Title: Attitudes of UK FTVS students to summer camps for children Objectives: The main aim of this work is to find out what was benefit of children 's camps for UK FTVS students and what they are currently attitude. Methods: The research was divided into two parts. In part A I used the method of questioning followed by analysis. In testing were 175 participants. I interviewed students of the Charles University FTVS and it took period from June 2018 to July 2019. The data were subsequently evaluated using classical statistical methods and interpreted by graphs and frequency tables. Part B conducted semi-structured interviews with 9 probands who were selected as a representative sample based on Part A interviews. The data were evaluated by basic statistical methods, exactly by using the frequency table and Likert's scaling method to determine the level of attitudes among respondents. Results: In part A we find out that only 7% of the individuals in the sample had never participated in a children's summer camp. It was also found that fourteen respondents of the whole sample had a negative attitude to the camps, equivalent is 8%. Participants of one or two camps reported a negative attitude in 28% (ten of twenty six). In the second group, three to six camps, it was 5% of cases (three of fifty three)....

There is urgency for teacher educators to instruct preservice teachers in the core tenants of social justice education. This urgency is based upon the ever-growing shift in the American demographic landscape and the responsibility of educators to teach for equity, justice, identity and community within classrooms across the U.S. Preservice teachers report feeling inadequately prepared to educate for social justice when entering the formal classroom setting. Feelings of incompetence in social justice teaching pedagogy expressed among preservice teachers coupled with minimal examination in the literature of the effects of teacher education practices that aid in the readiness to teach for social justice provided the foundation for this study. This study examined experiential methodology that can prepare preservice elementary teachers to teach for social justice, particularly within an elementary social studies context. Specifically, the study focused on two primary research questions: (1) How do preservice elementary teachers in a social studies methods course conceptualize teaching for social justice within an experiential framework? (2) In what ways did preservice teachers operationalize teaching for social justice in the practicum classroom? Also examined was how development of community in an elementary social studies methodology course fostered the understanding of teaching for social justice among preservice teachers. The findings of this study highlight preservice teachers were able to conceptualize building communities with experiential methods to teach for social justice and how doing so created an effective learning community within the methodology class. Although the preservice teachers valued the implementation of experiential methods into their social studies methodology to foster the teaching of social justice, substantial difficulties were expressed in their incorporation of experiential methods in the practicum environment due to a lack of confidence, teaching competence or collegial support. Recommendations for teacher education programs are also discussed.

This thesis examines the potential of experiential education as a 'best practice' pedagogy for pre-service teacher education in environmental education. The study involves forty pre-service teachers working collaboratively with the researcher in 1998 to test the assumptions of two previous groups of beginning teachers (1996 and 1997) who indicated in their course evaluations that experiential education may provide an effective teaching and learning approach for environmental education. This study combines two approaches to participative inquiry: action inquiry and cooperative inquiry. Both research approaches promote reflection-in-action and involve groups of individuals working collaboratively together as reflective practitioners. The data sources included reflective journals, a researcher diary, pre and post course questionnaires, individual interviews and group interviews. The environmental education course is a single case study and reflects the experience of three groups of students. The first group completed a 20 hour course in experiential education before starting the environmental education course, the second group completed both courses concurrently, while the third group only completed the environmental education course. The purpose of the literature review in experiential education and environmental education in teacher education is to provide a rationale for using a transformative teaching and learning approach in pre-service teacher education for environmental education. Contemporary best practice pedagogical approaches for environmental education are supported by many of the core principles of experiential education highlighting compatibility between theory and practice. The findings show that a transformative teaching and learning approach in environmental education was achieved by combining four key characteristics of experiential education in a holistic process. The four characteristics included reflection, connection to personal experience, emotionally engaged learning and student-centred teaching and learning. The impact of combining these four characteristics resulted in higher interest, motivation and enthusiasm for achieving the social action outcomes of environmental education. Thus, the pre-service teachers confirmed a synergy emerged between the outcomes of environmental education and the pedagogical process of experiential education. The experiential approach allowed the pre-service teachers to engage in the role of the critical reflective practitioner. Consequently, the pre-service teachers were able to identify the potential and possibilities for implementing experiential education strategies in environmental education and also recognise and challenge the barriers that confine and constrain its use in teacher education and formal schooling. As a consequence the pre-service teachers identified that working in collaborative groups of reflective practitioners was essential to continue developing effective facilitation skills and also to help them challenge traditional practice that limited their professional development. They also identified significant changes to the pre-service environmental education course to ensure a higher quality experience for subsequent groups of beginning teachers. The study highlights the need for more research into how well beginning teacher implementing environmental education function as reflective practitioners in their first few years in teaching and are able to challenge the barriers that limit transformative pedagogical approaches in schools.

This study evaluated two extracurricular leadership development programs offered by one urban high school. The programs were evaluated through an examination of the ways in which students understood their experiences in the programs in terms of their own leadership abilities, their leadership role with others and their perception of good leadership. The six study participants were observed facilitating groups of their peers through interactive activities at the programs' multiple-day events. In the three months following the programs, the participants were interviewed twice. The participants reported that their experience in a leadership development program helped them to feel confident in their leadership abilities. Also, the participants valued their relationships with their peers in their roles as leaders. Finally, the participants believed that good leaders exhibit caring behaviour towards others. This study provides information to assist the improvement of youth leadership development programs.

This study evaluated two extracurricular leadership development programs offered by one urban high school. The programs were evaluated through an examination of the ways in which students understood their experiences in the programs in terms of their own leadership abilities, their leadership role with others and their perception of good leadership. The six study participants were observed facilitating groups of their peers through interactive activities at the programs' multiple-day events. In the three months following the programs, the participants were interviewed twice. The participants reported that their experience in a leadership development program helped them to feel confident in their leadership abilities. Also, the participants valued their relationships with their peers in their roles as leaders. Finally, the participants believed that good leaders exhibit caring behaviour towards others. This study provides information to assist the improvement of youth leadership development programs.

The purpose of this study was to produce five in-depth case studies of University of Georgia, USA, students who studied abroad for one semester in Spring of 2006. These case studies describe and analyze the students’ self-identified goals and motivations for participating in this study abroad experience. Utilization of Lincoln and Guba’s (1985) naturalistic inquiry method was used to explore the student experiences. In addition to qualitatively analyzing the goals and motivations of these specific cases, descriptive statistics of the student Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) pre- and post-test questions and answers (Intercultural Communication Institute, 2003), taken in Spring 2006 and two years later in Spring 2008, were compared for the purpose of measuring changes in worldview orientations over time. This provided the establishment of convergence or triangulation of quantitative and qualitative data. Further exploration of preferred student learning styles by use of the Kolb Learning Style Inventory, v. 3.1 (Kolb, 1999) was initiated in order to analyze whether the study abroad program design matched the students’ learning style. A study abroad preparatory model, Adapt, Adopt, Adept: A Preparatory Model for Study Abroad, is proposed that increases student active engagement abroad, thereby increasing the potential for accomplishing the stated goal of the University of Georgia (UGA) study abroad program, namely to develop “global citizens.” Inquiry into these areas and the results obtained are directly relevant to study abroad program specialists, interested faculty, upper administrators in university policy making, and future students who might desire to participate in an international learning experience. This particular study, in contrast to those discussed in the literature review, indicates a unique approach by focusing on the following: • one specific, experiential study abroad program; • using naturalistic inquiry as the method of obtaining such data; • using IDI scores to triangulate results of qualitative data; • incorporating information measured by the KLSI. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected. Qualitative data were obtained via Blackboard, email, chat interviews via the internet, face to face interviews, and by means of journal entries. By using naturalistic inquiry, the specific form of data provided and its content was left largely to the students to choose via the options listed above in order to best represent their voices. Scores on the IDI provide the quantitative data used to assess qualitative findings. The intention was that this study would provide an in-depth investigation of the students’ experiences in order to be used by individuals who find the information to be practical, functional, and helpful in improving the learning and cultural environment of study abroad students.

The presented master thesis focuses on incentive tourism. The thesis presents general definition and theoretical base for incentive tourism, and subsequently the issue is applied to the selected segment {--} the youth. Dealing with the youth segment, the thesis focuses mainly on a specific area of incentive tourism, motivational tourism. The main input factors of motivational process are described for a particular group of motivational tourism products. The research in the field of motivational tourism carried out in the thesis is fully located in Czech environment. Planning and implementation of particular product {--} entering adaptation course {--} is one of the components of the presented master thesis. The theoretical findings are supported by two field studies: evaluation of both quantitative and qualitative research and elaboration of case studies for the specific products.

This study traced the evolution of experiential education in American history museums from 1787 to 2007. Because of a decline in attendance, museum educators need to identify best practices to draw and retain audiences. I used 16 museology and history journals, books, and archives of museums prominent for using the method. I also interviewed 15 museum educators who employ experiential learning, one master interpreter of the National Park Service, and an independent museum exhibit developer. Experiential education involves doing with hands touching physical materials. Four minor questions concerned antecedents of experiential learning, reasons to invest in the method, the influence of social context, and cultural pluralism. Next is a review of the theorists whose works support experiential learning: Dewey, Piaget, Vygotsky, Lewin, Bruner, Eisner, Hein, and David Kolb plus master parks interpreter Freeman Tilden. The 8 characteristics they support include prior experiences, physical action, interaction with the environment, use of the senses, emotion, social relationships, and personal meaning. Other sections are manifestation of experiential learning, transformation of history museums, and cultural pluralism in history museums. The research design is descriptive, and the procedure, document analysis and structured interview. Findings are divided by decades after the first 120 years. Social context, examples of experiential learning, and multicultural activities are detailed. Then findings are discussed by patterns of delivery: sensory experiences, actions as diversion and performance, outreach of traveling trunks and of organized activity, crafts as handwork and as skills, role-playing, simulation, hands-on museum work, and minor patterns. The decline of involvement of citizens in the civic and cultural life of the community has adversely affected history museums. Experiential learning can stop this trend and transform museum work, as open-air museums and the National Park Service have demonstrated. In the future history museums may include technology, a more diverse audience, and adults in its experiential educational plans to thrive. Further research is needed on evaluation, finances, and small museums.

This paper clarifies where the distinction of what is viewed as religious and non-religious by teachers within religious education. More specifically, the study explores teachers’ affection and tendency to employ objects and practical activities throughout the education in this discipline. By employing experiential learning, teachers can include lived religion in their teaching. While experiences can increase the comprehension for the students, educations must be non-confessional, a line that is blurry. The method used in this study is of qualitative nature, based on semi-structured interviews with teachers teaching religion the study utilizes a thematic analysis upon how these respondents have used objects and practical activities in class. This study suggests that teachers equip and utilize objects in different ways. On the one hand, it was discovered that objects were used to educate in lived religion, on some occasions it further served as a didactic tool. On the other hand, some interviewees choose to exclude objects, entirely, from their teaching. Numerous teachers also include mediation in their teaching sessions, to either serve as a pause or to create a religious experience. Some interviewees choose to exclude meditation because of its risk of becoming confessional teaching. According to the findings in this study, to stage a religious ritual is often depicted as a confessional event, the definition is however unclear. This unclear distinction and the fact that teachers’ interpretations differ from the applicable guidelines, results in a wide variance and differences in the religious education, in the Swedish public schools.

As political polarity and social divisiveness increase in the United States, more organizations and scholars are calling on institutions of higher education to rise to the occasion and incorporate into their objectives the development of competent citizenship (The National Task Force). Writing classrooms are particularly suited to these kinds of objectives as writing already proposes relationships between rhetor and audience that have ethical dimensions and require mutual honesty, accountability, and respect (Duffy, "The Good Writer"). Additionally, the Framework for Success, a document that has become central to shaping the goals of writing classrooms, articulates habits of mind, like openness and engagement, that lend themselves to healthy, productive citizenship and civic interactions. However, the inherence of these qualities and potential in writing classrooms is not always recognized or actualized. Instructors need a reliable pedagogical framework to guide their objectives and choices so that students develop citizenship competencies through their writing experiences. The theory of experiential learning (EL) is one promising avenue for such a pedagogical method. This thesis explains keys to understanding EL theory and implementing them in traditional classrooms and details lived examples from two classrooms that illustrate how EL in practice can help students develop habits of mind that in turn contribute to citizenship competencies.