Science centres are one of the best opportunities for informal study of natural science. There are many advantages to learn in the science centres compared with the traditional methods: it is possible to motivate and supply visitors with the social experience, to improve people’s understandings and attitudes, thereby bringing on and attaching wider interest towards natural science. In the science centres, pupils show interest, enthusiasm, motivation, self-confidence, sensitiveness and also they are more open and eager to learn. Traditional school-classes however mostly do not favour these capabilities. This research presents the qualitative study in the science centre. Data was gathered from observations and interviews at Science North science centre in Canada. Pupils’ learning behaviours were studied at different exhibits in the science centre. Learning behaviours are classified as follows: labels reading, experimenting with the exhibits, observing others or exhibit, using guide, repeating the activity, positive emotional response, acknowledged relevance, seeking and sharing information. In this research, it became clear that in general pupils do not read labels; in most cases pupils do not use the guides help; pupils prefer exhibits that enable high level of interactivity; pupils display more learning behaviours at exhibits that enable a high level of interactivity.

Currently, some changes at the school environment have been caused by technological progress and among these changes, it has been highlighted the relationship between schools and the new generation of students, which generally grow surrounded by digital technologies since their birth, the so-called Digital Natives. Virtual information, available on the internet through digital devices such as laptops, tablets and smartphones, contributes to a way of learning beyond school, at any time and place. Therefore, it becomes relevant to grasp through students realization the technological influence on their daily lives and how technology contributes to the different ways of learning. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between virtual informal learning and formal school learning through the perception of students about the influence of digital technologies on their knowledge acquisition processes. Empirical research was carried out from the administration of a semi-structured interview to students between 14 and 18 years old from high school of four different schools of Rio de Janeiro, two of them belonged to the private school system whereas the others belonged to the public one. The data show that young people are hyper-connected to digital information and communication technologies, they are digital natives and although their daily routine is filled with virtual networks experience, they do not disqualify the school experience. Despite addressing some critical view about traditional learning methodology, school is still described by students as a scenario that brings advantages as it is able to provide direction for learning, through teacher-student relationship as support, besides its ability to set up social networks. Eventually, digital devices are used by young people not only for leisure, but also for educational purposes and that can become an enabler tool for teachers on their teaching process. / Atualmente, algumas transforma??es no cen?rio escolar v?m sendo proporcionadas pelo avan?o tecnol?gico e uma delas ? a rela??o que a escola estabelece com a nova gera??o de alunos, os quais, em geral, crescem cercados por tecnologias digitais desde o seu nascimento, os chamados Nativos Digitais. A virtualidade das informa??es acess?veis atrav?s da internet por dispositivos digitais como notebooks, tablets e smartphones concorre para uma forma de aprendizagem para al?m dos muros da escola, a qualquer momento e local. Assim, torna-se importante compreender atrav?s dos pr?prios alunos a influ?ncia que exerce a tecnologia no seu cotidiano e de que modo a tecnologia contribui para as diferentes formas de aprender. O presente trabalho tem por objetivo avaliar a rela??o entre a aprendizagem informal digital e a aprendizagem formal escolar atrav?s da percep??o de alunos sobre a influ?ncia das tecnologias digitais nos seus processos de aquisi??o de conhecimento. A pesquisa emp?rica foi realizada a partir da aplica??o de um roteiro de entrevista semi-estruturado a alunos entre 14 e 18 anos do ensino m?dio de quatro escolas do Rio de Janeiro, duas da rede de ensino privada e duas da rede p?blica. Os dados obtidos revelam que os jovens est?o hiperconectados ?s tecnologias digitais de informa??o e comunica??o, s?o nativos digitais e, embora o cotidiano desses jovens seja marcado pelas experi?ncias nas redes virtuais, eles n?o desqualificam a experi?ncia escolar. Apesar de apresentarem cr?ticas ao modelo tradicional de ensino, a escola ? descrita pelos jovens como um cen?rio que traz vantagens por ser capaz de oferecer um direcionamento para aprendizagem, por apresentar na rela??o professor-aluno um suporte, al?m de se configurar como um ambiente de forma??o de la?os sociais. Por fim, os dispositivos digitais s?o utilizados pelos jovens n?o s? para o lazer, mas para fins educacionais e se apresentam como recursos de estudos individuais e coletivos, o que indica que podem se tornar potenciais ferramentas facilitadoras para o professor no processo de ensino.

Uppsatsens syfte är att belysa hur kompetensutveckling som begrepp framträder i ett företags texter och dokument. Vi avser att belysa språkets och textens makt i de sociala relationerna i en verksamhet med hjälp av en diskursanalys. Företag idag lägger stor vikt på att utforma dokument som på olika sätt ska säkerställa kvalitén på det dagliga arbetet genom att tydliggöra vad som skall göras och av vem. Dessa texter är riskabla att luta sig allt för mycket på då dessa kan vara en idealiserad verklighet av det arbete som utförs.   Vår utgångspunkt är en kvalitativ ansats med diskursanalys som metod. Denna metod utgår ifrån texter i analysarbetet och dessa behandlar alla i någon form begreppet kompetens-utveckling. Då kompetensutveckling är ett brett och komplicerat begrepp stödjer vi oss på Ellströms definition. Vi utgår från en bred bas av tidigare studier och litteratur kring ämnet för att ge bärighet till denna uppsats och det är denna bakgrund vi stödjer oss på i våra slutsatser i diskussionen.   Det vi har funnit är att i den studerade diskursen är det tre punkter av Ellströms definition som framträder och två som inte gör det. Dessa punkter som synliggörs samt som inte gör det kan vi se är uppdelade i hur lärandet sker i dessa, formellt respektive informellt. Vi har också funnit maktstrukturer i diskursen kopplat till kompetensutveckling, både riktat till deltagarna men också riktat till lärandet.   Vi strävar efter att tydliggöra kompetensutveckling som begrepp genom att koppla det till diskurs som teori i denna uppsats. / The purpose of this report is to illustrate how competence development as a term appears in a firms documents and texts. We intend to illustrate that the impact of language and written words can factor in the social relations of an activity. Firms of today put a great deal of reliance on explicit documentation to ensure the quality of daily work, as well as clarifying what should be done and by whom. Sometimes too much dependability is placed on the usage of these documents, as they could be only an idealized reality of the daily work.   Our start is a qualitative approach and as a method we use discourse analysis. This method proceeds from texts in the analysis and all of these discuss competence development as a term. When the term competence development is widely and complicated we support us upon Ellstrom´s definition. We proceed from a widely ground of former studies and literature to give trustworthiness to this report and it is this background we support us upon in our conclusions in the discussion.   What we have found is that in the studied discourse there are three sections of Ellstrom´s definition that are visible and two that are not. These sections who are visible and those who are not we can see that they are divided by in what way learning take place in them, formal respective informal. We have also found power structures in the discourse relating to competence development; both directed to the participants but also pointed to the learning.   We intend to clarify the term competence development as well as connect the discourse to the theory in this report.

In this thesis I advocate and evidence ESD through understanding and analysing the ecology of change in educational organisations, in particular Tertiary Education (TE), during the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD, 2005-2014). I draw on my portfolio of research that examined various aspects of the efforts to mainstream ESD during this decade. My publications, which are referred to in this thesis, are based on experience of my own practice as lecturer, educational development manager and advocate of ESD at local, national and global level. My research approach is broadly based on action research principles. I argue that, to fully understand this complex change process, it is necessary to appreciate the role of the underpinning, and often conflicting, values in TE and how they influence the adoption of ESD. I further discuss the influence of both ‘top-down’ approaches, that are expressed in policies and frameworks, and ‘bottom-up’ approaches that are instigated by communities and individuals with special interests. The influence of the learning environment itself is also examined. Lastly, I make the case that the employment of appropriate action research methodologies can help with gaining a better understanding of this process as well as play a part in the process itself.

L’étude des défis et enjeux relatifs à la mise en œuvre de la reconnaissance et de la validation des acquis de l’expérience concerne les représentations et les comportements qui s’expriment tant à travers les discours argumentatifs que les agissements, qu’ils soient de nature individuelle ou institutionnelle. Or, plusieurs systèmes de représentations et de positionnements s’interpénètrent selon une typologie des acteurs rencontrés dans les organismes de formation et de certification, voire de travail. Cette interaction est autant le fruit de négociations que de transactions sociales qui se nourrissent mutuellement dans la mesure où le niveau de réflexivité des acteurs leur permet de tisser des liens entre parcours de validation et formation tout au long de la vie. A l’échelle européenne et internationale, l’universalité du caractère de reconnaissance et de validation des acquis, que ceux-ci soient de nature informelle ou non formelle, est mise à l’épreuve de l’interculturel, fruit de rencontres entre injonctions et adaptations / The study of the challenges and stakes relating to the implementation of the recognition and the validation of informal and non formal learning relates to the representations and the behaviors which are expressed as well through the speeches argumentatives than the intrigues as they are of individual or institutional nature. However, several systems of representations and positioning interpenetrate according to a typology of the actors met in the training companies and certification, even of work. This interaction is as much the fruit of negotiations as of social transactions which are nourished mutually insofar as the level of reflexivity of the actors enables them to weave bonds between course of validation and lifelong learning. On a European and international scale, the universality of the character of recognition and validation of the informal and non formal learning is put to the test of intercultural, fruit of meetings between injunctions and adaptations

Ausgangspunkt sind Video-Aufzeichnungen von drei Unterrichtsstunden im Fach Musik. Sie werden zunächst in einen musikdidaktischen Rahmen eingeordnet, der es erlaubt, eine Stunde primär der „Handlungsorientierung“ im Sinn der 1980er Jahre zuzuordnen, die zweite Stunde primär dem musikdidaktischen Modell eines „Aufbauenden Musikunterrichts“ und die dritte Stunde „offenen“ Unterrichtskonzeptionen. Der zweite Abschnitt fragt nach dem Verhältnis von Lernen und Lehren und mündet in die These, dass „natürliches“, informelles Lernen und das Lernen in der Institution Schule in einem unauflösbaren Spannungsverhältnis zueinander stehen. Diese These wird dann an einigen Teilaspekten der aufgezeichneten Schulstunden konkretisiert. Im abschließenden Abschnitt wird die These auf das Spannungsverhältnis zwischen den schulischen Leistungserwartungen und der individuellen Leistungsbereitschaft der Schüler bezogen. Der Beitrag mündet in einem Plädoyer für die Anerkennung und Förderung der grundlegenden Leistungsbereitschaft der Schüler sowie der Selbstwahrnehmung ihrer individuellen Leistungen und ihres individuellen Erfolgs im Sinn einer zunehmenden Leistungsbewusstheit. / The point of departure consists of video recordings of three music lessons. These are first of all localised within a music-didactic framework, allowing one lesson to be classified primarily along the lines of “action-oriented” processes in the 1980s sense of the term, the second to be classed primarily with the music-didactic model of “progressive music learning” and the third lesson with “open” teaching concepts. The second section is an enquiry into the relationship between teaching and learning, resulting in the thesis that there is an irresolvable tension between “natural” informal learning and learning within the school institution. In the following section this thesis is concretised along various partial aspects of the recorded lessons. The thesis is then applied in the final section to the tension between the school’s performance expectations and the pupils’ individual willingness to perform. The piece ends by arguing for the recognition and promotion of the pupils’ fundamental willingness to perform as well as of their self-awareness of their individual performance and individual success in the sense of an increasing awareness of performance.

Ausgangspunkt sind Video-Aufzeichnungen von drei Unterrichtsstunden im Fach Musik. Sie werden zunächst in einen musikdidaktischen Rahmen eingeordnet, der es erlaubt, eine Stunde primär der „Handlungsorientierung“ im Sinn der 1980er Jahre zuzuordnen, die zweite Stunde primär dem musikdidaktischen Modell eines „Aufbauenden Musikunterrichts“ und die dritte Stunde „offenen“ Unterrichtskonzeptionen. Der zweite Abschnitt fragt nach dem Verhältnis von Lernen und Lehren und mündet in die These, dass „natürliches“, informelles Lernen und das Lernen in der Institution Schule in einem unauflösbaren Spannungsverhältnis zueinander stehen. Diese These wird dann an einigen Teilaspekten der aufgezeichneten Schulstunden konkretisiert. Im abschließenden Abschnitt wird die These auf das Spannungsverhältnis zwischen den schulischen Leistungserwartungen und der individuellen Leistungsbereitschaft der Schüler bezogen. Der Beitrag mündet in einem Plädoyer für die Anerkennung und Förderung der grundlegenden Leistungsbereitschaft der Schüler sowie der Selbstwahrnehmung ihrer individuellen Leistungen und ihres individuellen Erfolgs im Sinn einer zunehmenden Leistungsbewusstheit. / The point of departure consists of video recordings of three music lessons. These are first of all localised within a music-didactic framework, allowing one lesson to be classified primarily along the lines of “action-oriented” processes in the 1980s sense of the term, the second to be classed primarily with the music-didactic model of “progressive music learning” and the third lesson with “open” teaching concepts. The second section is an enquiry into the relationship between teaching and learning, resulting in the thesis that there is an irresolvable tension between “natural” informal learning and learning within the school institution. In the following section this thesis is concretised along various partial aspects of the recorded lessons. The thesis is then applied in the final section to the tension between the school’s performance expectations and the pupils’ individual willingness to perform. The piece ends by arguing for the recognition and promotion of the pupils’ fundamental willingness to perform as well as of their self-awareness of their individual performance and individual success in the sense of an increasing awareness of performance.

Early childhood development is one of the critical services to support the development of young children from conception to age six. Children raised in vulnerable inner cities, with limited access to quality, well-resourced ECD services, are at risk of perpetuating cycles of disadvantage and exclusion. Even though ECD centres exist in abundance in the inner city of Durban, eThekwini Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, managers of ECD centres face challenges such as meeting rigorous registration norms and standards, a lack of finances, resources, trained staff and socio-economic factors which affect the wellbeing of children. Using a qualitative approach, this study communicates the role played by the Inner City ECD Forum in the learning experiences of seven ECD managers through their participation in inter-sectoral stakeholder interventions and capacity building trainings. It further outlines the benefits of networking and collective support. Based on the findings, recommendations for practice, policy and further research are made. / School of Social Sciences / M.A. (Social Work)