Koo, Wai Sze. / "November 2009." / Advisers: Wing Kwong Tsang; Kwan Choi Thomas Tse. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 72-05, Section: A, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves i-ix). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese; appendix 3 includes Chinese characters.

The focus of the study was to explore to what degree culturally sensitive HIV/AIDS curriculum and materials were perceived as important by African-American students. Students selected for the research (N=121) were from a high school in San Bernardino, California, an area that represents a multiethnic population. Frequency descriptions and bivariate corrrelations were conducted to analyze the data. Trends found in this study indicated African-Americans did not perceive cultural sensitivity as an important aspect of HIV/AIDS education, and correlations between the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) score of African-Americans and their perceptions of the need for culturally sensitive HIV/AIDS education materials were non-significant. Outcomes of this study suggest a more defined meaning of "cultural sensitivity" and "culturally sensitive" materials as it pertains to HIV/AIDS education.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

With a view to understanding how curriculum is interpreted at classroom practice level, the study examined three stories of how the environmental discourse of the National Curriculum Statements (R-9) was recontextualised using school gardens in the Life Orientation Learning Area for the Senior Phase. To understand how the curriculum is recontextualised, I used Bernstein's theory of recontexutalisation where he explained how official pedagogic discourse (OPD) (in this case the environmental discourse is first delocated once it is transferred from the field of production (FOP) and relocated in the recontextualising field (where teacher educators and departmental officials mediate the discourse) and in the field of reproduction (FOR) which is the classroom and school. Bernstein explained that as the discourse is delocated and relocated it undergoes transformation. This transformation is influenced by practitioners' prior-knowledge, experience, culture and beliefs and other factors. To understand how transformation of the environmental discourse takes place, Bernstein's conceptual constructs of selective appropriation and ideological transformation were applied to an interpretation of three lesson processes, to explain how the discourse was changed. Each lesson was reviewed in terms of the selective appropriations and ideological transformations which took place. All three of the lessons observed took place in one school, and as such the study is designed as an interpretive case study where I have tried to make meaning from a rich, thick description of a specific case context. The school is located in Bizana, one of the villages in the O.R. Tambo District Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province,, and is currently in the process of implementing South Africa’s new National Curriculum Statement (NCS) like all other schools in South Africa. In conducting the research I observed lessons, interviewed the learners and teachers, and a community member and the manager of the SANBI greening project, and I also analysed documents which included the NCS for Life Orientation, and teachers planning documents and learners work produced in the lessons. I started the study by conducting a document analysis of the NCS, through which I identified dimensions of the Official Pedagogic Discourse. This was used as a framework to review the lessons to understand how the OPD was being recontextualised. The study concludes by discussing the key findings of the study in the form of a set of analytical statements. Some of the findings indicate that teachers have not been given adequate training for understanding and implementing the NCS which affects the recontextualisation process. The study shows that there is a dire need for professional development if the OPD is to be interpreted adequately by teachers so that its implementation at the meso and micro- levels becomes clear and effective.

The introduction of Technical Vocational Education (TVE) has been marred by a myriad of challenges, and this has not spared universities. The incompetency of lecturers, the perceptions of both lecturers and students, the relationship between universities and the world of work as well as support strategies have been the most contested issues in TVE. The researcher used the mixed method design which is rooted in the post-positivist research paradigm that integrates concurrent procedures in the collection, analysis and interpretation of the data. Post-positivist research paradigm attempts to enhance one’s understanding of the way certain phenomena are and that objectivity is an ideal that can never be achieved. The sample of the study comprised two Heads of Department (HODs) from the universities under study, 18 lecturers for the interviews, 18 lecturers who responded to the questionnaire, 24 students formed the 4 focus groups for both universities with 6 students each. Two industrial personnel were also interviewed. Questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data while qualitative data were collected through interviews, focus group discussions, observations and document analysis. The researcher employed the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) to summarise, compile tables and graphs on quantitative data and qualitative data was analysed using content analysis through emerging themes. The study established that lecturers were not competent enough to deliver CT curriculum in universities and this was as a result of the type of training lecturers received which was no longer congruent with the technological advancement which have taken place in the textile industry. It was also instituted that universities were producing students who lacked the hands-on skills necessary for them to be acceptable in the world of work. There was a stern shortage of equipment and machinery in CT departments in universities. The machinery and equipment in the departments were too old and broken. Furthermore, the study established that there was no collaboration between universities and industries. Industrial personnel lamented that universities were not willing to put into consideration all the suggestions they gave them and that time for Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) or placement was too short for them to impart all the requisite skills to students. It was also established that students were discontented by the teaching methods that lecturers were using and the way they were being assessed. Students conveyed their desire for the industry to be involved in assessing them whilst they were in universities. Based on the above findings, the study concluded that lecturers were incapacitated to deliver CT due to the training they received in colleges and universities which was no longer congruent with the dynamics of technology. The study also concluded that the shortage of machinery and equipment also demotivated lecturers and incapacitated them. It was also concluded that the lack of collaboration between universities and industries posed serious challenges to both lecturers and students. The study recommends that the quality of the existing lecturing force must be improved mainly through extensive staff development training programmes.There is need for lecturers to be staff developed through training workshops in order to improve on competence. There should be collaboration among University management, lecturers and the industry during curriculum design, implementation and monitoring to improve their attachment and sense of ownership of CT programmes. To improve on students’ acquisition of skills, the study recommends that time for Work-Integrated Learning should be lengthened so that students leave the industry well equipped with relevant skills and knowledge.

The purpose of the project is two-fold. First, to design a curriculum guideline for career and technical educators to teach the elements of business planning to a new population of graduates that need the material to manage their vocation successfully. Secondly, it can be used as a very practical way of integrating academic and occupational training program.

The general objective of the study was to assess the existing practices and major factors affecting the design and development of Ethiopian TVET curriculum and explore considerations to be taken to design and develop TVET curricula that befit Ethiopia. The purpose of the study was to explore and understand the meanings TVET practitioners and stakeholders of Ethiopian TVET programme credited to the practices of TVET curriculum design and development in Ethiopia. Hence, the study employed qualitative research approach in phenomenological design and was undertaken within the interpretive paradigm to understand the lived experience of the curriculum designers, developers and implementers in Ethiopia. Accordingly, three regional states of Ethiopia were selected and one government-run TVET college from each regional state, i.e. a total of three TVET Colleges were taken as sample representatives for the study using purposive and convenience sampling methods. The study was delimited to the practices of curriculum design and development of the building construction fields of study. This is because firstly, it is impossible to encompass all available TVET fields of training in the study; secondly, building construction technology sector is one of the those sectors which much focus is given to by the government of Ethiopia and thus is the training fields found in abundance in the country. Two data gathering tools were mainly used to gather information in this study. These were interviews and document review. Therefore, the researcher first reviewed different related literature and strategic documents to understand the background of the problem and to see what has been done in reference to the problem. Accordingly, working and policy documents such as TVET strategies, guidelines, manuals, legislation, curriculum frameworks and guides, as well as Education Sector Development Programmes and other written documents and related literature to TVET curriculum design and development that were available at federal, regional and TVET college levels were reviewed and analysed. Other countries experiences visa-a-vis TVET curriculum design and development were also reviewed and used as sources of information. The interviews were held with curriculum development officials at the Federal TVET Agency and sampled Regional TVET Agencies as well as principals, heads of department and trainers from sampled TVET colleges that were providing training in the fields of building construction works. The interview participants were two TVET curriculum development officials from Federal TVET Agency, three TVET curriculum development officials from three sampled regional TVET Agencies, three TVET college principals from three sampled TVET colleges, three heads of department of building construction work fields from three sampled TVET colleges, and three trainers of building construction work fields from three sampled TVET colleges. Accordingly, it could be investigated from the study that the way outcome based TVET system is perceived and eventually executed and the processes and steps that were followed in order to design and develop TVET curriculum in Ethiopia had impact on present TVET curriculum developed . Besides, the way other countries’ experiences were espoused and adapted led to inappropriate curriculum design and development approach. Moreover, the Ethiopian TVET System following only one Curriculum development approach for designing and developing TVET curriculum for all trades, blue and white collar work-related-vocational education and training resulted in non-beneficial TVET curriculum. It was also noted from the study that the wrong perception of stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities in curriculum development activities led to TVET curriculum development with improper training content selection and unfair training time allotment, which in greatly impact on the TVET curriculum implementation and training delivery. Therefore, the study suggested that the curriculum that addresses individual, societal and employers’ needs should be designed and the labour market demand analysis needs to be undertaken before OS mapping is designed. In doing so, it is recommended that Ethiopia should benchmark itself against best practices of various developed and developing countries which have succeeded in outcome-based TVET system and when TVET system is adopted from other countries, it should be with tangible reasons and justifications. Furthermore, it is recommended that attention should be paid to practical training programmes and a combination of practice and theory time should be provided for all course types. In addition, the environmental situation of the country and the degree of importance of each unit of competence for employment and self-employment need to be considered. / Educational Studies / Ph. D. (Comparative Education)

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

A research report is submitted to the School of Education, Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education by combination of coursework and research Johannesburg, 2016. / This qualitative study aimed to understand teachers’ identities and teaching practices in the Gauteng Primary Literacy and Mathematics Strategy. The research, which is a case study, was conducted with six Foundation Phase teachers, which included two Heads of Department (HODs). The setting of the study was a primary school that was declared underperforming in 2013, after the low performance in Annual National Assessments. The prescriptive syllabus type of curriculum known as the Gauteng Province Literacy and Mathematics Strategy (GPLMS) was implemented due to the low Grade six Mathematics results. Semi-structured interviews were the primary research instruments used to generate data on how teachers understood their identities and teaching practices in a GPLMS school. A major finding was that teachers renegotiated their identities in order to deal with the changing teaching context that came with GPLMS. The study identified three groups of teachers who dealt with the changes in different ways: their learning trajectories and communities of practice, along with their personal identities shaped the ways in which they responded strategy. The teachers had a good sense of teacher identity before being declared underperforming. Another major finding was that teachers changed their pedagogical approaches order to teach according to the detailed, prescriptive lesson plans. What is problematic is that some teachers resorted to skipping some parts of the content, prescribed in the lesson plans, in order to finish the syllabus on time. Of great concern is that none of the participants received training on using the GPLMS or even CAPS from their district: teachers ought to have sound pedagogical knowledge that can ultimately afford epistemological access to the learners. Research on teachers’ identities and understanding teaching practices cannot be ignored since they teachers at the forefront of knowledge delivery. / LG2018

Orientador: Washington Luiz Pacheco de Carvalho / Banca: Renato Eugênio da Silva Diniz / Banca: Márcio Andrei Guimarães / Resumo: A perspectiva CTSA (Ciência-Tecnologia-Sociedade-Ambiente) é recente as grades horárias de cursos de formação de professores de ciências no Brasil e propõe maior articulação do conhecimento científico com questões subjetivas que constituem a ciência, e, a partir deste raciocínio informal, possibilita o desenvolvimento de situações ensino que priorizam a discussão da natureza da ciência e suas implicações nas questões sociais e ambientais. Temáticas que possibiltam essas discussões no ensino são denominadas Questões Sociocientíficas (QSC). Neste trabalho, nos fundamentamos em pensdores críticos como Theodor Adorno, Paulo Freire e Henry Giroux na busca por uma melhor compreensão de como licenciandos de Biologia de uma universidade pública do Brasil lidam com a perspectiva CTSA e desenvolvem práticas de estágio segundo as QSC, procurando analisar como atribuem signficados e lidam com os momentos de estágio nos quais devem fazer a ponte entre os (distanciandos) conhecimentos científicos e os pedagógicos. Por meio da análise de conteúdo de Bardin, analisamos relatórios, falas e entrevistas de Gruco Focal de três grupos de licenciandos. Deixamos como apontamentos finais as grandes limitações impostas ao tratamento das QSC na formação de professores, entre elas o tempo escasso, dificuldade de constituir uma QSC e imprevistos no ambiente escolar; ao mesmo tempo, procuramos apontar seu potencial para o desenvolvimento de características de autonomia e emancipação dos futuros professores no que se refere a um posicionamento de transformação social no processo educacional e uma visão mais crítica da ciência e tecnologia. Como críticas ao atual modelo de formação, identificamos que aspectos motivacionais, perspectivas tradicionais de ensino e questões curriculares... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The perspective STSE (Science-Technology-Society-Environment) was recently implemented in the training courses for science teachers in Brazil, and proposes greater coordination of scientific knowledge with subjective questions that constitute the science, and from this informal reasoning enables the development of teaching situations that emphasize discussion of the nature of science and its implications for social and environmental issues. Themes taht allow these discussions are referred in teaching socio-scientific issues (SSI). In this work, we have considered in critical thinkers such as Theodor Adorno, Paulo Freire and Henry Giroux in the search for a better understanding of how biology undergraduates at a public university in Brazil dealing with the perspective STSE practices and develop the second stage SSL, analyzing and how they assign meanings deal with the moments of the stage which should bridge the gap between (distant) scientific knowledge and teaching. Through content analysis of Bardin, analyze reports, speeches and focus group interviews of three groups of undergraduates. We left as notes final major limitations to the treatment of SSI in teacher education, including the limited time, be a difficult and unforessen SSI at school and at the same time, we point out its potential for the development of characteristics of autonomy and emancipation of future teachers in relation to a position of social transformation in the educational process and a more critical view of science and technology. As criticism of the current trainning model, which identified the motivational aspects, traditional perspectives of teaching and curriculum issues shown to influence characteristics of semi-erudiction possible in these future teachers, it is necessary to rethink bodies to enable the elucidation of the subject before the bonds... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre