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This study investigated home schooling as alternative form of educational provision in South Africa by focussing on the following aspects: • the nature of home schooling as alternative form of educational provision; • home schooling as alternative form of educational provision in the USA; and • the position of home schooling as alternative form of educational provision in South Africa. The nature of home schooling as alternative form of educational provision has been researched by means of a literature study. Home schooling within a system of educational provision has been investigated and it has been found that home schooling cannot be categorised within existing terms because it includes aspects of both formal and non-formal education and excludes aspects of both. Home schooling has moved from an initially traditional form of education to an alternative form of education, enjoying growing support at an international level. As an alternative form of educational provision in the USA home schooling has a sound legal foundation and has become an acceptable educational alternative. Home schoolers in the USA are very diverse with regard to various aspects, including reasons for home schooling. In regard of the structure of home schooling there are two extremes, namely the orthodox structuralists and the proponents of unstructured learning, with the largest group of home schoolers somewhere between these extremes. Available research indicates clearly that academically home schoolers perform very well and home schooling does not in any way disadvantage them with regard tosocial-emotional development or socialisation. Policy makers in the USA seem to be increasingly of the opinion that there should be some form of cooperation between public schools and home schoolers. The literature study on the origin and development of home schooling as alternative form of educational provision in South Africa revealed that, although the Constitution does not contain a stipulation granting parents an explicit right to home schooling, it does not make homeschooling unconstitutional. New regulations regarding home schooling have been announced by the government in November 1999 and are already operative. The empirical research revealed that home schooling in South Africa has grown phenomenally over the past two years. In South Africa home schoolers are also diverse regarding various aspects, but generally spend much time on formal lessons and mostly use previously prepared curricula. It seems as if educational reasons are the most important and religious beliefs the second most important reason for home schooling in South Africa. Some of the most important recommendations of this study are firstly that a partnership should be established between government and home schoolers. The government should take notice of research on home schooling and the opportunities that home schooling presents. Home schooling as alternative form of educational provision can be supplementary to the existing system of educational provision. Finally, education policy makers should also reconsider legislation regarding compulsory education rather than compulsory schooling. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2000

This study investigated home schooling as alternative form of educational provision in South Africa by focussing on the following aspects: • the nature of home schooling as alternative form of educational provision; • home schooling as alternative form of educational provision in the USA; and • the position of home schooling as alternative form of educational provision in South Africa. The nature of home schooling as alternative form of educational provision has been researched by means of a literature study. Home schooling within a system of educational provision has been investigated and it has been found that home schooling cannot be categorised within existing terms because it includes aspects of both formal and non-formal education and excludes aspects of both. Home schooling has moved from an initially traditional form of education to an alternative form of education, enjoying growing support at an international level. As an alternative form of educational provision in the USA home schooling has a sound legal foundation and has become an acceptable educational alternative. Home schoolers in the USA are very diverse with regard to various aspects, including reasons for home schooling. In regard of the structure of home schooling there are two extremes, namely the orthodox structuralists and the proponents of unstructured learning, with the largest group of home schoolers somewhere between these extremes. Available research indicates clearly that academically home schoolers perform very well and home schooling does not in any way disadvantage them with regard tosocial-emotional development or socialisation. Policy makers in the USA seem to be increasingly of the opinion that there should be some form of cooperation between public schools and home schoolers. The literature study on the origin and development of home schooling as alternative form of educational provision in South Africa revealed that, although the Constitution does not contain a stipulation granting parents an explicit right to home schooling, it does not make homeschooling unconstitutional. New regulations regarding home schooling have been announced by the government in November 1999 and are already operative. The empirical research revealed that home schooling in South Africa has grown phenomenally over the past two years. In South Africa home schoolers are also diverse regarding various aspects, but generally spend much time on formal lessons and mostly use previously prepared curricula. It seems as if educational reasons are the most important and religious beliefs the second most important reason for home schooling in South Africa. Some of the most important recommendations of this study are firstly that a partnership should be established between government and home schoolers. The government should take notice of research on home schooling and the opportunities that home schooling presents. Home schooling as alternative form of educational provision can be supplementary to the existing system of educational provision. Finally, education policy makers should also reconsider legislation regarding compulsory education rather than compulsory schooling. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2000

Syftet med studien är att men hjälp av experiment, se hur barn kommunicerar och ställer frågor kring gasers egenskaper. Metoden som använts i studien är kvalitativa intervjuer med produktiva frågor för att kunna rikta barnens uppmärksamhet kring fenomenet. Datainsamlingsmetoden består av ljudinspelningar tillsammans med intervjuprotokoll, där barnens frågor och beskrivningar kring experimentet förts ner. Resultatet visar att barnen har en förståelse kring det naturvetenskapliga ämnet och kring gasers densitet. Även att barnen kunde beskriva varför materialen reagerade som de gjorde i lådan. De orden barnen använde delades in i ordklasserna adjektiv, verb och substantiv, medans frågorna delades in i kategorierna barns frågor kring saker barnen känner igen, frågor kring görandet och frågor kring att utveckla experimentet. / The aim of the study is with help of experiments, see how the children communicate and ask questions about gases properties. The method used in the study is qualitative interviews with the help of productive questions to direct the children’s attention around the phenomenon. The data collection method consists of audio recording along with a document where children’s questions and descriptions about the experiment brought down. The result shows that the children have a better understanding of the science topic and gases density. But also that the children were able to describe why the materials reacted like they did in the box. The worlds the children used were divided into parts of speech adjectives, verbs and nouns, while the questions were divided into categories like children’s questions about things they recognize, questions about the making and questions about developing the experiment.

I Sverige gäller skolplikt för alla barn från sex år upp till 18 år. Trots skolplikten är det ändå en betydande del av barn och unga 6-17 år som är frånvarande från skolan i större eller mindre omfattning. I Skollagen inklusive skolplikten finns en inbyggd strävan efter likvärdig utbildning för samtliga barn i Sverige. Utifrån problematiken med andelen frånvarande elever trots skolplikt och strävan efter likvärdig utbildning för alla barn syftar denna studie till att öka kunskapen om och en förståelse för hur rektorer i högstadieskolor hanterar skolfrånvaron samt utforska hur rektorerna förhåller sig till sitt handlingsutrymme mellan statens riktlinjer och lagar, deras egen uppfattning, skolans organisation och elevsammansättningen. För att uppnå syftet ställdes en huvudfråga och tre underfrågor: Hur uppfattar sex rektorer på högstadieskolor i Halmstad kommun skolfrånvaro och hur hanteras frånvaron i det dagliga arbetet? Hur förhåller de sig till de överordnade direktiven i Halmstad kommun? Vilka orsaker ligger enligt rektorerna i studien till grund för skolfrånvaro? Hur bedrivs ett förebyggande och åtgärdande arbete för att minska skolfrånvaro? Resultatet baseras på sex intervjuer med rektorer samt två intervjuer med nyckelpersoner för problemområdet. Som teoretisk referensram har Organisationssociologi, Implementeringsteori och begreppet skolkultur valts ut för att kunna analysera det empiriska materialet. Resultatet visar att frånvaro i skolan kan uppkomma på olika sätt. Frånvaron kan bero på olika orsaker. Möjliga orsaker är att elever är sjuka i cykler, elever är omotiverade och att de har en negativ attityd till skolan. Resultatet visar att rektorernas uppfattning och hantering av frånvarande elever skiljer sig åt. Rektorerna använder olika rutiner för att rapportera in, det finns inte en tydlig gräns för när närvaro övergår till frånvaro eller vilka åtgärder som är mest lämpliga, vilket bidrar till att rektorernas egna tolkningar avgör vilka insatser som ska sättas in för att minska frånvaron på den enskilda skolan. Studien visar att det finns ett samband mellan rektorernas handlingsutrymme och den kultur som kännetecknar skolan. Hur rektorer utnyttjar sitt handlingsutrymme påverkar hur skolans verksamhet organiseras samtidigt som handlingsutrymmet ser olika ut beroende på den härskande skolkulturen. Studien visar även att frånvaro är mer omfattande i skolor som kännetecknas av en tvångskultur. / In Sweden, school attendance is compulsory for all children from six years up to 18 years. Although school attendance is still a significant proportion of children and young people 6-17 years who are absent from school to a greater or lesser extent. In the Education Law including school attendance is an inherent quest for equal education for all children in Sweden. Based on the problems of the proportion of pupils absent despite compulsory schooling and the quest for equal education for all children this study aims to increase the knowledge and understanding of the principals of secondary schools deal with school absence and to explore how principals relate to their discretion between the state guidelines and laws, their own perception, organization of the school and the students composition. The study is based on a major question and three sub-headings: How do six principals of secondary schools in Halmstad perceive school absence and how is the school absence handled in their daily work? How do they relate to the overarching directives in Halmstad? What are the reasons according to principals in this study as the basis for school absences? How pursued a proactive and reactive work to reduce school absenteeism? The result is based on six interviews principals with school principals and two interviews with important people in the problem area. As a theoretical framework has Organizational Sociology, Implementation Theory and the concept of school culture selected to analyze the empirical material. The result shows that the absence of the school may arise in different ways. The absence may be due to various causes. Possible reasons are that the pupils are sick in cycles, pupils are unjustified and that they have a negative attitude to school. The result shows that principal’s view and handling absent pupils are different. Principals use different procedures for reporting, there is not a clear line for when the presence passes to absence or what measures are most appropriate, which contributes to the principals ‘own interpretations determines what solution should be taken to reduce absenteeism at the individual school. The study shows that there is a correlation between the principals´ discretion and the culture that characterizes the school. How principals utilize its discretion affect how the school is organized, while the discretion differs depending on the prevailing school culture. The study also shows that the absence is more extensive in schools characterized by a compulsion culture.

The purpose of this investigation is to shed a light upon the pedagogues perception concerning individual work method in children group where children require different types of support. The study has two inquiries, how does pedagogues rationalize when it comes to individual based operations and how do pedagogues work to meet the needs of children i reality. The study’s theoretical frame of reference consists of the socio-cultural and relational perspective. The result of this study shows the importance of six different factors for adaptation of an operation to meet the children's need. Planning and mapping, working in groups, retrofitting of the physical and social environment for the children with special needs, the weight of a good relationship, communication as the key to adaptation of the operation to meet the needs of the children. The final results show that the pedagogues perception of a individual based approach as a good method to work from in kindergarten/preschool operations. The result shows that pedagogues believe that children’s diverseness as a contributing factor for learning and developing new knowledge.

Ces dernières années, la santé des jeunes générations est devenue une priorité et il est important de pouvoir mieux identifier les signes de mal-être et/ou de souffrance des jeunes. L’étude de ces problématiques de souffrance est d’autant plus importante que la réussite des jeunes passe par le fait d’être en bonne santé. Nous avons choisi de nous centrer sur deux dimensions de ces problématiques qui impactent la scolarité et l’efficacité des jeunes de la maternelle à l’université : le stress et les difficultés d’attention. Bien que la littérature aborde majoritairement la problématique des difficultés d’attention sous l’angle du Trouble de l’Attention avec ou sans Hyperactivité (TDAH), elles regroupent également les difficultés pouvant être présentes dans l’ensemble des dimensions cognitives propre à l’attention, et, peuvent être inhérentes à d’autres souffrances psychiques comme la dépression, l’anxiété, les troubles psychotiques. En considération avec la littérature récente, pour nous, les difficultés d’attention correspondent à un continuum dont une extrémité serait le TDAH, pouvant ainsi être défini selon le niveau de symptomatologie du TDAH. Le stress est défini et évalué de manière multiple, selon des marqueurs physiologiques, ou encore par des inventaires d’événement de vie. Pour des raisons théoriques, nous le définissons par le concept de stress perçu et ressenti. Il ressort que les liens entre le stress et les difficultés d’attention ne sont pas clairs. Certaines études mettent en avant un impact du stress sur les difficultés d’attention, d’autres des difficultés d’attention sur le stress. Afin d’approfondir ces liens, nous avons isolé deux prédicteurs de la symptomatologie du TDAH en lien avec le stress : les comportements parentaux et les problèmes de sommeil. Toutefois, il n’existe à notre connaissance aucune étude ayant travaillé les liens entre le stress, la symptomatologie du TDAH et les problèmes de sommeil, et, entre le stress, la symptomatologie du TDAH et les comportements parentaux. Afin d’étudier ces liens et comprendre l’articulation du stress et de la symptomatologie du TDAH (difficultés d’attention et comportements d’hyperactivité), nous avons réalisé trois études: deux en population générale, auprès d’enfants en maternelle (3-6 ans) et auprès d’étudiants à l’université, et, une auprès d’enfant et d’adolescents (6-16 ans) présentant des difficultés scolaires. Nos études montrent que le stress est fortement associé aux difficultés d’attention et moins aux comportements d’hyperactivité chez les 3-6 ans et chez les étudiants. Chez les 6-16 ans, le stress perçu n’est pas associé à la symptomatologie du TDAH au contraire des difficultés émotionnelles mesurées par les parents qui sont associées aux difficultés d’attention et aux comportements d’hyperactivité. Les problèmes de sommeil sont associés aux difficultés d’attention et aux comportements d’hyperactivité chez les étudiants, ils ne sont associés qu’aux comportements d’hyperactivité chez les 3-6 ans et qu’aux difficultés d’attention chez les 6-16 ans. Nos résultats montrent la présence d’une médiation partielle chez les étudiants que nous ne retrouvons pas chez les enfants et adolescents. Les comportements parentaux, principalement coercitifs, sont associés avec les comportements d’hyperactivité et d’inattention. Et il semble que le stress soit un médiateur partiel entre les comportements parentaux et la symptomatologie du TDAH. Ainsi l’ensemble de nos études montrent l’importance de considérer les difficultés d’attention selon un continuum et de tenir compte du stress et des difficultés de sommeil lorsque nous évaluons la présence de difficultés d’attention. Ces deux variables peuvent augmenter la sévérité des difficultés d’attention, pouvant peut-être provoquer un TDAH-like. Ce travail de thèse fait également ressortir un champ d’intervention possible par la prise en compte simultanée des difficultés d’attention, du stress et des problèmes de sommeil. / In recent years, the health of younger generations has become a priority and it seems more important to identify the signs of malaise and / or suffering of young people. The study of these problems of suffering is all the more important that the success of young people is through being healthy. We chose to focus our work on two dimensions that impact the education and effectiveness of young people from kindergarten to university: stress and attention difficulties.Although the literature mainly addresses the problem of attention difficulties from the angle of Attention Disorder with or without Hyperactivity (ADHD), attention difficulties also group the difficulties that can be present in all the cognitive dimensions specific to attention, and, may be inherent to other psychological pains such as depression, anxiety, psychotic disorders. In consideration with recent literature, for us attention difficulties correspond to a continuum of which one pole is ADHD, thus being able to be defined according to the level of symptomatology of ADHD.Stress is defined and evaluated in multiple ways, according to physiological markers, or by life event inventories. For theoretical reasons, we define it by the concept of perceived and felt stress.It appears that the links between stress and attention difficulties are unclear. Some studies highlight an impact of stress on attention difficulties and others attention difficulties on stress.In order to understand these links, we isolated two predictors of ADHD symptomatology related to stress: parental behaviors and sleep problems. However, to our knowledge, there are no studies that have worked on the links between stress, symptomology of ADHD and sleep problems, and, between stress, ADHD symptomatology and parental behavior.In order to study these links and to understand the articulation of stress and ADHD symptomatology (attention difficulties and hyperactivity behaviors), we conducted three studies: two in the general population, with children in kindergarten (2 at age 6) and with university students, and one with children and adolescents between the ages of 6 and 16 with learning difficulties.Our studies show that stress is strongly associated with attention difficulties and less with hyperactivity in 2 to 6-year old and students. In the age group 6 to 16, perceived stress is not associated with ADHD symptomatology, unlike emotional difficulties measured by parents that are associated with attention difficulties and hyperactivity behaviors. Sleep problems are associated with attention difficulties and hyperactivity behaviors in students, they are associated with hyperactivity behaviors in 2-6 years of age and attention difficulties in 6- 16 years old. Our results show the presence of partial mediation among students that we do not find in children and adolescents. Parenting behaviors, mainly coercive, are associated with hyperactivity and inattention behaviors. And it seems that stress mediate partially the relationship between parenting behaviors and the symptomatology of ADHD.Thus, all of our studies show the importance of considering attention difficulties along a continuum and considering stress and sleep difficulties when assessing the presence of attention difficulties. These two variables may increase the severity of attention difficulties, possibly leading to ADHD-like. This thesis work also highlights a possible field of intervention by simultaneously considering the difficulties of attention, stress and sleep problems.

High-stakes testing and accountability have infiltrated the education system in the United States; the top priority for all teachers must be student progress on standardized tests. This has resulted in the predominance of reading for test-taking, (efferent reading), in the English, language arts, and reading classrooms. Authentic uses of print activities, like aesthetic reading, that encourage students to engage individually with a text, have been pushed aside. During a 3-week time period, regular level, English 3/American literature students in a Title I magnet high school, participated in this quasi-experimental study (N = 62). It measured the effects of an intervention of reading American literature texts aesthetically and writing aesthetically-evoked reader responses on students’ self-efficacy beliefs regarding their comprehension of American literature. One trained teacher and the researcher participated in the study: student participants were pre- and post- tested using the Confidence in Reading American Literature Survey which examined their self-efficacy beliefs regarding their comprehension of American literature. Several statistical analyses were performed. The results of the linear regression analyses partially supported a positive relationship between aesthetically-evoked reader responses and students’ self-efficacy beliefs regarding their comprehension of American literature. Additionally, the results of the 2 (sex) x 2 (treatment) ANCOVAs conducted to test group differences in self-efficacy beliefs regarding the comprehension of American literature between treatment and control groups indicated a main effect for treatment (but not sex; nor was there a significant sex x treatment interaction), suggesting the treatment was partially effective in increasing students’ self-efficacy beliefs. Seven of the twelve ANCOVAs indicated a statistically significant increase in the treatment group’s adjusted group mean self-efficacy belief scores as a result of being exposed to the intervention. In six of these seven analyses, increases in self-efficacy beliefs occurred in tasks that required three or more higher-order levels of thinking/learning. The results are discussed in terms of theoretical, empirical and practical significance. Future research is recommended to extend the intervention beyond the narrow confines of a Title I magnet school to settings where the intervention could be tested longitudinally, e. g., honors and gifted students, elementary and middle schools.

Syftet med vårt examensarbete är att få en inblick i hur lärare agerar och kommunicerar med förskolebarn i åldern ett till tre år om rumsuppfattning i utemiljön. Som metod använder vi oss av kvalitativa intervjuer och observationer för att besvara våra tre frågeställningar. Resultatet visar att lärarnas intresse och kunskap att tolka barnens både verbala och ickeverbala uttryck är en förutsättning för att inspirera till nya läranden om rumsuppfattning. Utemiljöns föränderliga möjligheter inspirerar både barn och lärare i deras kommunikation och utmanar till nya lärande om rumsuppfattning. / The aim of our study is to gain insight into how teachers act and interact with preschool children aged one to three years in space perception in the outdoor environment. The method we use qualitative interviews and observations to answer our three questions. The results show that teachers' interest and knowledge to interpret children both verbal and non-verbal expression is a prerequisite to inspire new learners of spatial awareness. Outdoor environment changing opportunities inspires both children and teachers in their communication and challenge to new learning about spatial awareness.

Dental caries is a preventable multifactorial infectious disease which results from the overall impact of biological, behavioural and psychosocial factors. The environment of every individual plays a role in its aetiology, too. The content and form of the diet, regularly performed oral hygiene, fluoride intake and continuous dental care act as an unquestionable part in the prevention of dental caries. "Quality of life" or "well-being" is nowadays an emphasized aspect in most of the studies. There is one factor linked to the well-being of a child discussed on a field of paediatric dentistry - the dental fear. The four following studies presented in this dissertation describe the above mentioned topic. The first surveys the dentist's relationship with the child patients and looks for the reasoning why the children were referred to the faculties and specialists. The second pursues the environmental factors which influence the perception of dental environments in pre-schoolers and the fear of even the most common dental procedures. The third performs an evaluation of the dental fear level in a sample of preschool children in the Czech Republic, with correlation to their dental status and geographic location. This study also deals with a possible use of colours as another tool for dental fear evaluation...