The aim of this research was to examine the extent to which the pedagogical practices of Business Studies teachers in Botswana junior secondary schools conform to pedagogical practices recommended for imparting practical business skills relevant to the world of work. It also aimed to identify the strengths and weaknesses of teachers’ current practices with a view to proffer a teaching model that would help to maximize learner acquisition of business skills and competencies. Literature related to the pedagogy of business education subjects was reviewed to give a general conceptual and methodological foundation for the investigation. An overview of the methodological approaches and the qualitative research design selected for application to the study were provided including the data-gathering procedures and the conceptual framework that supported and informed the research. The major findings of the study were that Business Studies teachers subscribe mainly to the transmission paradigm of teaching. Teachers’ failure to use constructivist pedagogies prescribed in the syllabus were attributed to a multiplicity of challenges they face in their day-to-day practices. The challenges that beset the pedagogy of business subjects emanate from a variety of sources such as the scarcity or non-availability of teaching materials and resources, a congested syllabus and problems associated with striking a balance between the theoretical and practical aspects of the subject. Teachers indicated that the Business Studies syllabus is too long and with the little time allocated to teach it on schools timetables, it is impractical to expect them to complete the syllabus using constructivist teaching approaches which they perceive as pedagogically burdensome and time-consuming. Despite the teachers’ constraints in creating constructivist learning environments, the use of an entrepreneurial pedagogy in the form of the mini enterprise whereby students are involved in setting and running a concrete enterprise is prevalent. The study concluded by suggesting a pedagogical model, based on the findings, to improve Business Studies curriculum delivery. It was also recommended that support structures aimed at monitoring and ensuring that the delivery of business education is done according to the stipulated business curriculum standards be put in place. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

The use of kinaesthetic experiences associated with dance to support learning of curricular mathematics has been little represented in the available literature. Maths Dance is an approach to teaching and learning mathematics through dance and movement. The objectives of the study are related to assessing the impact of Maths Dance on students’ cognitive, affective and physical developmental areas in preschool and primary school settings. The investigation of the case study on Maths Dance took place in London, UK, with the participation of four teaching staff members, who were interviewed in detail, and thirty students of Reception, Year 2 and Year 3 classes, out of which eleven students were interviewed. All thirty students were observed once during three Maths Dance sessions, one session per each age group.      Based on a qualitative research approach, the data are analysed and discussed below around seven themes in relation to the theories of constructivism, Dienes’s theory of learning mathematics, Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences and educational neuroscience. According to the main findings, students and teaching staff members express positive attitudes regarding most aspects of the research questions. Specifically, Maths Dance is believed to improve students’ maths skills, critical thinking and creativity, as well as enhance student motivation, socio-emotional and motor skills. The pleasant nature of the activities is also highlighted, an element that is believed to make this method adequate for students of low achievement in maths.  However, the small sample size, in addition to the fact that Maths Dance has recently started being implemented in schools, does not permit generalization of the results.

L’objectif de cette thèse est d’étudier l’effet d’un entraînement explicite de la conscience phonémique (CP) en anglais L2 et les apports potentiels du tableau blanc interactif (TBI) comme instrument permettant de réaliser cet entraînement avec des apprenants de CE1. A partir des travaux de pédagogues tels que Borel-Maisonny et Caleb Gattegno, nous avons conçu des aides multimodales qui sont à la fois visuelles, sonores et kinesthésiques. Les couleurs de l’approche Gattegno ont été reprises pour créer des cartes de couleur auxquelles nous avons joint une représentation sonore du phonème. La carte sonore est également manipulable sur le TBI. En ce sens, la manipulation sur TBI pourrait aider la manipulation mentale des éléments. Les représentations des phonèmes constituent des représentations externes multimodales intégrées (REMI). Ces REMI ont été intégrées à un dispositif d’apprentissage permettant de valider les hypothèses de recherche. Il s’agissait non seulement d’évaluer l’efficacité de tâches explicites de conscience phonémique dans le cadre de l’apprentissage de l’anglais, mais également d’évaluer l’efficacité de l’utilisation du TBI pour réaliser les tâches de conscience phonémique. Ces hypothèses de recherche ont été testées à l’aide de trois groupes d’apprenants : deux groupes expérimentaux et un groupe contrôle. Un groupe a effectué des tâches explicites de conscience phonémique avec les REMI sur TBI (groupe ConsPhonoTBI), un groupe a effectué ces mêmes tâches de manière classique, c’est-à-dire mentalement sans aide multimodale (groupe ConsPhono), tandis que le groupe contrôle a fait des activités de vocabulaire anglais. La comparaison du groupe contrôle avec le groupe ConsPhono permet de déterminer l’effet d’un entraînement explicite de la conscience phonémique, tandis que la comparaison du groupe ConsPhono avec le groupe ConsPhonoTBI permet de déterminer l’effet des aides multimodales et de leur utilisation sur TBI dans le cadre de cet entraînement explicite. Cette recherche a pour objet une intervention dans le domaine du travail puisque les enseignants et les apprenants sont considérés comme étant en situation de travail. Cette recherche s’inscrit alors dans le cadre de l’ergonomie cognitive. En l’occurrence, la quasi-expérimentation a été menée en 2011-2012 auprès d’apprenants issus de classes de CE1 situées dans l’Isère. Dans la méthodologie de recherche mixte adoptée, les données qualitatives et quantitatives ont été triangulées et permettent d’obtenir des résultats ayant une validité interne. L’étude indique que le travail explicite de la conscience phonémique a un effet sur le niveau atteint dans ce domaine et que l’utilisation des REMI sur TBI permet d’atteindre un meilleur niveau dans le même laps de temps. Par ailleurs, cette étude indique que l’utilisation du TBI pour mener cet entraînement explicite permet à des enseignants non-spécialistes en langue de se décentrer pour réguler l’activité, de proposer une prononciation correcte aux élèves, renforçant ainsi le sentiment d’auto-efficacité au sens de Bandura (2003). En outre, le TBI favorise les échanges entre les apprenants au niveau du groupe classe et permet une découverte collective des phonèmes anglais. / This thesis seeks to study the effect of an explicit training of phonemic awareness (PA) in English L2 and the possible contribution of an Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) as a tool to carry such a training with 7-8 year old learners (in CE1 in France). Based on the work of some educators like Borel-Maisonny and Caleb Gattegno, we created some multimodal materials which are visual, sound and kinesthetic. We used the colors from Gattegno’s approach to create cards to which we attached the sound representation of each phoneme. These cards could also be moved on the IWB. Hence, the manipulation done on the IWB might help the mental manipulation that the learner should normally do mentally. The full representation for each phoneme is an external multimodal integrated representation (EMIR). These EMIR were used among a learning scenario which aimed to test research hypotheses. First of all, the aim was to know whether explicit tasks of phonemic awareness were useful or not. Then, the aim was to check the effect, in any, of the IWB in such a learning scenario concerning phonemic awareness. These research hypotheses have been tested thanks to three groups: two experimental groups and one control group. One group carried out the activities of phonemic awareness with EMIR on an IWB (PA-IWB group), one group carried out the same activities but on a traditional way, that-is-to-say mentally with any multimodal help (PA group) while the control group carried out some activities based on vocabulary. By comparing the control group with the PA group, we found out the effect, if any, of the explicit training of phonemic awareness and, by comparing the PA group with the PA-IWB group, we found out the effect, if any, of the multimodal tools used on the IWB. This research aims to take action in the field of ergonomics since teachers and learners are considered as being at work. This research fits into the field of cognitive ergonomics. Here, the quasi-experimentation was carried out during the school year 2011-2012 with 7-8 year old learners from Isère, France. Using a mixed research method, we triangulated qualitative data with quantitative data in order to get the most accurate results with an internal validity. This study shows that an explicit training of phonemic awareness (PA) has an effect on the level that learners can reach in PA and that the use of EMIR on an IWB allows learners to get an even better level in the same amount of time. Besides, it also appears that the use of the IWB for this kind of training helps the teacher when s/he is not a specialist in the target language. S/he can step aside, regulate the work and provide the correct pronunciation, which helps her/him reinforcing her/his feeling of self-efficacy as defined by Bandura (2003). Finally, the IWB urges the learners on interacting as a whole group and so discovering the English phonemes all together.

The aim of this research was to examine the extent to which the pedagogical practices of Business Studies teachers in Botswana junior secondary schools conform to pedagogical practices recommended for imparting practical business skills relevant to the world of work. It also aimed to identify the strengths and weaknesses of teachers’ current practices with a view to proffer a teaching model that would help to maximize learner acquisition of business skills and competencies. Literature related to the pedagogy of business education subjects was reviewed to give a general conceptual and methodological foundation for the investigation. An overview of the methodological approaches and the qualitative research design selected for application to the study were provided including the data-gathering procedures and the conceptual framework that supported and informed the research. The major findings of the study were that Business Studies teachers subscribe mainly to the transmission paradigm of teaching. Teachers’ failure to use constructivist pedagogies prescribed in the syllabus were attributed to a multiplicity of challenges they face in their day-to-day practices. The challenges that beset the pedagogy of business subjects emanate from a variety of sources such as the scarcity or non-availability of teaching materials and resources, a congested syllabus and problems associated with striking a balance between the theoretical and practical aspects of the subject. Teachers indicated that the Business Studies syllabus is too long and with the little time allocated to teach it on schools timetables, it is impractical to expect them to complete the syllabus using constructivist teaching approaches which they perceive as pedagogically burdensome and time-consuming. Despite the teachers’ constraints in creating constructivist learning environments, the use of an entrepreneurial pedagogy in the form of the mini enterprise whereby students are involved in setting and running a concrete enterprise is prevalent. The study concluded by suggesting a pedagogical model, based on the findings, to improve Business Studies curriculum delivery. It was also recommended that support structures aimed at monitoring and ensuring that the delivery of business education is done according to the stipulated business curriculum standards be put in place. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)