The body of literature clearly articulates the unique needs of newly qualified teachers and the challenges they experience during their early career years. In addition, literature advocates for implementation of induction programmes to enable a smooth transition of the beginners into the profession. This empirical phenomenological study explored the induction experiences of newly qualified primary school teachers in Zimbabwe in an attempt to gain insights into the everyday issues they contend with. Purposive sampling was employed to select twenty participants who comprised of ten newly qualified teachers, five beginners whose experience in the field ranged from one to three years and five mentors. Data were collected mainly through three semi-structured interviews with newly qualified teachers and mentors, reflective essays written by beginners who were not so new in the profession and a focus group discussion with selected beginners. The protocol used for data explication was a simplified version of Hycner’s (1985) framework for phenomenological analysis suggested by Groenewald (2004). The findings yielded six themes and revealed that: new teachers experienced adaptation challenges relating to forging of new relationships, location of schools and nature of host communities; induction was largely informal and incidental, and the induction supports experienced by the new teachers were limited; the beginners had various teaching and social concerns that needed to be addressed; and, while the new teachers had derived some lessons from their first year of teaching, these were outweighed by their concerns and might not have made a significant impact on their classroom practices. The data also revealed that the partnership between teacher education institutions and schools in providing for teacher professional development was weak. The study concluded that the absence of a policy on induction in the country has resulted in lack of appreciation of the centrality of induction on the teacher development continuum and the haphazard manner in which issues of induction are being handled. The main recommendations from the study were that a policy on induction should be put in place, that schools are empowered to provide induction and induction supports that are amenable to the country’s context be fully exploited. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

Thesis (PhD (Educational Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study was designed to explore affordances and constraints to teacher learning as workplace learning during a time of change as initiated by the Index for Inclusion process. In particular the study investigated features on the macro-social and macro-educational level that impact on teacher learning in the workplace and the affordances and constraints to teacher learning that could be identified on the institutional-community plane as the pivotal plane of analysis for this study. It also explored features on the personal plane that impact teacher learning in the workplace. The theoretical framework of cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) provided a broad platform from which to engage with the study. In particular, the work of Engeström, as a contemporary contributor in the field of CHAT, informed this study. The investigation into teacher learning in the workplace during a time of change was designed as a critical ethnographic study and was conducted in a primary school in a disadvantaged community in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. A qualitative methodology was employed. The study allowed for a critical in-depth analysis of affordances and constraints to teacher learning in the workplace by making use of an abductive process of data analysis and presentation, which implies a movement between an inductive and deductive process of knowledge creation. The data was presented in broad themes, an ethnographic narrative using the triangular structure of activity as developed by Engeström, and in pen sketches depicting the learning trajectories of two teachers. The data revealed that the Index for Inclusion employed as tool of change in this study did indeed allow for teacher learning for inclusion in the workplace. It raised awareness of inclusive education, contributed to a shared language for inclusion in the school and created the platform for teachers to engage with own attitudes and practices in a safe and supportive environment. Certain teachers attested to significant learning gains. However, the study also highlighted how a school could act as a restrictive environment for teacher learning and the complex processes involved in changing such an environment to become more expansive in support of teacher learning for inclusion. Several factors acted as severe constraints to teacher learning. On the macro-social level, poverty and the consequences of apartheid in South Africa acted as significant constraints to expansive teacher learning. With regard to the macro-educational level, teachers struggled with innovation overload and the absence of meaningful training and support for change that negatively affected their morale, motivation and self-efficacy. On the institutional level the leadership approach in the school proved particularly detrimental to expansive teacher learning. Teacher cognition, attitude and emotion also constrained their own engagement with the learning opportunity afforded by the Index for Inclusion process in the school. The students were not allowed a platform for their voices to be heard. Furthermore, neither their parents nor the community was invited into collaborative partnerships with the staff. On the personal level the study engaged with the possibility that individual teachers could gradually bring the necessary changes into the school on the grounds of their own positive learning experience through the Index for Inclusion process. The hope for change in the school was thus embodied in individual teachers’ agency, energy and incentive to work towards sustaining the progress that had been made by means of the Index for Inclusion process in the school. Keywords: teacher learning, workplace learning, inclusive education, Index for Inclusion, culturalhistorical activity theory (CHAT). / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die studie is ontwerp om ondersoek in te stel na die eienskappe van ʼn skoolomgewing wat onderwyser-leer in die werkplek moontlik maak in ʼn tyd van verandering soos deur die Index for Inclusion-proses geïnisieer, asook na die beperkinge binne dié omgewing (Engels: ‘affordances and constraints’). Daar is in die besonder ondersoek ingestel na die eienskappe op die makro-sosiale en makro-onderwysvlak wat onderwyser-leer in die werkplek beïnvloed, na die geleenthede en beperkinge vir onderwyser-leer wat op die institusioneel-gemeenskapsvlak as die kritieke vlak van analise vir hierdie studie geïdentifiseer kon word, asook na eienskappe op die persoonlike vlak wat ʼn invloed het op onderwyser-leer in die werkplek. Die teoretiese raamwerk van die kultureel-historiese aktiwiteitsteorie (Engels: ‘cultural-historical activity theory’ oftewel CHAT) het ʼn breë platform gebied vanwaar daar met die studie omgegaan kon word. Die werk van Engeström, as ʼn kontemporêre bydraer op die gebied van CHAT, het veral die studie gerig. Die ondersoek na onderwyser-leer in die werkplek in ʼn tyd van verandering is as ʼn kritiese etnografiese studie ontwerp en is in ʼn laerskool in ʼn benadeelde gemeenskap in die Wes-Kaap Provinsie van Suid-Afrika uitgevoer. ’n Kwalitatiewe metodologie is gebruik. ʼn Kritiese diepte-ontleding is gedoen van geleenthede en beperkinge vir onderwyser-leer in die werkplek deur ʼn abduktiewe proses van data-analise en -aanbieding, wat ʼn beweging tussen ʼn induktiewe en deduktiewe proses van kennisskepping impliseer. Die data is op drieërlei wyse aangebied: in breë temas en patrone; as ʼn etnografiese narratief wat Engeström se driehoekstruktuur van aktiwiteit gebruik; en in die vorm van pensketse wat die leertrajekte van twee onderwysers uitbeeld. Die data het aangetoon dat die Index for Inclusion wat as instrument vir verandering in hierdie studie aangewend is, wel onderwyser-leer vir insluiting in die werkplek tot gevolg gehad het. Dit het ʼn bewustheid rakende inklusiewe onderwys verhoog, die onderwysers is blootgestel aan die terminologie van inklusiewe onderwys en ʼn veilige en ondersteunende omgewing is geskep waarin onderwysers aandag kon gee aan hulle eie gesindhede en praktyke. Sekere onderwysers het van betekenisvolle leerwinste getuig. Die studie het egter ook duidelik gewys hoe ʼn skool ʼn beperkende omgewing kan wees vir onderwyser-leer en vir die komplekse prosesse wat betrokke is by die verandering van so ʼn omgewing om dit meer omvattend te laat word ter ondersteuning van onderwyser-leer vir insluiting. Verskeie faktore het onderwyser-leer erg beperk. Op die makro-sosiale vlak het armoede en die gevolge van apartheid in Suid-Afrika die onderwyser-leer beduidend beperk. Op die makro-onderwysvlak het onderwysers weens innovasieoorlading probleme ervaar. Die afwesigheid van betekenisvolle opleiding en ondersteuning vir verandering het ook ʼn negatiewe uitwerking op hul moraal, motivering en selfwerksaamheid gehad. Op die institusionele vlak het die leierskapsbenadering besonder nadelig geblyk te wees vir uitgebreide onderwyser-leer. Onderwyserkognisie, -houding en -emosie het ook daartoe bygedra om hul eie betrokkenheid by die leergeleentheid wat deur die Index for Inclusion-proses gebied is, te beperk. Die studente is nie ʼn ruimte toegelaat waar hulle stemme gehoor kon word nie en nóg hul ouers nóg die gemeenskap is uitgenooi om deel te hê aan kollaboratiewe vennootskappe met die personeel. Op persoonlike vlak het die studie die moontlikheid ondersoek dat individuele onderwysers op grond van hul eie positiewe leerervaring tydens die Index for Inclusion-proses geleidelik die nodige veranderinge in die skool invoer. Deur individuele onderwysers se toedoen, energie en aansporing bly die hoop bestaan dat die goeie werk wat deur die Index for Inclusion-proses in die skool bereik is, volhou sal word. Sleutelwoorde: onderwyser-leer, leer in die werksplek, inklusiewe onderwys, ‘Index for Inclusion’, kultureel-historiese aktiwiteitsteorie.

The body of literature clearly articulates the unique needs of newly qualified teachers and the challenges they experience during their early career years. In addition, literature advocates for implementation of induction programmes to enable a smooth transition of the beginners into the profession. This empirical phenomenological study explored the induction experiences of newly qualified primary school teachers in Zimbabwe in an attempt to gain insights into the everyday issues they contend with. Purposive sampling was employed to select twenty participants who comprised of ten newly qualified teachers, five beginners whose experience in the field ranged from one to three years and five mentors. Data were collected mainly through three semi-structured interviews with newly qualified teachers and mentors, reflective essays written by beginners who were not so new in the profession and a focus group discussion with selected beginners. The protocol used for data explication was a simplified version of Hycner’s (1985) framework for phenomenological analysis suggested by Groenewald (2004). The findings yielded six themes and revealed that: new teachers experienced adaptation challenges relating to forging of new relationships, location of schools and nature of host communities; induction was largely informal and incidental, and the induction supports experienced by the new teachers were limited; the beginners had various teaching and social concerns that needed to be addressed; and, while the new teachers had derived some lessons from their first year of teaching, these were outweighed by their concerns and might not have made a significant impact on their classroom practices. The data also revealed that the partnership between teacher education institutions and schools in providing for teacher professional development was weak. The study concluded that the absence of a policy on induction in the country has resulted in lack of appreciation of the centrality of induction on the teacher development continuum and the haphazard manner in which issues of induction are being handled. The main recommendations from the study were that a policy on induction should be put in place, that schools are empowered to provide induction and induction supports that are amenable to the country’s context be fully exploited. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

Le Programme de formation de l’école québécoise situe l’élève au cœur de ses apprentissages. L’enseignant peut faciliter le développement des compétences en offrant une rétroaction permettant à l’élève de progresser dans ses apprentissages. Il est difficile pour les enseignants de faire des annotations pertinentes et efficaces en mathématique, car l’accent est mis sur le concept travaillé et non sur la démarche mathématique. C’est pourquoi, nous avons porté notre regard sur l’incidence que peut avoir l’enseignement explicite des stratégies ainsi que sur les annotations faites par l’enseignant sur les copies des élèves en ce qui a trait au développement de leurs compétences à résoudre des problèmes complexes en mathématique. Nous avons opté pour une recherche qualitative et collaborative pour vivre un échange avec l’enseignant et vivre une interinfluence entre le praticien et le chercheur. La qualité des sujets a été favorisée. La technique d’échantillonnage retenue pour le choix de l’enseignant a été celle de cas exemplaires, tandis que celle que nous avons choisie pour les élèves était l’échantillonnage intentionnel critérié. La recherche a duré du mois de novembre au mois de mai de l’année scolaire 2008-2009. Comme instruments de cueillette de données, nous avons opté pour des entrevues avec l’enseignant et des mini-entrevues avec les élèves à deux moments de la recherche. Nous avons consulté les travaux corrigés des élèves dans leur portfolio. Notre étude fait ressortir l’apport de l’enseignement stratégique de la démarche mathématique. Les résultats précisent que les annotations de type méthodologique ont été celles qui ont été les plus utilisées et ont permis une meilleure compréhension chez l’élève. De plus, elles favorisent le transfert d’une situation à l’autre et permettent à l’élève d’obtenir de meilleurs résultats. / The Programme de formation de l’école québécoise (PFEQ) places the student in the center of his learning. The teacher can facilitate the development of the student’s skills by offering a feedback that allows the student to progress in his learning. It is difficult for the teacher’s to make relevant and effective annotations in math, because the emphasis is placed on the concept that was worked on and not on the mathematical process. This is the reason why we decided to concentrate our research on the incidence the teacher’s annotations can have on the development of the student’s mathematical skills. We opted for a qualitative and collaborative research to experiment an exchange with the teacher and live an inter influence between the practitioner and the researcher. The quality of the subjects was favoured. The teacher was chosen according to the sampling of exemplary case techniques and the students were chosen according to the intentional criteria sampling technique. The research lasted from november till may of the school year 2008-2009. Interviews with the teacher and mini interviews with the students at two moments of the research were used to collect data. We also consulted the corrected work placed in the pupil’s portfolios. Our study highlights the contribution of strategic teaching of the mathematical approach. The results specify that methodological annotation was mostly used and aims at a better understanding of the student. Furthermore, this type allows the transfer from a situation to another and allows the student to obtain better results.

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Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:35:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 5091.pdf: 2353289 bytes, checksum: a03a2b48adaadd1d406e11e67b689dbe (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02-28 / In this investigation, the aim is to analyse the contributions and limits of a continuous online training project for the professional development of teachers of the 1st year of basic education. The research question is: What are the limits and contributions of an online teacher-training course in the professional development of teachers? This development is related to the learning and teaching processes and of being a professional teacher, and acts as a knowledge basis for teaching. The methodological reference adopted is supported by a constructive-collaborative interaction model between teachers and researchers and focusses on the construction of investigation strategies and the promotion of professional development processes for teachers. The training strategies used were carried out in distance mode through the digital learning environment of the Teachers portal of the UFSCar. The course, with a total of 120 hours and focussing on teaching the initial years of primary education, was developed in the period between Sept. 2010 and May 2011. It was based on the understanding that professional teacher development takes place throughout their careers and continuous teacher training can contribute to this process. Its contributions and limitations are being investigated through the eyes of the teachers, that is, we take into account what they told us in the different data collection instruments and at different points of the training process. Our interpretations are based on the learning, the difficulties and the teacher knowledge required to teach the 1st year of primary education. The narratives constructed during the interventions by three experienced teachers represent the data interpreted in the study. Other instruments used in this process are: reflective memorials, training reports, teaching cases, reflective journals, a forum, individual summaries on a reference framework on the student knowledge base, and an initial questionnaire. As a result of the investigation, it was found that there was a contribution to professional teacher development in the following aspects: the training content contextualized to the teaching work carried out in the initial years; the feedback on what the participating group`s investigation found; sharing experiences on literacy with teachers from different Brazilian states; the possibility of reviewing the inherent role when teaching the 1st year of basic education; the discussion of the knowledge that composes the teaching basis; the specifics of the teaching content; the overall pedagogy and the pedagogical content. The limits are related to the difficulties in obtaining effective participation from all the teachers and the challenges presented by the dynamic and flexible digital learning environments used to create a collaborative network. / Nesta investigação, objetiva-se analisar as contribuições e limites de um projeto de formação continuada on-line para o desenvolvimento profissional de professores do 1º ano do Ensino Fundamental. Tal desenvolvimento está relacionado aos processos de aprendizagem de aprender a ensinar e a ser um profissional docente e serve como base de conhecimento para o ensino. O referencial metodológico adotado apoia-se num modelo construtivo-colaborativo de interação entre professores-pesquisadores e teve como foco a construção de estratégias de investigação e de promoção de processos de desenvolvimento profissional docente. Essas foram realizadas em curso na modalidade à distância, com acesso viabilizado pelo ambiente digital de aprendizagem do Portal dos Professores/UFSCar. O curso, com enfoque na docência dos anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental, com carga horária de 120 horas, foi desenvolvido no período de setembro de 2010 a maio de 2011. Com a compreensão que o desenvolvimento profissional docente acontece ao longo da carreira e a formação continuada de professores pode contribuir nesse processo. Numa perspectiva em que as contribuições e limites estão sendo investigados na ótica das falas das professoras, ou seja, o que elas nos informaram em diferentes instrumentos de coletas, como também em diferentes momentos do processo formativo. Nossas interpretações tem base nas aprendizagens e dificuldades, bem como, nos conhecimentos docentes necessários para atuar no 1º ano do Ensino Fundamental. As narrativas docentes, de três professoras experientes, construídas durante a intervenção são os dados interpretados na pesquisa. Os instrumentos utilizados nesse processo são: memorial reflexivo, relato de formação, casos de ensino, diário reflexivo, fórum, síntese individual em quadro de referência sobre a base de conhecimento do estudante e questionário. Como resultado da investigação, constatou-se a contribuição, para o desenvolvimento profissional docente, dos seguintes aspectos: o conteúdo da formação, contextualizado ao trabalho do docente em exercício nos anos iniciais e em particular no 1º ano; os feedbacks com devolutivas que inquiriram o grupo participante; o compartilhamento de experiências sobre alfabetização com professores de diferentes estados do Brasil; a possibilidade de revisitar o processo de ensino e aprendizagem no exercício da docência do 1º ano do Ensino Fundamental; a discussão dos conhecimentos que compõem a base da docência: o específico do conteúdo, o pedagógico geral e o pedagógico do conteúdo. E os limites estão relacionados às dificuldades na participação efetiva de todas as professoras e aos desafios pertinentes aos ambientes digitais de aprendizagem dinâmicos e flexíveis, para formação de uma rede colaborativa.

The thesis "The relation of children to foreign language education" deals with the relation of pupils learning foreign languages in selected South Bohemian primary schools. The theoretical part deals with the conception of teaching foreign languages in the first Elementary schools in the Czech Republic, participants in the learning process and motivation in language education and learning foreign languages in kindergartens. The practical part is devoted to the questionnaire research, which determines the relation of pupils to learn foreign languages and their attitudes to the importance of foreign language knowledge. The questionnaires were designed for students from 5th classes in ten elementary schools in South Bohemia.

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Syftet med den här studien är att bidra med kunskap om lärares, special­pedagogers, rektorers och förvaltningsledningens erfarenheter och upplevelser om förbättrings­insatsen specialpedagogik för lärande (SFL) och dess inverkan på förbättringsarbetet i en kommun, på såväl skol­enheter som i kommunen i stort. SFL är en kollegial kompetens­utvecklingsinsats med syfte att höja lärares kompetens inom specialpedagogik. Studien har en kvalitativ ansats och fokusgrupper har använts som metod. Resultatet har analyserats utifrån Illeris teori om de tre lärandedimensionerna. Resultatet pekar på att specialpedagogik för lärande är en form av kollegialt lärande som i många delar upplevs fungera bra för lärares lärande, men som behöver anpassas tidsmässigt för att inte upplevas alltför intensiv. Den specialpedagogiska kompetensen upplevs ha höjts på samtliga kommunens enheter sedan SFL genomfördes. Eleverna har  efter insatsen överlag fått tillgång till fler generella och individuella anpassningar och har blivit mer delaktiga i processer kring sin egen undervisning. Det finns samtidigt lärare som ännu inte fullt ut ger sina elever dessa möjligheter. Kommunens specialpedagoger har kompetens inom skolutveckling som inte alltid nyttjas. Om de får större mandat från rektor så kan de ta ett större ansvar för att tillsammans med denne leda skolförbättringsinsatser och skolutveckling, eventuellt genom att bli en del av skolornas ledningsgrupper. För att nå ännu längre i en kommande förbättringsinsats skulle det vara bra om förvaltningsledningen tog ett större övergripande ansvar för implementering och lik­värdighet i kommunen samt att rektorer tog ett större ansvar för att följa upp arbetet i grupperna genom direkt medverkan eller genom nära samverkan med handledare av grupperna, s.k. distribuerat ledarskap. Rektors första fokus bör vara undervisningens kvalitet. / The aim of the following paper is to contribute to the understanding of experiences had by teachers, special educators, principals and administrative management, with regards to the Special education for learning (SFL) scheme’s impact and stimulus on a municipality’s school improvement initiatives, in specific schools as well as the muni­cipality as a whole. SFL is a collegial competence development initiative with the aim of raising teachers' competence in special education.  The study has a qualitative approach and focus groups have been used as a method. The results have been analysed on the basis of Illeri's theory of the three dimensions of learning. Results indicate that special education for learning is a form of collegial learning that is largely perceived to work well for teachers' learning, but which needs to be ad­justed timewise to avoid being too rigorous. Competence around special education peda­gogy is considered increased at every school in the district since the implementation of SFL. After the intervention, the students have generally gained access to more general and individual adaptations and have become more involved in processes around their own teaching. At the same time, there are teachers who do not yet fully give their students these opportunities. Special educators in the municipality have expertise in the field of school development which is, to some extent, untapped. With increased mandate from the principal, special educators could shoulder more of the responsibility for school improvement and development initiatives, possibly through becoming part of the school’s management team.  In order to reach even further in a future improvement effort, it would be positive  for the administration management to take a greater overall responsibility for implementation and equality  in the district, as well as principals taking greater responsibility for following up on the work conducted in the groups, either through direct participation, or close collaboration with supervisors of the groups, so-called distributed leadership. The principal's first focus should be the quality of teaching.