Globalization and English-language predominance situate English teachers as increasingly influential mediators of both language and culture. In the iconic multicultural hub of Ontario, Canada, teachers work within a causal nexus of social theories of language, the information and communication technologies revolution, and unprecedented global interdependency. Changes in English curriculum reflect these trends, from references to “global citizenship,” to stress on “intercultural communication,” “cultural sensitivity,” and Information and Communication Technology (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2007). Delegated gatekeepers of both linguistic and critical literacies, and facing new questions about the purposes and priorities of their discipline, Ontario English teachers must negotiate the divide between an inherited curriculum and the impacts of sociocultural transformation on changing literacy needs. To contribute to a professional dialogue about teaching English in a multicultural society and global age, this thesis presents findings from interviews with fifteen Ontario secondary English teachers. The focal question, “How is English changing?” introduces a range of pressing issues, such as: displacing the canon, practicing intercultural communication, balancing a democratic discourse, or “common culture,” with respect for diverse values, and managing opposing views and resistance to English curriculum change. The data reveal how English teachers across levels of experience occupy contrasting positions on the curriculum change debate. In part, this can be explained in terms of epistemological orientations. The participants represent three categories: Adaptation, Applied Research / Collaborative Inquiry, and Activism, each by turn more geared toward reconceptualizing English for social diversity and global consciousness. Beyond these classifications, the teachers reflect dissonant perceptions, sometimes personal ambivalence, on the changing role of text choice, and written and oral dialogue in the English classroom. From passionate defenses of Shakespeare, to radical measures to revamp book lists for cultural relevance, to remarkable illustrations of curriculum linked with global consciousness and civic action, the responses of the English teachers delineate zones of difficulty, change, and possibility. They help, too, to catch sight of a new horizon: the English classroom as a space for “cultural conversation” (Applebee, 1994) where canon- and teacher-centred dialogue give way to intertextual (Bakhtin, 1981; Kristeva, 1980) and intercultural (R. Young, 1996) transactions.

Globalization and English-language predominance situate English teachers as increasingly influential mediators of both language and culture. In the iconic multicultural hub of Ontario, Canada, teachers work within a causal nexus of social theories of language, the information and communication technologies revolution, and unprecedented global interdependency. Changes in English curriculum reflect these trends, from references to “global citizenship,” to stress on “intercultural communication,” “cultural sensitivity,” and Information and Communication Technology (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2007). Delegated gatekeepers of both linguistic and critical literacies, and facing new questions about the purposes and priorities of their discipline, Ontario English teachers must negotiate the divide between an inherited curriculum and the impacts of sociocultural transformation on changing literacy needs. To contribute to a professional dialogue about teaching English in a multicultural society and global age, this thesis presents findings from interviews with fifteen Ontario secondary English teachers. The focal question, “How is English changing?” introduces a range of pressing issues, such as: displacing the canon, practicing intercultural communication, balancing a democratic discourse, or “common culture,” with respect for diverse values, and managing opposing views and resistance to English curriculum change. The data reveal how English teachers across levels of experience occupy contrasting positions on the curriculum change debate. In part, this can be explained in terms of epistemological orientations. The participants represent three categories: Adaptation, Applied Research / Collaborative Inquiry, and Activism, each by turn more geared toward reconceptualizing English for social diversity and global consciousness. Beyond these classifications, the teachers reflect dissonant perceptions, sometimes personal ambivalence, on the changing role of text choice, and written and oral dialogue in the English classroom. From passionate defenses of Shakespeare, to radical measures to revamp book lists for cultural relevance, to remarkable illustrations of curriculum linked with global consciousness and civic action, the responses of the English teachers delineate zones of difficulty, change, and possibility. They help, too, to catch sight of a new horizon: the English classroom as a space for “cultural conversation” (Applebee, 1994) where canon- and teacher-centred dialogue give way to intertextual (Bakhtin, 1981; Kristeva, 1980) and intercultural (R. Young, 1996) transactions.

海外華人人口，截至2004年底止，約為3,808萬人（不含香港、澳門），政府為照顧為眾多之海外僑胞，先於1926年於國民政府下設僑務委員會以推進僑務，復為擴大服務僑社並增進僑民福址，於1985年針對海外僑社需求，選擇華僑眾多之地區，設置華僑文教服務中心，自1985年起迄2004年底止，僑委會在海外各地前後共設置了十七個文教服務中心。為維持該等中心之運作，政府每年均編有巨額預算挹注，為瞭解相對於投入之資源，中心之產出是否符合經濟學上『投入』與『產出』之生產效率概念，本文之研究爰以產出導向之資料包絡分析法建立實證模型進行探討，同時以各文教服務中心為一決策單位，將2001年至2004年間各文教中心之投入及產出項目投入實證模型中，以計算各文教中心的經營績效。 實證結果顯示，海外文教中心整體的技術效率平均值介於2.4662與3.1605之間，同時規模效率平均值大於1，顯示造成各文教中心技術無效率的來源，大部份來自於純技術效率，另一部分則來自於規模無效率。 同時依實證結果資料可以發現，（一）僑委會截至2004年止之十七個文教中心，在各種不同的組合下，僅有4至9個中心之效率值為1，占全部文教中心的二成至五成，顯示整體經營績效有待加強與提升；（二）以僑委會關閉倫敦及墨爾本文教中心雖與實證分析結果相符，然績效較墨爾本中心為低之雪黎文教中心卻未關閉之情況而言，益顯數據性資料於決策過程中之重要性；（三）以全球華人人口分配來看，北美洲地區文教中心之技術效率值，無論在固定或變動規模下，就各種組合而言，均較其他地區文教中心之效率值為佳，顯示除應提高北美地區以外中心之效率外，似乎也反映了服務海外僑胞之資源分配是否過度集中，及與僑胞互動應予加強之問題。 最後，由於本研究係首次將DEA運用於駐外機構經營效率之評估，因此本文之相關實證模型將可作為評估我國其他部會所屬駐外機構效率衡量之基礎及參考。 / The overseas Chinese population, up till 2004, approximates 3.8 millions (not counting Hong Kong, Macao). To attend to their needs, the government has first established the Commission of Overseas Chinese Affairs under the Nationalist Government in 1926. To better and further serve this overseas Chinese community, the government has chosen among several populous areas to set up Chinese Culture and education service center later in 1985. Between 1985 and the end of 2004, 17 service centers have been set up. To keep these centers running requires a big budget support from the government each year. To examine if these centers provide values that conform to the economic concept of "the input" and "the output" production efficiency, this article has used the data envelopment analysis method to establish the real diagnosis model. This model has used various culture and education service centers as policy-making units from 2001 to 2004 to evaluate the efficacy of these service centers. Test results have shown that the mean value of central whole technical efficiency is between 2.4662 and 3.1605. Also, the mean value of scale efficiency is bigger than 1. This demonstrates the inefficient central technology rate of the service centers results mainly from pure technical inefficiency, and partly from diseconomy of scale. On the other hand, test results also show that, (1) up till 2004, among 17 culture and education centers, just only remain 4 to 9 with central efficiency value of 1 under different kinds of combinations. The fact that they account for two tenths to five tenths of the total number of service centers demonstrates the need for improvement in their operating performance (2) the closing of both London and Melbourne culture and education centers does not conform to the findings of the real diagnosis analysis, but Sydney center is not closed, which reveals the importance of data material in the decision-making process; (3) looking at the distribution of global overseas Chinese population, the technology efficiency values for culture and education centers in North America area are far higher than other areas, measured by all sorts of combinations regardless of fixed or variable scale. This has revealed issues of not only efficiency enhancements for local centers excepting this area, but also excessive concentration of service resources allocated within the region and augment the co-activity with compatriots. Finally, since this is the first time DEA has been utilized in a research to evaluate the management efficiencies for government agencies abroad, the real diagnosis model presented in this article might be used as a reference for similar studies in the future.

The present study aimed to explore the culture specificity of student self-regulation and its supporting motivational attitudes. Specifically, it enquired about similarities and differences between Chilean and English 8 to 9 year-old students in terms of their expression of self-regulatory behaviours, the psychological factors underlying these behaviours, and the functionality of these behaviours for task performance. It also compared student adoption of achievement motivational attitudes as well as the functionality of these attitudes for investment of effort and self-regulatory activity between cultures. Finally, the role of classroom cultures for self-regulation was studied. In particular, it examined the effects of classrooms and the quality of teacher talk (teacher-to-student communicative interactions/demands), such as teacher ‘regulatory talk’ and ‘socio-motivational talk’, on student self-regulation. A quantitative approach to the analysis of qualitative data (i.e. videos of student behaviour engaged in 11 to 13 experimental tasks, semi-structured interviews, videoed literacy lessons) was adopted. Eight classrooms situated in different schools from Chile and England were part of the study. In total, 8 teachers and 49 students – one teacher and six to seven students per classroom – took active part in the study. Qualitative data was primarily analysed using observational scales (for student behaviour), thematic analysis (for interview data), as well as socio-cultural discourse analysis (for videoed lessons). Statistical techniques, such as Mann Whitney U test, Factor Analysis, Multinomial logistic regressions, and Multilevel regressions were then applied on numerical transformations of the data. Overall, results suggest that self-regulation and achievement motivational attitudes vary to important extents according to culture. Most interestingly, these varied between cultures not so much in terms of the degree to which children used or adopted them, but rather in terms of their functionality. Some key findings supporting this conclusion were: i) Strong similarities between English and Chilean children’s levels of self-regulatory behaviours; ii) substantial differences across country samples in relation to the psychological factors underlying the expression of specific self-regulatory behaviours; iii) the finding of evaluative actions being self-regulatory in England but not in Chile; iv) a higher variety of self-regulatory behaviours being predictive of task performance in England than in Chile; v) the fact that learned self-regulatory behaviours accounted for effects of effective metacognitive control on task performance in England but not Chile; vi) some important differences in the achievement motivational attitudes expressed by Chilean and English students; and vii) culture-specific functionalities of various achievement motivational attitudes with respect to student effort and self-regulatory behaviours. Moreover, results suggest that some aspects of children’s self-regulation and motivational attitudes develop as tools to adapt to classroom cultures, specifically to the learning interactions/demands socially afforded by teacher talk. Among key findings supporting this conclusion were: i) effects of classrooms on children’s cognitive, social, and motivational self-regulation behavioural strategies, and ii) clear effects of teacher ‘regulatory talk’ (e.g., teacher ‘self-regulatory talk’ predicting more planning and asking for clarifications in students) and ‘socio-motivational talk’ (e.g., teacher ‘talk against self-efficacy’ predicting higher dependency-oriented help-seeking in students) on those behaviours with respect to which classrooms were found to matter. Thus a theory about the culturally adaptive functionality (CAF) of self-regulation and motivational attitudes supporting self-regulation is developed throughout the thesis.

This thesis presents an argument for the use of dialogic halaqah to develop the personal autonomy of young Muslims in twenty-first century Britain. It begins by developing a theoretical grounding for Islamic conceptualisations of personal autonomy and dialogic pedagogy. In doing so, it aims to generate dialogue between Islamic and ‘western’ educational traditions, and to clarify the theoretical foundation of halaqah, a traditional Islamic oral pedagogy, that has been adapted to meet the educational needs of Muslim children in contemporary Britain. Dialogic halaqah is daily practice in two independent British Muslim faith-schools, providing a safe space for young Muslims to cumulatively explore challenging issues, in order to facilitate the development of selfhood, hybrid identity and personal autonomy, theorised as shakhsiyah Islamiyah. This thesis examines the relationship between thought, language, and the development of personal autonomy in neo-Ghazalian, Vygotskian and Bakhtinian traditions, and suggests the possibility of understanding shakhsiyah Islamiyah as a dialogical Muslim-self. This theoretical work underpins an empirical study of data generated through dialogic halaqah held with groups of schoolchildren and young people. Using established analytic schemes, data from these sessions are subjected to both thematic and dialogue analyses. Emergent themes relating to autonomy and choice, independent and critical thinking, navigating authority, peer pressure, and choosing to be Muslim are explored. Themes related to halaqah as dialogic pedagogy, whether and how it supports the development of agency, resilience and independent thinking, and teacher and learner roles in halaqah, are examined. Moreover, findings from dialogue analysis, which evaluates the quality of educational dialogue generated within halaqah, that is, participants’ capacity to engage in dialogue with each other, as well as with an imagined secular other, are presented. The quality of the dialogic interactions is evaluated, as is evidence of individual participant’s autonomy in their communicative actions.

SANTANA, Ana Carmen de Souza. Cultura digital e educação: o caso das educadoras do campo no Centro Rural de Inclusão Digital (CRID) Santana. 2008. 85 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Educação) – Universidade Federal do Ceará. Faculdade de Educação, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação Brasileira, Fortaleza-CE, 2008. / Submitted by Raul Oliveira (raulcmo@hotmail.com) on 2012-07-03T14:37:47Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_Dis_ACSSantana .pdf: 1962222 bytes, checksum: 67f1246af389171e9d44751ebc14a9af (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Josineide Góis(josineide@ufc.br) on 2012-07-05T13:54:09Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_Dis_ACSSantana .pdf: 1962222 bytes, checksum: 67f1246af389171e9d44751ebc14a9af (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2012-07-05T13:54:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_Dis_ACSSantana .pdf: 1962222 bytes, checksum: 67f1246af389171e9d44751ebc14a9af (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / This study attempts to express the systematization of experience in research developed in the Rural Community Santana with its educators in a project Centros Rurais de Inclusão Digital (CRID). The basic assumption was that these people had a digital culture in construction and that it could deepen this issue from a methodology where the object of study is configured with the experiences, thoughts and perceptions that educators draw from their own realities. For this reason, a general theoretical study has been realized about information society in education and after that depth in data analysis with talk of people. The roadmap has been a qualitative research, with an ethnographic approach that used a daily camp as tool for organizing events would contemplate the digital culture of educators in the rural Community Santana in a presence and virtual enviroment. The categories to be considered in aspects of digital culture of the educators to go toward: building practices contextualized to the reality in which they live; planning for CRID educational use and the need for continuing education, which can be made between the same and counting on management group support of CRID and collective perspective to live the CRID as a pedagogical tool for "beyond good will." The experience of CRID is good and we suggest the creation of new socialization spaces for educational practices in CRID by your educator is to give continuity to studies in this area that relation with digital culture and education. The final considerations point to Santanas’s educators that in CRID have a chance to express their autonomy so desired still at school. Another evident aspect was the community, living in the settlement, very expressive in the "struggle to grow and transform" from the CRID. / Este trabalho busca expressar a sistematização da experiência de pesquisa desenvolvida no Assentamento Santana com seus educador@s do campo através do projeto Centros Rurais de Inclusão Digital (CRID). O pressuposto fundamental era de que essas pessoas tinham uma cultura digital em construção e que se podia aprofundar essa questão a partir de uma metodologia onde o objeto de estudo se configurou com as vivências, percepções e reflexões que ess@s educadores tecem a partir de suas próprias realidades. Para tanto, foi realizado um estudo teórico geral sobre sociedade da informação educação e depois aprofundada na análise de dados com as falas dos sujeitos. O percurso de pesquisa foi qualitativo, numa abordagem etnográfica que fez uso de diário de campo como instrumento de organização dos eventos que contemplassem a cultura digital d@s educador@s do Assentamento Santana num campo presencial e virtual. As categorias consideradas nos aspectos de cultura digital d@s educadores caminham na direção para: construção de práticas contextualizadas à realidade em que vivem; planejamento para a utilização pedagógica do CRID e necessidade de formação continuada, que pode ser feita entre el@s mesm@s e contando com apoio do grupo de gestão do CRID e a perspectiva coletiva de se viver o CRID como instrumento pedagógico para “além da boa vontade”. É salutar a experiência do CRID e sugerimos a criação de novos espaços para a socialização das práticas educativas nos CRID por parte d@s educador@s e que seja dada continuidade nos estudos nessa área que entrelaça cultura digital e educação. As considerações finais apontam para @s educador@s de Santana têm no CRID uma possibilidade de expressar sua autonomia tão desejada ainda no espaço escolar. Outro aspecto evidente foi a coletividade, vivida no assentamento, bastante expressiva na “luta de crescer e transformar” através do CRID.

This study examines the ways visual culture influences a child's drawings. The child is my 9-year-old daughter Nada, who was born in Saudi Arabia and is a fourth-grade student temporarily living in the United States. The study uses qualitative methods of data collection and exploratory case study research design as a methodology. The data were analyzed in light of Althusser's theory of ideology, specifically the notion of interpellation, along with visual culture theories. In addition, gender performativity theory, specifically the work of Judith Butler, was used to consider gender issues when these concerns emerged from the study. Nada has been exposed to two diverse cultures, those of Saudi Arabia and the United States. Both cultures may impact Nada's interpretations of her visual surroundings in various ways. Therefore, recognizing and examining how she interacts with US visual culture might help to uncover how such interactions constitute the basis of her perceptions, identities, and critical thinking. Drawing is not only a means of self-expression but also an important function of communication, identity formation, and represents possible ways of being in the world that are related to culture, community, and society as a whole. The study begins with the premise that there is a gap in understanding between the importance of visual culture and its insufficient application in Saudi Arabian art education. The implications of this study may be informative for Saudi Arabian educators, individuals, or groups interested in visual culture education and children's drawings; potentially, the Saudi Arabian educational system may also use this study to enhance its appreciation of the impact of visual culture on the creation of art and knowledge.

This thesis is a reflective exploration of the use and impact of using drama pedagogies in the English as a Second Language (ESL)/ English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom. It stems from the problem of secondary school English language learning in Malaysia, where current teaching practices appear to have led to the decline of the standard of English as a second language in school leavers and university graduates (Abdul Rahman, 1997; Carol Ong Teck Lan, Anne Leong Chooi Khaun, & Singh, 2011; Hazita et al., 2010; Nalliah & Thiyagarajah, 1999). This problem resonates with my own experiences at school, as a secondary school student, an ESL teacher and, later, as a teacher trainer. Consequently, these experiences led me to explore alternative or supplementary teaching methodologies that could enhance the ESL learning experience, drawing initially from drama techniques such as those advocated by Maley and Duff (1983), Wessels (1987), and Di Pietro (1983), and later from process drama pedagogies such as those advocated by Greenwood (2005); Heathcote and Bolton (1995); Kao and O'Neill (1998), and Miller and Saxton (2004). This thesis is an account of my own exploration in adapting drama pedagogies to ESL/EFL teaching. It examines ways in which drama pedagogies might increase motivation and competency in English language learning. The main methodology of the study is that of reflective practice (e.g. Griffiths & Tann, 1992; Zeichner & Liston, 1996). It tracks a learning journey, where I critically reflect on my learning, exploring and implementing such pedagogical approaches as well as evaluate their impact on my students’ learning. These critical reflections arise from three case studies, based on three different contexts: the first a New Zealand English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) class in an intermediate school, the second a Malaysian ESL class in a rural secondary school, and the third an English proficiency class of adult learners in a language school. Data for the study were obtained through the following: research journal and reflective memo; observation and field notes; interview; social media; students’ class work; discussion with co-researchers; and through the literature of the field. A major teaching methodology that emerges from the reflective cycles is that of staging the textbook, where the textbook section to be used for the teaching programme is distilled, and the key focuses of the language, skills, vocabulary, and themes to be learnt are identified and extracted. A layer of drama is matched with these distilled elements and then ‘staged’ on top of the textbook unit, incorporating context-setting opportunities, potential for a story, potential for tension or complication, and the target language elements. The findings that emerge through critical reflection in the study relate to the drama methodologies that I learn and acquire, the impact of these methodologies on students, the role of culture in the application of drama methodologies, and language learning and acquisition. These findings have a number of implications. Firstly, they show how an English Language Teaching (ELT) practitioner might use drama methodologies and what their impact is on student learning. While the focus is primarily on the Malaysian context, aspects of the findings may resonate internationally. Secondly, they suggest a model of reflective practice that can be used by other ELT practitioners who are interested in using drama methodologies in their teaching. Thirdly, these findings also point towards the development of a more comprehensive syllabus for using drama pedagogies, as well as the development of reflective practice, in the teacher training programmes in Malaysia. The use of drama pedagogies for language learning is a field that has not been researched in a Malaysian context. Therefore, this account of reflective practice offers a platform for further research and reflection in this context.