This phenomenological hermeneutic research explores the author’s lived experience of painting a Sacred Mandala over the course of 15 months while focusing on child-loss by adoption. In this dissertation, the structure, process, and mindful practice of Sacred Mandala Inquiry are presented—incorporating methodological considerations, related theories, and illuminated through personal examples. Although the focus in the paper is on an individual Sacred Mandala practice, it is with the understanding that the individual is embedded within a community and world in a web of relationships. Impetus for research often arises from personal lifeworld experience. The Sacred Mandala provides structure and containment for inquiry, for those who are attracted to the form, assisting in bracketing that which has previously been accepted while simultaneously becoming a sacred boundary for the unknown to emerge, protected and witnessed. The practice and process may be taken up by inquirers in the social sciences, humanities, arts and within the community of adult learners. The mindful and embodied painting and journaling practices necessitate the inclusion of processes occurring outside of awareness—hosted in emerging images, dialogues, stories, synchronistic events, myths, metaphors, and poetry; inviting the unconscious forward. Opening both eyes—the rational and imaginal—provides a depth perspective. Both are needed, each is as real as the other, one illuminating the inner world, one illuminating the outer world, in wholeness. Importantly, the meanings embedded within the work continue to resonate, unfold, and inform over time. / Graduate / 2020-08-27

An education that does not recognise schools as places for the mere transmission and assimilation of knowledge, but as places for critical and creative inquiry, is quality education. Philosophising with children in schools assumes that children are actively and deliberately encouraged in seeking responses to the questions about reality they raise at a very early age. The practice of philosophy is undoubtedly one of the underpinnings of a quality education for all. By contributing to opening children‘s minds, building their critical reflection and autonomous thinking, philosophy contributes to the protection against manipulation and exclusion at the hands of adults. If education in general must open up to children the maps of an intricate world in a continuous state of tension, then philosophy is a compass for navigating that world. Hence children, irrespective of their geographical location and regardless of their social milieu or state of development of their country, deserve to be equipped with the tools so motivated for. Using conceptual analysis as a tool, I explore the Lipman method of Philosophy for Children by presenting a case for an African perspective of the same. I situate doing philosophy with children in the context of the African philosophy debate. While Lipman‘s model provides the case for the role of rational, logical and systematic thinking in children, the African background promises the raw materials on which the said instruments work. I therefore settle for a hybridised Philosophy for Children programme that marries the universalist and the particularist views of doing philosophy. I argue that the traditional African notion of community plays a significant role in our understanding of the community of inquiry as pedagogy of doing philosophy with children. Embedded in African ―community‖ is the concept of ukama qua relationality, which constitutes a keystone in the envisaged African perspective of Philosophy for Children. I conclude that doing philosophy with children in schools in Africa contributes to the interpretation of the cultural, economic and circumstances of the African situation.

This study explores high-performing male psychology students’ narratives of identity. The rationale for undertaking this study is that men presently represent a shrinking minority within the academic and professional practice of psychology in South Africa. While much quantitative research has noted gendered trends within the field, there remains a paucity of qualitative data on these men’s thoughts and experiences within the South African context. A narrative research design, underpinned by an interpretative phenomenological epistemology, was employed to explore this topic in a participant-led manner. The unique life stories of the six male participants, recruited from third-year, honours and masters psychology courses, were explored through an open-ended narrative interview that was later followed by a semi-structured interview. Both interviews were audio-recorded and the interview transcripts were subjected to a two stage inductive thematic analysis in which emergent themes were interrogated both for each participant and between participants. The first round of data analysis yielded thirty thematic codes according to which these participants’ narratives of identity could be interpreted and during the second stage of analysis these codes were clustered into six master themes which were mapped onto the secondary research questions informing this study. Thematic analysis revealed: (1) active efforts by the participants to defy hegemonic gender norms and (re)define masculinity through engagement in what is traditionally defined as “women’s work” in their adoption of a care-giver role by providing emotional support to others while also attempting to redefine psychology as a profession that is not exclusively feminine. (2) These participants reported selecting their career option on the basis of passion as opposed to pragmatics by valuing their desire to engage in this field over hegemonic concerns with prestige and earning-potential. However, such considerations were peripheral rather than absent in their narratives. (3) Consistent with previous findings, these men all reported experiencing life struggles as a route to developing empathy and therefore exhibited elements of the wounded-healer model. (4) Those men who are pursuing careers neuropsychology and industrial psychology showed an interest in humanity (scientists) fostered by feelings of difference while those in therapeutic orientations report developing a desire to help (helpers) based on experiences of marginalisation. While the participants differed as to whether they were more inclined towards the more traditionally masculine values of science or the more traditionally feminine values of care, they all reported a desire to both help and understand as professional psychologists. (5) While diversity and difference were reported by these men to contribute to an enhanced sense of empathy and social interest, they mentioned such a sense of difference having developed from the experience of early geographic movement and exposure to multiple cultures. This seems to have fostered a keen social awareness that contributed to a growing interest in the different lifestyles that people and communities enjoy which they now study and work with as aspiring psychologists. (6) Furthermore, their dynamic and changing world is suggested to have garnered a love of variety and iterative sense of self which has permitted continuing development in professional psychology as they report finding the personal growth and development endemic to the field to be an important part of how they understand themselves. Findings of the research which may broadly map directions for future research include a lack of conflation by these men of sexual orientation and masculinity suggesting that homosexuality is not necessarily understood as a contravention of masculine norms not suggested by previous research findings. Importantly, while feelings of difference were explored in this study, race was a shared silence during the interviews and further investigation into the experiences of black men aspiring to become male psychologists in the South African context is considered vital to enhancing our understanding of the diverse body of professionals in South African psychology.

The primary focus of the research is to explore the narratives and subjective meanings of black economically empowered women (BEEW) about black men’s perceptions about BEEW. The researcher explored the experiences of these women and identified some of the challenges that they may face as a result of such experiences. The theoretical frameworks used are based on the theories of empowerment and the Black Feminist theories, with both attempting to explore black women’s experiences. This study is exploratory and qualitative in nature, with the focus on the BEEW’s subjective experiences which were gathered from each of the individuals who participated in this study. The interviews conducted were individual and face-to-face. The purposive sampling method was used to select the participants and all ethical considerations such as confidentiality and informed consent were taken into account. The findings of the research suggest that BEEW tend to have similar experiences in relation to most black men perceiving them as threatening and emasculating. Many participants also experienced both internal and external struggles as a result of their economic empowerment. In addition, the study also suggests that most BEEW are not intending to emasculate men, but are rather searching for relationships that are collaborative and that acknowledge each other’s strengths. Due to the small sample, generalizability of this study is limited. / MT2016

The development of the next generation of researchers is a priority if South Africa is to make a significant contribution to the international knowledge economy and establish itself as a force to be reckoned with in international research circles. In the context of this knowledge economy, researchers are increasingly being recognised as agents of economic growth. In order to be competitive, therefore, an extensive pool of active researchers needs to be cultivated. One way of doing this is to promote and develop doctoral capacity at the country’s universities. This entails, among other things, a move away from the traditional focus on what the supervisor does, to a more student-centred understanding of how the doctoral candidate experiences the process, and by implication, how this impacts on their research contribution. In this qualitative study, thirty doctoral candidates from the Faculties of Science and Humanities at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, were interviewed in order to establish firstly, how they had experienced their supervision at this level, and secondly, whether or not these experiences had influenced the successful completion of their doctorates. One of the principal findings of the research was that the role of the supervisor was not central to the achievement of their degree; rather, many of the doctoral candidates asserted a significant level of agency in both identifying and making contact with experts beyond their university-appointed supervisors in order to supplement their access to relevant knowledge. In the majority of cases, this was encouraged by the supervisors. Such enterprises represent a marked departure from the traditional models of supervision in the Science and Humanities faculties. In the case of the former, the customary co-supervision arrangement is increasingly being augmented by student-initiated collaboration with authorities located outside the formal boundaries of the institution. The traditional Humanities model of supervision is also transforming from a one-on-one relationship to a style characterised by multiple supervisors, each from separate but cognate disciplines. The research suggested that these emergent models are eclipsing their predecessors as doctoral candidates increasingly recognise the value of extending the breadth of their disciplinary exposure beyond the confines of the university.

Detta är en kvalitativ studie vars syfte är att belysa mellanstadielärares uppfattning om materialet NTA. Vidare syftar studien till att se hur elever kommunicerar och interagerar med varandra under det praktiska arbetet som medföljer NTA-materialet. Genomförandet av denna studie har varit kvalitativa intervjuer med fem mellanstadielärare samt genom klassrumsobservationer i tre mellanstadieklasser. Resultatet tyder på att lärarna anser att NTAmaterialet är ett bra komplement och att det finns möjlighet för samtal och diskussioner i samband med det praktiska arbetet. Vidare beskriver lärarna att eleverna pratar mycket med varandra på ett sonderande sätt under praktiskt arbete, något som dock inte stärks i de genomförda observationerna. Där framkommer det att eleverna pratar mer kumulativt med varandra i och med att de till största del ger varandra instruktioner. / This is a qualitative study with the purpose to shed light on grade 4-6 teachers' perception of the material NTA. Furthermore, the study aims to see how students communicate and interact with each other during the practical work that comes with the NTA material. The study builds upon qualitative interviews with five grade 4-6 teachers and on classroom observations in three grade 4-6 classes. The result shows that the teachers think that the NTA material is good complement and that it gives opportunities for conversations and discussions during practical work. Furthermore, the teachers describe that the pupils talk a lot with each other in an exploratory way during practical work, something which, however, is not confirmed in the observations made. There it appears that the pupils’ talk is mostly of a cumulative character, where the pupils give each other instructions.

The purpose of this study was to find out how teachers in primary school implement practical work in their classrooms and what experiences they have of Naturvetenskap och Teknik för Alla (NTA). To find out the answers I used semi structured interviews and a poll inquiry. In the study there were four interviews that were recorded with sound and 31 polls that were done by Survey & Report through Karlstad University. The study refers to prior studies about inquiries and practical works in classroom practice. The study shows that the majority of the teachers in this study work regularly with inquiry in their science teaching. The study also shows that the majority of the group has a positive experience of NTA and appreciates the structure and the opportunity to further educate themselves in the science subjects. The study also shows inquiries outside of what NTA can offer. They are mainly done in biology and physics for example as observations of animal and nature or playground physics where teeters and slides are used to study different physics phenomena.

Orientador: Amadeu Moura Bego / Banca: Denis Ricardo Martins de Godoi / Banca: Luiz Henrique Ferreira / Resumo: O presente trabalho de mestrado teve como temática geral a experimentação no ensino de Química, especificamente o emprego da perspectiva investigativa de ensino no nível superior. A pesquisa visou verificar como a inserção de um erro proposital em uma atividade experimental possivelmente suscitaria no amadurecimento e formação do Espírito Científico dos alunos do curso da licenciatura. A metodologia de pesquisa teve abordagem qualitativa do tipo Estudo de Caso, e as fontes de informação foram compostas de sujeitos e documentos. Os sujeitos foram os alunos do curso de licenciatura cursando no ano de 2017 na disciplina de Laboratório de Ensino de Química Geral, e os documentos textuais foram um roteiro alterado, um formulário de proposição de hipóteses adido de um roteiro provisório, e um relatório final, no qual os alunos também propuseram um roteiro retificado para a realização da atividade experimental. Ainda, foi realizado um grupo focal com os participantes da atividade, e os alunos também responderam a um questionário, o qual providenciou suporte para a conseguinte entrevista individual. O tratamento e análise das informações coletadas se deu pela Análise de Conteúdo, para a qual foram utilizadas categorias a priori para o questionário e entrevista reflexiva, e categorias a posteriori para o grupo focal e documentos textuais. Como conclusão do estudo, concebe-se que a intervenção aqui proposta, a qual é dotada de um elemento inédito, por si só, em ação pontual, não foi ca... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The work herein presented had as general theme practical work regarding chemical education, and had its scope on the employment of inquiry-based activities at the undergraduate level. This research intended to unveil how the interposition of a purposeful error on a experimental activity could promote the formation and maturation of the scientific spirit on undergraduate students. The research methodology had used a qualitative approach, on the manners of a case study, and the information sources regarded subjects and documents. The subjects were the students undergoing the "Laboratório de Ensino de Química Geral" course, and the textual documents were a modified script, a hypothesis form coupled with a provisional script and a final report, in whose the students should add a rectified script that would allow them to perform the activity without issues. In addition, the students composed a focus group with the groups that participated in our intervention, as well as an individual questionnaire regarding aspects of nature of science. The latter provided support for the accomplishment of individual interviews with the students. The data gathering and treatment of collected data was done in the ways of the content analysis, for whose we employed a priori analytical categories for the questionnaire and individual interview, and established a posteriori categories for the focus group and textual documents. As a conclusion, we conceived that the intervention proposed on this work, w... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

O presente trabalho foi elaborado com o intuito de mapear quais ações tomadas por um professor promovem a argumentação dos estudantes. Para isso levamos em conta o contexto do ensino por investigação e a importância dessa abordagem didática para a promoção da Alfabetização Científica. Caracterizamos o que é o ensino por investigação e explicitamos qual é o espaço da argumentação em um ambiente de ensino pautado em seus pressupostos. Com base na revisão da literatura, discutimos especificidades em torno do que vem a ser argumentação em sala de aula e qual a sua importância para a construção de entendimento pelos estudantes sobre conteúdos científicos, bem como seu espaço na implementação de abordagens investigativas. À luz dessas conjecturas, estruturamos um grupo de categorias denominadas propósitos epistêmicos para promoção da argumentação que, em conjunto com os indicadores de alfabetização científica propostos por Sasseron (2008) e com os tipos de perguntas realizadas pelo um professor propostas por Machado (2012), nos permitiu construir um instrumento analítico para estudo de uma situação empírica de sala de aula. Nossa fonte de dados consistiu nos registros oriundos da implementação de uma Sequência de Ensino Investigativa que abordou o tema dualidade onda-partícula da luz. Por meio da análise das transcrições das falas de alunos e professor referentes às duas aulas finais desta sequência de ensino foi possível encontrar diferentes tipos de argumentos construídos pelos alunos e estabelecer como estes foram favorecidos. Concluímos, entre outras coisas, que o professor exerce papel importante para a promoção e o desenvolvimento de situações argumentativas, uma vez que nossa interpretação dos dados evidenciou aspectos, como, por exemplo, a necessidade da retomada de informações, da problematização de situações de investigação e exploração de distintos pontos de vistas para a construção de argumentos e entendimento pelos alunos sobre o objeto que estava sendo investigado coletivamente. / This research was performed aiming to map out which teacher\'s actions can promote argumentation by students. Therefore, we considered the context of inquiry-based teaching and the importance of this didactic approach to promote Scientific Literacy. We characterized the inquiry-based teaching and explained what is the place occupied of argumentation in an educational environment based on their assumptions. Based on the literature review, we discussed what is argumentation and its relevance to building up understandings by students about scientific contents. In light of these conjectures, we have structured a category group called epistemic purposes to promote argumentation that, together with the scientific literacy indicators proposed by Sasseron (2008) and the types of questions asked by a teacher proposed by Machado (2012), allowed us to design an analytical tool to study classroom empirical situation. Our data source consisted of records arising from the implementation of an Inquiry-based Teaching Sequence that addressed the subject wave-particle duality of light. Analyzing the transcripts of the speeches of students and teachers concerning to the final two classes of this teaching sequence was possible to find different types of arguments built by students. We concluded, among other things, the importance of the role of the teacher to promote the development of argumentation situations, since our interpretation of the data indicated aspects, as, for example, the need for resumption information, the questioning of situations and exploration of different points of views to construct arguments and understanding by students about the object that was being investigated collectively.

Thesis advisor: Diana Pullin / In recent years, critical race theory (CRT) has garnered much attention in education scholarship as a way to examine the racialized practices that persist in U.S. schooling. This study was a grassroots attempt at using CRT as the theoretical framework to engage a group of administrators and teacher leaders at one urban school in inquiry-based discourse that focused on raising the educators' race consciousness and co-constructing an antiracist pedagogy. A combined method of action research and critical case study was used as the research methodology. This dissertation reports on three notable findings that surfaced from the study. One, the participants largely perceived racism an individual pathology, not as a system of privilege. Because the participants regarded themselves as educators who were committed to social justice, they were often deceived by their activism to recognize their own complicity in the perpetuation of racist ideologies in their practice. Two, despite the overwhelming criticisms against NCLB in scholarly literature, the participants at this low-income, racially-diverse, urban school were passionately in favor of the goals behind the statute. With the recent push toward the development of common core content standards through the Race to the Top program, increased dialogue regarding what knowledge should be considered "common" and "core" needs to occur in order to breach the impasse between the divergent curricular viewpoints held by all stakeholders. Three, although culturally relevant pedagogy is widely espoused and utilized in educational research and practice, it is often not commonly understood as a conceptual framework that advocates the three-pronged elements of academic success, cultural competence, and sociopolitical consciousness. Findings revealed wide misconceptions and misuse of the theory that stemmed from teachers' cultural bias, the nature of racism in school settings, and the lack of support to adequately implement theories into practice. ` All of these findings revealed issues of power, positionality, and privilege that were deeply entrenched in the policies and practices of the school, which suggested that greater collaboration between scholars and practitioners was necessary in order to engender ongoing critical self-reflection and reconceptualization of theories as viable pedagogical tools to begin the work of antiracism. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Administration and Higher Education.