To deal with the challenge of deprivation and its impact on learning, there is a long history of schools attempting to respond by working beyond the school gates. Despite a wealth of how-to-do-it guides and advocacy texts for this approach, there is little detailed research into how community-oriented schools are understood and enacted by various core educational professionals, particularly those working in primary schools. Given the centrality of educational professionals' practice in this policy arena, this study aimed to respond to such a gap. This study focused on an in-depth analysis and reflection on the ways in which community-oriented schooling was understood by professionals and what has influenced their thinking, as well as their ensuing action in one particular primary school. The overarching research question was: what are professionals' perceptions and practices of a community-oriented approach in the context of a primary school located in a socio-economically disadvantaged community? This required a research design that allowed a sample of eight school staff to be analysed using a case study design. Within this, a suite of research methods was applied, including interviews, observations and analysis of key school documentation to explore multi-level factors that impact on professionals. Finally, a synthesising tool was developed to examine the interrelationships between the factors. The findings state that the way individual professionals respond to the proximal and distal factors is not linear or straightforward to understand. Instead the data suggested a dynamic complexity where a spectrum of factors intersected for individuals in distinct ways. Such findings point to the use of an ecological approach to help explain the various perceptions and practices of community-oriented schooling. This study suggests that policy development and enactment of community-oriented schooling cannot be generalised in any unilateral way but instead needs to be understood within localised settings.

This study examined the relationship between the level of implementation of the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) approach to service delivery in schools and educators’ beliefs regarding MTSS, their perceptions of MTSS practices in their schools, and student growth. The study used data from the Florida Problem Solving/Response to Intervention Project. Thirty-four pilot schools in seven school districts across the state of Florida were provided intensive coaching, training, and technical assistance in implementing the MTSS service delivery model for three years. The current study focused on the final year of support. Data collected as part of the project’s program evaluation model were used to examine the relationships between study variables. Multiple regressions were conducted to determine the relationship between the level of implementation of MTSS and the study’s dependent variables. Findings indicated that both Infrastructure and Implementation predicted educator beliefs about Data-Based Decision Making (DBDM), while Implementation alone predicted educator beliefs about the Academic Ability and Performance of Students with Disabilities (SWD). Furthermore, the overall regression model predicted educator perceptions of practices applied to both Academic and Behavior Content; however, none of the individual predictors were significantly related to either dependent measure. No other study dependent variables were significantly predicted by the level of MTSS implementation. Implications for practice and research involve the need for larger scale studies of MTSS implementation and the importance of researchers and practitioners utilizing reliable and valid measures to monitor implementation efforts.

This thesis explores the perceptions of technology and technology education held by six primary school teachers in Papua New Guinea, and their views of the materials developed to use as a support for teaching technology and the impacts on their perceptions and their teaching practices of technology. Based on the interpretivist paradigm, a case study approach and qualitative data collection methods were used to explore the teachers' views of technology and technology education and how the support materials influenced these perceptions and practices. One to one, semistructured interviews with the teachers, and an analysis of their planning documents were used to collect data. As part of the curriculum reforms, technology education was introduced as a new subject into primary education in PNG in 1994. However, no formal professional development was provided for helping the primary teachers implement technology education. Instead, curriculum materials were developed and distributed to teachers in 2005 as a support for their technology teaching. This thesis supports the idea that teachers need support to help them learn. It is also argues that teachers' beliefs about subject areas, teaching, their students, and curriculum materials influence how they interact with these support materials. The findings show that the support materials were very useful in enhancing the teachers' knowledge of technology and effective teaching of technology. There were changes to teachers' perceptions of technology and technological practices when they began to use the support materials. Changes included the views of technology as more than modern artefacts to include traditional technology, that technology was more than just practical. It also has a knowledge base. However, not all aspects of technology as advocated in the support materials have been taken up by these teachers. Problem-solving and design aspects have received marginal attention. Other factors were at play including subject subcultures, subject backgrounds, past hands-on experiences and ownership of personal technological artefacts. To be even more effective technology teachers, it is advocated that teacher professional development is required for Papua New Guinean primary teachers to implement the technology successfully.

Executive summary This study explores the learner centred teaching practices in secondary schools in Tanzania. The basis of this research emanated from the problem of the poor performance of secondary school students in Tanzania. The performance of students in national examinations has declined over the past years. This trend shows an increase in the number of students who are failing. The analysis of the examination results indicates that several secondary schools are in a poor situation. Poor performance signifies that many students have failed to acquire the requisite knowledge, skills, and competences to function effectively in society as well as in socioeconomic development. In general, the preceding situation proves that the quality of education has been affected and there is a need for conducting research. The literature indicates that scholars have been conducting educational research to find effective methods of improving students’ performance. To accomplish this aim researchers of IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement), international organizations, and universities have been carrying out extensive studies to examine students’ performance in the areas of science, mathematics, and reading in various national and cultural contexts. Educators have produced results showing that countries such as Finland, South Korea, and Shanghai-China lead the world in terms of student performance. The factors mentioned to account for good performance include hard work by students, positive attitude of students’, effective engagement in the classrooms, schools emphasis on academic success, well-resourced schools, well-trained teachers, and favourable working conditions. In order to improve the problem of poor performance, the literature suggested researchers should mainly examine the learner centred teaching practices in the classrooms. This advice is in line with the goals of various educational programs such as World Education Forums, Tanzania Development Vision 2025, Secondary Education Development Program, and Education Sector Development Program. In addition, the process of transfer and borrowing of policies and practices from Western and European countries to different national and cultural contexts compelled the introduction of learner centred teaching practices. These practices have been supported because they put students at the center of the learning process. They focus on the interest of students and create a positive environment for learning. They facilitate active teaching and learning methods. The practices have a connection to constructivist theory which emphasizes students’ construction of meaning and understanding. The characteristics of the theory are preferred because they should improve educational research, curriculum implementation and students performance in different national and cultural contexts. Despite effectiveness of constructivist theory, educators and practitioners challenged characteristics associated with this theory. It does not provide thorough instructions on how to employ in the classrooms. It does not guide teachers on the appropriate learner centred teaching practices applied in various stages of the lesson development. It is in this background that the current study identified a research gap and area of contribution. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the manner in which secondary school teachers make use of learner centred teaching practices in various stages of lesson development. Specifically, the study explored teachers’ perceptions of the learner centred teaching. It also explored the teachers’ practices and perceptions of the learner centred teaching practices in various stages of the lesson development. Likewise, the study sought to examine the kind of support teachers need to facilitate learner centered teaching practices. It should be recognized that practices and perceptions are essential for providing a thorough understanding of these practices in the classrooms. To achieve the above purpose, this study sought to answer the following research questions: 1. How do secondary school teachers in Tanzania perceive the learner centred teaching? 2. How do secondary school teachers in Tanzania employ the learner centred teaching practices in different stages of the lesson development? 3. How do secondary school teachers in Tanzania perceive the learner centred teaching practices in different stages of the lesson development? 4. What support do secondary school teachers in Tanzania need to enhance their learner centred teaching practices? Concerning the research methodology, this study consulted previous studies carried out in one country and those in various national and cultural contexts. The purpose was to examine and learn how past studies were designed, conducted, and achieved the research objectives. The researcher intended to choose the methodology that manages and controls complexities occurring during the teaching and learning in the classrooms and might affect the data collection. The methodology had to produce a thorough understanding of teachers’ practices and perceptions. This criterion compelled the study to adopt a qualitative design. Scholars insist that classroom practices be studied properly by qualitative design. This design is effective to provide an understanding of the people, contexts, practices, and interactions. This study applied the ethnographic approach to explore the learner centred teaching practices extensively and in a natural classroom setting. The ethnographic approach enabled examining cultural attributes such as practices and perceptions as manifesting in the classrooms. It facilitated the acquisition of information that produced thick descriptions of learner centred teaching practices. In sampling, this study focused to select poor-performing schools that implement learner centred teaching. Teachers were chosen purposively to provide rich information needed to fulfil the purpose of the study. The data collection was conducted between November 2014 and March 2015. Afterward, the researcher continued to capture information from teachers to enrich the database. In the period between December 2015 and January 2016, teachers were given the chance to authenticate the findings. During the fieldwork, the researcher executed a series of activities in line with ethical principles. The data collection methods applied participant observations and semi structured interviews. The data was analyzed by thematic analysis and produced findings in terms of themes. Themes have been connected to the implementation of learner centred teaching practices in the classrooms. The analysis followed steps such as organizing the data for familiarization, reading the data thoroughly, writing and coding the transcripts/texts, formulating the themes, interpreting the meaning, and doing a repetition movement between findings and the database. The main findings of the study reveal that teachers’ perceptions of learner centred teaching exhibited various views. The perceptions and practices towards the learner centred teaching in various stages of the lesson development displayed mixed practices. In this view, the findings on practices (what teachers practiced) and perceptions (what teachers reported) fall into three categories: Those aligned with the learner centred are described as discussing, demonstrating, homework, ongoing assessment, higher-order questioning, asking various questions, interactive seating arrangement, passing to groups during the discussion, teaching a small piece of content, and students presentation. Those aligned with the teacher centred are described as lecturing, reading textbooks, end of period assessment, lower-order questioning, neglecting students’ views, and traditional seating arrangement. Also, practices created by teachers include students marking for themselves, slow students acting as indicators of learning and understanding, examining notes, involving few students, performing questions on the chalkboard, watching the entire class, and remedial teaching (these were created due to various reasons). To support teachers in executing learner centred practices, improvement is needed in the aspects such as in-service training, school based training, teachers’ welfare, teaching materials, producing more science teachers, and testing students frequently. The researcher discussed findings by relating and comparing them with various research studies with reference to the implementation of learner centred teaching practices. In general, the research findings showed that teachers display similar as well as different educational practices. This study realizes the research gap and addresses theoretical and empirical contributions. Regarding theory, the literature indicated that the constructivist theory lacks clear instructions on how teachers should employ learner centred teaching practices in various stages of lesson development. This study addresses the gap by providing a broad understanding of the learner centred teaching practices applied by teachers in various stages of lesson development. To accomplish that aim, the study suggests proper constructivist and learner centred practices for guiding teachers in the classrooms (see Appendix VIII).:TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Executive summary ii-vi Zusammenfassung vii-xi Acknowledgement xii Dedication xiii List of acronyms xiv Table of contents xv-xviii List of Tables xix List of Figures xx CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study 1 1.2 Statement of the problem 9 1.3 Purpose and research questions 10 1.4 Significance of the study 10 CHAPTER TWO: COMPARATIVE EDUCATION AND TRANSNATIONAL TRANSFER OF EDUCATIONAL POLICIES AND THE LEARNER CENTERED TEACHING PRACTICES 2.1 Introduction 13 2.2 Comparative education 13 2.3 The transnational transfer of policies and practices 17 2.4 Comparative education in Tanzania 21 2.5 Curriculum reform in Tanzania 24 2.6 The learner centred teaching practices and its empirical research in Tanzania 28 2.7 Comparative education research about the learner centred teaching 35 CHAPTER THREE: THE CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORY AND THE LEARNER CENTERED TEACHING PRACTICES 3.1 Introduction 39 3.2 An overview of the teaching theory 39 3.3 The constructivist theory and its characteristics 40 3.4 Learner centered teaching practices 53 3.5 Empirical research about the learner centered teaching practices 70 3.6 Other aspects related to the implementation of the learner centered teaching practices 75 3.7 Teacher centered practices 80 3.8 Different stages of the lesson development as applied in teaching and learning practices 83 CHAPTER FOUR: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 4.1 Introduction 90 4.2 Overview of the background of study and the research questions and methodology 90 4.3 Research design 92 4.4 Research approach 95 4.5 Sampling methods 96 4.6 Pilot study 98 4.7 Data collection methods 100 4.8 Data analysis 107 4.9 Ethical and consent treatments 114 4.10 Quality criteria considered in this study 115 CHAPTER FIVE: FINDINGS OF THE STUDY 5.1 Introduction 118 5.2 Perceptions regarding the stages during the teaching and learning process 118 5.3 Presentation of findings that follow the stated cases 120 Teacher A 122 Teacher B 135 Teacher C 149 Teacher D 162 5.4 The learner centred teaching practices on the reflection stage 174 5.5 How students are involved in the learner centred teaching practices 178 5.6 Support to improve the learner centred teaching practices 180 CHAPTER SIX: DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS 6.1 Introduction 183 6.2 Overview of the discussion of findings 183 6.3 Perceptions regarding the learner centered teaching 184 6.4 Learner centred teaching practices employed in different stages of the lesson development ….188 6.5 Learner centred teaching practices employed in the reflection stage 203 6.6 How students are involved in the visited classrooms 205 6.7 Support to improve the learner centered teaching practices 207 CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUDING PERSPECTIVES AND RECOMMENDATIONS 7.1 Introduction 212 7.2 Concluding perspectives 212 7.3 Limitations of the study 217 7.4 Recommendations 219 References 221 Appendix I: Classroom observation schedule 248 Appendix II: Semi structured interview for teachers 257 Appendix III: Permission letter from regional education officer 273 Appendix IV: Consent letter from teacher A 274 Appendix V: Consent letter from teacher B 274 Appendix VI: Consent letter from teacher C 275 Appendix VII: Consent letter from teacher D 275 Appendix VIII: Guidelines to consider for preparing, executing and assessing the learner centered teaching practices 276 Schriftliche Erklärung 277

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The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate Brain Based Learning (BBL) techniques in teaching science. Participants included 216 K-12, full-time, regular education teachers from 8 Northeast Tennessee school systems who taught at least 1 science class. Specifically this research was guided by 7 research questions on teachers’ perceptions and practices in teaching science. Data were collected by a survey that consisted of 82 statements where teachers rated their level of agreement and was distributed online via Survey Monkey. The first portion of my survey included demographic identifiers, teachers’ knowledge of the term BBL, and inquiries regarding science background and training. The remainder of the statements were focused on teachers’ perceptions and practices of BBL strategies in teaching science. The final item was open-ended and allowed teachers to share comments related to teaching science. For statements 6-81, participants responded by using a 5-point Likert scale that ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Quantitative data were analyzed with a series of independent samples t tests, one-way analysis of variance tests, and a Pearson correlation coefficient. The results of the study indicate that teachers’ perceptions are positively correlated to their self-reported practices. Females, in general, and elementary teachers tend to practice BBL strategies in teaching science significantly more than other subgroups.

The aim of this study is to analyse the discourses drawn upon by community paediatric nurses in relation to children’s rights to health. The philosophy of Michel Foucault has been used to underpin the analysis of the interviews and exemplars of five experienced community nurses, revealing conflicting power relationships and discourses. Rights are formalised morality and so from a children’s rights perspective, discourses reflect both the moral and ethical positions of the nurses. Children are constructed as developing human beings whose moral status gradually changes and who, through a lack of developmental autonomy, entrust their decision-making to their representatives (parents and caregivers) as their trustees. Rights are correlative with the obligations and duties toward children by both families and society. Society constructs legislative and politically organised structures to govern raising children because children are an intrinsic social concern. Whilst representing society’s interest in children’s rights to health, nurses in the home act as a conduit for multiple governing structures. The nurses in this study construct their “truths” and knowledge about children’s health rights from nursing, medicine, law, education, and social policy. However, the values of individual parents can conflict with universal values for children’s health and wellbeing. Therefore representing society positions nurses as “agents of the state”, a role that potentially holds power over parents and children and leads to the epithet of “the health police”. Within the institution of the family, and in the privacy of the home, there are also mechanisms of power that can resist the mechanisms of the state and its representatives. Therefore the discourse “it takes a village to raise a child” competes with the “my home is my castle” discourse. Nurses negotiate a fine balance between these power relations. Nurses are challenged with using power productively to promote children’s rights whilst respecting the role of parents and families. I argue that children’s rights are central to the moral and ethical work of nurses but that such work is often obscured and invisible. I propose that children’s community nurses are excellent at negotiating networking and connecting at a micro level, but need to create a more sophisticated and cohesive entity at a macro level to become fully political children’s rights advocates.

The aim of this study is to analyse the discourses drawn upon by community paediatric nurses in relation to children’s rights to health. The philosophy of Michel Foucault has been used to underpin the analysis of the interviews and exemplars of five experienced community nurses, revealing conflicting power relationships and discourses. Rights are formalised morality and so from a children’s rights perspective, discourses reflect both the moral and ethical positions of the nurses. Children are constructed as developing human beings whose moral status gradually changes and who, through a lack of developmental autonomy, entrust their decision-making to their representatives (parents and caregivers) as their trustees. Rights are correlative with the obligations and duties toward children by both families and society. Society constructs legislative and politically organised structures to govern raising children because children are an intrinsic social concern. Whilst representing society’s interest in children’s rights to health, nurses in the home act as a conduit for multiple governing structures. The nurses in this study construct their “truths” and knowledge about children’s health rights from nursing, medicine, law, education, and social policy. However, the values of individual parents can conflict with universal values for children’s health and wellbeing. Therefore representing society positions nurses as “agents of the state”, a role that potentially holds power over parents and children and leads to the epithet of “the health police”. Within the institution of the family, and in the privacy of the home, there are also mechanisms of power that can resist the mechanisms of the state and its representatives. Therefore the discourse “it takes a village to raise a child” competes with the “my home is my castle” discourse. Nurses negotiate a fine balance between these power relations. Nurses are challenged with using power productively to promote children’s rights whilst respecting the role of parents and families. I argue that children’s rights are central to the moral and ethical work of nurses but that such work is often obscured and invisible. I propose that children’s community nurses are excellent at negotiating networking and connecting at a micro level, but need to create a more sophisticated and cohesive entity at a macro level to become fully political children’s rights advocates.

Student Number : 0106135V - MA research report - School of Human and Communitiy Development - Faculty of Humanities / The mass media persistently thrusts the awareness of risk of HIV/AIDS into our lives. The question is: how do people respond to this increased awareness and how do people cope with living in what has been termed ‘the risk society’? This can only be investigated within a given social and cultural context, in order to examine how individuals make sense of a perceived imminent crisis. This research has highlighted the prominent phenomenon of a widespread sense of personal invulnerability when faced with risk: the ‘not me’ dynamic in response to the negative Social Representations that surround this disease. Social representations Theory is a useful psychological framework as it approaches the study of perceptions of HIV risk by highlighting the emotional factors which are key to the human responses of risk while at the same time concentrating on the role of cognitive processing in the development of representations of social phenomena. The results from the HIV Knowledge, Perceptions & Practices questionnaire survey in this cross-sectional study with 200 Johannesburg university students indicate that while the large majority of the participants know a great deal about HIV, this knowledge is highly impacted upon by the Social Representations that exist around this virus. It is believed that the Social Representations surrounding HIV (death, pollution, the evil perpetrator etc.) can act as a barrier between intellectual knowledge of HIV and the related behaviour to reduce the risk of infection by distorting one’s perception of susceptibility of infection through the process of ‘othering’.

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Lawrence C. Scharmann / Bradley A. Shaw / Spanish instructors are not neo-phobic of instructional technology (IT), and they will affirm they are not afraid of IT just to avoid being labeled as ‘living dinosaurs.’ Most of them just do not have the know-how to explore and use IT in-depth. Regardless, they are more familiar with the diverse IT world available. In this study the main factors influencing Spanish language educators to use IT (or not) in their Second Language Acquisition (SLA) teaching methodology were discussed. Data from Spanish instructors in eight Kansas universities was analyzed to understand their perceptions and attitudes regarding the use of IT in their classrooms. Mixed methodologies were used: A quantitative survey targeting 80 instructors from the Modern Language Departments was developed. The survey had one section on demographic information and a second with 43 items dealing with perceptions related to IT. Afterwards, a case study with four in-depth interviews was conducted to elucidate richer descriptions and potentially corroborate patterns identified from the survey data. Data analysis revealed that most Spanish instructors have positive perceptions and attitudes towards IT. From the survey, nine themes emerged. Six of them formed a super-ordinate category showing that instructors consider IT useful for teaching culture in the target language, and in facilitating general knowledge. In this super-ordinate category, the six emergent themes are considered subordinate themes. The other three emergent themes formed another super-ordinate category with three subordinate themes: faculty require more time, training and technical resources to be able to integrate IT in their teaching. The four interviews explored what perceptions (or characteristics) stand out among faculty along a continuum of non-users to users with respect to the integration of IT; this allowed the researcher to confirm the instructors’ perceptions and attitudes on the nine emerging themes. Spanish instructors would integrate more modern tools in their teaching if they had more opportunities and support to be better informed; received appropriate training in their specific field; and were advised of available technology. As the findings showed, educators are no longer afraid of technology. Finally, conclusions of the findings were offered as well as recommendations for future research.