The theme of my diploma thesis is: "Natural Science walks and excursions - the current state and their implementation at the second stage of elementary school." It has two basic parts. The first part defines the different approaches of different authors to the main topic, ie. the conception of walks and excursions and it is associated with major subtopics. The second part involves self-evaluation of realized draft of Natural Science walks. It is based on an analysis of surveys that were used for collecting of data. I drew from the study of specialized literature, Natural Science textbooks for second stage of elementary school, and selected substrates from Elementary school Horažďovice.

The main objective of the thesis is to create a draft of a SEP, which is going to be used as an exemplary for the education of ICT in primary schools and corresponding classes of grammar schools. The exemplary SEP was created in connection with a new planned FEP and according to the present trends of ICT education, based on the possibilities of the usage of modern technologies. The reworked SEP deals with the knowledge expected for students to master and the resulting learning materials, which are supposed to be taught in schools during ICT lessons or during acohered educational field Man and the World of Work. The designed SEP is based on the evaluation of SEPs acquired from nine schools of South Bohemia region. These SEPs were analysed in details. The thesis also contains aqualitative research regarding the education of ICT. It surveyed the actual content of ICT lessons in primary schools and corresponding classes of grammar schools and it also finds out if the lessons correspond to the FEP and the school´s current SEP. The designed SEP is supported with several video-recordings of ICT lessons taught by the ICT department students of Pedagogical Faculty of the University of South Bohemia. They mostly cover the education of algorithmization, programming, use of cloud tools for creating web presentations and processing of information. They also taught about the usage of avoting device for physics classes in regards to the cross-curricular themes. The thesis is created within the OP RDE of the project Development of key competences in terms of subject didactics, cross-curricular themes and interdisciplinary relations (registration number CZ.02.3.68/0.0/0.0/16_011/0000660) and with a National Institute for Education for ICT and Man and the World of Work expert consultant Mgr. Daniela Růžičková.

This Diploma thesis deals with Teaching of volleyball at elementary schools and high schools. The main areas of interest are the way how volleyball is incorporated in lessons, differences and similarities in practicing in-game situations, students' knowledge of fundamental volleyball rules, the quality of school equipment for the game of volleyball, and the level of success for the realization of the proposed teaching model. By comparing volleyball teaching in the two levels of schooling, I conclude in the thesis that the game of volleyball is incorporated into PE in a similar fashion in both of them. Also, I found out that preparation activities are 20% more common at elementary schools. In addition, I found out that in-game situations training is similar in both levels and that schools are qualitatively equipped for the game of volleyball more or less on the same level. Last but not least, I found out that the overall knowledge of rules by students is very limited. To conclude, by applying the proposed teaching model there was seen an improvement in all the tested areas. This thesis might provide inspiration for the current and future PE teachers. KEY WORDS Volleyball, Physical Education, Teaching Volleyball, Framework Education Programme, School Education Programme, Volleyball Methodology.

Matýsková, P. (2010): Mathematical skills applied to the teaching of geography at secondary schools in the topic the Earth as a cosmic orb. Department of Social Geography and Regional Development, Charles University in Prague. Submitted diploma thesis deals with interdisciplinary relationships between mathematics and geography at grammar schools in the topic the Earth as a cosmic orb. The relationships are generally described from the point of view of three curriculum forms (intended, implemented and achieved). In the area of the intended curriculum there is an analysis of curriculum documents carried out, especially of the Framework educational programme and of selected school educational programmes. Subsequently, the links between selected secondary school textbooks of geography and mathematics are evaluated on the basis of required curriculum, its quality, intelligibility and occurrence of examples from the practice. The subchapters of the selected unit, in which an application of mathematical skills can be found, are defined in detail and specified on the basis of the carried analysis. Deep, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the teachers at selected grammar schools for the purpose of the study of the implemented curriculum. The achieved curriculum was found out on the basis of the...

There are many important factors that influence and even determine the work of middle and senior managers in the public and private sectors, NGOs, and international organizations such as the UN. Yet, despite this overall agreement, the study of 'managerial effectiveness' has remained relatively neglected and unexplored particularly within the developing world. The present research explores the dimensions of the managerial effectiveness of middle and senior managers who work in the Education Programme of the UN Agency in Lebanon. These managers are dedicated to refugees and their children at primary and high schools, and vocational centers. In doing so this study has adopted the framework, 'parameters of managerial effectiveness', developed by Analoui (1999) to explore and identify the factors and causal influences which form the basis for the effectiveness of these managers to develop policies and strategies for their increased effectiveness. The literature in the areas of development of management, management training and development, and recent works on managerial effectiveness confirm the importance of the parameters and interrelationship between them and the unique contextual factors, namely the personal, organizational and external factors. The Education Programme of the UNRWA in Lebanon provides a suitable case, and the middle and senior managers constitute the units of analysis. The entire cadre of senior and middle management (N= 132) were included in this first time study. The methodology adopted for collecting and generating relevant and adequate data was a combination of survey questionnaire, interviews and the use of secondary data available. The adoption of 'triangulation' as a strategy yielded adequate and relevant data which was analyzed using statistical methods. The quantitative analysis was supported by qualitative data based on senior and middle managers' own perception of their effectiveness. The results, by and large, support Anloui's (1999; 2007) theory and led to the first time discovery of the eight parameters of the managerial effectiveness in UNRWA, Lebanon. The results revealed a myriad of factors and influences concerning the middle and senior managers' perception, managerial skills and competencies, organizations criteria for effectiveness, opportunities, demands and constraints involved, as well as the inter-organizational relationship and the dominant managerial philosophy of effectiveness. The study contributes to the literature on managerial effectiveness by contextualizing the model adopted thus contributing to this neglected field of managerial studies. It also provides the basis for the formulation of policies and strategies to improved and increase managerial effectiveness in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine, and the developing world as the whole where UN is actively operating to support refugees. Like any empirical investigation the study suffers from limitations which need to be considered in the future research in this field.

This think piece captures some of the thinking that emerged in and through the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Regional Environmental Education Programme research programme. This research programme emerged over a five-year period (2008–2012) and involved ten southern African teacher education institutions from eight countries (see ‘Acknowledgements’). The research programme sought to understand what contributions environment and sustainability education could make to debates on educational quality and relevance. Issues of educational quality are high on the national agendas of governments in southern Africa, as it is now well known that providing access to schooling is not a sufficient condition for achieving educational quality. Educational quality is intimately linked to the processes of teaching and learning, but the concept of educational quality is not unproblematic in and of itself. It is, as Noel Gough (2005) noted many years ago, an ‘order word’ that shapes the way people think and practise. Our enquiries during this research programme involved a number of case studies (that were reported on in the Southern African Journal of Environmental Education (SAJEE) in 2008, and are again reported on in this edition of the SAJEE), but the programme also involved theoretical engagement with the concept of educational quality and relevance. This think piece helps to make some of this thinking and theoretical deliberation visible. The author of this think piece was also the leader of the regional research programme and was tasked with synthesising the theoretical deliberations that emerged from the research design which were found to be useful for guiding interpretations and deliberation on more detailed case studies undertaken at country level.

Environmental and sustainability issues prevail in modern society. Southern Africa, where this study is based, is one of the regions most at risk from intersecting issues of climate health risk, and poverty-related ills. Education has the potential to facilitate catalytic transformation of society through development of understandings of these intersecting environment and sustainability concerns, and to support engagements in more sustainable social practices oriented towards the common good. This requires a rethinking of education within a wider common good frame. It also has implications for how quality education is considered. However, little is said of how this could be done, especially in teacher education. The paper shares two cases of teacher educators’ change project experiences, as they emerged via professional development support and the mediatory processes applied in courses conducted by the Southern African Development Community Regional Environmental Education Programme (SADC REEP) aimed at enhancing professional capacity of teacher educators and other environmental educators for mainstreaming environment and sustainability education (ESE)1. These courses are framed using a change project approach, and involve teacher educators as main participants. In-depth data were generated from interviews with two teacher educators, their assignment write-ups, and observations of their teacher education practice. Realist social theory, particularly the principle of emergence, was used to trace the emergence of change in teacher education practice. Sociocultural learning theory was used to explain mediation of learning-oriented changes in teacher education practice. We illustrate how the change project model and approach contributed to mediating change in practice, showing emergent attributes of capacity for mainstreaming ESE and elements of a concept of quality education among course participants oriented towards the common good. In conclusion, we argue that ESE seems to be a sensitising construct for initiating and sustaining change for ESE in teacher education. In addition, the change project has proved to be a potential vehicle for mainstreaming the notion and practice of ESE into social systems and teacher education practices. We argue that reflexive ESE praxis provides a sensitising focus, initiating quality education with humanising properties necessary for the common good.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Education) / This study chronicles a teacher training education programme. The findings emerged from the observation of argumentation skills employed by students in a physical science education classroom for pre-service high school teachers. Their task was to use the nature of arguments to solve mathematical problems of mechanics in a physics classroom. Forty first-year students were examined on how they used a dialogical argumentation instructional model (DAIM) based on Toulmin's (1958/2003) Argument Pattern (TAP), Downing's (2007) Analytical Model (DAM) and Ogunniyi's (2007a & b) Contiguity Argumentation Theory (CAT) to solve mathematical problems in physics. Thus efforts to judge the pre-service teachers' capability to solve mathematical problems in physics with respect to mechanics were compounded by the demand for the inclusion of a self-efficacy framework. According to Bandura (2006) self-efficacy is the judgment of capability. Selfefficacy plays a key role in human functioning in that it affects not only people's behaviour but other issues such as goals and aspirations, outcome expectations, affective proclivities and perception of impediments and opportunities in the social environment (Bandura, 1995, 1997 & 2006).

The role and value of indigenous knowledge systems in enhancing and contextualizing education has long been recognized (UNESCO, 1978). Against this background a lot of research focusing on the documentation and study of the world’s indigenous knowledge systems, including those of Southern African countries was done. However, within the Southern African context much of this research did not translate into practical curriculum processes leaving educational processes de-contextualized (O’Donoghue, 2002; Mokuku, 2004; Shava, 2005). The linkages between the school, the home and the wider community remained weak (Taylor & Mulhall, 2001). The net effect of the limited integration of indigenous knowledge systems into mainstream environmental education processes has been that indigenous learners (such as those within the Sebakwe rural community) continued to get exposed to two different world views, the western scientific world view and the everyday life world views. The integration of indigenous knowledge systems into mainstream education such as the Sebakwe Environmental Education programme (SEEP) is one way of contextualizing education and improving its relevance to learners’ socio-cultural backgrounds. This research was conceptualized against such a context and seeks to explore the opportunities and challenges for the integration of indigenous knowledge systems into the Sebakwe Environmental Education programme. The ultimate purpose of this research is to contextualize SEEP both in its epistemology, and pedagogy. The research was designed and conducted within a qualitative interpretive case study methodology. The methodology involved a three-phased data collection method namely document analysis, focus group interviews and an inquiry-based workshop. The data was then analyzed and interpreted in relation to a set of theoretical perspectives. This research concluded that there is a possibility of integrating indigenous knowledge systems into the Sebakwe Environmental Education programme. Based on the findings the research came up with a list of recommendations to guide the process of working with indigenous knowledge within the Sebakwe Environmental Education programme.

This aim of this study was to explore the mediatory role of the Rhodes University (RU) / Southern African Development Community (SADC) International Certificate in Environmental Education course in developing capacity for reflexive mainstreaming of environment and sustainability education in teacher education in southern Africa. This course was a change-oriented intervention to support capacity and agency for mainstreaming environmental education across many sectors of education. The discourse of the course included environmental education and education for sustainable development and for this study this was referred to as environment and sustainability education (ESE). Environment and sustainability education is a developing notion in southern Africa and the SADC Regional Environmental Education Programme (REEP) was set up to support capacity for mainstreaming ESE. ESE was one of the responses taken by the SADC region to respond to prevalent environment and sustainability issues across the region. This study focused, in general, on establishing the mediatory roles of the reflexive mediatory tool, the change project in the course. More specifically, the research explores the mediatory role of course interventions and activities that were used to develop understanding of and to frame the change project in fostering agentially motivated changed practice in the teacher education sector. Drawing on realist social theory, which is a form of critical realism, especially the work of Margaret Archer, the study used the principle of emergence to interpret changes in the course participants' practices. The study was framed using the research question: How do mediated actions in a regional professional development programme and the workplace influence Environment and Sustainability (ESE) competencies, practice, learning and agency in Teacher Education for Sustainable Development (TESD) change projects? The following sub-questions refined the study: • What mediated actions on the course influence ESE competences, practice, learning and agency on the professional development programme? • How do these identified mediated actions influence ESE competences, practice and learning on the professional development programme? • What mediated actions in workplaces influence ESE competences, practice, learning and agency in the change projects in teacher education institutions? • How do these identified mediated actions in workplaces influence ESE competences, practices and mediated actions in the workplace? Notions of practice, agency, reflexivity, competences and capabilities were used to sensitise explanations of features emergent from course interactions; the process of analysis was under-laboured by the theoretical lens of critical realism and realist social theory. Mediation theory was used to explain the role of interventions across the course. The study used a case study approach with three cases of teacher educators from two institutions in two southern African countries. Data were generated through document analysis of course portfolios, semi-structured interviews with research participants, observations of participants during their teaching and through group discussions in a change management workshop to establish features that emerged from the course and change project interactions. The principle of emergence recognises that any interactions result in new features of characteristics that are different from the original. In this case, the study investigated those features shown by participants after being exposed to the course's mediatory tools. In order to describe the cases, a narrative approach was used. The study was conducted at the interface of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD) and the Global Action Plan for Education for Sustainable Development, therefore the outcomes have implications for capacity development for ESE during and beyond the Global Action Plan for Education for Sustainable Development. The key finding is that capacity development for ESE needs to foreground reflexive engagement with one's own practice for it to be meaningful and relevant. The change project provided course participants with the opportunity to engage with their own practice and particularly their competences and capabilities through its mediatory tools. Course participants showed emergent properties that were evidence of expanded zones of proximal development (ZPD) in competences, capabilities and agency. The study illustrates that meaningful learning happens when immersed in context and when learners are able to make connections between concepts, practices and experiences (their praxis). The study also illustrates that capacity building creates opportunities for practitioners to expand their repertoire through the course activities. Some of the course activities stimulated, enhanced and gave impetus to their agency or double morphogenesis for them to continue to expand that repertoire by trying and retrying changes in practice that they value on their own and in communities of practice. Capacity development courses need to be structured to involve a variety of mediatory activities as some of these are relevant and are valued for different teacher education contexts. The study also shows how knowledge and understanding of classical Vygotskian mediation can be used to frame and structure courses for developing the ZPD retrospectively and how the repertoire which forms the ZPD has potential to be expanded and to keep expanding, whether at individual level or in community with others, as an object in the post-Vygotskian mediation process. The change project provides the starting point, the vehicle and momentum to teacher educators to critique and to reflexively transform competences or aspects of their practice that they value. The study showed that capacity development through the change project generated momentum for potentially morphogenetic changes in teacher education practice. The course initiated interactions at the phase T2-T3 that disrupted teacher educators' habitus. On-course phase activities such as assignments, lectures, discussions, practical tasks, excursions and regional knowledge exchange groups contributed smaller morphogenetic cycles to the main cycle. Reflexive engagement with one's own practice becomes a useful tool for building capacity for scaling capacity for mainstreaming ESE during and after the Global Action programme for ESD. Contributions of the study therefore go beyond the SADC region to contribute insights into capacity development for ESD in similar conditions of teacher education across the world.