The study investigated overcrowding classrooms and its impact on learners and teachers’ performance, efficiency and effectiveness. This action was prompted by the researcher’s observation of learners’ poor performance and teachers’ loss of instructional time in overcrowded classrooms. Literature was reviewed to place the study in gap lapse prospective which this study was to fill. Quantitative research method was used to be able to collect the most applicable data that would be able to produce valid and reliable information for the compilation of the research report. Revelations from the collected data were that overcrowded classrooms have adverse effects on both the teacher and learner performance and activities in schools where overcrowding is evident. Based on the revelations the research made some recommendations to contribute towards finding solution to the problem investigated in this study. The conclusion that could be drawn was that there is need for the Department of Education (DoE) to conduct elaborate study in schools where overcrowding exists and make a concerted effort to provide adequate classrooms to be able to help learners and teachers benefit from the provision of education being delivered.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Educational Psychology in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Needs Education at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2015 / One of the objectives of setting up a special needs school system in South Africa (SA) was to ensure that children with learning disabilities and special needs are part of a full service, inclusive education system. In SA, special needs education can be traced back to the Apartheid during which learners were segregated on the basis of their race, colour, ethnicity and disability. The apartheid policy allowed for well-resourced schools for white disabled learners and very few under-resourced schools for disabled learners from other population groups i.e. Blacks, Indian and Coloured. Children with learning disabilities (LD) have problems beyond reading, writing, mathematics, memory and organisational skills, to mention a few. Problems may include a deep sense of anger, sadness, shame and frustration which could lead to poor psychological well-being. Often affected learners present with anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and other psychological concerns. Teaching learners with special needs require skills which include proper knowledge about learners, wants and aspirations. The differences may also include cultural, gender, social and economic background. These differences influence how each learner relates and adapts to developmental milestones, cognitive & language development and psychological well-being. It should then be emphasised that every teacher, especially those who deal with learners with disabilities, needs assistance or information that will help them develop instructional programmes that enhance maximum functionality of each learner, particularly those with disabilities. The aims of the study were to assess teachers’ knowledge about the psychological well-being of their learners; and also to establish whether or not there is a relationship if any, between teachers’ demographical data and levels of knowledge. This study sampled thirty (30) teachers teaching at the special needs school, using a standardized structured quantitative questionnaire. The conclusions reached were that teachers at a special needs school did not possess adequate levels of knowledge about their learners’ psychological well-being. It was also established that there was a statistical significant association between their selected demographics and knowledge level of teachers.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-07T15:08:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1763252 bytes, checksum: df09fd5c9c99f88927023c9a8718c13c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-09-14 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This thesis deals with in service teachers training held in distance education modality, which takes place through the partnership agreement signed between the Federal University of Paraiba (UFPB) and the Open University system of Brazil (UAB). This investigation aims to identify the contributions of teacher education policy expressed by UFPB in the opinion of public school teachers who were taking the degree in pedagogy, in service, at UFPB Virtual, with specialization in early childhood education. The interest in this issue became even more emphasized when it was considered the teacher training process guided by the use of information technologies and communication, in the form of semi-attending education that requires of the individuals specific skills for handling the study tools available on the e-learning platform Moodle, counting for this with internet use and interaction in virtual learning environments (VLE), thus building a profile of autonomy differentiated from that which is found in classroom education. It was about learning the challenges and solutions found by teachers/learners from the distance pedagogy course in order to check contributions of this training to improve their professional practice at school. Thus, it was selected as theoretical-methodological framework the Social Representations Theory (SRT) of Serge Moscovici and content analysis of Bardin (1977) as there was a concern to relate them with the knowledge and practice of teachers, highlighting their ways of thinking and acting front of this modality of education and ICT use on in service training. The research sample consisted of 13 teachers/learners distributed in six centres of presence support from the distance education in Paraíba, and the instruments used to capture their social representations were questionnaire and interview applied as offline activity, through e-mail (asynchronous communication and interaction). In order to organize a database on the pedagogy course at the research participant centres (Cabaceiras, Campina Grande, Coremas, João Pessoa, Mari and Pombal), it was conducted the data collection through e-mail among coordinators and presence tutors of such centres, regarding the number of vacancies, admission, enrolment and evasion among the coordinators and tutors face of such centres. Therefore, the research results validated the argument that teacher training policy expressed by UFPB has contributed to foster the education professional qualification as it has caused concerns in their academic and professional attitudes, highlighting that changing thoughts and attitudes is not easy, because it tinkers with standards previously established by institutional organizations and society. / O presente trabalho de tese trata sobre a formação de professores em serviço realizada na modalidade de educação a distância, a qual ocorre através da parceria celebrada entre a Universidade Federal da Paraíba e o sistema Universidade Aberta do Brasil. Buscamos identificar as contribuições da política de formação docente expressa pela UFPB na opinião de professores da educação básica pública que se encontravam realizando sua formação em serviço no curso de licenciatura em pedagogia da UFPB Virtual, com habilitação em educação infantil. O interesse pelo tema enfatizou-se ainda mais quando pensamos o processo formativo de professores pautado pelo uso das tecnologias da informação e comunicação, no formato de educação semi-presencial que requer dos sujeitos habilidades específicas para o manuseio das ferramentas de estudo disponibilizadas na plataforma moodle, contando para isto com o uso da internet e interação nos ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem (AVA), construindo assim um perfil de autonomia diferenciado daquele que se encontra na educação presencial. Tratou-se de conhecer as dificuldades e soluções encontradas pelos professores/aprendentes do curso de pedagogia a distância para verificar as contribuições desta formação para melhoria de suas práticas profissionais na escola. Para tanto, selecionamos como aporte teórico-metodológico a Teoria das Representações Sociais (TRS) de Serge Moscovici e análise de conteúdo de Bardin (1977), pois, tivemos a preocupação em relacioná-las com o saber e o fazer dos professores, destacando suas formas de pensar e de agir frente a esta modalidade de educação e uso das TIC na formação em serviço. A amostra da pesquisa foi composta por 13 professores/aprendentes distribuídos em 06 polos de apoio presencial da EAD na Paraíba, e os instrumentos utilizados para captar as suas representações sociais foram o questionário e a entrevista aplicados de maneira offline, através de e-mail (comunicação e interação assíncrona). Com o intuito de organizar um banco de dados sobre o curso de pedagogia nos polos participantes da pesquisa (Cabaceiras, Campina Grande, Coremas, João Pessoa, Marí e Pombal) realizamos levantamento de dados com uso de e-mail quanto aos números de vagas, ingresso, matrículas e evasão junto aos coordenadores e tutores presenciais dos referidos polos. Os resultados obtidos a partir da pesquisa validaram, portanto, a tese de que a política de formação docente, ora expressa pela UFPB contribuiu para favorecer a qualificação dos profissionais da educação, pois propôs inquietações em suas posturas acadêmica e profissional, destacando que mudar pensamentos e posturas não é algo fácil, porque mexe com padrões anteriormente estabelecidos por organizações institucionais e a própria sociedade.