The Garry oak (Quercus garryana) is a species of oak tree native to North America’s Pacific coast. Its range in Canada is limited to the east coast of Vancouver Island, the southern Gulf Islands, and two isolated groves in the Fraser River valley. It is most widespread and conspicuous in Greater Victoria, the urban area centred around the city of Victoria, British Columbia. Garry oaks themselves and areas of relatively undisturbed land containing Garry oaks are threatened in Victoria by a number of factors including land development, the tree’s unpopularity as an ornamental species, and fire suppression. The Garry oak’s predicament provides rationale for the central goal of this thesis, which is to explore how people have known these trees in the 165 years since Fort Victoria was established. Using a range of print sources, I identify five prominent areas of knowledge about the tree, or Garry oak cultures. These are: Garry oaks as significant of Britishness, Garry oaks as known through science, Garry oaks as significant individual trees, Garry oaks as remnants of pre-colonial landscapes, and Garry oaks as advocated for by conservationists. From these, I draw three key themes. First, many people have found Victoria’s Garry oaks valuable or important and expressed that sense of value in a variety of ways. Second, people have used Garry oaks in narratives of national identity, though in divergent ways: for some Garry oaks have been symbolic of Britain and Victoria’s supposed connection with the mother country, and for others Garry oaks are to be regarded only as a native species. Third, scientific language and concepts have been used to understand Garry oaks with increasing popularity over the past few decades, especially as public awareness grows of the oaks’ ecological crisis. Following recent work in cultural geography, I contend that people negotiate connections to place through trees such as Garry oaks. Though these findings must be understood to be preliminary, they can help to explain the plight of the Garry oak by casting light on ambiguities and dissonances in the ways that Victoria’s diverse citizenry relates to the places they inhabit. / Thesis (Master, Geography) -- Queen's University, 2008-10-08 13:47:50.049

This thesis provides an anti-colonial analysis of how Indigenous knowledges have been studied and conceptualized through ethnographic research in the field of development studies. In this analysis I apply meta-ethnography within an anti-colonial discursive framework, a combination that I argue has great potential in the study of power relations in qualitative knowledge production. Firstly, this approach allows me to provide a synthesis of purposively selected ethnographies from the development studies literature; secondly, it requires that I refer to Indigenous scholars’ critical writings in the education literature to analyze development studies ethnographers’ approaches to Indigenous knowledges. The results of this analysis provide a starting point for questioning epistemological racism and colonial power relations at play in knowledge production on Indigenous knowledges in the field of development studies, with important implications for how we teach, study, and conduct research in development.

This thesis provides an anti-colonial analysis of how Indigenous knowledges have been studied and conceptualized through ethnographic research in the field of development studies. In this analysis I apply meta-ethnography within an anti-colonial discursive framework, a combination that I argue has great potential in the study of power relations in qualitative knowledge production. Firstly, this approach allows me to provide a synthesis of purposively selected ethnographies from the development studies literature; secondly, it requires that I refer to Indigenous scholars’ critical writings in the education literature to analyze development studies ethnographers’ approaches to Indigenous knowledges. The results of this analysis provide a starting point for questioning epistemological racism and colonial power relations at play in knowledge production on Indigenous knowledges in the field of development studies, with important implications for how we teach, study, and conduct research in development.

The diploma thesis focuses on survey of knowledges pupils second degres of the elementary school from growing in Tabor´s region. I applied 110 tests who checking knowledges of pupils. On the basis of results in tests I evaluated situation.

La politique et l’idéologie de la nouvelle gestion publique ont entraîné de nombreuses réformes et un mouvement de rationalisation des organisations du secteur public par la mise en place d’outils et de principes de gestion issus du monde de l’entreprise. La présente thèse analyse l’impact de la nouvelle gestion publique qui ne se limite pas à la dimension administrative des organisations qui y sont soumises. Cette transformation affecte aussi la relation que celles-ci entretiennent avec les usagers, comme c’est le cas dans le secteur médico-social. En analysant le fonctionnement du dispositif de prise en charge de l’autisme en France, cette étude révèle la proximité des logiques d’action du champ clinique avec celles de la gestion des ressources humaines. Prenant comme point de départ le cadre d’analyse de la biopolitique développé par Michel Foucault, notre travail démontre l’existence de cette articulation entre la clinique et la gestion tout en décrivant l’utilité de ce rapprochement pour les acteurs de la prise en charge des personnes autistes. Cette thèse s’inscrit dans une démarche de recherche fondamentale qui tente de repenser la transversalité des outils de GRH au sein des organisations par l’analyse de la production de discours et de la diffusion de savoirs. Il en ressort que la puissance du modèle de la GRH contribue à apporter d’importantes ressources cognitives à des acteurs qui doivent faire face à des situations extrêmement complexes et changeantes. Dans un tel contexte, l’obtention d’un résultat est très incertain car le traitement des cas d’autisme nécessite un travail qui ne peut être complètement maîtrisé. La réalisation des buts du dispositif ne peut alors se faire que par la construction d’une action collective où la recherche de légitimité des pratiques mobilisées assure avant tout une cohésion pluriprofessionnelle et une performance organisationnelle, à défaut de pouvoir mettre en œuvre une performance opérationnelle. / Politics and ideology of the New Public Management resulted in numerous reforms and in a process of rationalization of public sector organizations in the development of tools and management principles from the world of business. This thesis, which analyzes the impact of the new principles of public management, is not limited to the administrative aspects of the organizations to which they apply. This change regarding public management also affects the relationship that public sector organizations have with users, as is the case in the medico-social sector. By analyzing the operation of the management of autism in France, this study reveals the proximity of the logic of action of the clinical field with that of the management of human resources. Using bio-politics as the starting point of the framework of analysis developed by Michel Foucault, this work demonstrates the interrelationship between the clinical dimension and management while describing the utility of this work for supporting people with autism. This thesis is part of a process of fundamental research that attempts to rethink the cross-functionality of HRM tools in organizations by analyzing speech production and dissemination of knowledge. It shows that the power of the model of HRM helps to make available significant cognitive resources to actors who are facing extremely complex and changing situations. In this context, obtaining an outcome is very uncertain because the treatment of autism cases requires work that cannot be completely controlled. Therefore, this can be done only through building collective action where the legitimate mobilized practices ensure a multi-professional and organizational performance coherence, short of implementing an operational performance.

A pesquisa desenvolvida tem o objetivo geral de analisar com a literatura pedagógica na relação com a legislação oferece bases para compreender o estágio curricular supervisionado como possibilidade para o desenvolvimento profissional dos docentes formadores que atuam em cursos de licenciatura e nos cursos do ensino médio integrado numa instituição de educação profissional tecnológica. Os objetivos específicos são: caracterizar os fatores históricos-teóricos-legais da formação de professores da Educação Profissional e Tecnológica; identificar as concepções de formação de professores na Licenciatura em Física; identificar as concepções de estágio na legislação educacional e no projeto pedagógico do curso de Licenciatura em Física; compreender teoricamente o potencial das atividades de estágio para o desenvolvimento profissional e a profissionalidade dos docentes da instituição formadora. E por questão central compreender as relações entre o campo da formação específica do ensino da física e o campo de conhecimento da pedagogia e da didática, a partir da prática do estágio no curso investigado. A teoria da pedagogia históricocrítica e da didática como eixo fundamental da ação pedagógica constituem seus fundamentos teóricos para compreensão da problemática e construção da materialidade sócio-histórica-educacional no âmbito da formação de professores para educação básica na realidade brasileira, na qual o ensino de física está situado. As análises dos dados são apoiadas em Freire (1982), Saviani (1996), Pimenta (2012), Pimenta e Lima (2017), Almeida (2012), Almeida e Pimenta (2014), Marin (2009), Kuenzer (2013), Franco (2015), Libâneo (2012), Imbernón (2010), Nóvoa (2009, 2017). Esses autores nos permitem compreender os conceitos de práxis educacional, estágio crítico-reflexivo, mediação didático-pedagógica, profissionalidade e desenvolvimento profissional. Coerente a esse referencial teórico e à natureza do objeto da pesquisa os autores Minayo (2014), Pinto (1969) e Frigotto (2010) nos permitem sustentar a escolha e a realização da pesquisa qualitativa, com vistas à compreensão do fenômeno e a escolha dos procedimentos e instrumentos que foram utilizados para a coleta de dados. As análises foram elaboradas conforme a Análise de Conteúdo Bardin (2011). A categoria da supervisão e orientação didático-pedagógico da área de conhecimento específico e área de formação pedagógica se configurou como uma possibilidade de compreensão sobre a materialidade do curso de licenciatura e da prática pedagógica do estágio no sentido de reconfigurar as condições do trabalho docente. Em síntese, a prática do estágio ampliará o desenvolvimento profissional dos docentes supervisores quando situado no contexto histórico formativo, político e social, na medida em que atividade individual de supervisão do estágio for superada pela realização de atividades coletivas que transformam o modo dos licenciandos vivenciarem a formação inicial, ao tempo que ampliando as possibilidades formativas compreendam os fundamentos do seu trabalho como instrumento humanizador do processo de ensino e aprendizagem, os sujeitos o tornem também em elemento humanizador de si próprios na e pela práxis. / The presented research\'s intent is to analyse with pedagogical literature in the relation with legislation offers bases to understand the supervised curricular stage as a possibility of professional development of supervisor teachers who work on licensure and high school courses linked to a professional technological institute of education. The specific intents are: to characterize the historical-theoretical-legal factors during formation of teachers who act on Professional and Technological Education; to identify the conceptions of formation of teachers on Licensure on Physics; to identify the conceptions on stage and on Educational Legislation and on pedagogical project on Licensure on Physics; to understand theoretically the potential of stage activities for professional development and the professionality of teachers from supervisor institution. And as main point to understand the relations between the field of specific formation on physics teaching and the field of knowledge of pedagogy and didactics throught the pratice of stage in the investigated course. The theory of historicalcritical pedagogy and of didactics as main axis of pedagogic effort constitute their theoric cornerstones to understand the problem and construction of social-historical-critical materiality about the formation of teachers for elementary education at brazilian reality, where the teaching of physics is at. The data analyses are supported by Freire (1982), Saviani (1996), Pimenta (2012), Pimenta and Lima (2017), Almeida (2012), Almeida and Pimenta (2014), Marin (2009), Kuenzer (2013), Franco (2015), Libâneo (2012), Imbernón (2010), Nóvoa (2009, 2017). Those authors allow us comprehend the concepts of educationl praxis, critical-reflexive stage, didactical-pedagogical mediation, professionality and professional development. Following the theorethical reference and the provenance of research target the authors Minayo (2014), Pinto (1969) and Frigotto (2010) allow us sustain te choice and achievement of the qualitative research, aiming at the comprehension of that phenomenon and the choice of procedures and tools which were used during the data collection. The analyses were formulated according to the Bardin\'s Content Analysis (2011). The category of didactical-pedagogical supervision and orientation of the specific knowledge area and pedagogical formation area was set as a comprehension possibility about materiality of licentiate course and of pedagogical pratice of the stage aiming to reset the teacher\'s working conditions. Finally, the pratice of stage will improve the professional development of supervisor teachers when they\'re placed in the historical, political and social context, as the supervisoring individual activity is overcome by achievement of collective activities which transmute the way in which the licentiate students live the initial formation, as they improve the formative possibilities understanding the cornerstones of their work as a tool which will humanize the teaching and learning processes, the subjects make of it a humanizator element of themselves in and by the praxis.

In this project I outline the current discourse within feminist epistemology and elucidated its limitations of feminist epistemology particularly its lack of formal attention to the modes of theorization and, in complementarity, the generative potential of an analysis foregrounding materiality. The first chapter explores the theories that constitute the field of study and the relationships between both feminist empiricism and standpoint theory illuminate the conceptual concerns of feminist epistemology. Building from this, I present an analysis that examines the rhetorical and disciplinary structures that determine the kinds of arguments and methodologies that are possible within these frameworks. This argument simultaneously presents an analysis of theoretical formation as well as a critique of the lack of attention given to the rhetorical and formal scaffolds which render additional epistemic limitations perceivable. Lastly, I demonstrate a mode of knowledge production that centers materiality and body which exerts pressure on the very frameworks utilized in the analysis of materiality and embodiment. If materiality has the capacity to articulate relationships between knower and knowledges formed by the knower and formal elements of research has the capacity to render the limits of knowledges created from the research, then feminist epistemology should account for the formal and the material in its attempts to explicate the possibilities and limitations of epistemology.

This exploratory study examines the modernisation of the education system in Bhutan. It focuses on three key dimensions of the modernisation process. The first dimension concerns the debates and discussions surrounding the question of modernisation. As is to be expected, there are strongly held views that modernisation is a ‘good’ thing for Bhutan; however, conversely, there exist equipotent views that traditional culture may erode in the quest for modernisation. The study seeks to tease out these contestations through the examination of available text, including oral texts such as radio discussions, written policy documents, newspaper articles, and conversations. The second key dimension of this study examines the translation of decisions from the aforementioned debate – it is significant that modernisation policies have already been shaped though the debate is ongoing – into the delivery of education. Thus, the study focuses both on curriculum policy as well as pedagogic strategies. Finally, the third key dimension focuses on the role of the teacher as a mediator. Here, the inquiry focuses on how teachers manage the tensions. The primary purpose of this research is to contribute to our understanding of changes in Bhutan’s education policy and curriculum (1990-2010), which charge the education sector with supporting the continuity of tradition and mediating the tension between tradition and modernisation. There is a growing body of literature that examines Bhutanese discourses on tradition, culture, and modernisation of Bhutan’s education sector (see Phuntsho, 2000; Roder, 2012; Ueda, 2003; Wangyal, 2001; Whitecross, 2002). However, despite the comprehensive education reforms currently underway which position teachers at the centre of a number of initiatives (VanBalkom & Sherman, 2010), a gap exists in available studies that bring the voices of teachers to the fore. Given that teachers occupy a central role in the education system and that the implementation of curriculum innovations succeed ‘only when the teachers concerned are committed to them and especially, when they understand as well as accept, their underlying principles,’ (Kelly, 2009:15) this study is an exploration of interplay between policy and practice and considers teachers as the focal point. This research was conducted in 2010 and 2011 in the Thimphu and Paro dzongkhags. It included semi-structured interviews with 9 prominent policy makers and politicians, 11 education leaders, and 51 middle secondary school teachers, 7 of which were observed. More specifically, this study tells the stories of individuals who were involved in the modernisation of the national system of education from its inception in the 1960s and uncovers the experiences of a younger generation of educators. Overall, the findings of this study reveal that in Bhutan, traditional and modern epistemologies are strong currents that converge and intermingle. However, at particular points of intersection, they flow in two competing directions. Education stakeholders are thus positioned at a critical juncture where different knowledge ‘flows’ (Appadurai, 1996) converge and diverge, generating fracture lines and, at times, hindering the possibility of balance. The participants in this study revealed a range of complex and contradictory voices as many attempted to reconcile the evident tensions.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Geography / John Harrington, Jr. / Geographers, as part of their work as scholars and academics, continually “do” geography. Geography is practiced as research when tools, perspectives, and techniques are applied to problems or areas of study, exploring, understanding, and building geographical information. Geography is practiced as a social discipline when geographers interact with those around them, sharing geographical knowledge through writing, publishing, presenting, teaching, and discussion so others can read, listen, and engage. In doing geography – continuously practicing research and engaging in the documentation and communication of geographical knowledge – geographers also actively continuously construct the history of geography. These incidences, slides, and pages of knowledges are the foundation and structure of geography as a practiced discipline. Research explored the historiographies of geographical knowledges in presidential addresses of the Association of American Geographers, thematic conceptualizations of the subfield of cultural geography, and representation of women across editions of introductory human geography textbooks through content analysis and spatial. Conclusions strongly support the contention that geographic knowledges and the nature of geographic thought actively evolve as contemporary scholars practice their profession. By paying attention to these constructive processes and understanding their interactive role in it, geographers are better informed of the history of their specialty and their direct and vested role in the enterprise.

Esta tese inscreve-se no âmbito das pesquisas sobre os saberes docentes, considerando o trabalho como o contexto em que ocorre a mobilização e a constituição destes saberes, com base nas experiências de formação e atuação profissional. Trata-se de uma investigação sobre os saberes presentes na atividade docente desenvolvida durante a alfabetização, etapa da educação básica em que têm ocorrido os maiores índices de fracasso escolar. A pesquisa busca compreender os processos de apropriação/objetivação e criação de saberes na prática pedagógica de uma alfabetizadora por meio de uma abordagem etnográfica que se utiliza de observação participante, entrevistas, análise documental e fotografias. Que saberes são mobilizados pela professora durante seu trabalho com as crianças? Que elementos contribuem ou influenciam na constituição dos saberes da professora? Como ela lida com situações que a defrontam com o não-saber? Procurando responder estas perguntas, a pesquisa mostra que há duas dimensões importantes na constituição desses saberes. Uma dimensão histórico/dialógica que evidencia como os saberes são apropriados e objetivados ao longo da história de formação e de atuação profissional, por meio de diálogo com: a) as diferentes experiências vividas pela docente; b) as formadoras e parceiras profissionais com quem a professora tem a oportunidade de estabelecer trocas; c) as crianças com as quais trabalha; d) os materiais teóricos e pedagógicos consultados na preparação das aulas. Ouvindo as solicitações, necessidades e possibilidades de seus alunos a professora vai dando sentido à tarefa de ensinar a ler e a escrever a todos eles. A segunda dimensão dos saberes docentes é a dimensão criadora, pois mesmo submetida às determinações de um trabalho realizado no cotidiano, este não se caracteriza apenas como reprodução. Ao contrário, diante dos desafios postos pela tarefa de alfabetizar, a professora reorganiza o que sabe, busca novos conhecimentos, usa diferentes recursos para criar formas distintas de intervenção no processo pedagógico. Identifica-se tal dimensão nos seguintes aspectos: na condução do trabalho em sala da aula, no atendimento à diversidade no processo de aprendizagem e no trabalho com os conteúdos relacionados à alfabetização. Por fim, a pesquisa aponta a ênfase dada pelas políticas públicas à formação de professores com programas que se superpõem e que atendem aos diferentes segmentos profissionais em projetos distintos. Além disso, os investimentos na formação não são articulados com as necessárias melhorias das condições objetivas de trabalho nas escolas, evidenciando como, na escola investigada, a precariedade destas condições dificulta as possibilidades de desenvolvimento de um trabalho coletivo, capaz de oferecer um ensino de melhor qualidade às crianças de periferia urbana para quem a escola é a principal fonte de acesso ao conhecimento sistematizado. / This thesis’ scope is that of researches on teaching knowledge, regarding work as the context in which the mobilization and construction of this knowledge takes place, based on experiences of academic development and professional performance. It is an investigation of knowledge present in teaching activity acquired during literacy instruction, the stage on basic education most vulnerable to student’s academic failure. The research seeks to understand the appropriation/objectification processes and the creation of knowledge into the teacher’s practice through an ethnographical approach, which is applied in participatory observation, interviews, document’s analysis and pictures. Which knowledge is mobilized by the teacher during her work with the children? Which elements contribute or influence the construction of teacher knowledge? How does she act with the absence of knowledge? Trying to answer these questions, the research presents two important dimensions into the construction of knowledge. A historical/dialogical dimension that highlights how knowledge is appropriated and objectified along the development history and professional performance, by means of dialogue with: a) the different experiences lived by the educator; b) professional partners with whom the teacher has the opportunity of establishing exchanges; c) the children with whom she works; d) the theoretical and pedagogical materials used up in class preparation. As the teacher listens the solicitations, needs and possibilities of her students, she gives meaning to the teaching task of reading and writing. The second dimension of teaching knowledge to be considered is it’s creative dimension. Even submitted to the limitation of daily work this activity can not be characterized as reproductive. On the contrary, as she faces the challenges of the literacy teaching task, the teacher reorganizes what she knows, searches new knowledge and uses different resources to create different forms of intervention into the pedagogical process. Such dimension can be identified by the following aspects: classroom management, diversity attendance at the process and activities related to literacy teaching. Finally, the research points to the emphasis given by public policies to teachers' development which tends to occur at superposed programs, which attend different professional segments in distinct projects. Moreover, the investments on teacher’s development are not articulated with the necessary improvements to the work’s objective conditions at schools, evidencing how, at the investigated school, the precariousness of these conditions impede the possibilities of a collective work development, able to offer a better teaching quality to suburban children to whom school is the main source of access to systematized knowledge.