This qualitative research investigated the implementation problems of apprenticeship training program in the Addis Ababa TVET colleges and enterprises. The research looked into the training program conducted by TVET Colleges and enterprises. Relevant literature on the nature of apprenticeship training and the factors that could affect its implementation were also reviewed. The research applied the theoretical statement of Bandura’s (1977) theory of observation /imitation/, Vygotsky’s theory of ZPD, contextual or the situated learning (Lave and Wenger, 1991), the constructivist view of learning and career theory as the main theoretical frameworks to describe the apprenticeship training process. The theories, however, do not mention the factors that can hamper the implementation of apprenticeship training in a specific social context. The theory of observation was preferred since it can describe the apprentice’s effort to master the skill of an occupation by observing the craftsman at the enterprises. The situated learning was preferred as it gives value to practice as a condition for the effectiveness of learning. Similarly, the research considered Vygotsky’s theory of the ZPD. The application of ZPD indicates the difference between what the apprentice can accomplish independently and what he/she can do with the close assistance of supervisor on a given task. Holland’s career theory (as cited in De lary, Duncan & Swarth, 2006) is also considered to describe the apprenticeship training in relation with an occupation. The current research has enabled to consider context specific conditions by focusing on the investigation of the causes of the implementation challenges of the apprenticeship training. The researcher collected data from Addis Ababa TVET Agency experts, deans of one private and another public TVET Colleges, college apprenticeship training coordinators, trainers, trainees, supervisors and enterprises by employing unstructured and structured interviews, observation and Focus Group Discussion tools. The analysis was made by making the data pass through three successive steps: data reduction, data display and interpretation, and conclusion. The findings showed that the implementation of the apprenticeship training program had challenges that could be shared among its actors; Trade Unions had no involvement in the implementation of the apprenticeship training program; the selected colleges and enterprises addressed their challenges by using limited strategies and without regular and systematic way; the presence of some less motivating factors for the participation of the apprentices in the apprenticeship training was reported; the presence of conditions that could adversely affect the apprentices’ acquisition of occupational skills was reported; the provision of apprenticeship training at the enterprises lack, either facilities or training services, in order to arrange the apprenticeship training program for TVET college trainees; and there were some indications for the presence of some weak professional qualities of supervisors that have implications for the apprentices’ training. Eventually, it was concluded that the implementation of apprenticeship training program in the Addis Ababa TVET Colleges and enterprises had challenges that require the consideration of both institutional and human conditions. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

A presente pesquisa teve por objetivo analisar os modos de interação e as relações de alunos jovens e adultos com o conhecimento matemático dentro e fora da escola, bem como as possibilidades de aproximação entre conhecimento matemático escolar e não escolar. As referências teóricas compõem-se da concepção de Bernard Charlot (2001) sobre as interações do jovem com o saber; da noção de aprendizagem situada desenvolvida por Jean Lave e Etienne Wenger (1991); e da análise da matemática como cultura feita por Alan Bishop (1999). O desenvolvimento do trabalho apoia-se em análise de bibliografia sobre a temática aqui questão e em dados levantados por meio de acompanhamento de aulas e de entrevistas realizadas com alunos e um professor de duas classes de Educação de Jovens e Adultos de uma escola pública da cidade de São Paulo. Entre os principais resultados do trabalho, podem-se destacar a possibilidade de diálogo entre o conhecimento matemático escolar e o conhecimento matemático adquirido pelos alunos em diferentes contextos não escolares, bem como a possibilidade de relação entre contexto e aprendizagem de modo que cada ambiente crie situações e artefatos próprios para enriquecer momentos de aprendizagem. / This research aimed to analyze the modes of interaction and relationships of young and adult students with mathematical knowledge, inside and outside school, as well as possibilities of approach between mathematical knowledge school and non-school. The theoretical references consist of the conception of Bernard Charlot (2001) on the relationship of youth with knowledge; the idea of situated learning of Jean Lave & Etienne Wenger (1991); and the analysis made by Alan Bishop (1999) of mathematics as a culture. The work development is based on analysis of bibliography on the topic and data collected through monitoring classes and interviews with students and teacher of two classes of youth and adults in a public school in the city of São Paulo. Among the highlight results of the study, its present the possibility of dialogue between the school mathematical knowledge and mathematical knowledge acquired by students in different non-school contexts, as well as the relationship between context and learning, so that each environment creates situations and artifacts to enrich learning moments.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:39:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 6037.pdf: 968767 bytes, checksum: 8fb7f515768cae960495efe96022b1da (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-12 / This research has the purpose to analyze the influence of situations in order to deal with mathematics in different social practices. As a specific goal, it investigates the meanings in various school and non-school mathematical practices. Among these purposes there is an analysis about the switch of meanings between one and another practice. The development of this work is based on a review of studies about the exploitation of Mathematics on the day to day problems and in other areas of knowledge that could contribute to the learning of mathematics as a school subject. Considering the idea of mathematics as a social practice, the theoretical framework of the present research has centered on the design of means of structuring and situated learning by Jean Lave. The research follows a naturalistic perspective with ethnographicins piration and uses as a methodological resource the participant observation with a group of elementary school students. The data collected were recorded by the researcher in field activities, through interviews, diaries and field recordings. The activities observed occur inside and outside the school. For the analysis it is considered the resource association between the object and the theoretical framework consisting drawn from Lave s studies. Concerning the results obtained, it is possible to realize the strength of the situation and sometimes, how crucial it is in order to practice math. It stands out especially the prevalence of different meanings in different practices. The present study also promotes questions about the proposal to take the students everyday situations to inside the classroom and therefore, it intermediates my work as a mathematics teacher at elementary schools. / Esta pesquisa tem por objetivo geral analisar a influência das situações no modo de lidar com a matemática em diferentes práticas sociais. Como propósito específico, busca investigar os significados em diferentes práticas matemáticas escolares e não escolares. Destes propósitos decorre uma análise da transferência de significados entre uma prática e outra. O desenvolvimento deste trabalho se apoia em uma revisão bibliográfica de estudos sobre como a exploração da matemática nos problemas do dia a dia e nas demais áreas do conhecimento poderiam contribuir para o aprendizado da matemática escolar. Partindo da ideia da matemática como prática social, a referência teórica da pesquisa tem como eixo central a concepção de meios de estruturação e aprendizagem situada de Jean Lave. A pesquisa segue uma perspectiva naturalística com inspiração etnográfica e usa como recurso metodológico a observação participante com um grupo de estudantes do ensino fundamental. Os dados foram constituídos pela pesquisadora em atividades de campo, por meio de entrevistas, diários de campo e gravações. As atividades observadas ocorrem dentro e fora da escola. Para a análise é considerado o recurso de associação entre o objeto constituído e o referencial teórico elaborado a partir dos estudos de Lave. Dos resultados obtidos, é possível perceber a força da situação e, por vezes, como ela é determinante no modo de se praticar matemática. Destaca-se, sobretudo a prevalência de diferentes significados em práticas distintas. O presente estudo também promove questionamentos acerca da proposta de se levar as situações do cotidiano do aluno para a sala de aula e com isso, intervém na minha atuação como professora de matemática do ensino fundamental.

This master’s thesis aims to explore the practice of becoming a researcher and the learning process embedded in this activity by looking at the communicative practices of PhD students, within the context of academic publishing. It is likely that the way in which these soon-to-be researchers reason about the task of communication is related to their way of approaching their field of research as well as the lived world, which makes it relevant to explore further. The study was performed based two sets of data, first open-ended semi-structured interviews with eleven PhD students at Stockholm University, where they talk about their current situation, their motivations and goals and about how they plan to publish their dissertation. Secondly, an analysis of data about publications focusing on work by PhD students at Stockholm University between 2013–2016, and information about how the intended audience, i.e. the readers, have interacted with the published material. These two sets of data were analysed with the use of theories about personal epistemology, sociocultural learning and the rationality of actions. The study shows that the majority of the PhD students at Stockholm University publishes their research findings as scholarly articles in English. The conclusion is also that the publishing process can be understood as a pedagogical tool, as it provides a vehicle for the PhD students to immerse themselves in their community of practice. These findings suggest that it could be useful to further emphasise the publishing activity as a learning process that may lead to a deeper understanding of the role of the researcher in society. / Den här masteruppsatsen avser att utforska hur doktorander lär sig sitt framtida yrke, och hur de socialiseras till att bli forskare via de kommunikativa praktiker som de ägnar sig åt, dvs. akademisk publicering. Dessa kommunikativa praktiker torde vara kopplade till hur en forskare relaterar till sitt forskningsfält, men också sin omvärld, och företeelsen är därför intressant att ytterligare belysa. Studien är genomförd i två delar. Den första delen består av intervjumaterial från samtal med 11 doktorander vid Stockholms universitet. Den andra delen består av en analys av statistik om elektroniska publikationer av doktorander vid Stockholms universitet under perioden 2013–2016. Publikationerna sätts sedan i relation till data om hur läsekretsen har interagerat med publikationerna via olika media och citeringar. De två dataseten analyseras med hjälp av teorier om personlig epistemologi, sociokulturellt lärande och handlingsrationalitet. Slutsatserna är att de flesta doktorander vid Stockholms universitet väljer att publicera sig i vetenskapliga tidskrifter på engelska, och att dessa kommunikativa praktiker kan förstås som ett pedagogiskt verktyg när det gäller lärande om och förståelse för doktorandernas kontext eller gemenskap. Resultatet av studien indikerar att det kan vara meningsfullt att fokusera på publicering, eller liknande kommunikativa praktiker, som en användbar lärandeprocess när det gäller att förstå mer om forskarens roll i samhället.

Canada’s response to the Syrian refugee crisis includes a unique program where private citizens can raise funds to sponsor a refugee family. This private refugee sponsorship program tasks citizens with both the financial and social aspects of a refugee’s integration for their first year in Canada. The success of the program has led many other countries, particularly in Europe, to consider adopting a similar approach. Although there has been an increased interest in the program, there is a lack of research into the sponsorship experience. This study aims to provide further insight into the sponsorship experience by studying whether it includes an element of learning for the sponsors. This was done by conducting in-depth interviews and analyzing them based on situated learning theory and placing the results in the context of previous research done on sponsors in Canada during the Kosovo crisis. The principle findings of this study show that private refugee sponsorship groups are indeed sites of adult learning for the sponsors. However, the degree to which this is the case differs depending on how sponsorship groups are positioned vis-à-vis the refugee family and the professional settlement community.

Numerous research on the development of knowledge and skills within health and social care has been undertaken; however, it can be argued that there is a need to understand the connection between inclusion and the development in knowledge and experience.  The purpose of this dissertation is to explore students’ experiences of the health and social care adult- education program, and participation and learning processes it represents.  The program is considered the formal route to acquire a position as a nursing assistant or health care assistant. Furthermore, the program can be seen as a combination of vocational training, and a measure to reduce unemployment. This empirical study is based on 15 in- depth interviews with students in the health and social care adult-education. These interviews are using a hermeneutic interpretation method, and draw on Lave and Wenger`s theory of learning. In addition to sociocultural theory according to Säljö. Findings indicate that the adult-education program in health and social care is not only a training process, but also a participation process. For the students, it is about gaining participation in the professional community, in Swedish society, and also about an existential safety in a social context. In order to gain participation, intellectual and physical artifacts, as well as personal qualities, are a prerequisite. Despite these requirements, and the challenges students face, the findings reveal that most students continue their studies. This finding leads to the idea that health and social care can be understood a discipline of inclusion. These findings assist the health and social care field in understanding the connection between said artifacts for inclusion in working life and society; in addition, that such programs should be understood from a wider perspective and viewed in relation to the tension between three educational projects: the students` individual project, the program organizer’s project and the national, societal education project.

This thesis project explores the application of the ecological approach to learning in Virtual Reality (VR), investigates the role of educational games in language learning, creates a playground and a modified game for Swedish language, and proposes the concept VR wor(l)ds for language learning and practice. Following an Interaction Design methodology and drawing from ecological psychology, game studies and user research, the qualities of a virtual language learning environment are established. By modifying and playtesting charades game and then sketching in VR two main levels are being formed. A Playground, that first serves as an introduction where players explore and interact with the language, and then a gamespace that is designed to host a Charades Mod in VR. Lastly, two prototypes are developed and tested to finalise the proposed concept of the VR wor(l)ds. The final concept contributes to the understanding of approaching VR language learning games with a focus on player’s experience.

This study explored undergraduate and graduate students' attitudes toward the pleasurability of educational gamification in online learning environments. The study is a sequential explanatory mixed-methods research that investigated students' attitudes quantitatively, then qualitatively. In the quantitative phase, an online survey, the Pleasurable Learning Experiences scale (PLLEXs), was administrated at one of the largest public southwestern universities in the U.S. (N = 119). The qualitative phase involved conducting eight semi-structured interviews with selected participants. The PLLEXs uses a 4-point Likert scale that encompasses 4 subscales: (a) Preferences for Instructions, (b) Preferences for Instructors' Teaching Styles, (c) Preferences for Activities, and (d) Preferences for Learning Effectiveness. A series of analyses of variances (ANOVAs) were used to identify predictors of students' overall attitudes toward educational gamification. The main findings were: (a) students had strong preferences toward educational gamification with Preferences of Instructions rated the highest subscale and Preferences for Activities rated the lowest subscale, (b) major was a statistically significant predictor of students' attitudes toward educational gamification, (c) international students had statistically significant lower preferences toward educational gamification compared with U.S. domestic students, (c) online learning experiences measured by the number of previous online courses and the number of hours spent weekly on computers for academic-related work were statistically significant predictors of students' attitudes toward educational gamification, (d) instructor's feedback was the most important aspect and online collaboration was the most challenging aspect in online learning environments, and (e) the use of multimedia in LMSs can support or hinder teaching and learning activities.

Missbruk medför samhällsproblem i flera avseenden och innebär en social utsatthet för individen. Ansvaret för utförande av missbruksbehandling ligger delvis inom socialt arbete. Tolvstegsbehandling av alkohol- och narkotikamissbruk är en av Socialstyrelsens rekommenderade behandlingsformer. Denna Studie utforskar hur tolvstegsbehandlare påverkas av sina tidigare erfarenheter av missbruk i utvecklingen av professionell expertis, identitet och i det behandlande arbetet. Fyra kvalitativa djupintervjuer analyserades med hjälp av en fenomenologisk analysmetod. Studiens resultat visar hur behandlare med egen erfarenhet av tidigare missbruk arbetar för att uppnå och bibehålla en professionell expertis och professionell identitet. Kunskap genom utbildning, praktisk kunskap och personliga erfarenheter blir grundläggande, samtidigt som bearbetning av erfarenheter och självreflektion är särskilt avgörande för ett gott behandlande arbete. Resultaten visar på att den egna erfarenheten har en positiv inverkan på behandling och behandlingsrelationen genom att öka delaktighet, mottaglighet och nyttjandet av behandlarens förebildsroll. Däremot utgör den egna erfarenheten risker som kan inverka på behandling och behandlarens känslotillstånd genom överidentifikation. Tidigare erfarenheter kan även skapa konflikt mellan professionell och privat roll, både utifrån tidigare kännedom om klienten och utifrån fortsatt medverkan i tolvstegsmöten som privatperson. Respondenterna delar en öppen syn på behandlingsmetoder, samtidigt som de delar en icke-flexibel syn vad det gäller medicinering. Resultaten är genomsyrade av vikten att arbeta med sig själv genom handledning, egenvård och fortsatt engagemang i tolvstegsrörelsen. Resultaten diskuteras utifrån tidigare forskning, teorin för psykosocialt arbete och de teoretiska begreppen dubbel relation, förebild, professionell expertis, kunskap, situerat lärande och identitet. / Substance abuse results in several different societal problems and leaves the individual in question socially vulnerable. Responsibility for substance abuse treatment partially lies in the hand of social work. Twelve-step treatment is one recommended form of treatment for substance abuse by The National Board of Health and Welfare. The present study explores how recovered twelve-step counselors are affected by their previous experiences of substance abuse in the development of professional expertise, identity and in their treatment work. Four qualitative in-depth interviews were analysed using a phenomenological analysis method. The results of the present study show how recovered counselors work to achieve and maintain professional expertise and a professional identity. Knowledge through education, practice and personal experience is fundamental, and to continuously process ones previous experiences and engage in self-reflection is crucial for recovered counselors to be able to work within their professional role. Results further show that the previous experiences has a positive impact on treatment and the client-counselor relationship by increasing engagement, receptivity and motivation through role-modeling. However, the previous experiences also infers risks that can have a negative effect on treatment and the counselors emotional state through overidentification. Another risk is the conflict between the counselors professional and private role, due to prior knowledge of clients or through engagement in twelve-step meetings. The present study’s participants share an open attitude towards the use of different treatment methods, while sharing a non-flexible attitude towards medical treatment. Something that has permeated the present study’s results was the importance of continuously working with yourself through supervision, self-care and continued engagement in the twelve-step movement. Results are discussed in relation to previous research, the theory of psycosocial work and the theoretical terms double relationship, role-modeling, professional expertise and knowledge, situated learning and identity.

In the climate of poor student achievement and a lack of skilled teachers in natural science and mathematics, the main research question of this study was: How can the professional development of primary school teachers be managed by means of action research? The aim of the study was to develop, implement and evaluate a site-based collaboration programme to promote the professional development of the teachers in these subjects within a home-based or semi home-based teaching context. The theory of situated learning within a community of practice (CoP) was used as conceptual framework. Purposeful and convenient sampling was implemented to select participants. Five grade 4 teachers, five grade 5 teachers, four grade 6 teachers and eight members of the school management team participated in the three year study. During the planning phase a needs analysis was done. During the action phase, lead teachers were responsible for the planning in one or two subjects. The teachers met once every six school days (about 30 meetings per year), for up to two hours to discuss content and methodological issues, plan assessment strategies, analyse and reflect on results and decide on intervention strategies. The grade 4, 5 and 6 groups completed six, four and two action research cycles respectively, and the school management team six action research cycles of about six months each. To evaluate the professional development that resulted, data collection was by means of observation, field notes, typed minutes, four focus groups, 12 individual interviews, teachers’ files, a questionnaire and students’ books and achievements. The results indicate that the professional development of primary school teachers could be managed and constantly improved by means of action research. When school managers organise teachers into communities of practice and implement action research cycles, the teachers learn in a context-sensitive way. This learning is characterised by two social stages involving participation in the subject and grade CoP, and an independent stage of personal involvement when teachers internalise knowledge and practices of other teachers. The professional development of the teachers was in the areas of content knowledge, pedagogic content knowledge, assessment literacy and professional attitudes. Student achievement improved. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)