'Self-study' is a methodological approach that sets out to improve learner and teacher interactions by engaging with problems faced by educators on a daily basis. Through a creative engagement with theory and my on-going experiences as a teacher, employing selfstudy methodology has allowed me to challenge ideas and assumptions that can permeate learning and teaching, including roles, relationships, curricular content and design. This process of unsettling was achieved by drawing attention to the highly contextualised nature of my everyday interactions in relation to my pupils. The notion of context is central to this study and supported me in identifying links between a range of theoretical ideas, including: social constructivism, complexity theory and phenomenology. The connections made at a theoretical level then enabled me to explore my current practice through a period of sustained reflection. As part of this reflective activity, I was motivated to conduct a smallscale intervention in the form of a Participatory Action Research (PAR) project with my class of Primary 1 and 2 children. The rich and meaningful knowledge created through an on-going process of walking and reflection, supported me in bringing participatory and enactivist approaches to teaching and learning to life. Engaging in the self-study has, therefore supported me in contributing possible roles and methodologies that express an interpretation of teaching and learning, which engages with learners' localised and on-going experiences, focussed upon the making of their worlds.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to investigate (1) the relationship of Flanders' Interaction Analysis (Flanders) to the attitudes of students in released-time seminary classes of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) as measured by the Student's Evaluation of Seminary Instrument (SES) and (2) the relationship of scores on the SES before and after training in Flanders. Released-time seminary teachers of the LDS Church from the Tucson and Phoenix areas were asked to participate in this study. From those who agreed to participate, half were randomly assigned to a control group, and half were assigned to an experimental group. SES scores and tape recordings of class discussions were obtained from two of the classes of each teacher. The teachers in the experimental group attended training sessions on Flanders. After training in Flanders, SES scores and tape recordings of class discussions from the same classes described above were obtained. The tape recordings were coded and ratios were figured. From Flanders ratios and SES scores, t-tests and Pearson's Product-Moment correlations were used to produce the test statistics. The findings of this study were: (1) there was no significant correlation between Flanders and the SES; (2) there was, however, enough correlation to show that (a) Flanders ratios which indicate indirect teacher influence are related to relatively high scores on the SES and (b) Flanders ratios which indicate direct teacher influence are related to relatively low scores on the SES; (3) there was no significant increase in Flanders ratios among the experimental group receiving the training in Flanders as described in this study; and (4) the training in Flanders described in this study had no apparent relationship to SES scores. There appears to be a relationship between direct and indirect patterns of teaching influence, as defined by Flanders, and student attitudes in the released-time seminary classroom of the LDS Church, as measured by the SES. Further studies are necessary to investigate the extent of this relationship. Further studies that investigate the relationship between teacher behavior in the seminary classroom and a more vigorous training program in Flanders are also recommended.

This study focused on the perceptions of certain educationally marginal students regarding their relationships in traditional school and subsequently in an alternative school program. It also investigated the history and operation of that alternative program which featured a theory of personal processes. The investigator sought answers to the following questions regarding the above educationally marginal students: (1) What is the social-educational background of each student? (2) How does each student perceive his/her social-educational relationships within the school program? and (3) What are the perceptions of a teacher participant observer regarding each student's social-educational relationships within the program? A review of related literature suggested that a concept of marginality would be appropriate in referring to students who had experienced difficulty in traditional schools and had dropped out. The literature, moreover, indicated that there were alternative school programs which offered new opportunities for students' re-entry into the educational process. Finally, the background literature on the theory of personal processes was reviewed. A conceptual framework to organize, conduct, and report the study was developed from the theory of personal processes. The investigator functioned as a participant observer in the alternative program under scrutiny. Twenty-seven alternative school students were observed and interviewed. Six case studies were documented. Additionally, the perceptions of the remaining 21 students were presented, together with the observations of the participant observer. Some of the more significant findings were: (1) students became educationally marginal through a process of self-definition and through being labeled by teachers and others; (2) marginal students tended to perceive themselves as not being treated equally by their teachers. They saw themselves as having poor relationships with their teachers; (3) marginal students tended to dissipate their marginality by developing a new social-educational reality for themselves through group association, participation, and involvement in the alternative school program; and (4) the theory of personal processes, which was designed to promote warm and personal relationships in the classroom, was found to be most productive with the marginal students who came to this alternative program.

The focus of the present study was an attempt to provide data which would serve as a basis for improving teachers' judgments of sociometric status. In order to accomplish this, the interrelationships between sociometric choice status, teachers' judgments, and selected variables were investigated.

M.Ed. (Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Current attention in L2 acquisition research has been given to the integration of message-focused and form-focused instruction. One way to accomplish this is through the incidental focus on form during meaning-focused activities. Some studies have investigated incidental focus on form in different contexts and provided evidence that this incidental focus on form exists in L2 classes and that it facilitates L2 acquisition.The present study conducted further research into the effects of interactional patterns (Teacher-learner and Learner-learner) and learners' proficiency levels (Advanced and Elementary) on the features of incidental focus on form (types of focus on form; types of feedback; linguistic forms focused on and types of immediate uptake). Over 10 hours of interactions with meaning-focused communication tasks were audio recorded in two interactional patterns and in two classes. The 336 focus on form episodes (FFEs) were transcribed and analyzed for four features of FFEs.The results revealed a significant difference in frequencies of FFE types between the two interactional patterns. Teachers were more active in responding to learners' errors, but they were less active in initiating preemptive FFEs. No significant difference was found between the two proficiency levels.In terms of feedback, no significant difference was found between the two interactional patterns. Both teachers and learners were using similar types of feedback in the FFEs. Learners were as able as their teachers in 'providing solutions'. Thus, Learner-learner interactions appear to be equally beneficial for L2 learning. Equally, there was no difference between the two proficiency levels. In terms of linguistic focus, there was no significant difference between the two interactional patterns or between the two proficiency levels.In terms of overall uptake responses, there was a significant difference between the two interactional patterns, mainly in terms of 'no uptake', 'no opportunity for uptake' and 'no need for uptake'. However, there was no significant difference in terms of frequencies of 'occurrence of uptake'. Thus, Learner-learner interactions appear to be equally beneficial for L2 learning from the perspective of producing successful uptake. No significant difference in terms of immediate uptake was found between the two proficiency levels.The results of this study suggest that in both Teacher-learner and Learner-learner interactions at both Advanced and Elementary levels of proficiency, incidental FFEs occur frequently, and the high frequency of immediate uptake in these FFEs can be considered effective for L2 learning. Because learners were able to work as a knowledge source for each other, spoken interactions should be encouraged between learners.

This thesis is a qualitative study into aspects of primary education in Samoa. Using student, parent and teacher interview material, I investigate local perspectives on why education is important, what children should learn, how children learn, and what constitutes 'good' teaching. I also look at local perspectives on the place of exams and physical discipline. Fieldwork included classroom observations in rural and urban settings. The thesis documents how children approach learning at school, how teachers go about their work, and how teachers and students interact. This is primarily an ethnographic study and, as such, focuses on local theories and meanings. However, several broader theoretical areas emerge as important. In the thesis I look at: a) the interdependence between different aspects of school (i.e. curriculum, teaching methods, assessment practices, material constraints, etc.); b) the relationship between primary education and the wider society; and c) the increasing impact of globalisation on education. The thesis challenges the belief that patterns of interaction at school undermine primary socialisation. It also challenges the idea that primary education is an alien Western institution. Formal education has been eagerly embraced, co-opted, and reshaped to ensure consistency with local perspectives and practices. Increasingly, global flows impact on education in Samoa. This has created tensions between educational policy and teaching practice. Education policies are profoundly influenced by Western ideologies and practices. These reflect fundamentally different ways of thinking about children, their relationships with adults, teaching, and learning. By contrast, teaching practices in Samoa are consistent with local beliefs, values and understandings, and the material realities of a small, fiscally constrained Pacific nation. Policy initiatives are often met with inertia and resistance. The thesis raises issues as to the role of education in maintaining the status quo versus education as an agent of change. It also points to the increasingly difficulty task of defining what is a relevant education and how this is best achieved.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio State University, 1983. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 52-55). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center