This thesis researches how six of the English teachers in the public upper-secondary schools in Växjö teach novels in English and how their methods influence the gaining of cultural capital for the students. The cultural capital theory is based on Pierre Bourdieu and what he states about cultural capital being one of the factors that may allow a person to shift social status without having any economic capital. Another matter that Bourdieu addresses is that school is one of the institutions where cultural capital may be gained (Bourdieu “Practical Reason” 19). Because school is the one common ground students have, it is the one place where they all have the same chance of developing, regardless of social status. The connection between gaining cultural capital and novels in English is explained with the theory of John Guillory and what he states about English novels being a part of cultural capital. The novels that the school possesses and uses form a school canon that does not only reflect the school’s values but its culture as well (Guillory 38). When the students read these novels they therefore gain the cultural capital that the school reflects. How well this cultural capital is gained depends on the teachers and their methods. The study has been conducted by interviewing two English teachers from each of the three schools about their methods and choice of novel. The analysis has uncovered that all the teachers have similar methods and the variations that exists depends on the students they have. Consequently the amount of knowledge and cultural capital gained by the students depends on what kind of students the teacher has and which method he/she therefore chooses to use.

In this paper, the aim was to investigate how the Swedish subject is projected in textbooks for grade 6 and grade 9. The study was conducted based on the grounds that teachers need to be aware of the increasing expectations placed on students’ literacyknowledge. To determine how well a textbook helps students to develop these skills, four textbooks’ assignments have been analyzed using textual analysis based on learning theories, literacypractices and Swedish substance conceptions. After completing the analysis, it was concluded that the assignments that practice basic reading and writing skills, are most prominent in the selected textbooks.

Στην παρούσα Διπλωματική Εργασία μελετώνται οι Θεωρίες Μάθησης συσχετιζόμενες με την ενσωμάτωση τους στο Εκπαιδευτικό Λογισμικό. Η διαπραγμάτευση των Θεωριών Μάθησης γίνεται σύμφωνα με την εξελικτική πορεία των διαφόρων θέσεων της Παιδαγωγικής Ψυχολογίας. Παρουσιάζονται οι κυριότερες Θεωρίες Μάθησης ως προς την αξιοποίησή τους στα εκπαιδευτικά προγράμματα, προσδιορίζονται τα χαρακτηριστικά τους και γίνεται προσπάθεια εξαγωγής κριτηρίων ώστε να κατηγοριοποιηθούν με βάση τη Θεωρία ή τις Θεωρίες που έχουν εφαρμοστεί κατά την ανάπτυξή τους. Κύριο ερευνητικό ερώτημα της εργασίας είναι το πώς οι Θεωρίες της Συμπεριφοράς, οι Γνωστικές Θεωρίες και οι Θεωρίες Οικοδόμησης της Γνώσης μπορούν να αξιοποιηθούν στην ανάπτυξη των Εκπαιδευτικού Λογισμικού. Επίσης, με βάση διακριτά κριτήρια να ανιχνευτούν οι Θεωρίες Μάθησης που είναι ενσωματωμένες στα κυριότερα εκπαιδευτικά προγράμματα, τα οποία προσφέρονται για χρήση από το ΥΠΔΒΜΘ και το Παιδαγωγικό Ινστιτούτο. Στην εργασία έγινε αρχικά μία προσπάθεια, με βάση την υπάρχουσα βιβλιογραφία, να δημιουργηθούν κριτήρια μέσα από τα οποία ανιχνεύεται η ενσωμάτωση των Θεωριών Μάθησης στο Εκπαιδευτικό Λογισμικό. Κατόπιν, πραγματοποιήθηκε μία κυρίως ποσοτική αλλά και ποιοτική έρευνα η οποία επιτρέπει στην ομάδα – στόχο, όπου στην παρούσα εργασία αποτελείται από εκπαιδευτικούς δευτεροβάθμιας εκπαίδευσης θετικών επιστημών, οι οποίοι επιμορφώνονται στο Β’ επίπεδο για την αξιοποίηση και εφαρμογή των ΤΠΕ στη διδακτική πράξη, να εκφράσουν τις απόψεις τους για τα υπό μελέτη εκπαιδευτικά προγράμματα, απαντώντας σε συγκεκριμένο μέσο συλλογής δεδομένων για την κατάταξή τους με βάση τη Θεωρία Μάθησης ή τις Θεωρίες Μάθησης που αξιοποιούν. Τα εκπαιδευτικά προγράμματα του ΥΠΔΒΜΘ - Παιδαγωγικού Ινστιτούτου τα οποία μελετήθηκαν ως προς τις Θεωρίες Μάθησης που αξιοποιούν, πραγματεύονται την ύλη των βασικών μαθημάτων Δευτεροβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης: των Μαθηματικών, της Φυσικής και της Χημείας. Η επιλογή τους βασίστηκε στο γεγονός ότι τα περισσότερα από αυτά αποτελούν το βασικό εκπαιδευτικό λογισμικό, που το Υπουργείο Παιδείας Δια Βίου Μάθησης και Θρησκευμάτων και το Παιδαγωγικό Ινστιτούτο προτείνει για χρήση στα σχολεία και τα οποία χρησιμοποιούνται στην Επιμόρφωση των Εκπαιδευτικών για την Αξιοποίηση και την Εφαρμογή των ΤΠΕ στην Διδακτική Πράξη (Β’ επίπεδο). Μέσα από την εργασία αυτή καταβλήθηκε προσπάθεια να δημιουργήσουμε λειτουργικά κριτήρια, δηλαδή εργαλεία, μέσα από τα οποία θα μπορεί να κατηγοριοποιηθεί το Εκπαιδευτικό Λογισμικό με βάση τις εμπεριεχόμενες Θεωρίες Μάθησης και αφετέρου να διαπιστωθεί το ποιες από τις Θεωρίες Μάθησης εμπεριέχονται στα υπό εξέταση Εκπαιδευτικά Λογισμικά. / In the present thesis Learning Theories are studied in relation to their integration to the Educational Software. Learning theories are viewed from the perspective of the evolution of the various theories of Pedagogical Psychology. The most prominent learning theories are presented according to their utilization in the educational programs, their characteristics are specified and criteria are extracted in order for them to be classified according to the Theory or Theories that have been used during their development. The main research topic of the thesis is how Behavioral Theories, Cognitive Theories, and Knowledge Construction Theories can be exploited in the development of Educational Software. Furthermore, based on precise criteria, an attempt is made to detect the learning theories which are integrated in the most important educational programs offered by the Department of Education and Skills and the Pedagogical Institute. In the present thesis an attempt was made, based on the existing bibliography, to create the criteria through which the integration of learning theories in the educational software is detected. Afterwards, a quantitative and qualitative research was carried out, which allows the target group, including secondary education Science teachers, who are on the second level of training, as far as the exploitation and application of Information and Communications Technology in the act of teaching is concerned, to express their opinion on the educational software under discussion by replying to a specific means of data collection in order for them to be classified on the basis of the learning theory or theories they adopt. The educational software of the Department of Education and Skills and the Pedagogical Institute, which was the object of study according to the Learning Theories they exploit, treats the syllabus of the basic Secondary Education courses: Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. Their choice was based on the fact that most of them constitute the basic educational software which the Department of Education and Skills and the Pedagogical Institute suggest to be used at school and which are utilized in the Teacher Training Course concerning the exploitation and application of Information and Communications Technology in the Act of Teaching (second level). This thesis was an effort to create the operational criteria, that is the tools, by means of which the educational software can be classified on the basis of the encapsulated Learning Theories and an effort, as well, to ascertain which ones of the Learning Theories are encapsulated in the Educational Software under review

Many non-academic sources praise in-game tutorials with little text and claim that experiential and visual learning are effective ways to teach players game mechanics. This study was made to test if a visual tutorial is superior to a textual one when it comes to teaching the player game mechanics for the game MellowFizz. The study will be helpful to game designers who wish to create well-designed tutorial. An A/B study was conducted with 21 participants to collect data. Two different versions of the same tutorial were made for the study, one using only visual elements and the other only texts, and the participants were asked to fill in a survey after playing the game. The results after analyzing survey responses suggests that the best tutorial would include visual cues in combination with single words rather than long sentences. However, further studies are needed to confirm findings.

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This thesis discusses how the restructuring of the UK television industry in the 1980s and 1990s has affected learning and skills development in the sector. It is based on 71 semi-structured interviews with television freelancers and key informants in the industry, and a case study of a small regional independent company developed through semi-structured interviews and three months of participant observation. To investigate the current learning and skills development mechanisms, this thesis engages with community-based learning theories. These are discussed in relation to industry characteristics such as commissioning and independent production and labour market realities related to freelance work and educational provision. The findings reveal that the traditional on the job learning mechanisms within communities of practice are challenged under the new structural context characterised by unrestricted entry and progression and short-term projects within an uncertain employment context. Commercial pressures affect both the access to learning opportunities and the learning experience, mainly because of the lack of legitimate and gradual experiential learning possibilities, short-term involvement in the industry under pressures to perform. The thesis also discusses the realities of the work in a small regional independent production company as well as its benefits and limitations as a venue for community-based learning. This thesis concludes with several policy recommendations which address some of the main challenges to the sustainable skills development in UK television. These recommendations subscribe to the need for introducing legitimate traineeships, entry rules and detaching learning from the commercial pressures in the sector.

School and learning readiness are continually being placed under the spotlight in an attempt to protect the grade 1 learner from possible learning failures, since unsuccessful learning experiences have negative effects even on a person's adult life. A factor that plays a significant role in the current teaching situation in the RSA is the fact that many grade 1 leamers are not instructed in their mother tongue and that they are not familiar with the concepts which are used in the language of learning and teaching. Another important factor is the fact that since 2004 learners may enrol as grade 1 learners at primary schools if they are five and a half years old and did not attend a grade R class. In this study the problems experienced by grade 1 leamers in primary schools since the implementation of Outcomes-based Education in the RSA in 1998, were determined by means of a pilot study. It was followed up by a literature study on the brain and factors that influence the working of the brain among young learners, as well as learning and factors that cannot only promote learning among this age group, but also disadvantage it. The literature was also consulted to look at stimulation of the child's development in the early development stage (0-9 years). As cross control for the study, the influence of the implementation of the RNCS was determined by means of a Likert-type questionnaire that was sent to grade1 teachers. As a result of factors that were identified from the above-named literature study and from the information acquired from the pilot project and Likert-type questionnaire, a conceptual stimulation programme for multicultural grade 1 classes was developed to provide in the shortcomings that currently occur among grade 1 learners. The Aptitude Test for School beginners (ASB), a standarised school readiness test of the HSRC, was used as a measuring instrument to acquire a differentiated image in a scientific way of the grade 1 learners (n = 39) for the purpose of this study. Thereafter, the learners were divided into an experimental and a control group. The conceptual stimulation programme was presented to the experimental group for ten consecutive weeks. The AS6 test was then conducted again with all the grade 1 learners involved. Both the first and final tests were marked according to the prescribed marking keys, interpreted according to the norm tables and statistically processed. The pre and post test scores of the two groups were compared and the experimental group improved in all 8 sections of the test battery, namely perception, spatial, reasoning, numerical, Gestalt, co-ordination , memory and verbal comprehension. In each of these categories there was an increase of d = 0.5 and more which according to Cohen's d-values, can be regarded as practically meaningful. The above-mentioned results indicate that the effective presentation of a conceptual stimulation programme to a group of multicultural grade 1 learners provides positive results and that the didactical methods used during the presentation can be recommended to grade 1 teachers in the current multicultural schools in the RSA. The programme can serve as a prototype to adress the shortcomings identified in the practise (questionnaires) and the literature study. Keywords for indexing are: stimulation programme, schoolreadiness, schoolreadiness programme, cognitive development, learning theories, conceptual learning, brain development. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

The purpose of this study was to explore the variables that might affect the learning outcomes of a serious game for disaster preparedness. Literature review in the field has revealed a number of variables that might have effects on the learning outcome with serious games, including: prior knowledge, in game guidance, gaming frequency, and playing skills. However, there has been no study on the relationships and effects between the types of knowledge (i.e., declarative, or procedural) used in serious games and the intended learning outcomes. Using disaster preparedness as a learning context, this study examines the two types of knowledge: (1) declarative (i.e., learners’ ability to retain facts and information), and (2) procedural knowledge (learners’ ability to perform actions and procedures), and their relationships with the learning outcomes of a serious game. The research question was: “To what extent do: prior knowledge, in-game guidance, and gaming frequency, predict the learning outcomes, in the forms of declarative and procedural knowledge of a disaster preparedness serious game?”

In order to enhance teaching it is important to understand how students learn. The aim of this study was to discover the interventions needed to enhance the support offered by teachers and tutors in a Business Accounting programme to develop in students an intrinsic motivation and deep learning strategy which could be used later in life in other areas of study. The data came from a number of sources, including the Biggs’ revised two-factor Study Process Questionnaire: R-SPQ-2F, administered to students. The second source was tutors’ responses to a set of questions, and the third source was an interview held with an experienced tutor. In the main, the data was analysed using phenomenographic methodology. The study yielded valuable insights into the tutorial context and tutors’ perceptions of the factors that hinder or enhance student learning.

In order to develop quality and excellence in e-Learning environment, manyinitiatives have been carried out in developing countries. In Bangladesh Informationand communication technologies (ICTS) are considered valuable tools for educationbut there is no proper framework for the country to develop a quality e-Learningsystem. Though it is somewhat used in higher level of studies but it is still new inprimary education system. If primary education system can be developed through elearning,then it will be more beneficial for higher level of studies.Our goal is to introduce a possible framework to adopt a quality e-Learning system inprimary educational institutes. So that the primary level education system can bedeveloped and take the advantages of e-Learning system.The result of this study would create an impact for the community who are stillindifferent about the development of primary education system and prompt thedecision makers of the primary educational institute to introduce e-Learning system intheir institutes through quality framework for e-learning. / Program: Magisterutbildning i informatik