Globalization has had a well-documented impact on higher education (e.g. Giddens, 1990; Ginkle, 2003; Altbach and Knight, 2007). The attendant massive expansion of higher education both globally and at national level has brought with it increasing concerns regarding quality. One context within which such concerns are evident is that of Transnational Higher Education (TNHE). TNHE, also known as cross-border education, mainly refers to education that is provided to students residing in a country other than the one where the awarding institution is located (UNESCO/Council of Europe, 2001). TNHE takes various forms and serves multiple objectives but the multidimensional phenomenon can be described as an example of Policy Borrowing (Phillips and Ochs, 2003). Oman is a country whose modern educational system was established very recently (1970) and is still expanding rapidly. As elsewhere in the ‘developing world’, the Omani government has met the increasing demand for higher education in large part by encouraging private higher education provision. However, this has been associated with an increasing desire to build capacity and assure quality of provision. In response, the Omani Ministry of Higher Education turned to TNHE for solutions: private sector providers in Oman have been required to enter academic partnerships with internationally recognized universities. In this research, I investigate the rationales, approaches and perceptions of this process from a receiver country perspective and address the implications. Most published research on TNHE focuses on providers’ perspectives and activities, and the impact of TNHE has only been studied in a small number of generally sizeable countries. However, the Gulf States, especially Oman, have not received the same attention, mainly due to the fact that TNHE is a recent phenomenon in this part of the world. Research to date in Oman thus remains very limited (Ameen, Chapman and Al Barawani, 2010; Al Barawani, Ameen and Chapman, 2011). The main objective of the research at the centre of this Thesis was therefore to explore the expectations, experiences and conclusions of a sample of staff of three private sector universities in Oman regarding TNHE, within which their university was/is active. The topic is investigated in the context of national policy and institutional TNHE strategy. Data were generated through documentary analysis and qualitative interviews. In-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted in three stages: Stage one: desk research and pilot study to set the direction for the research (8 participants) Stage two: interviews carried out over multiple visits to the three private universities selected as the cases (29 participants) Stage three: interviews with policy- and decision-makers (6 participants), to help in the process of reviewing and contextualizing the data from Stage 2. Data analysis revealed variation from the existing literature on this topic when it comes to defining the concept of affiliation, which is central to the approach taken in Oman to TNHE, as well as inconsistency across the three case universities, highlighting the complex dynamic that exists, with hugely varied expectations, numerous rationales and motivations and varying experiences being reported. Findings also reveal that, as reported by the majority of interviewees, the key rationales for engagement with TNHE are building capacity and assuring quality, alongside other rationales such as generating revenue and increasing student recruitment, which form the main driving force on the part of receiver institutions. This is consistent with the overall national imperative of increasing the number of HE places available for Oman’s young people, although the focus on volume is seen by the informants in the institutions as falling short in terms of capacity building and the enhancement of quality. Many interviewees voiced concerns that foreign partners’ approaches do not necessarily contribute to capacity building and may remain limited in scope, impacting on the quality of teaching and learning in ways that are not necessarily positive. Indeed, concerns were reported that the original overarching educational rationales of improving quality and capacity building may have been displaced by a more instrumental emphasis, for example on income generation. Some informants were firmly in favour of developing indigenized systems and reducing reliance on foreign partners. This point is taken up in a concluding discussion of the implications of the findings for Omani universities currently dependent on Transnational Higher Education, and the implications of this dependency for the Omani higher education system as a whole.

<p>Uppsatsen belyser fysikundervisning ur ett kulturperspektiv. En multivariatanalys –</p><p>principalkomponentsanalys – har genomförts för att kartlägga fysikundervisningskulturer på</p><p>tidigare respektive senare år inom grundskolan. Syftet är att undersöka vilka likheter och</p><p>skillnader som finns mellan olika fysikundervisningskulturer för att – med hjälp av tidigare</p><p>forsking och litteratur – se vilka möjligheter och problem som kan uppstå för elever och lärare</p><p>i och med dessa fysikundervisningskulturer. Vi har utgått från begreppet border-crossing för</p><p>att behandla de kulturövergångar som kan uppstå när elever byter lärare och vilka</p><p>konsekvenser detta får för elever och lärare.</p><p>Undersökningen har funnit, beskrivit och jämfört fyra fysikundervisningskulturer:</p><p>’Praktikerna’, ’Ämnesinriktade’, ’Anpassarna’ och ’Återkopplarna’. Dessa</p><p>fysikundervisningskulturer beror inte på kön, ålder, ämnesbehörighet eller erfarenhet. Det</p><p>finns dock ett samband mellan vilka årskurser lärarna undervisar på men detta samband gäller</p><p>endast ’Anpassarna’ och ’Praktikerna’. Undersökningen har funnit att ’Ämnesinriktade’ och</p><p>’Anpassarna’ har inslag av tidigare beskriven vetenskapskultur. Undersökningen fann att</p><p>’Återkopplarna’ är en blandning av de andra tre funna fysikundervisningskulturerna. Eftersom</p><p>det uppstår kulturövergångar mellan dessa fysikundervisningskulturer skapar detta problem i</p><p>form av att elever och lärare inte känner igen varandras kulturer. Dessa kulturövergångar är</p><p>beskrivna ur både elev- och lärarperspektiv i undersökningen.</p> / <p>This essay surveys physics science education in the light of cultures. A multivariate analysis –</p><p>principal component analysis – has been used to map out the different cultures in middle</p><p>school and high school. The main purpose of this essay is to examine differences and</p><p>similarities between the different physics educational cultures found in the survey. Through</p><p>examining literature and prior research, it is also the purpose to examine what possibilities</p><p>and problems these physics educational cultures might impose on students and teachers.</p><p>Border-crossing has been a central concept in explaining how possible cultural bordercrossings</p><p>might affect the teachers and pupils.</p><p>The survey has found four different kinds of physics educational cultures which are:</p><p>‘Praktikerna’, ‘Ämnesinriktade’, ‘Anpassarna’ and ‘Återkopplarna’. These physics</p><p>educational cultures are not dependent of sex, age, appropriate teacher education or</p><p>experience. However there is a connection between which grades the teacher educates but</p><p>only for the physics educational cultures ‘Anpassarna’ and ‘Praktikerna’. The survey also</p><p>discovered that the physics educational cultures ‘Ämnesinriktade’ and ‘Anpassarna’ has to</p><p>some degree a connection to earlier examined science-cultures. ‘Återkopplarna’ seems to be a</p><p>mixture of the other three described physics educational cultures. Since cultural bordercrossings</p><p>do occur between the described educational cultures, the problems associated with</p><p>border-crossings also exist. The problems which are associated with border-crossings are: that</p><p>pupils and teachers don’t recognize each other’s physics educational cultures. These bordercrossings</p><p>are described in light of both the teachers’ points of view and the pupils’ points of</p><p>view.</p>

Uppsatsen belyser fysikundervisning ur ett kulturperspektiv. En multivariatanalys – principalkomponentsanalys – har genomförts för att kartlägga fysikundervisningskulturer på tidigare respektive senare år inom grundskolan. Syftet är att undersöka vilka likheter och skillnader som finns mellan olika fysikundervisningskulturer för att – med hjälp av tidigare forsking och litteratur – se vilka möjligheter och problem som kan uppstå för elever och lärare i och med dessa fysikundervisningskulturer. Vi har utgått från begreppet border-crossing för att behandla de kulturövergångar som kan uppstå när elever byter lärare och vilka konsekvenser detta får för elever och lärare. Undersökningen har funnit, beskrivit och jämfört fyra fysikundervisningskulturer: ’Praktikerna’, ’Ämnesinriktade’, ’Anpassarna’ och ’Återkopplarna’. Dessa fysikundervisningskulturer beror inte på kön, ålder, ämnesbehörighet eller erfarenhet. Det finns dock ett samband mellan vilka årskurser lärarna undervisar på men detta samband gäller endast ’Anpassarna’ och ’Praktikerna’. Undersökningen har funnit att ’Ämnesinriktade’ och ’Anpassarna’ har inslag av tidigare beskriven vetenskapskultur. Undersökningen fann att ’Återkopplarna’ är en blandning av de andra tre funna fysikundervisningskulturerna. Eftersom det uppstår kulturövergångar mellan dessa fysikundervisningskulturer skapar detta problem i form av att elever och lärare inte känner igen varandras kulturer. Dessa kulturövergångar är beskrivna ur både elev- och lärarperspektiv i undersökningen. / This essay surveys physics science education in the light of cultures. A multivariate analysis – principal component analysis – has been used to map out the different cultures in middle school and high school. The main purpose of this essay is to examine differences and similarities between the different physics educational cultures found in the survey. Through examining literature and prior research, it is also the purpose to examine what possibilities and problems these physics educational cultures might impose on students and teachers. Border-crossing has been a central concept in explaining how possible cultural bordercrossings might affect the teachers and pupils. The survey has found four different kinds of physics educational cultures which are: ‘Praktikerna’, ‘Ämnesinriktade’, ‘Anpassarna’ and ‘Återkopplarna’. These physics educational cultures are not dependent of sex, age, appropriate teacher education or experience. However there is a connection between which grades the teacher educates but only for the physics educational cultures ‘Anpassarna’ and ‘Praktikerna’. The survey also discovered that the physics educational cultures ‘Ämnesinriktade’ and ‘Anpassarna’ has to some degree a connection to earlier examined science-cultures. ‘Återkopplarna’ seems to be a mixture of the other three described physics educational cultures. Since cultural bordercrossings do occur between the described educational cultures, the problems associated with border-crossings also exist. The problems which are associated with border-crossings are: that pupils and teachers don’t recognize each other’s physics educational cultures. These bordercrossings are described in light of both the teachers’ points of view and the pupils’ points of view.

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No. of bitstreams: 1 DISS_2014_Wirisley Luiz de Oliveira.pdf: 2110355 bytes, checksum: cd1e2fd024f9614287f5fd1fe52890d8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-09-29 / Esta dissertação, realizada no Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação Física, Área de Concentração, Atividade Física, Desempenho e Corporeidade, Linha de Pesquisa Fundamentos Pedagógicos e Sócio Antropológicos do corpo da UFMT/Cuiabá, se insere no palco da Educação e Educação Física do Campo da Escola Estadual Santo Antonio (Pé de Caju) do município de Confresa/MT. A investigação deste estudo objetivou principalmente em investigar a realidade da Escola Estadual Santo Antonio (Pé de Caju) do município de Confresa/MT no que se refere às práticas pedagógicas encontradas nas aulas de Educação Física, também elencou os espaços destinados às aulas, verificou-se o currículo e as atividades desenvolvidas. Mais especificamente, analisamos os seguintes aspectos: os espaços destinados às aulas desenvolvidas no contexto da escola do campo; verificar se o currículo que contempla a Educação Física se faz presente na prática pedagógica; compreender se as atividades desenvolvidas pelos educadores do campo trazem elementos que condizem com a realidade local. Com olhares voltados aos educadores, educandos e gestão escolar, visou-se, ao longo do processo, os aspectos teóricos da elaboração e organização da Educação Física escolar dentro de um panorama diferente ou mesmo inverso ao urbano. A problemática indagou as políticas voltadas a esta ramificação da educação, formulada a partir dos pressupostos teóricos e legislações vigentes, tanto nacionais quanto estaduais. Desse modo, este estudo foi conduzido a partir da análise dessas políticas que se inserem sobre o Estado, por conseguinte, observa-se a relevância que este apresenta em nortear a educação básica para os povos do campo, tendo em vista as Orientações Curriculares de Mato Grosso – Caderno Diversidades Educacionais, que são o norte pelo qual deve-se perpassar o processo. No que diz respeito à abordagem teórico-metodológica, trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa, principalmente por entender que os sujeitos envolvidos estão inseridos em uma realidade educacional indissociável à sua vivência. Optou-se pela coleta de dados à luz de aplicação de questionário, entrevista e observação. Isto posto, tem-se um melhor esboço dos dados coletados que permite partir para análise destes, apropriando-se da análise de conteúdo, com intuito de justificar a subjetividade encontrada nessa ramificação educacional. O estudo realizado permitiu destacar a concepção de uma realidade educacional, onde a Educação Física, protagonista da análise, luta para não perpassar-se por uma práxis que compreende ser a via urbana a mais praticável e, contudo, ser considerada a mais evoluída. Tendo em vista que os sujeitos que ali convivem consideram como sendo os seus espaços e tempos à forma de suas significações. / This dissertation, performed in the Graduate Program in Physical Education, Area of Concentration, Physical Activity, Performance and Embodiment, Research Line Fundamentals Pedagogical and Socio Anthropological body UFMT / Cuiabá, is inserted on stage Education and Physical Education of Countryside of State School Santo Antonio (Pé de Cajú) of the municipality of Confresa / MT. The research study aimed primarily to investigate the reality of the State School Santo Antonio (Pé de Cajú) of the municipality of Confresa / MT in respect to pedagogical practices found in the classes Physical Education, also Spaces aimed at classes, it has been found the curriculum and the activities developed. More specifically, we analyze the following aspects: the spaces for the classes developed in the context of field school; check if the curriculum includes the Physical education is present in pedagogical practice; understand whether the activities developed by educators from the field bring elements that correspond to local reality. With eyes turned to educators, students and school management, was aimed at, throughout the process, the theoretical aspects of the preparation and organization of school physical education in a different or even opposite to the urban landscape. The problem inquired policies geared to this ramification of education, formulated from the theoretical assumptions and both national and state legislations in force. Thus, this study was conducted through the analysis of these policies that fall on the state, therefore, shows the importance that this guide presents in basic education for people from the field, in view of the Curricular Orientations of Mato Grosso - Notebook Educational Diversity, that they are the North through which should pervade the process. With respect to the theoretical-methodological approach, it is a qualitative research, especially understanding that the individuals involved are inserted into an inseparable reality to their educational experience, but we must at the same time be presented in a quantitative way to address some aspects, in the case of case study. We opted for the data collection in the light of questionnaires, interviews and observation. That said, we have a better outline of the data collected from that allows for analysis of these, appropriating the content analysis, in order to justify the subjectivity found this educational branch. The study has highlighted the concept of an educational reality, where the Physical education, protagonist of the analysis, fight not to pervade by a praxis that includes urban roads to be more feasible and yet be considered the most evolved. Therefore, given that the subjects who live there, considering its particularities geo-cultural thrust in an environment more conducive for that conducting classes where activities aimed at the exploration of the open countryside and is the most viable, then consider to be their space and time to form their meanings.