Financial literacy Financial illiteracy among the population is a painful problem, probably in every country in the world, including Czech Republic. The first part of this work intends to define financial literacy as a subject of andragogy. The next parts are concerned with various researches regarding financial literacy, mostly from the United States and from the Czech Republic. Then, many projects, that shall improve financial literacy among Czech population, are going to be observed and compared. We will see how the main three sectors (the state, commercial subjects and the NGO's) are cooperating in order to achieve the common goals in spreading the financial literacy. The last part of this work is about dividing the population into various groups on the basis of their financial literacy level.

This thesis contributes to the history of reading in the eighteenth century by examining the impact of reading on the life and work of the bookseller James Lackington. It illustrates the transfonnative power of reading in the period, its ability radically to alter the life of a man of humble birth. It presents a detailed analysis of Lackington's two autobiographies, Memoirs of the First Forty-Five Years of the Life of James Lackington (1791), and the later and neglected Confessions of J Lackington (1804). The numerous quotations they contain become the basis in the thesis for a detailed reconstruction of Lackington' s reading. These two texts also provide evidence of Lackington's use of literary tools such as review journals, miscellanies and dictionaries, and the thesis here builds upon the work of Barbara Benedict, Leah Price, Antonia Foster and others to trace his developing confidence as consumer and distributor of texts. It uncovers the crucial role played by Methodism in Lackington's reading career and documents his complex relationship to the religion of his youth, which he rejects in favour of freethinking only to return to it in later life. The thesis is also concerned to explore the relationship between reading and identity in the eighteenth century. It discusses the way in which Lackington employs reading in his autobiographies to construct a new identity compatible with his social aspirations, and it considers his attempts to influence the choices of the reading public both in his autobiographies and, as a bookseller, by designing sales catalogues to appeal to and aid inexperienced readers in their buying choices. Unlike previous studies, it examines the whole of Lackington's life, not just his bookselling years, and in so doing gives a fuller account of the rich and complex relationship between religion and reading in this period. Lackington, it is argued, was an extraordinary reader himself, as well as an inspirational seller of books and promoter of reading in others.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. / Many researchers are attempting to quantify or understand the value of information, especially for the Army as it enters its transformation. Information can be decomposed into various qualities. Three of these qualities, timeliness, accuracy, and completeness, form the basis for this thesis. This thesis uses a simulation framework developed by the author to analyze the three components of information listed above. The scenario selected is a typical vignette of an Objective Force company-sized element conducting offensive operations against threat elements. Knowledge of the threat was compromised by the presence of decoy elements as well as previously damaged or killed systems (BDA). In this scenario the fires are initiated from standoff ranges. The initial and running assessments of the threat composition are made based on the information provided by sensors on board the unit's organic unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Analysis of the simulation results helps in understanding how components of information quality affect the overall effectiveness of the force as reflected in an efficiency measure. Additionally, critical thresholds for accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of information are pinpointed to inform Objective Force decision makers. / Major, United States Army

M.Ed. / This study focuses on the role of ABET programmes in the rural South African context in the Thohoyandou Area. The introduction of ABET has created much uncertainty among adult learners, centre managers and the facilitators. A qualitative research approach was followed and a case study design was adopted to look at a small group of participants. In addition, the following methods were used to collect data: structured interviews, focus group interviews and non-participant observation. The study discovered that participants have different views regarding the factors that influence their enrolment in ABET centres. Furthermore, the major reason to attend an ABET centre is to eradicate poverty and illiteracy. Through ABET programmes, adult learners are taught to read, write, start projects such as sewing, gardening and juice making. This means that ABET programmes are empowering the people in South Africa. Participants included stakeholders affected by the introduction of the new curriculum of ABET. It was revealed in this study that in 1993 some three million South Africans were illiterate, and that around three million unemployed adults had inadequate basic schooling. In order to bridge this gap, the Ministry of Education introduced ABET as a force for social participation and economic development, providing an essential component of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP). The establishment of these ABET programmes were expected to make more cost effective use of available educational facilities. However, ABET centres tend to have a substantial drop-out rate. The consequences of illiteracy amongst adults are still reflected through the economy in the form of low productivity, poor quality of life of low-income households and communities, and in political and social instability. Furthermore, in 1999 there were over 23 million adults between the ages of 16 and 65 and beyond three million who never had access to basic learning. In order to improve the role of ABET programmes in the rural South African context, the following recommendations set out below were suggested.• This inquiry revealed that there is a shortage of facilities such as books, computers and sewing machines. I therefore recommend that the Department of Education should provide the facilities to all the centres. • It also revealed that participants dropped out from ABET programmes because they thought that they are able to read and write sufficiently well. I recommend that adult learners should be told about the value of ABET programmes. • The study revealed that adult learners dropout from the centre because there was no one to look after the children when they were in the centre. I recommend that ABET classes should be conducted on weekends, when most of the people who look after the children would be available. • The study further revealed that participants dropout from ABET because they find employment far from their homes and the ABET centres. It is important for these participants to seek other ABET centres where they are working.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand teachers' experiences related to the implementation of Reading First in the classroom and more specifically, how Reading First has impacted curriculum, instruction, assessment, student achievement, and professional development. The participants for this study were five certified, kindergarten and first grade public school teachers. In depth interviews were conducted with each participant regarding her experiences with the implementation of Reading First. Once collected, the data was then analyzed according to a method advanced by Moustakas (1994) and reported. Findings and recommendations included, but were not limited to the following: 1. There are advantages and disadvantages for both students and teachers. The biggest disadvantage for teachers was the lack of flexibility and instructional decision-making imposed by Reading First. 2. Most of the teachers felt there needed to be more of a focus on comprehension, not just phoneme segmentation and oral reading fluency. 3. Some teachers felt that Reading First hurts some of the kids, especially the lowest kids and the above level kids. 4. All participants in this study reported collaboration with other teachers, interventionists, and reading coaches regarding curriculum, instruction, assessment and student achievement. 5. All of the teachers stated that they have received professional training as a result of Reading First which in turn has helped them to become more effective teachers. The researcher believes that the administrators of Reading First need to be more flexible and receptive to the input of those, namely teachers, who implement the directives. There needs to be a course of action allowing for a review to be done and modifications to be made to ensure that the premise of Reading First is upheld.

School districts are hiring literacy coaches to provide professional development and followup support for teachers as a means to improve teacher effectiveness and student achievement in reading. A paucity of research exists reflecting a clear analysis of the factors which can be used to determine the effectiveness of a coach. According to a survey conducted by Roller (2006), few districts follow standards developed by the International Reading Association (2003) related to qualifications and experience. This lack of consistency in the training required could influence the effectiveness of the coach. The purpose of the study was to determine the effectiveness of coaches as perceived by administrators, teachers, and the coaches themselves, and to understand the factors that contributed to this effectiveness. In this study, coaches, teachers, and school administrators completed a survey entitled Survey of Perceived Effectiveness of the Literacy Coach (SPELC) to determine how the effectiveness of the coach was perceived by all three groups. Factors predicting the self-rated effectiveness of the coaches were determined. The coaches were also surveyed to collect information on their background and the extent of training they received in the area of literacy coaching to examine the influence these factors had on their perceptions of effectiveness. The sample of participants (n=487) consisted of 54 administrators, 242 teachers, and 191 coaches. The Literacy Coach Perceived Effectiveness Scale (LCES) was developed to measure perceptions of effectiveness using scores derived from 22 items. The SPELC was used to collect data from the participants to compare the effectiveness ratings of literacy coaches. Teachers ix rated the effectiveness of coaches significantly lower (score of 42) than administrators (score of 50.6). Literacy coaches’ perception of their effectiveness was similar to that of the administrators (score of 52.2) The self-reported effectiveness of coaches was used to determine the factors that predicted high perceptions of effectiveness. The two factors of overriding importance were years of coaching experience and university-level training in topics related to literacy coaching. Overall, the findings show the importance of advanced education in reading education in determining the perception of effectiveness of a literacy coach.

One can argue that embracing technological models may produce students who are illiterate in the "proper" methods of communication. With rapid technological change, some fear traditions in their "original" form may be lost. Practices such as trying to recapture the artist's intent should be abandoned as a way of opening up literacy discourse to multiple narratives. Failing to critically explore the possibilities of emerging models of thinking, teaching, and learning in a technological culture can produce a loss equal to the loss of tradition. An a/r/tographer works toward a fluid practice between the domains of artist, researcher, and teacher in order to negotiate emerging forms of visual/tactile/auditory communication which include the body as a networked organism situated recursively within the larger structure of society. This study occurred during two separate semesters of an art education course for pre-service elementary teachers. Through interaction with hypermedia, social networking, installation art, and mash-ups, the teacher and students became artists, researchers, and teachers in a community of practice. A new form of teaching practice was envisioned that opens the possibility for both collective and individual understandings in the formation of curricula. A set of guiding principles was invented through practice as a way of producing a deeper understanding of culture and self. The following principles were derived from engagement with emerging technologies: In<SCRIPT>ion, Flip the Script, (H)Activation, Sample, (Re)mix, and Avatar. (H)Activation produces a learning environment that disrupts the flow of teaching, learning, literacy, art, technology, etc., as a way of programming practice for the inclusion of multiple narratives. Utilizing bricolage or a Do It Yourself approach, an apparatus for programming emerged, "image"/"i"/"nation". The term "image"/"i"/"nation" is a play on the concept of the imagination. Through reflexive application the imagination is split allowing connections and disconnections through practice. By engaging in its application the teacher and students became better able to formulate new ways of negotiating curricula, literacy practice, and artistic production.

The aim of this study is to determine the comprehension levels of safety signs with and without written aids among South African workers. Numerous studies on warnings and safety have identified certain factors that can influence the effectiveness of safety communications such as, individuals’ behavioural responses to safety messages as well as the impact of design features on safety information (Kline, Braun, Peterson & Silver, 1993). However, little research has explored the role that literacy plays in interpreting safety information, specifically in developing countries such as South Africa where illiteracy is common. Sixty structured interviews were conducted at the Johannesburg General Hospital, a locale which essentially everyone has equal public access to. Twelve randomly ordered safety signs were presented to participants upon which they were required to describe what they understood each safety sign meant. Varied education and literacy levels were evident however the majority of the sample had only received some level of high school education. Interestingly, of the twelve safety signs chosen for this study, only three safety signs (SS1, SS4 and SS7) were ‘acceptable’ according to ANSI Z535.3 (1991) and ISO’s 3864 (1984) criteria. Furthermore, results from this study suggest that there is a relationship between one’s level of education and the understanding of certain safety signs.

This study focused on teachers’ views on the role of context in Mathematical Literacy. The study falls within a constructivist framework. The research method used was a case study involving two teachers. The data for the study was collected from teachers through semi-structured interviews and was collected from learners through mathematical literacy tasks. In the analysis of the research data, five issues are identified and discussed: They are concerned with (a) the balance between content and context, (b) the relation between context and access to mathematics, (c) links between context and interest, (d) context and language and (e) context as a barrier in mathematics. The study concludes that real life context is very important and useful in teaching and learning mathematics. However, teachers need be careful in selecting context because inappropriate context can become a barrier to learning. The report concludes with recommendations for classroom practice, teacher education and further research.

This study aimed to investigate the extent to which a class of grade 10 students at a private, co-educational school in Johannesburg, South Africa, are digitally literate and how they engage with digital technology both inside and outside the classroom. The study also aimed to explore some implications of these students‟ digital literacy practices for the teaching of English at the school. Data were collected from interviews and from questionnaires completed by the students. Students also wrote digital literacy histories. The main finding is that the participants in the study are digitally literate and engage with digital technology on a day-to-day basis. They are the lap generation (Tapscott, 1998) as they are lapping their parents and teachers with regard to their knowledge and use of digital technology. This use occurs primarily in their out-of-school, or social, environments and is not being drawn on substantively in the classroom, even in a well-resourced school.