The study aims to find out whether pupils of the 2nd grade of selected elementary schools in Prague 4 are able to effectively refine themselves. The main question that this diploma thesis deals with is the question whether pupils at the 2nd grade of elementary schools are equipped with such cognitive competences and vocabulary to handle this difficult role in the form of self-reflection. The sub-objectives identified the views of pupils at the 2nd grade and their teachers on self-esteem as pupils compose every quarter of their achievement and behavior assessments, record their progress and reflect on other areas where they could improve. The data was obtained through an on-line questionnaire survey and was evaluated using descriptive statistics tools. The research was carried out at the above-mentioned elementary school in Prague 4. Out of 211 pupils of the second grade, 184 pupils participated in the research. Overall 9 teachers from the total number of 17 with the approval for the second grade of primary school filled the questionnaire survey. Another type of survey is the analysis of selected quarterly self-evaluation of pupils and subsequent interviews with selected pupils. The results show pupils' incompetence towards a quarterly self-assessment. There is also a problem in the form of...

The number of foreigners moving to the Czech Republic has been raising in the past decade. Education of foreigners' children at lower secondary school is inevitable, because this level is obligatory for children aged six to fifteen, or eighteen in some cases. The aim of this thesis is to focus on education of foreign children at lower secondary level and to survey educational material provided by organizations. These materials should be helpful when integrating foreigners or teaching about migration. The practical part is a case study in which there is everything about how the particular school works with foreigners. The approach of teachers to these children is also illustrated there. The thesis reveals whether the teachers are ready for teaching foreign children who speak different mother tongue; it also evaluates the contribution of the school to integrating the children to the society.

The diploma thesis pursues a pupil's transition to a lower secondary school. The theoretical part describes the development of Czech primary and lower secondary school. It compares the compulsory education in European countries and describes a phenomenon of transition in view of its development in an international context during the past few decades. The empirical part explores main topics of pupil's transition to higher level of education. The research is based on the case study of the primary school with pupil's transition from the fourth grade and from the fifth grade. The research aim is to find out how the transition is viewed by the pupils and their teachers and to find out the reasons for an alternation of classic model of the transition in the fifth grade of primary school. It presents the advantages and disadvantages of this modification in a view of current pupils' development. The results show that neither pupils nor the teachers perceive any major differences in a timing of the transition. For all the pupils, with no regard to the model of the transition, the more important change is the entering to the sixth grade, which is connected with the change of the curriculum. The pupils transitioning according to a new model perceive the transition after the fourth grade as an advantage for...

This thesis discusses the topic of supporting the mental resilience of lower-secondary school students. It starts with a brief summary of the protective and risk factors and adolescent stress situations characteristics followed by a thorough overview of methods for development and further strengthening of mental resilience. Next, it describes the role of mental health in curricular documents. The work aims to develop a preventive program, put it in practice at a selected secondary school and evaluate its efficiency using repetitive questionnaires. The program further includes a thorough description of the methodology with attachments for teachers, who will guide the students throughout the program, as well as a portfolio for the student participants. KEYWORDS Prevention, program, mental resilience, lower-secondary school students.

The diploma thesis is focused on building a school institution using contemporary information and trends. The corresponding plot is located in Ostrava near Black Meadow, a historic centre, Ostravice river and recently arising housing complex New Carolina. Therefore this locality is becoming a suitable place for building the school institution. The main idea was to build a school not only for children but also for general public. The centre of the complex is a yard and a vestibule, which divides the building site into private spaces used solely by pupils of the school (classrooms, storage rooms, buffet...) and spaces open to the public (gymnasium, fitness centre, climbing wall, school cafeteria, art studio, library...). Due to these public places the school is “alive” even in the afternoons.

Previous research claims that studies on pupil code-switching are lacking in number. Therefore, this study aimed to provide a picture of how lower secondary students in Sweden perceive code-switching inside and outside the Swedish EFL classroom, how the interlocutor affects the pupils’ code-switching as well as the pupils’ attitudes to the phenomenon. The material consists of semi-structured interviews with seven pupils at a lower secondary school. Qualitative content analysis was used as a method to process the interview data. The results show that code-switching occurs in relation to language proficiency in order to explain, annotate and exemplify second language content in the pupils’ first language and in this way enhance learning. This is done by the teachers when leading the class or by the pupils themselves in group discussions or during exercises. Furthermore, results show that interlocutors could be both enablers and be enabled to code-switch during discussions. In addition, the pupils had varied attitudes to code-switching where it was either seen as a mistake to code-switch, or that the pupils code-switched to add effect to their language. The pupils claimed to have different proficiency of the English language and spoke a varied amount of L1 during the lessons. However, all pupils agreed that English should be the primary language in the Swedish EFL classroom. The study concluded with a discussion on the pedagogical implications of the study where it could be used by teachers as a communicative resource.

Matematikundervisningen i den svenska grundskolan är starkt läromedelstyrd. Med en fundamental grund i det svenska styrdokumentet LGR 11 har läromedlen genom undervisningen en betydande roll för att utveckla och gynna elevernas lärande. Undervisningen påverkas således av det ämnesinnehåll ett läromedel består av. Kunskaper i algebra har visat ha en betydande roll för elevers matematikinlärning. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka vad som kännetecknar det algebraiska innehållet i dagens läroböcker. Detta med fokus på hur det algebraiska tänkandet kan karakteriseras och gynnas för elever i grundskolans senare årskurser. Med läroböckernas starka koppling till styrdokumenten tas även i beaktning hur algebraiskt innehåll beskrivs och hanteras där. Matematikdidaktisk forskning finns att tillgå med liknande syfte för grundskolans tidigare år där ett ramverk av fem Big Ideas fastställts för att karakterisera det algebraiska innehållet i läroböcker. Detta ramverk har använts även i denna studie med fokus på årskurs 7-9. Resultaten visar att det algebraiska innehållet i grundskolans senare år är starkt präglat av variabelhantering såväl som olika metoder och aspekter relevanta för ekvationslösning. / Mathematics education in Sweden is heavily influenced by textbooks. Being based on the Swedish curriculum and adapted to its content, the textbooks carry great weight in relation to the pupils’ teaching experience. Algebraic knowledge comprises an important role in the learning of mathematics. The aim of this study is to identify what characterizes the algebraic content in Swedish textbooks and curriculums for the lower secondary school. Researchers within mathematics education have previously published studies related to this aim in the lower level of elementary school. Five Big Ideas were identified and used as a framework to characterize the algebraic content in earlier studies. Those five Big Ideas were also used as a framework in this study. The results show that the algebraic content in lower secondary school is largely composed of methods for using variables. Methods and aspects suitable for solving equations were also frequently represented.

The aim of this thesis is to develop knowledge about what students actually learn in lower secondary school science, regardless of intentions and policies. This is conceptualized as a study of the lived curriculum. During the last decades, new ways of organizing classroom work have evolved in Sweden. Students are to an increasing extent expected to take responsibility for what, when, and how they study. The aim of this thesis is therefore delimited to the study of which lived curriculum is constituted in such an individually organized science classroom practice. The theoretical foundation is a cultural-historical activity-theoretical perspective on human learning and development. The point of departure is that what we learn must be understood as an aspect of the activities we engage in. The research approach is ethnographic; field studies were conducted in two science classes, grades six and seven (ages 12 to 14 years old), in a Swedish midsized compulsory school during one school-year. The first result is that two different practices are discerned in the studied science classroom. One classroom practice is a criteria-based practice, where students work individually with local school criteria determining what students must be able to do in order to get a pass or a pass with distinction in the natural science subjects. The other classroom practice is a laboratory practice, where students do laboratory experiments and write laboratory reports. The second result is that students, in both practices, participate in different actions; either production and reproduction of correct answers or development of conceptual relations. These actions correspond in varying degrees to different motives; as a consequence, different scientific formation is made possible in the two different actions. A third result is that classroom practice supports student participation in the action of reproducing correct answers; while participation in the development of conceptual relations is a more risky and uncertain endeavour. However, there is evidence that students’ ways of participating can change, to a more qualified, as conditions for work change. A conclusion is that work in science classroom practice cannot, as suggested in previous research, be comprehended in terms of cultural border-crossings, between a culture of science and student cultures. Rather, work in science classroom practice must be conceptualized in terms of schooling.

This thesis presents students relationship to the nature education at primary school or at lower secondary school level and shows the primary school role in life of students. Further there are investigated reasons for the popularity of natural history, respondent's relationship to teachers and to different types of teaching activities. A part of this thesis was to create a questionnaire which was assigned to high school students in the city of České Budějovice. The questionnaire result assessment was performed in combination of graphical and table forms with the additional text comment providing a clearer reading comprehension.

The aim of the thesis Innovative Approaches to Czech Language Curriculum at Lower Secondary School was to discover whether any innovative approaches to subject Czech language at lower secondary schools were included in their school education programme, if the answer was positive, the aim was to define which innovative approaches exactly they were. The thesis is divided into a theoretical part and a practical part. The theoretical part analyzes the general approach to curriculum and also the specific approach towards the Czech language. The thesis includes a brief history of the curricular reform, which was implemented in January 2005, and the opinions of the experts on the reform. The practical part contains the analysis of the innovative approaches towards the curriculum of the Czech language at the chosen thirteen lower secondary schools in the Czech Republic. A specific interest was given to innovative approaches towards the Czech language which were in agreement with the curricular reform and with the innovative didactic approaches in general. The chosen method is a comparison and the analysis of the texts. The results indicate that the innovative approaches are present in the curricular materials at the chosen schools, specifically in the syllabus of the subject Czech language. The results...