, read and write Swedish. The study focuses on two literacy groups in two Swedish municipalities. In one of the groups I act as both teacher and researcher. The thesis is a case study of the learning process of five illiterate immigrant women in Sweden. The results are based on interviews, carried out with the help of an interpreter, and observation of teaching and texts ritten by the students. The study is based on the assumption that human learning is an activity that takes place in a cultural community in a social context. When learning a language, the language is simultaneously the tool that facilitates social communication and the object of the learning process. The study shows that cultural communities influence the women in different ways. Gender structures are firmly planted in a patriarchal value system, which means that women are seen as inferior to men, and women are expected to “meet the demands of others”. The women have no time to study at home, as their household duties are prioritised. However, there are subtle indications that there is a wish to change the situation in accordance with Swedish values and norms. This can be seen in the Swedish for Immigrants (SFI) lessons. As they have little contact with Swedes, school is the only arena in which they have a chance to use Swedish. They are positive towards teaching and school as an institution. Here they are able to develop an alternative identity. The study also shows that teaching in the literacy groups is to a great extent based on a technical approach, in which the teacher tries to elicit a correct answer from the students. Social interaction involving contemplation and negotiation is either not included or not prioritised. the women’s experience and knowledge is not made use of. There are,however, occasions when collaborative discussions take place between the teacher and students. On these occasions an exchange of experiences takes place. Learning is based on the students’ own experiences and thoughts. Linguistic concepts gain meaning in the collaborative discussion. Initially the concepts may be unclear, but the group works on them together, adapting and adjusting them until they finally make sense. Finally, I conclude that women immigrants bring their own socio-cultural values and experience to the school situation, which affects their learning process to varying degrees. Furthermore, immigrant women need more time at school, as it is the only arena in which they can spend time on studying and personal development. another conclusion is that the school must become a learning community that recognises the immigrants’ cultures, makes use of the students’ experience and allows the students to participate in collaborative discussions, so that they can develop their ability to speak, read and write Swedish.

The purpose of this study was to get a greater understanding for how the people surrounding children in foster care support these foster children in their education. In order to learn more about that, I had to understand these individuals own opinion on education for foster-children. Do the people that stand close to a child in foster care think that foster children have the same abilities to learn in school as other children? And is it fair to require the same investment as we ask from other children? And how does the way professionals and foster parents inform each other and work togeter influence this process? The study was conducted through six semi-structured interviews. The perspective of four different foster parents, a teacher and a social worker were examined in this qualitative study. To help understand why some people have better chances in life than others and how a foster family can make a difference in that for a child, I have used Pierre Bourdieu's Cultural Theory. The theory helps understand that a foster child is in a very low social position in society, especially at the beginning of the placement, and has to work itself up to get acces to more symbolical resources. The results of the study show that support from people around the foster child is a very important factor for a child to succeed in school. Every one of the individuals I have interviewed was aware of that fact. The main obstacle people experience is that information about the child is not always shared and they do not alwas know how other organizations function. The factor that is most favorable is a positive work relation between the professionals, foster parents and the child.

This thesis explores the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) of mid-career artists in England and the South West of England in particular during 2000 to 2010. It identifies what their needs are and asks what CPD means to them; how they navigate their careers through their practice; how they articulate their needs; and how they negotiate to fulfil those needs. It examines to what extent the providers’ thinking about, and provision of, CPD in the region is aligned with the needs of the artists themselves. The individual narratives of artists are represented at the centre of this research. The research was developed in collaboration with University of Plymouth and the CPD agency, ArtsMatrix Ltd. Research methods used to collect data included extended dialogues with the artists Alyson Hallett, Mariele Neudecker, Helen Poynor and Phil Smith, via a series of walking interviews, using walking as an ethnographic research tool. By walking I engaged with a literal momentum of movement paralleling the physical and theoretical momentums of the artists’ practices. Policy and literature reviews; group interviews; artist interviews; desk-based research; observation and attendance at artist-led seminars and practice groups were also used. The research contrasts two CPD Schemes: The Contemporary Craft Fellowship Scheme, and The Artist as Cultural Agent: DIY. The thesis includes a policy and provision review of CPD literature in the UK and South West of England over the past ten years; a mapping of South West CPD provision for artists; and the identification and application of relevant theoretical and critical approaches to place, space, language and momentum in order to consider CPD provision in relation to the articulation, situation and concept of a career. This thesis argues that the language of CPD can constrain as much as enable artists’ development; that the terms “mid-career” and “South West” are open to contestation and can affect provider conceptualisations of artists in the region; and that artists need professional development throughout their careers but may not name it as such. I advocate for policy and provision to understand artists’ need to be supported “throughout” their practices rather than at certain points in a career, and advocate walking as both a research method and as one of a number of facilitative practices for those who provide CPD with or for experienced artists. I also advocate for artist-led CPD initiatives and an administrative support agency for artists.

Mitt arbete syftar till att utveckla förståelse för och kunskap om hur lärare arbetar med muntlig kommunikation i klassrummet. För att belysa detta har jag intervjuat fem verksamma lärare i grundskolans lägre åldrar, samt observerat en lektion av vardera lärare. Jag valde triangulering som metod för min undersökning, då jag är nyfiken på hur lärare betraktar ämnet vad gäller undervisning samt de mål eleverna ska uppnå. Genom observationer fick jag studera muntlig kommunikation i närmiljö. Undersökningen är kvalitativ, där ett sociokulturellt perspektiv använts som teoretisk utgångspunkt. Sociokulturellt perspektiv har använts då muntlig kommunikation sker via samspel med två eller fler individer. Lärarna arbetar aktivt med muntlig kommunikation både synligt, och osynligt i undervisningen. Det gäller att både ge samt ta muntliga instruktioner. Undervisningen har likheter, dock med olika tillvägagångssätt. Det finns ett flertal bedömningsstöd att luta sig mot för att säkerställa att eleverna uppnått kunskapsmålen, dock inget lärarlyft så kallat som kan utveckla undervisningen. / My work aims to develop understanding and knowledge about how teachers work with oral communication in the classroom. To illustrate, I interviewed five active teachers in the primary school lower ages, and observed one lesson for each teacher. I chose triangulation of my survey, as I´m curious about how they view the topic in regards to teaching. Trough my observations, I got the chance to study oral communication in a local environment.  The survey is qualitative, where a socio-cultural perspective has been used as a theoretical starting point. That`s when oral communication occurs via interaction with two or more individuals. Teachers work actively with oral communications both visibly, and invisibly in teaching. It applies to both giving and taking oral instructions. The teaching has similarities, though with different approaches. There are several assessments supports to lean on to ensure that the students reach knowledge targets, however no teacher boost that can develop the teaching.

<p>My dissertation is situated at the intersection of modernism, print culture, and early-twentieth-century post-Newtonian physics, namely relativity theory and quantum theory. I investigate the ways in which the emerging concept of the unknowable—loosely defined as that which is beyond knowledge but maintains an influence on what can be known—catalyzed a cultural reorientation away from Victorian notions of positivism and progress and toward those aspects of reality that resist knowledge. Although a great deal of critical attention has been paid to modernism’s epistemological uniqueness, scholars are only beginning to acknowledge that concurrent revolutions in physics both reflected and influenced modernists’ conceptions of history, subjectivity, and aesthetics. Scholars such as Gillian Beer, Michael Whitworth, and Mark S. Morrisson have demonstrated that print and popular culture provided crucial avenues through which scientific ideas were disseminated in British society. Furthermore, their research has shown that modernist authors not only read popular science material but also published their work alongside articles about science in a variety of magazines, journals, and newspapers. Building on these connections, I show that books and periodicals served as platforms for dialogue and ideological exchange between science and literature as both disciplines increasingly recognized and grappled with the pervasive influence of the unknowable. </p>

The present study examines the relationship between the practices of schooling and classroom teaching and learning on the one hand and learners’ cognitive development and functioning on the other. The study uses innovative system of ideas in developmental and educational psychology, originally formulated by Lev Vygotsky to investigate the interrelations between learning, instruction and development. Carried out in a rapidly changing socio-cultural context of Venda, South Africa, the study examines the realities of schooling practices that exhibit both continuity with the past practices of society and some profound transformations that together lead to a multi-dimensional and a complex picture of cognitive development in learners. By examining the relations between the cultural practices of schooling and its socio-historical context on the one hand, and the consequent psychological process on the other hand, the present study offers an opportunity for exploring processes that may be more opaque in relatively stable socio-cultural contexts of schooling. The observations on the history of schooling in South Africa in general, and in Venda in particular, support the theoretical formulation that particular practices of schooling, themselves originating from and continuing larger social-historical processes, represent contexts in which learning and development take place and are shaped. The empirical investigations revealed that even the socio-cultural contexts of schooling characterized by strong ruptures, such as in South Africa, nonetheless carry on some vestiges of their past practices that affect today’s learning and development of learners. The study concludes, extending the prevailing theoretical formulation, that the social and cultural setting of schooling in Venda is multifaceted; manifesting xvi. instances of indigenous practices, the traditions of past missionary practices, as well as the traditions of the past, apartheid schooling. By taking into account these socio-cultural influences, the study provides crucial insights into the regularities of cognitive and conceptual developmental processes taking place in conditions of rapid social change in the course of the schooling of today’s children in Venda. The study furthers our understanding about the regularities of the socio-cultural and historical processes of schooling in conditions of rapid social change, and concludes by proposing ways of improving contemporary educational practice in South Africa, grounded in sound psychological knowledge and research about school transformation and classroom teaching and learning improvement.

A educação do campo e a educação especial são temas que nas últimas décadas estão continuamente sendo alvos de debates. Este fato mostra que apesar das discussões sobre estas áreas serem antigas, ainda é preciso um aprofundamento dos debates em busca da resolução dos problemas e desafios apresentados. Nota-se que ainda são poucas as pesquisas acerca da interface entre essas duas esferas, o que dificulta a ampliação das discussões. Entendemos que compreender tanto as políticas voltadas a essas populações, assim como a escolarização e o atendimento ofertado aos alunos com necessidades educacionais especiais (NEE) nas escolas do campo é importante para abarcar a realidade vivida por estes. Assim, visando contribuir para as pesquisas nestas duas linhas, esta pesquisa teve como objetivo analisar o processo de inclusão e escolarização de alunos com deficiência e/ou necessidades educacionais especiais que estudam em uma escola municipal do campo de uma cidade do interior do Estado de São Paulo. Optamos pelo delineamento inicial de uma pesquisa exploratória e quantitativa, embasada nos microdados disponibilizados pelo Censo Escolar/MEC/INEP nos anos de 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 e 2017. Posteriormente, em uma segunda etapa, foram realizadas duas entrevistas semiestruturadas: com uma pessoa da Secretaria Municipal de Educação da cidade e com a equipe gestora da escola do campo. Também foram realizadas observações na escola durante o período de quatro meses, e elaborado um diário de campo. O corpus de dados foi analisado em dois núcleos de significações: a) condições de inclusão; b) entendimento da inclusão na escola do campo, a partir de autores fundamentados em abordagens críticas e que entendem a escola como lócus privilegiado para a apropriação do conhecimento científico para todos os alunos, independente de suas necessidades específicas. Nos deparamos com poucos alunos para os quais são oferecidas efetivas práticas inclusivas, muitos incluídos de forma marginal e de gestores escolares que não sabem, como também não compreendem o que é a inclusão assim como os princípios da escola do campo. Esta tese busca assim contribuir na direção da construção de uma escola democrática com educação de qualidade para todos. / Field education and special education are themes that in recent decades are continually being the subject of debate. This fact shows that although the discussions on these areas are old, it is still necessary to deepen the debates in search of solving the problems and challenges presented. It is noteworthy that there is still little research on the interface between these two spheres, which makes it difficult to expand the discussions. We perceive that understanding the politic aimed at these populations, as well as the schooling and care offered to students with special educational needs in rural schools is important to encompass the reality lived by these. Thus, aiming to contribute to the research in these two lines, this project had as objective to analyze the process of inclusion and schooling of students with disabilities and / or special educational needs that study in a municipal school of the countryside of a city in the interior of the state of São Paulo. We opted for the initial delineation of an exploratory and quantitative research, based on the microdata provided by Censo Escolar/MEC/INEP in the years of 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 e 2017. Subsequently, in a second stage, two semi-structured interviews were carried out: with a person from the Municipal Education Department of the city and with the management team of the rural school. Observations were also made at the school during the four-month period, and a field diary. The corpus of data was analyzed in two nuclei of meanings: a) conditions of inclusion; b) understanding of the inclusion in the school of the field, based on authors on critical approaches and who understand the school as a privileged locus for the appropriation of scientific knowledge for all students, regardless of their specific needs. We are faced with few students that are offered effective inclusive practices, many including marginally and school administrators who do not know, nor do they understand what inclusion is, as well as the principles of the rural school. This thesis therefore seeks to contribute towards the construction of a democratic school with quality education for all.

A fala privada, de acordo com Wertsch (1980), é definida como um diálogo que o indivíduo promove consigo mesmo e sua função recai na necessidade da autorregulação, autodirecionamento e autorreflexão. Os estudos sobre fala privada de crianças e adultos foram pesquisados por McCafferty (1994), Berk & Spuhl (1995), Fernyhough & Russell (1997), Krafft & Berk (1998), Winsler, Carlton, Barry (2000), Manfra & Winsler (2006), Smith (2007), Day & Smith (2013), entre outros. Entretanto, o estudo da fala privada não foi investigado pelas pesquisas de Língua Estrangeira para Crianças (LEC) no Brasil. Dessa forma, essa pesquisa de mestrado se insere na lacuna existente na falta de estudos sobre a fala privada como uma importante ferramenta cognitiva no processo de ensino-aprendizagem da Língua Inglesa (LI). Nos estudos do LEC e de ensino-aprendizagem de língua estrangeira em geral, a língua é considerada somente uma fonte de comunicação. O propósito desse estudo foi verificar como a fala privada ocorre, quais suas funções e frequência. Para tanto, nove crianças entre quatro e cinco anos de diferentes nacionalidades e línguas maternas em uma escola internacional foram gravadas durante as atividades de Circle Time e Phonics. De acordo com os dados coletados, na análise quantitativa, cada fala foi classificada em fala privada ou fala social com o propósito de descobrir qual criança produziu mais fala privada. Na análise qualitativa havia a necessidade de considerar o ambiente social da crianças para descrever quando a fala privada ocorreu, sua função e frequência. Por exemplo, existem crianças que são expostas a três ou mais línguas estrangeiras ao mesmo tempo em casa e na escola, algumas somente falam em inglês na escola e português em casa e outras falam inglês e português na escola e em casa. Os resultados mostraram que a fala privada foi importante na promoção da autorregulação durante o processo de ensino-aprendizagem das crianças analisadas. Ela desempenhou um papel importante no engajamento das crianças quando estavam aprendendo os sons e as palavras na língua inglesa. Além disso, a fala privada demonstrou uma participação efetiva das crianças durante as atividades mesmo aparentemente não sendo ouvidas pelo professor. / Private speech, according to Wertsch (1980), is defined as a private dialog that the individual promotes with himself and its function lies in the necessity of self-regulation, self-guidance and self-reflection. Private speech of children and adults has been extensively studied by McCafferty (1994), Berk & Spuhl (1995), Fernyhough & Russell (1997), Krafft & Berk (1998), Winsler, Carlton, Barry (2000), Manfra & Winsler (2006), Smith (2007), Day & Smith (2013) and others. In Brazilian research, a gap could be identified regarding the study of private speech in English as a Foreign Langague for Children (LEC) as an important cognitive tool for the teaching-learning process. In these Brazilian studies, language is considered only a source for communication. The purpose of this study was to verify how private speech occured, what was its function and frequency. For this reason, nine children between four and five years old from different nationalities in an international school were voice and video recorded during the activities of Circle Time and Phonics. According to the data collected, in the quantitative analysis, each speech was classified as private speech or social speech in order to count which child produced more private speech. In the qualitative analysis there was the necessity to consider the childs environment in order to describe when private speech occured, its function and frequency. For instance, there are children that are exposed to three or more languages at the same time at home and at school, some only speak English at school and Brazilian Portuguese at home and others speak English and Brazilian Portuguese at home and at school. The findings of this study showed that private speech was important for promoting self-regulation in the teaching-learning process of the children analysed. It also played an important role in children engajament when learning the sounds and the words in English. Besides that, private speech showed an effective involvement of the children during the activities even though they were not heard, apparently, by the teacher.