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This study explores what 10-12-year-old students say they like and value in works of visual art. As the participants talk about their own and other people‟s art works they are formulating and expressing aesthetic responses and beginning to shape their individual aesthetic awareness. Because of the age of the participants, the exploration is framed in terms of “what makes art good”. The research was prompted by the introduction and implementation of the New Zealand Curriculum (2007), which not only positions art as a core area of learning, but also outlines values and key competencies that characterise a constructivist approach to knowledge. Such an approach requires active engagement by learners and suggests that it is important for teachers to understand their students‟ values and views. However, in the field of art education there is little published material that examines the views and reactions of students. A broadly qualitative approach to the case study was taken, drawing particularly on phenomenography and narrative. The study found that 10-12 year-old students do actively make judgements about art works, and while there are common themes that occur repeatedly, the bases of such judgement vary from student to student. The study also found students‟ ways of approaching art-making varied, with some, for example, concerned predominantly with the technical process while others were more interested in imagery or narrative intention. The thesis argues that it is important for teachers to be aware of how their students individually process their aesthetic responses in order to develop relevant and appropriate programmes.

It is the aim of this investigation to compare the use of normally recommended toys, ordinarily used in the play-therapy setting, with more sophisticated, "grown-up" toys, when working with twelve-year-old children.

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Master of Philosophy in Education / Literacy skills include expressive language, oral and written, and receptive language, comprehension. This study explores both aspects of language in six Kindergarten children differing in early literacy development- three judged by teacher assessment to be 'at risk', and three acquiring Kindergarten skills as expected. Oral retellings of a familiar narrative and an unfamiliar story just heard, and a personal recount were taped and analysed using Halliday's Systemic Functional Grammar. Comprehension responses to individually shared narratives were also collected and analysed. The children's use of language and comprehension responses varied significantly. Those 'at risk' were unable to retell narratives, needed high levels of support to comprehend texts and produced less cohesive personal recounts. The linguistic analysis revealed vocabulary and rhetorical organisation affected the reconstruction of oral narratives. These children also seemed to find comprehending difficult when questions or recall involved following reference, negotiating marked Theme or drawing inferences. The study was designed as a series of one to one literacy experiences. A listening comprehension test showed that all children except one benefitted from the experience. The findings underline the importance of oral language development and the value of interactive teaching experiences to the attainment of sophisticated literacy skills.

Master of Philosophy in Education / Literacy skills include expressive language, oral and written, and receptive language, comprehension. This study explores both aspects of language in six Kindergarten children differing in early literacy development-three judged by teacher assessment to be 'at risk', and three acquiring Kindergarten literacy skills as expected. Oral retellings of a familiar narrative and an unfamiliar story just heard, and a personal recount were taped and analysed using Halliday's Systemic Functional Grammar. Comprehension responses to individually shared narratives were also collected and analysed. The children's use of language and comprehension responses varied significantly. Those 'at risk' were unable to retell narratives, needed high levels of support to comprehend texts and produced less cohesive personal recounts. The linguistic analysis revealed vocabulary and rhetorical organisation affected the reconstruction of oral narratives. These children also seemed to find comprehending difficult when questions or recall involved following reference, negotiating marked Theme or drawing inferences. The study was designed as a series of one to one literacy experiences. A listening comprehension test showed that all children except one benefitted from the experience. The findings underline the importance of oral language development and the value of interactive teaching experiences to the attainment of sophisticated literacy skills.

Implementing sustainability initiatives within a post-secondary institution can start with educating and influencing staff and students. It requires thoughtful planning and preparation in order to realistically expect the target audience to accept, implement, and adopt such plans. Assuming education and encouragement towards sustainable behaviour are the foundation of successful implementation, including the stakeholders in the planning process would seem to be a logical approach in educating for sustainable behaviour. Since post-secondary institutions are communities within communities, they provide a logical starting point to research the challenges of implementing a sustainability education initiative. This thesis explores potential implementation barriers of a recently proposed initiative within the 2010- 2014 Olds College Business Plan of educating staff and students of Olds College about sustainability, so that they become engaged participants in the creation of a College-wide sustainability plan.

Master of Philosophy in Education / Literacy skills include expressive language, oral and written, and receptive language, comprehension. This study explores both aspects of language in six Kindergarten children differing in early literacy development- three judged by teacher assessment to be 'at risk', and three acquiring Kindergarten skills as expected. Oral retellings of a familiar narrative and an unfamiliar story just heard, and a personal recount were taped and analysed using Halliday's Systemic Functional Grammar. Comprehension responses to individually shared narratives were also collected and analysed. The children's use of language and comprehension responses varied significantly. Those 'at risk' were unable to retell narratives, needed high levels of support to comprehend texts and produced less cohesive personal recounts. The linguistic analysis revealed vocabulary and rhetorical organisation affected the reconstruction of oral narratives. These children also seemed to find comprehending difficult when questions or recall involved following reference, negotiating marked Theme or drawing inferences. The study was designed as a series of one to one literacy experiences. A listening comprehension test showed that all children except one benefitted from the experience. The findings underline the importance of oral language development and the value of interactive teaching experiences to the attainment of sophisticated literacy skills.

Master of Philosophy in Education / Literacy skills include expressive language, oral and written, and receptive language, comprehension. This study explores both aspects of language in six Kindergarten children differing in early literacy development-three judged by teacher assessment to be 'at risk', and three acquiring Kindergarten literacy skills as expected. Oral retellings of a familiar narrative and an unfamiliar story just heard, and a personal recount were taped and analysed using Halliday's Systemic Functional Grammar. Comprehension responses to individually shared narratives were also collected and analysed. The children's use of language and comprehension responses varied significantly. Those 'at risk' were unable to retell narratives, needed high levels of support to comprehend texts and produced less cohesive personal recounts. The linguistic analysis revealed vocabulary and rhetorical organisation affected the reconstruction of oral narratives. These children also seemed to find comprehending difficult when questions or recall involved following reference, negotiating marked Theme or drawing inferences. The study was designed as a series of one to one literacy experiences. A listening comprehension test showed that all children except one benefitted from the experience. The findings underline the importance of oral language development and the value of interactive teaching experiences to the attainment of sophisticated literacy skills.

Thesis (M.S.)--School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, 2008. / "June 2008." Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 92-95). Also available via the Internet.