A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies, Faculty of Education, 2018. / Writing remains central to effective learning. It is through writing that learners are able to access knowledge, express their ideas and thoughts in different subjects across the curriculum. Through writing, learners are also expected to display the acquired knowledge in their assessments and examinations. Competency in writing is therefore crucial for learners, especially in the last three years of schooling, prior to them entering the demanding writing contexts of higher education. Despite this, writing continues to be a challenge for the majority of learners in South Africa, especially those learners writing in their second language in which they are not competent and confident. Thus, this calls for the special attention to how writing is taught and learnt, specifically at the FET levels. This study, therefore, investigated the nature and pedagogical implication of English First Additional Language Learners (EFAL) writing among Further Education and Training (FET) phase learners in the Pinetown District. Guided by the Socio-cultural Learning Theory, I observed the writing lessons, analysed the types of writing produced by learners and explored the quality of writing among FET learners to understand the extent to which the writing practices and pedagogy meet the expectations of the curriculum. Five FET schools in the Pinetown District were purposively selected to participate in this study. Underpinned by the qualitative framework, the study employed the interpretative paradigm to understand the human experiences of writing within the natural classroom contexts. To gain insights into the writing activities and classroom pedagogy, five writing lessons were observed and recorded using a video camera. To understand the types of writing and the quality of learners’ writing, learners’ written tasks were collected and analysed. Findings from the analysis of the sample of written tasks collected from the five schools indicated that learners produced different types of writing: narrative essays, formal letters, friendly letters, formal letters, obituaries, diary entries, directions, interviews, invitation cards and covering letters. The study also found that this is in line with the curriculum which suggests that learners should be exposed to different types of texts to develop their cognitive and creative writing skills. The study found ii that the learners’ writing contained recurring incorrect spelling, misuse of capitalisation, violation of punctuation rules and incorrect use of tenses. Even though the analysis of the learners’ written tasks revealed that such incorrect use of writing mechanics does not necessarily affect comprehension or meaning of the learners’ texts, they, however, affect the overall judgement of the learners’ writing. Data from classroom observations, lesson analyses and analysis of the curriculum show that, at most, the writing approaches used by the teachers were in line with the writing approach suggested by the curriculum. Findings from the analyses of the writing lessons indicate that teachers mostly used the question and answer method to teach writing in the five schools. This method entails the teachers controlling the interactions in the classrooms through nomination-response cycle. The findings from the analyses of lessons suggest that teachers creatively employed code-switching for pedagogical and pastoral purposes. The study found code-switching to enhance learners’ understanding and thus fulfils an academic purpose, especially in situations where switching to isiZulu explained concepts better. The study concludes that the effectiveness of any curriculum and pedagogy depends on the teachers’ knowledge and understanding of writing and approaches to writing. For the effective development of the learners’ writing, teachers must, firstly, understand their curriculum and implement it in their classrooms. Secondly, the researcher believes that successful teaching and learning of writing also depends on the effective instruction methods that embrace the socio-cultural learning perspectives. Lastly, the researcher found code-switching to be inevitable in second language writing classrooms where the teachers and learners are competent in more than one language. The study recommends collaborative writing activities in the learners’ Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and the recognition of learners’ home language for the learning of second language writing skills.

Writing plays an important role in people's daily communication. But for Chinese university students, writing an English composition constitutes a tough task, in which the use of cohesive devices is one of the major problems. Though cohesion has a lot to do with the quality of a composition, the empirical study of their relationship from the perspective of quantitative research is rarely done.

Submitted by JULIANA GUIMARÃES MARCELINO AKURI null (juakuri@hotmail.com) on 2016-03-01T01:40:38Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Currículo na Educação Infantil.pdf: 950168 bytes, checksum: 63bc226a2918a1c2c4b6a43dd9a9ac44 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Paula Grisoto (grisotoana@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2016-03-01T14:32:44Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 akuri_jgm_me_mar.pdf: 950168 bytes, checksum: 63bc226a2918a1c2c4b6a43dd9a9ac44 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-01T14:32:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 akuri_jgm_me_mar.pdf: 950168 bytes, checksum: 63bc226a2918a1c2c4b6a43dd9a9ac44 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-03 / A concepção de um currículo para a Educação Infantil promotor do máximo desenvolvimento humano das crianças de até 5 anos implica a superação dos modelos baseados nas práticas fragmentadas do Ensino Fundamental, ainda tão presentes nas escolas infantis. Para isso, requer a participação de professores comprometidos com uma educação humanizadora, que compreendam o papel ativo da criança na sua aprendizagem, como sujeito que se apropria, mediado pelo professor, da riqueza cultural da humanidade e se desenvolve a patamares cada vez mais elevados. Frente a isso, os objetivos da investigação, em nível de mestrado, no Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação da Faculdade de Filosofia e Ciências da Unesp, Campus de Marília, foram refletir sobre o Currículo na Educação Infantil com base na Teoria Histórico-Cultural e deduzir implicações pedagógicas dessa corrente teórica para a organização curricular da escola de Educação Infantil. Com abordagem qualitativa, o estudo envolveu levantamento bibliográfico em diversas fontes digitais para conhecimento da produção na área e ampliou seu corpus com materiais de acervo particular e outros localizados em bibliotecas de instituições de Ensino Superior, buscando resposta à questão: Quais as implicações pedagógicas das proposições da Teoria Histórico-Cultural para pensarmos o Currículo na Educação Infantil? Delineando uma trajetória histórica e política da Educação Infantil no Brasil, este trabalho apresenta aspectos conceituais do currículo em geral e do Currículo na Educação Infantil, que constituem o pano de fundo para a apresentação de conceitos da Teoria Histórico-Cultural, fundamentais à compreensão do processo de humanização das crianças. Mediante análise desses fundamentos teóricos, são deduzidas implicações pedagógicas para a composição de um currículo orientador de práticas que favoreçam o desenvolvimento pleno das qualidades humanas em crianças da Educação Infantil. Associados às implicações pedagógicas, são destacados elementos para encaminhamentos didáticos na escola, enfatizando possibilidades de acesso das crianças à cultura produzida ao longo da história da humanidade. De modo geral, os resultados da pesquisa apontam para uma organização curricular relacionada às formas mais elaboradas de produção humana, objetivadas e materializadas nas artes, nas ciências, na filosofia e na linguagem. Isso exige conhecimento teórico por parte do professor para eleger e organizar intencionalmente os conteúdos da cultura a serem apropriados e objetivados pelas crianças. Dessa forma, considerando as regularidades e especificidades do desenvolvimento infantil, o professor promove e medeia vivências capazes de contribuir para a formação e o desenvolvimento máximo da inteligência e da personalidade das crianças na Educação Infantil. / The design of a curriculum for Early Childhood Education of the maximum human development promoter of children up to five years implies overcoming the models based on fragmented practices of elementary school, still so present in children's schools. To do this requires the participation of committed teachers with a humanizing education that understand the child's active attitude in learning, as a subject who appropriates, mediated by the educator, of the cultural wealth of humanity and develops into increasingly high levels. Faced to this, the research aims at Masters level in Graduate Studies Program in Education of the Faculdade de Filosofia e Ciências da Unesp, Campus Marília, were reflect about the Curriculum in Early Childhood Education based on the Historical-Cultural Theory and deduct pedagogical implications of this theoretical current for curricular organization of Early Childhood Education School.With a qualitative approach, the study involved bibliographic research on various digital sources for knowledge of the production in the area and expanded its corpus with private collection of materials and others located in libraries of institutions of University Education, trying to answer the question: What are the pedagogical implications of the propositions of the Historical-Cultural Theory to think the Curriculum in Early Childhood Education? Outlining a historical and political trajectory of the Early Childhood Education in Brazil, this paper presents conceptual aspects of the curriculum in general and of the curriculum in Early Childhood Education that form the backdrop for the presentation of concepts of the Historical-Cultural Theory fundamental to understand the children humanization process. By analyzing these theoretical foundations, pedagogical implications are deducted for the composition of a curriculum that guide practice that favor the full development of human qualities in children from Early Childhood Education. Associated to the pedagogical implications, elements to didactic forwarding in school are showed to emphasize possibilities of children’s access to the culture produced throughout the history of humanity. Altogether, the survey results point to a curricular organization related to the most elaborated forms of human production that are objectified in arts, sciences, philosophy and language. This requires theoretical knowledge from the teacher to choose and intentionally organize contents of the culture to be appropriate and objectified by the children. This way, considering the regularities and specificities of child development, the teacher promotes and mediates experiences that contribute to the formation and the maximum development of intelligence and the personality of children in Early Childhood Education.

本研究主要探討在英文敘述文和論說文文本中，英文限定關係子句的篇章功能(discourse functions)。我們主要是從句法、語意、語用和篇章結構(discourse structure)的觀點，來探討限定性關係子句的功能與它在篇章單位(discourse unit)所出現的位置有何關聯。研究結果顯示多數的限定性關係子句出現在篇章單位最前面的位置，而且他們往往引導他們新的先行詞(new head NPs)作為整個篇章單位的主題(topic)。因此我們認為，大多數限定性關係子句會出現在篇章單位最前面的位置，是因為它們有一個很重要的篇章功能，那就是它們要引介新的先行詞作為整個篇章單位的主題。此外，本論文也探討大學英文系學生在他們的英文寫作中，使用限定性關係子句的情形。研究結果發現，在大學生的寫作中，限定性關係子句的先行詞常是泛指，而且限定性關係子句的內容常常是舊有的訊息。因此，台灣大學生鮮少使用限定性關係子句來引導新的先行詞作為篇章單位的主題。我們推論大部份學生並未習得限定性關係子句的篇章功能。本論文根據此研究結果提出一些在英語教學上的建議：在課堂上教導英文限定性關係子句時，應以篇章單位為主，使學生了解限定性關係子句的篇章功能。 / The findings of the previous studies on discourse functions of English restrictive relative clauses are mainly based on spontaneous conversations and written narrations. Rare studies were found on the discourse functions of English restrictive relative clauses in written data. The purpose of the present study, thus, is to investigate the discourse functions of English restrictive relative clauses in written expositions and argumentations by native speakers of English. Also, we study the use of English restrictive relative clauses in the compositions by Taiwanese college students. In particular, we want to know how the discourse functions of English restrictive relative clauses are related to their occurrences in discourse structures. Thus, our analysis includes considerations from four dimensions: syntax, semantics, pragmatics and discourse. We found that the majority of English restrictive relative clauses occur in the beginning position of discourse units. And they serve as a device to introduce their new head NPs as the topics in the subsequent discourse when occurring in such a position. Therefore, we conclude that the main purpose of using a restrictive relative clause is to introduce a new head NP as the topic when the new referent is firstly mentioned in a new discourse unit. Moreover, we examined English restrictive relative clauses in the compositions by English Department juniors to see if the factors found in native speakers’ writings are also at work in their compositions. We found that students have not fully understood the discourse functions of English restrictive relative clauses. Based on our findings, we offer pedagogical implications with the aim of hoping that students can learn the discourse functions of English restrictive relative clauses.

Submitted by MARCELO PEREIRA (marcelocampo0@gmail.com) on 2018-03-29T14:25:04Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação 26-03.pdf: 1520396 bytes, checksum: bbe7a3e5defb7f69b0c226db542f25c4 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Satie Tagara (satie@marilia.unesp.br) on 2018-03-29T17:50:26Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 pereira_mc_me_mar.pdf: 1520396 bytes, checksum: bbe7a3e5defb7f69b0c226db542f25c4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-03-29T17:50:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 pereira_mc_me_mar.pdf: 1520396 bytes, checksum: bbe7a3e5defb7f69b0c226db542f25c4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-02-27 / Não recebi financiamento / O desenvolvimento infantil é impulsionado por meio de situações sociais nas quais a atividade da criança é privilegiada, mobilizando nela as ações de pensar, sentir e agir de modo cada vez mais elaborado. Por isso, o trabalho docente em escolas de Educação Infantil envolve a criação de condições objetivas para que ela brinque, se relacione, expresse suas ideias e exteriorize suas aprendizagens, tornando-se, assim, cada vez mais humana. Tais condições exigem a organização dos espaços, da utilização do tempo, dos materiais usados e dos relacionamentos em que a participação ativa da criança atua como elemento principal. Dessa forma, o problema norteador deste trabalho foi: como propor o tempo livre das crianças na Educação Infantil, tendo em vista seu pleno desenvolvimento? Buscando o objetivo geral da presente pesquisa de caracterizar os elementos que compõem o tempo livre na escola de Educação Infantil, foram abordadas questões relativas à gestão do tempo livre pelas crianças e a influência desse tempo para sua humanização sob a ótica da Teoria Histórico-Cultural. Além disso, esta pesquisa teve como objetivo específico discutir as contribuições do tempo livre para o desenvolvimento de capacidades humanas, em especial, a apropriação do autocontrole da conduta pela criança. A hipótese que norteou o estudo foi a de que o tempo livre na Educação Infantil possibilita à criança vivências que promovam o seu desenvolvimento humano. Com abordagem qualitativa, a pesquisa de tipo exploratória envolveu revisão bibliográfica em diversas fontes digitais para conhecimento da produção na área, entrevistas semiestruturadas com professoras e coordenadoras, e a observação de vivências do tempo livre propostas às crianças de quatro e cinco anos, em duas escolas municipais. Da análise de fundamentos teóricos derivaram implicações pedagógicas, tais como a possibilidade do tempo livre promover o exercício de diferentes capacidades humanas nas crianças e o acesso à cultura mais elaborada a fim de motivar, nos docentes, reflexões sobre o valor do tempo livre intencionalmente organizado para a formação e o desenvolvimento integral das crianças. As análises apontaram a necessidade de o professor reconhecer, no processo de desenvolvimento infantil, a importância do tempo livre para o protagonismo das crianças, promovendo propostas capazes de desenvolver e exercitar habilidades humanas fundamentais, tais como: a capacidade de escolher, de tomar decisões, de planejar, de buscar soluções e de trabalhar de forma colaborativa, gradativamente exercitando e apropriando-se do autocontrole em sua conduta. / Child development is achieved by means of social situations in which the child's activity is privileged, mobilizing her actions to think, feel and act in an increasingly elaborate way. For this reason, the *teacher`s work in a early childhood Education involves creating of objective conditions for children to play, to relate, to express ideas, to externalize learning, thus becoming more and more human. Such conditions require the organization of spaces, the use of time, materials used and relationships in which active participation of the child acts as the main element. Thus, the guiding problem of this work was: how to propose children's free time in Early Childhood Education, with a view to their full development? Seeking the general objective of the present research to characterize the elements that make up the free time in the School of Infant Education, questions were approached regarding the management of free time by the children and the influence of this time for their humanization from the perspective of Historical-Cultural Theory. In addition, this research had the specific objective of discussing the contributions of free time to the development of human capacities, in particular, the appropriation of the child's self-control of behavior. The hypothesis that guided the study was that the free time in Early Childhood Education enables children to experience their human development. With a qualitative approach, the exploratory research involved a bibliographical review in several digital sources for knowledge of the production in the area, semi-structured interviews with teachers and coordinators, and the observation of free time experiences offered to children of 4 and 5 years of age in two municipal schools. From the analysis of theoretical foundations derived pedagogical implications, such as the possibility of free time promoting the exercise of different human capacities in children and access to the more elaborate culture in order to motivate, in the teachers, reflections on the value of free time intentionally organized for training and development of children. The analyzes pointed out the need for the teacher to recognize in the process of child development the importance of free time for children to play a role, promoting proposals capable of developing and exercising fundamental human skills such as: the ability to choose, to plan, to seek solutions and to work collaboratively, gradually exercising and appropriating self-control in their conduct.

Syftet med föreliggande examensarbetet är att genom en litteraturstudie försöka generera teori för hur den specialpedagogiska verksamheten kan dra nytta av forskningsresultaten gällande hur hjärnans funktioner fungerar i samband med inlärning vid ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) och/eller autismspektrumtillstånd (AST). Metoden som valts för denna studie är en kvalitativ litteraturstudie, där resultatet analyserats efter Grounded Theory. Vi har tagit del av relevant forskning och litteratur gällande hjärnans funktioner och det pedagogiska fältet för individer med ADHD samt AST i åldern 6–16 år. Resultatet gällande hjärnans funktioner visar att grunden till ADHD samt AST är biologisk betingad. Resultatet gällande de pedagogiska implikationerna visar på flera möjliga sätt att anpassa undervisningen och inlärningen för att stödja och hjälpa dessa elever. Litteraturen beskriver bitvis hur de ser länkar mellan hjärnans funktioner och de svårigheter som elever med ADHD och AST kan ställas inför i skolmiljön. I litteraturen kring vilka implikationer som föreslås för elever med ADHD och AST framkommer många likheter och att de gynnas av liknande insatser, men på olika vis. De slutsatser vi drar av resultatet är att individer med ADHD och AST har avvikelser i hjärnans funktioner samt dess nervsystem vilket beror på biologiska orsaker. Slutsatserna av de pedagogiska implikationerna gör sig gällande för övergripande områdena inom miljö, visuella hjälpmedel, struktur, bemötande samt uppgifters upplägg. Vi ser genom analysen även ett samband mellan de annorlunda funktionerna i hjärnan hos elever med ADHD och AST och vilka metoder som föreslås vara mest gynnsamma för kunskapsinhämtning. / The purpose of this literature study is an attempt to generate theory for how the special education can benefit from the research results regarding how the brain's functions work in connection with learning in ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and/or autism spectrum disorder (AST). The method chosen for this study is a qualitative literature study, where the results have been analyzed according to Grounded Theory. We have taken part of relevant research and literature regarding brain functions and the educational field for individuals with ADHD and ASD aged 6-16 years. The result regarding brain functions shows that the basis for ADHD and ASD is biologically determined, but the diagnoses should still not be defined as a disease but as a functional variation. The result regarding the pedagogical implications shows in several possible ways how to adapt the teaching and learning to support and help these students. The literature describes in part how they detect links between brain functions and the difficulties that students with ADHD and ASD may face in the school environment. Many similarities emerge in the literature regarding the implications proposed for students with ADHD and ASD and they benefit from similar efforts, but in different ways. The conclusions of the results regarding brain function of individuals with ADHD and ASD reveal that they have abnormalities in the brain's functions and its nervous system and are due to biological causes. The conclusions of the pedagogical implications apply to the overall areas within the environment, visual aids, structure, teacher’s response, and tasks. Through the analysis, we also see a connection between the different functions in the brain of students with ADHD and ASD and which methods are proposed to be most favorable for acquiring knowledge.