A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Education in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Needs at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2014 / Student teachers ‘perceptions of teaching practice at the University Of Zululand Extensive research has been done on the importance of supervision of student teachers during teaching practice. The present study is a descriptive survey which sought to examine student teachers‟ perceptions of teaching practice. The sample comprised of 184 third year B.Ed students who had undergone teaching practice in 2013. To this end a questionnaire was constructed and validated through factor analysis technique by the researcher. The results revealed that student teachers hold favourable perceptions of teaching practice. The Kendall Coefficient of Concordance Wa yielded significant agreement among ranks assigned by student teachers to different teaching practice models. However there is a need for the improvement of the system of teacher education in order to prepare quality teachers. Some of the differences are the following: importance of preparing lesson plan as well as the pedagogical approach to presenting the lesson to learners. Most of the student teachers find it difficult in choosing and using teaching techniques and strategies that are suitable for the learners they teach. It is a given that there is no one strategy which can be implemented when imparting knowledge to the learners. However student teachers have to be exposed to those different strategies in order to be able to apply them depending on the lesson and the learners they are teaching. It can also be concluded that the perception of student teachers of teaching practice components of the lesson presentation is positive, irrespective of age and gender. Therefore the study has revealed that gender and age should not be necessarily concentrated on when students go out for teaching practice as reviewed by the findings. Based on the findings recommendations were made, among others, that the Faculty of Education should take into consideration the concerns of student teachers and address them before student teachers are sent to schools for teaching practice. This study is important in that it provides valuable information for the improvement of teaching practice when the perceptions of student teachers are acknowledged.

East Asian countries have achieved high levels of mathematics competency. This study investigated classroom activities of East Asian countries based on the idea that different learning experiences lead to gaps in academic outcomes. The main purposes of this study were: (1) to identify the features of classroom activities in the four East Asian countries of Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea and the two non-Asian countries of Hungary and England, (2) to determine whether or not there are predominant features of classroom activities shared in East Asia, and (3) to verify whether or not the perceptions of classroom activities between teachers and students are consistent with each other. The data was gathered from the Student Questionnaire and the Teacher Questionnaire in TIMSS 2007. Descriptive statistics and Pearson's chi-square tests were employed to examine classroom activities in the six countries. The results indicated that, compared to traditional mathematics activities, the activities related to reform mathematics were not more likely to be deemphasized in each East Asian country. Also, with respect to reformed mathematics activities, all East Asian countries did not necessarily emphasize them less than the two non-Asian countries. Furthermore, in the frequencies of all ten activities, statistically significant differences existed between all six countries as well as within the East Asian countries. Lastly, it was found that in numerous instances, there were differences in perceptions of classroom activities between teachers and students within a country. Based on the findings, this study suggested not to regard educational practice in East Asia as traditional and to over-simplify it by the label 'East Asian style.' However, further studies are needed on various aspects of classroom practice, except for classroom activities, in East Asia. In addition, this study argued that both the views of students and teachers should be considered together in the study for educational practice. Moreover, it is suggested that future studies investigate the relationships of discrepancies between teachers and students with students' learning and achievement.

Co-teaching as an inclusive educational model is a new approach in Greece which aims to support the inclusion of children with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools. This research aimed to investigate and evaluate co-teaching practices as well as teachers’ and students’ with SEN perceptions with regard to co-teaching. This research adopted a mixed methodology in two independent phases in order to address the needs of the study. Namely, 140 teachers were surveyed and multiple case studies of five different secondary co-taught classrooms were incorporated. This study showed that the way co-teaching is implemented in Greek secondary schools is closer to the model of “one teach-one assist”. Specifically, co-teachers saw the general teacher as responsible for all children, while the special teacher as responsible for an individual child with SEN included in a mainstream classroom. Thus, limited special teacher role expansion to all children was observed. The study showed that the general teachers were more negative about the sharing of various classroom responsibilities compared to the special teachers. Moreover, the approach of children’s withdrawal out of class was implemented to a significant extent. According to the research findings it was largely the special teachers who preferred this integrated approach and not the general teachers. Also, limited differentiation and grouping methods were used by co-teachers. In addition, this study indicated that co-teaching pairs did not collaborate with each other in an extensive way and did not commonly plan lessons together. Thus, teacher participants were quite sceptical in relation to the potential personal benefits of co-teaching to themselves. This study showed teacher training in co-teaching, teachers’ sensitivity and positive attitudes towards children with SEN, collaboration between co-teachers and mutual planning time, clear and official allocation of co-teaching roles and special teachers employment at the beginning of the academic year were all regarded as factors which would facilitate the successful implementation of co-teaching. Interestingly, the present study revealed that from the perspectives of both teachers and children with SEN the model of “one teach-one assist” seemed to have positive academic outcomes to children with SEN. However, the model of “one teach-one assist” seemed to have not only positive but also negative social and personal outcomes for children with SEN. From the perspective of some teachers and children with SEN respondents it seems that the model of “one teach-one assist” limited the social interactions of some children with SEN and interrelationships with the remaining children, which was due to sitting next to them during the lesson time and escorting them during the break time. Moreover, children with SEN did not see that co-teaching resulted in their social skills development. As a result some children with SEN expressed their unwillingness to be supported by a special teacher during the following academic year. Among the various disadvantages of co-teaching that children with SEN mentioned was the confusion that they usually felt when both teachers were speaking simultaneously. Lastly, children with SEN who experienced the out of class support expressed their preference for being supported out of the mainstream classroom. This was because they saw that the out of class support benefited them academically.

Early tracking is an educational practice where students are divided into separate groups of ability. Despite many studies linking early tracking with increased inequality in education, it is a prevalent feature of education systems. This research uses a qualitative approach to study the perceptions of teachers regarding early tracking and the effects that it has on equality of education. Furthermore, it compares these perceptions between teachers from the Netherlands and Sweden. By means of thematic analysis a number of themes were identified from the interview data: the teaching-learning process; self-confidence and image forming; selection process and flexibility between tracks; labour-market transitions; opportunities for self-development; socio-economicstatus; and immigrant students. Comparative analysis showed that generally, the Swedish teachers had stronger negative perceptions of early tracking. They were more worried about the possible negative side-effects of dividing students at such a young age. Moreover, they felt that by adapting their teaching methods they were able to cope with the range of abilities in their classroom. The Dutch teachers did agree that the negative sides of tracking existed, but mostly they thought that these did not outweigh the benefits that they felt early tracking has for the quality of education. A number of the Dutch teachers worried especially that if some of the low-performing students would not be able to keep up with the rest of the class, they would lose their motivation and become disruptive to the lesson. Class size was found to be an important factor here: teachers from both countries strongly expected that smaller classes might make teaching in a mixed-ability group more manageable. Increasing the flexibility between the tracks was also seen as an important factor by the teachers from the Netherlands.

The purpose of this study was to model students’ perceptions of teachers (fair, warm, friendly, etc.) over time from 6th to 9th grade, to examine whether a relationship existed between students’ perceptions of teachers and distal outcomes of education attainment and education status in emerging adulthood, and to examine whether gender was associated with teacher perceptions, the trajectory of perceptions, or the outcomes. Attachment Theory and Self Determination Theory were used as frameworks for understanding relationships between study variables. The present study used existing data from a longitudinal, multi-wave, intervention study (Project Alliance 2 [PAL-2] DA018374) that addressed adolescents’ negative behaviors during middle school to high school. Data was examined from a sample of 415 participants from the larger randomized control trial of 593. Participants were students from three socioeconomically and ethnically diverse public middle schools in the Pacific Northwest. Data was analyzed using Mplus7.1 using full information maximum likelihood to account for missing data. The study had several key findings. First, latent class growth model (LCGM) analyses revealed a significant a linear model that showed an overall declining trajectory of students’ perceptions of teachers from 6th to 9th grade. There was a significant difference between students’ perceptions of teachers in 6th grade and education status. Students who reported more positive perceptions of teachers in 6th grade were more likely to endorse enrollment in a vocational or educational program. Second, LCGM analyses further revealed a model with an added quadratic term that showed an overall declining trajectory of student’s perceptions of teachers that decelerated beginning at 7th grade. Third, LCGM and growth mixture model analyses examined trajectories of students’ perceptions of teachers over time and revealed a two-class model. The first class was represented by a declining trajectory and a second class represented by overall lower students’ positive perceptions of teachers in 6th grade that increase each year through the 9th grade. Students’ perceptions of teachers appear to converge in 9th grade for both classes. Implications for practice and research, along with limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

nÃo hà / Esta pesquisa teve como motivaÃÃo inicial a necessidade de se realizar uma pesquisa avaliativa, para compreender como o currÃculo do PROEJA (Programa Nacional de IntegraÃÃo da EducaÃÃo BÃsica à EducaÃÃo Profissional na Modalidade de EducaÃÃo de Jovens e Adultos) tem-se efetivado no IFCE (Instituto Federal de EducaÃÃo, CiÃncia e Tecnologia do CearÃ), no Campus Fortaleza. Foi desenvolvida no Ãmbito do eixo de AvaliaÃÃo Curricular, que se insere na linha de pesquisa de AvaliaÃÃo Educacional. Sua questÃo geral à entender qual à a natureza do CurrÃculo dos Cursos do Ensino MÃdio Integrado aos Cursos TÃcnicos em TelecomunicaÃÃes e RefrigeraÃÃo e ClimatizaÃÃo, na modalidade de EducaÃÃo de Jovens e Adultos, ofertados pelo IFCE, analisando a sua concepÃÃo e dinÃmica na percepÃÃo do docente e identificando elementos para a sua avaliaÃÃo. Os objetivos da pesquisa foram investigar a natureza desse currÃculo nos nÃveis prescritivo (documental) e perceptivo (visÃo dos professores); analisar as percepÃÃes dos professores e dos gestores sobre a proposta curricular dos cursos supracitados; investigar como a coordenaÃÃo dos cursos orienta a implementaÃÃo da proposta curricular vigente, tendo em vista a necessidade de conectar a formaÃÃo propedÃutica à formaÃÃo tÃcnica e fornecer subsÃdios para realizar uma proposta avaliativa para o currÃculo em curso. Foi adotada uma metodologia de natureza qualitativa numa abordagem fenomenolÃgica, na qual se utilizaram como procedimentos a anÃlise de documentos e a entrevista semiestruturada, numa proposta reflexiva. O referencial teÃrico foi apoiado em Silva (2007), Freire (1987), Frigotto et al. (2005) e Vianna (2000), entre outros teÃricos que estudam a EducaÃÃo de Jovens e Adultos, a avaliaÃÃo curricular e as questÃes curriculares. Os achados da pesquisa evidenciaram, entre outros dados, que o Instituto Federal precisa priorizar o reconhecimento do PROEJA. Para atingir tal objetivo, necessita da implementaÃÃo de aÃÃes estruturais que visem ao seu fortalecimento e da consolidaÃÃo como polÃtica institucional da EducaÃÃo Profissional na instituiÃÃo citada. Assim sendo, uma especial atenÃÃo deve ser dada à formaÃÃo do professor atuante no programa e ao currÃculo do curso, de modo que se atenda Ãs peculiaridades formativas da EJA, do Ensino MÃdio e da FormaÃÃo Profissional, sem desconsiderar os interesses de seu aluno. / This research was motivated by the initial need of a curriculum evaluation to understand how the curriculum of PROEJA (National Program for Integration of Basic Education with Professional Education for Youth and Adults) has been developed at IFCE (Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of CearÃ) in the Campus of Fortaleza. It was developed under the Course Assessment axis, which is part of the Educational Evaluation line of research, and its general point is to understand the nature of the course curriculum of High School Courses integrated with the Telecommunications and Heating & refrigeration Technical Courses offered by IFCE to Youth and adults, analyzing their design and dynamic according to the teachers and identifying elements of that avaliation. The research objectives were to investigate the nature of the curriculum at prescriptive (documentary) and perceptual (vision of teachers) levels in order to analyze the perceptions of teachers and administrators on the curriculum of the courses mentioned above; and to investigate how the coordination of the courses guides the implementation of the existing curriculum taking in account the need to connect the workup training to the technical training and provides the necessary conditions to propose an ongoing curriculum evaluation. We adopted a qualitative methodology in a phenomenological approach, in which documents review and semi-structured interviews with a reflective proposal were used. The theoretical framework was supported by Silva (2007), Freire (1987), Frigotto et. al. (2005) and Vianna (2000), among other theorists who study Youth and Adult Education, the curriculum evaluation and curriculum issues. The findings of the research showed, among other data, that IFCE needs to prioritize PROEJAâs recognition. In order to achieve this goal, the implementation of structural actions, whose aim is the strengthening of PROEJA, as well as its consolidation as an institutional policy for Professional Education at this very institution are required. Therefore, special attention should be given to the active teacher training program and to the course curriculum, so that the training meets the peculiarities of Youth and Adults Education, high school and vocational training, without disregarding the interests of their students.

The purpose of this study was to examine elementary teachers&rsquo / and elementary mathematics teachers&rsquo / perceptions of mathematically gifted students in terms of teachers&rsquo / gender, year of experience and area of teaching. The data were collected from 176 elementary teachers and 90 elementary mathematics teachers from 60 state elementary schools in the center of Trabzon, in the fall semester of 2011-2012 academic year. In order to determine teachers&rsquo / perceptions of mathematical giftedness, the instrument called as Teachers&rsquo / Judgments of Gifted Mathematics Student Characteristic (TJGMSC) was used. The results were evaluated in terms of three dimensions of TJGMSC: school smart mathematics student, mathematics perspective for the real world and creative problem solver. Besides, in order to analyze the data, one-way MANOVA was conducted. The results of the study illustrated that there were no significant differences among teachers&rsquo / TJGMSC scores, in terms of their gender and year of experience. However, a significant difference was found between elementary teachers and elementary mathematics teachers in terms of their TJGMSC scores for only the dimension of school smart mathematics student. To illustrate, elementary teachers&rsquo / scores regarding this dimension were higher than those of elementary mathematics teachers.

The purposes of this study were to determine, based on the perceptions of teachers and principals, during the first year of operation in new elementary schools: (1) the extent of change in organizational climate, (2) the extent of change in principal leadership behavior, (3) the difference between teachers' and principals' perceptions of climate and principal leadership behavior, and (4) the relationship between the openness factor of climate and the principal leadership behavior factors of consideration and structure. The major findings of the study included: 1) Both teachers' and principals' perceptions of the organizational climate in the school changed during the course of the school year. 2) Both teachers' and principals' perceptions of principal leadership behavior changed during the course of the school year. 3) The differences in teachers' and principals' perceptions of climate and principal leadership behavior as measured by the openness score of the OCDQ and the two dimension scores of the SBD were not statistically significant. 4) For the scores for the total group of subjects, the calculated correlation coefficients for the relationship between openness and consideration were all positive.

No description available.

O presente estudo centrou-se no contexto da prática das políticas de educação em direitos humanos (EDH) da cidade de São Paulo, para identificar e analisar percepções docentes sobre direitos humanos. Para isso, foram analisados 296 relatos de experiências educativas, desenvolvidas por professores e unidades escolares da rede municipal de ensino, inscritos nas quatro primeiras edições do Prêmio Municipal de Educação em Direitos Humanos, realizadas entre 2013 e 2016. A análise do conteúdo desses relatos permitiu inferir que, a despeito de seus próprios objetivos e pressupostos teórico-metodológicos, tal como definidos no Plano e nas Diretrizes Nacionais para a Educação em Direitos Humanos, a EDH se apresenta multifacetada na forma como é percebida e realizada pelos profissionais da educação, que a reinterpretam e a ressignificam em suas práticas, a partir de outros referenciais, programas e experiências didático-pedagógicas, bastante difundidos no meio escolar, como é o caso da educação ambiental, da educação para as relações étnico-raciais, da educação alimentar e nutricional, da educação especial, entre outras vertentes. Considerando que a educação e os direitos humanos constituem campos de lutas e de resistências nos quais os sujeitos atribuem sentidos e significados distintos aos seus conteúdos e termos, entende-se que estas perspectivas pedagógicas foram desenvolvidas ao longo das últimas décadas como desdobramento da ação de diversos atores sociais que, desde os anos de 1990, demandaram políticas educacionais que abrangessem as múltiplas dimensões de uma educação para a cidadania, marcadamente voltada ao reconhecimento e valorização da diversidade, ao desenvolvimento sustentável, ao combate às desigualdades e em contraposição às políticas de redução de direitos e desmonte dos sistemas de proteção social do período. Embora tais abordagens, pela própria natureza delas, possibilitaram aos autores tratarem de temas pertinentes à EDH, poucos relatos evidenciaram ênfase e aprofundamento crítico e consistente das características e conteúdos dos direitos humanos (históricos, filosóficos, conceituais) contextualizando-os com as situações problematizadas nos projetos, indicando que os profissionais, apesar de sensíveis às questões contemporâneas em torno dos direitos civis, políticos, sociais, econômicos, culturais, ambientais, não transpuseram didaticamente os conhecimentos atinentes à EDH. Assim sendo, entende-se que qualquer ação destinada a difundir nas escolas uma cultura que valorize a dignidade da pessoa humana como fundamento do convívio democrático, inclusivo, participativo, não violento e que promova o reconhecimento, o acesso e a defesa dos direitos humanos, bem como a ampliação da cidadania, terá seu conteúdo confrontado com a experiência que os profissionais da educação acumulam em suas práticas, enquanto sujeitos que exercem papel ativo, dinâmico e criativo no desenvolvimento das políticas educacionais, tornando imprescindível conectar seus saberes e práticas ao processo de aperfeiçoamento das políticas de EDH. / This study is focused on the context of practice of human rights education (HRE) policies in the city of São Paulo, in order to identify and analyze educational perceptions about human rights. To that end, 296 reports of educational experiences were analyzed, developed by teachers and city schools, which were enrolled in the first four editions of the Municipal Prize for Human Rights Education, conducted between 2013 and 2016. The analysis of the content of these reports allowed to infer that, spite of its own objectives and theoretical and methodological assumptions, as defined in the National Human Rights Education Plan and Directives, HRE has manifold aspects in the way it is perceived and carried out by professionals in education, who reinterpret and reframe it in their practices, based on other references, programs and didactic-pedagogical experiences, which are widespread in the school environment, such as, among other aspects, environmental education, education for ethnicracial relations, food and nutrition education and special education. Considering that education and human rights constitute fields of struggle and resistance in which participants attribute different meanings and implications to their contents and terms, it is understandable that these pedagogical perspectives have been developed over the last decades as an unfolding of the initiative of diverse social actors who, since the 1990s, demanded educational policies that would cover the multiple scopes of education for citizenship, significantly focused on the recognition and appreciation of diversity, on sustainable development, on battling inequalities, opposing policies which reduce rights and dismantling of the periods social protection systems. Although these approaches, by their own very nature, enabled authors to deal with themes pertinent to HRE, few reports have emphasized critical and consistent emphasis on the characteristics and contents of human rights (historically, philosophically, and conceptually), contextualizing them with situations projects. This fact point out that professionals, although sensitive to contemporary issues of civil, political, social, economic, cultural and environmental rights, did not came across knowledge related to HRE didactically. Therefore, it can be understood that any action in schools aimed at disseminating a culture that values the dignity of the human person as a basis for democratic, inclusive, participatory, non-violent living and that promotes the recognition, access and defense of human rights, as well as the expansion of citizenship, will have its content challenged by the experience that education professionals gather in their practices, as subjects who play an active, dynamic and creative role in the development of educational policies, making it essential to connect their knowledge and practices to the process of improvement of HRE policies.