<p>This thesis is about special needs educational competence of educators working in collaborating teams within child and youth habilitation centres. The pedagogy of the moment stands for the decisions made by educators, based on their observations made when meeting the child in its different environments. These decisions build on educational theoretical and practical knowledge and experience developed through collaboration within interprofessional teams. The study was carried out through the use of focus groups consisting of professionals within different child and youth habilitation centres. The data consists of taped and transcribed focus groups discussions. Participants provided additional information concerning, estimations of the focus group session, their education and use of special needs educational assignments through additional questionnaires. The analysis focuses on how the educators conceptualise their competence and the dialogue in the group conversation. To facilitate the interactional analysis, a constructional key for the conversation was developed.</p><p>The educators within child and youth habilitation centers have not developed specific professional strategies, but instead, appear to have adapted a mission through structural means. Their competence appears contextually adapted and devel-oped within three spheres of activities. Their basic education is in the area of pre-school with theoretical focus on children’s normal development, pedagogical experience of working with groups of children, play and learning. On the basis of this background, together with experiences with toy library activities for children with disabilities, they have become one of the corner stone of child and youth habilitation centres of the 1980’s. In these centers, by tradition a mainly medical sphere of activity, they work in teams with family orientated habilitation, and have developed compe-tence for special needs educational intervention for children with disabilities. Special needs education is a supplementary field, which includes educators who are being trained for municipal operation. The educators use professional speech genres with colloquial language terminology, which is adjusted to its communicative context. The educators and their colleagues in the teams emphasize the importance of the educator bridging the medical, treatment and pedagogical contexts, together with a focus on child, parents and staff, at home and in preschool/school. A communicational genre has developed within the occupational group, where the educators reinforce rather than question each other when taking turns during interprofessional conversations. The competence of the educator is based on knowledge and experience when it comes to children, their development, play and learning. The thesis demonstrates that the main focus of the supplementary education increasingly lies on the pedagogical meeting with adults, mostly parents, around specific child. The practical pedagogical work for the child, playing as intervention as well as the specific special needs educational intervention is less conceptualised by the educators. They are requesting relevant research and theories to support their field of knowledge.</p>

This thesis is about special needs educational competence of educators working in collaborating teams within child and youth habilitation centres. The pedagogy of the moment stands for the decisions made by educators, based on their observations made when meeting the child in its different environments. These decisions build on educational theoretical and practical knowledge and experience developed through collaboration within interprofessional teams. The study was carried out through the use of focus groups consisting of professionals within different child and youth habilitation centres. The data consists of taped and transcribed focus groups discussions. Participants provided additional information concerning, estimations of the focus group session, their education and use of special needs educational assignments through additional questionnaires. The analysis focuses on how the educators conceptualise their competence and the dialogue in the group conversation. To facilitate the interactional analysis, a constructional key for the conversation was developed. The educators within child and youth habilitation centers have not developed specific professional strategies, but instead, appear to have adapted a mission through structural means. Their competence appears contextually adapted and devel-oped within three spheres of activities. Their basic education is in the area of pre-school with theoretical focus on children’s normal development, pedagogical experience of working with groups of children, play and learning. On the basis of this background, together with experiences with toy library activities for children with disabilities, they have become one of the corner stone of child and youth habilitation centres of the 1980’s. In these centers, by tradition a mainly medical sphere of activity, they work in teams with family orientated habilitation, and have developed compe-tence for special needs educational intervention for children with disabilities. Special needs education is a supplementary field, which includes educators who are being trained for municipal operation. The educators use professional speech genres with colloquial language terminology, which is adjusted to its communicative context. The educators and their colleagues in the teams emphasize the importance of the educator bridging the medical, treatment and pedagogical contexts, together with a focus on child, parents and staff, at home and in preschool/school. A communicational genre has developed within the occupational group, where the educators reinforce rather than question each other when taking turns during interprofessional conversations. The competence of the educator is based on knowledge and experience when it comes to children, their development, play and learning. The thesis demonstrates that the main focus of the supplementary education increasingly lies on the pedagogical meeting with adults, mostly parents, around specific child. The practical pedagogical work for the child, playing as intervention as well as the specific special needs educational intervention is less conceptualised by the educators. They are requesting relevant research and theories to support their field of knowledge.

Informacinių ir komunikacinių technologijų (IKT) įtakota ugdymo technologijų raida pakeitė visų sričių, tarp jų ir matematikos ugdymo turinį. Konstruktyvistinę mokymosi paradigmą, pagrindinius šiuolaikinius didaktinius matematikos mokymo principus – suprantamumą, sąmoningą ir aktyvų žinių perėmimą, vaizdumą, mokymo diferencijavimą, individualizavimą ir kt. – gali įgyvendinti tik atitinkamos kompetencijos matematikos mokytojai. Šalies pedagogų kompiuterinio raštingumo standarto, numatančio mokytojų gebėjimus naudoti IKT ugdymo procese, vienas iš reikalavimų yra „Žinoti pagrindinių ugdymui naudojamų kompiuterinių programų tipus, gebėti analizuoti jų privalumus ir trūkumus. Mokėti pritaikyti svarbiausias bendrosios paskirties ir mokomąsias kompiuterines programas ugdymo procese“. Šio bendro reikalavimo taikymas matematikos mokymui – tai ne tik sudėtingų matematikai taikytinų technologijų žinojimo ir įvaldymo, bet ir gebėjimų tinkamai taikyti jas matematikos mokyme reikalavimas. Informacinių technologijų (IT) ištakos yra pirmosiose skaičiavimo mašinose, kurios buvo kurtos spręsti taikomuosius matematikos uždavinius. Ir asmeninių kompiuterių (AK) pirmoji paskirtis buvo matematinių uždavinių sprendimas. Todėl matematikai skirtų šiuolaikinių technologijų yra žymiai daugiau, negu taikytinų kituose moksluose. Dar daugiau, yra programų sistemų, kuriose, atrodo, realizuota visa matematika: jos ne tik skaičiuoja, pertvarko, prastina, vaizduoja, bet ir sprendžia specifinius bene visų... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The survey summarizes investigations of the author on the technological tools and their educational features applicable to mathematics. The purpose of the investigations is enhancement of the technological and educational competence of mathematics teachers. The main problems of the investigation are: characterization of the main technological tools applicable in mathematics at the university level, description which abilities, knowledge, and skills of application in teaching comprise the technological and educational ICT competence of a contemporary mathematician. Development of educational technologies, influenced by information and communication technologies (ICT), has changed the content of all spheres of education, and the content of mathematical education among them. A constructivist paradigm of learning, the main didactic principles of mathematics teaching: understanding, conscious and active acquiring of knowledge, visualization, differentiation and individualization of learning, etc., can realize only mathematics teachers of the adequate competence. The Standard of Computer Literacy of educators in Lithuania provides abilities of teachers to apply ICT in educational process. One of the requirements is “To know the main types of computer programmes useful for education, to have the ability to analyze their merits and demerits, to apply them in the educational process”. The application of the general requirement in teaching mathematics means not only the knowledge and... [to full text]

Στην Ελλάδα σήμερα παρέχονται σπουδές στον τουρισμό τόσο σε δευτεροβάθμιο/μεταδευτεροβάθμιο επίπεδο όσο και σε επίπεδο τριτοβάθμιας εκπαίδευσης. Στην παρούσα εργασία θα εξεταστεί η ποιότητα της ελληνικής τριτοβάθμιας τουριστικής εκπαίδευσης όσον αφορά την απόκτηση εκπαιδευτικής και διαπολιτισμικής επάρκειας και ετοιμότητας από τους απόφοιτους των Τμημάτων Τουριστικών Επιχειρήσεων των ελληνικών ΤΕΙ σε προπτυχιακό επίπεδο. Ειδικότερα, για τις ανάγκες της παρούσας εργασίας θα παρουσιαστούν τα προγράμματα σπουδών ενός ελληνικού ΤΕΙ και ενός αντίστοιχου εκπαιδευτικού ιδρύματος της Ελβετίας και θα γίνει συγκριτική ανάλυση των δύο προγραμμάτων σπουδών ως προς την παρεχόμενη εκπαιδευτική και διαπολιτισμική επάρκεια και ετοιμότητα. / In Greece today tourism studies are offered at secondary / post-secondary level and tertiary level. In this work we examine the quality of the tourism studies offered by the greek higher education system at the Departments of Tourism Enterprises in the Technological Educational Instituts (TEI) at bachelor level as far as obtaining educational and intercultural competence and preparedness is concerned. Specifically, for the purposes of this work, the study courses of one greek TEI and one corresponding educational establishment in Switzerland will be presented and a comparative analysis of the two courses will be held concerning the educational and intercultural competence and readiness they provide.

Σήμερα διανύουμε μια νέα εποχή, η οποία χαρακτηρίζεται από πολιτισμική και εθνική ανομοιογένεια. Η πολυπολιτισμική σύνθεση της κοινωνίας και η συνακόλουθη αρχή του σεβασμού της διαφορετικότητας έχουν εμφανέστατα μεταφερθεί στην εκπαίδευση, η οποία είναι άρρηκτα συνδεδεμένη με το κοινωνικό περιβάλλον όπου συντελείται. Οι δημογραφικές αλλαγές έχουν προφανώς αντίκτυπο στο εκπαιδευτικό σύστημα, το οποίο καλείται να διαδραματίσει σημαντικό ρόλο στη δημιουργία προϋποθέσεων αποδοχής και αναγνώρισης του πλουραλισμού και της ετερότητας ως βασικών γνωρισμάτων των σύγχρονων κοινωνιών. Η εκπλήρωση του ρόλου αυτού απαιτεί προσαρμογή του ίδιου του εκπαιδευτικού συστήματος στα νέα δεδομένα κοινωνικοποίησης που χαρακτηρίζουν την εποχή μας. Απαιτεί ταυτόχρονα πέρα από την αναθεώρηση του νομοθετικού πλαισίου, του Αναλυτικού Προγράμματος και των προσφερόμενων προγραμμάτων και διδακτικού υλικού, τον εφοδιασμό των εκπαιδευτικών και των στελεχών της Εκπαίδευσης με σύγχρονες γνώσεις και δεξιότητες, οι οποίες θα τον καταστήσουν ικανό να χρησιμοποιεί την κατάλληλη μεθοδολογία και να εφαρμόζει τις απαραίτητες στρατηγικές, ώστε το εκπαιδευτικό και διοικητικό του έργο να είναι αποτελεσματικό. Ο ρόλος του Διευθυντή είναι καθοριστικός για την ομαλή και αποφασιστική λειτουργία του σχολείου. Η Διαπολιτισμική εκπαίδευση μπορεί να επιτύχει τους στόχους της αν υπάρξει αλλαγή στάσεων στο εκπαιδευτικό δυναμικό τόσο στο επίπεδο της διοίκησης όσο και στο επίπεδο της διδακτικής και παιδαγωγικής πρακτικής. Στην παρούσα εργασία το ερώτημα που τίθεται είναι αν ο κάθε Διευθυντής της κάθε σχολικής μαινάδας διαθέτει τα απαραίτητα προσόντα και τις ικανότητες να ανταποκριθεί αποτελεσματικά στο έργο του, δηλαδή αν έχει Διαπολιτισμική και διοικητική επάρκεια και ετοιμότητα σε θέματα που σχετίζονται με την ύπαρξη αλλά και τον τρόπο εργασίας με αλλόγλωσσους μαθητές. / Today we are going through a new area, which is characterized by a cultural and ethnic heterogeneity. The multicultural composure of society and the following principles of respect towards differencicition have obviously transfer to education, which is inseparable linked to the social environment where it takes place. The demographic changes have an obvious impact on the educational system. Which is summoned to a role of creating conditions of acceptance and recognition of pluralism and otherness as the basic characteristics of modern societies. The fulfillment of this role requires adjustments to the educational system itself towards the new data of social inclusion that characterizes our societies. Expect of the simultaneous adjustments to the legal framework, changes are also required concerning the curriculum, the offered programs, the teaching material, the supplement of teachers and executives of education with modern knowledge and abilities which will make them capable of using the right method and following the needed strategies so their educational and leading work is effective. The principals role is defining for the smooth and effective function of a school intercultural education can reach its goals if theirs is a change of attitudes in educational dynamic as much on an executive level as in teaching and educational practice. In this thesis the given question is whether each principal of each school unit has the required qualifications and abilities to react accordingly concerning his work, meaning whether or not he has intercultural and leading capabilities and confidence concerning intercultural issues about working with foreign speaking students.

Syftet med den här studien är att bidra med kunskap om lärares, special­pedagogers, rektorers och förvaltningsledningens erfarenheter och upplevelser om förbättrings­insatsen specialpedagogik för lärande (SFL) och dess inverkan på förbättringsarbetet i en kommun, på såväl skol­enheter som i kommunen i stort. SFL är en kollegial kompetens­utvecklingsinsats med syfte att höja lärares kompetens inom specialpedagogik. Studien har en kvalitativ ansats och fokusgrupper har använts som metod. Resultatet har analyserats utifrån Illeris teori om de tre lärandedimensionerna. Resultatet pekar på att specialpedagogik för lärande är en form av kollegialt lärande som i många delar upplevs fungera bra för lärares lärande, men som behöver anpassas tidsmässigt för att inte upplevas alltför intensiv. Den specialpedagogiska kompetensen upplevs ha höjts på samtliga kommunens enheter sedan SFL genomfördes. Eleverna har  efter insatsen överlag fått tillgång till fler generella och individuella anpassningar och har blivit mer delaktiga i processer kring sin egen undervisning. Det finns samtidigt lärare som ännu inte fullt ut ger sina elever dessa möjligheter. Kommunens specialpedagoger har kompetens inom skolutveckling som inte alltid nyttjas. Om de får större mandat från rektor så kan de ta ett större ansvar för att tillsammans med denne leda skolförbättringsinsatser och skolutveckling, eventuellt genom att bli en del av skolornas ledningsgrupper. För att nå ännu längre i en kommande förbättringsinsats skulle det vara bra om förvaltningsledningen tog ett större övergripande ansvar för implementering och lik­värdighet i kommunen samt att rektorer tog ett större ansvar för att följa upp arbetet i grupperna genom direkt medverkan eller genom nära samverkan med handledare av grupperna, s.k. distribuerat ledarskap. Rektors första fokus bör vara undervisningens kvalitet. / The aim of the following paper is to contribute to the understanding of experiences had by teachers, special educators, principals and administrative management, with regards to the Special education for learning (SFL) scheme’s impact and stimulus on a municipality’s school improvement initiatives, in specific schools as well as the muni­cipality as a whole. SFL is a collegial competence development initiative with the aim of raising teachers' competence in special education.  The study has a qualitative approach and focus groups have been used as a method. The results have been analysed on the basis of Illeri's theory of the three dimensions of learning. Results indicate that special education for learning is a form of collegial learning that is largely perceived to work well for teachers' learning, but which needs to be ad­justed timewise to avoid being too rigorous. Competence around special education peda­gogy is considered increased at every school in the district since the implementation of SFL. After the intervention, the students have generally gained access to more general and individual adaptations and have become more involved in processes around their own teaching. At the same time, there are teachers who do not yet fully give their students these opportunities. Special educators in the municipality have expertise in the field of school development which is, to some extent, untapped. With increased mandate from the principal, special educators could shoulder more of the responsibility for school improvement and development initiatives, possibly through becoming part of the school’s management team.  In order to reach even further in a future improvement effort, it would be positive  for the administration management to take a greater overall responsibility for implementation and equality  in the district, as well as principals taking greater responsibility for following up on the work conducted in the groups, either through direct participation, or close collaboration with supervisors of the groups, so-called distributed leadership. The principal's first focus should be the quality of teaching.