Abstract not available

Acute and chronic pain conditions have a significant impact on the individual who is experiencing pain and resolution of pain continues to present a challenge to nurses and other health care professionals. It is widely accepted that pain education for nurses is necessary if nurses are to deliver effective, evidenced based pain care. Although it has been shown that participation in pain education improves nurses’ pain knowledge, very little is known about the way in which nurses use their improved pain knowledge in their practice or about the conditions that promote application of that pain knowledge. The aims of this study are (a) to explore the transfer of pain knowledge from a continuing education nursing course into practice, and (b) to investigate the impact that the nurses’ participation in action research has on their ability to improve aspects of their pain practice. Participants are 14 registered nurses who successfully completed two accredited pain course units as part of their BSc / BN degree in Nursing. The nurses formed two groups of inquiry, who used both their participation in the pain course and in action research to investigate and change aspects of pain assessment and management practices within their clinical areas. The inquiry groups were located in two different Health Board locations in Scotland. Following involvement in a pain course, the strategies used by the participating nurses to enhance their pain assessment and management practices are examined. Qualitative data was obtained through individual and group interviews, and analysis of significant incidents. An action research approach contributes to an understanding of conditions that promote application of pain knowledge into practice following participation in the course, and focuses on the possibilities for action and improvement of pain care. The findings from this study demonstrate how nurses develop a more patient-centred approach to pain care and become more accountable for their pain practice. The research also identifies a range of strategies used by nurses to improve collaborative working practices with their colleagues that help to reduce some of the obstacles to delivery of effective pain care. From the outcomes of the inquiry, it is evident that these nurses’ participation in action research has increased the possibilities of their involvement in pain practice interventions. Conditions are created through pain course participation and involvement in action research, which supports nurses’ transfer of pain knowledge into practice Additionally, findings demonstrate the potential action research has for identifying problems with pain care and its potential for helping to develop relevant and workable solutions for improving aspects of care. The findings from this study are significant because they inform teaching and learning approaches which can be used with pain education that helps to prepare nurses to deliver more effective pain care within their health care settings.

The intention of this study was to describe the implementation process of the NQF in nursing education at central and provincial levels in order to explore the change process. It deals with this process as follows: Implementation of NQF in nursing education.; Organizational health at central and provincial levels.; The change strategies used at these levels.; The implementation level reached. It is a qualitative study of an enthographic type to describe and document the implementation of the NQF as it occurred. The researcher who was part of the group that generated the culture of learning in nursing, directly participated in the activities and events as they occurred at this initial stage of implementation of the NQF. A discussion between the researcher and nurse educators took place on strategies used and whether they find the existing environment promoting changes. The research techniques used for gathering information were interviews and documents. With this information the researcher was able to reflect, make inferences and interpretations. The state of nursing education was described within the organizational self-renewal strategies described by Owens (1998). The description of the process of implementing the NQF was viewed against the change strategies as described by Bennis, Benne and Chin (1969), which are the empirical rational, normative re-educative and power coercive. The stage of implementation of the NQF in NE that has been achieved has been assessed using the NQF principles as a yardstick. The data collected is largely qualitative and its analysis has been qualitative. The categories of the theoretical framework which are inputs (organizational health); process (change theories); and outcomes (awareness, planning, use and refinement) of the NQF principles, have been used to analyze the data. The findings on organizational health reveal that nursing education is a healthy organization at both central and provincial levels. It has taken the opportunity presented by the NQF to address some of its organizational problems such as the Scope of Practice for nurses and midwives. There are, however, problems in making final decisions about the planned implementation of the NQF because of differences in vision about the future of nursing education. The movement of nursing education (NE) to higher education (HE) is hampering progress because the National Government is not implementing the Education Act No. 101 of 1997 which has moved NE to HE. Both the South African Nursing Council (SANC) and Natal College of Nursing (NCN) have no coherent human resources development policy. At both the central and provincial levels of NE normative re-educative strategies are ones that have been used extensively rather than power coercive strategies. Empirical rational strategies were also made use of to identify the advantages of the NQF policy and to incorporate them into the planned changes. There is full awareness and planning for the implementation of all the principles of the NQF. The principles of the NQF that are already in use and are being refined are integration of education and training, relevance, credibility and legitimacy.This is because they had already been in use in nursing education and practice before the inception of the NQF policy. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

This dissertation addresses three distinct areas of composition: literacy,technology, and teacher training. The research questions I investigate are as follows:Are graduate programs in rhetoric and composition offering preparation for teaching new literacies, especially with digital technology? If so, what is the nature of that training?Does the faculty within a program perceive that training to be effective? Is thattraining perceived to be effective by graduate students?How do individual programs shape their graduate technology training to reflectand manifest specific programmatic agendas and goals?The first two sets of research questions are investigated using survey research methods. The last research question is addressed via case study methods.Using a multi-methodological research design that includes a national survey and two institutional case studies allows me to combine methodologies to draw meaningful conclusions from the data. For example, the survey helps to provide a brief sketch of the state of technology training in rhetoric and composition programs as well as universities, while detailed case studies provide a context that illustrates how the integration of technology into both the university and rhetoric and composition program affects teacher training. The survey demonstrates that many programs do not require courses or workshops that extend special help to those teaching in computer classrooms especially as technology relates to new literacies. Information from the survey also indicates that rhetoric and composition programs have no procedures in place to assess the state of technology training for new teachers and TAs. This dissertation offers one way of assessing technology training.The case studies reveal that the two universities have grand visions and broad technology initiatives. However, a closer look at university mission statements and specific rhetoric and composition programs reveals that the integration of technology is sometimes a less than smooth one. In one case, the department struggles to implement technology at the grass roots level, while another department, despite the inconsistencies apparent at the university level, seems to succeed at both integrating technology and training new teachers to address the new literacies produced by those digital technologies. / Department of English

This case study examined the self-directed and team-based learning activities of a software quality assurance organization in central Indiana. The skills required to assure a high level of software quality evolve rapidly and software quality professionals must embrace ongoing technology and process changes. The thirty focus group participants performed a variety of quality assurance tasks including configuration management, research, automated test development, test planning and execution, and team leadership. The case study was based on semi-structured interviews of four focus groups of software quality professionals, and explored the learning styles, preferences, and activities deployed to learn new technologies and solve complex software problems. Software products are becoming increasingly pervasive in our culture. The study of continuing education for the software quality profession is important due to our increased reliance on this profession to meet customer expectations for high-quality software products. The proliferation of software products in our culture has also increased the demand for software quality professionals. Those professionals who have access to continuing professional education to improve and maintain skills have the opportunity to meet customer expectations. There is no mandated certification or licensing for this profession therefore professionals are left to chart their own course of learning. This study sought to understand how these software quality professionals meet their continuing professional educational needs. As well, the study identified key resources required to support such continuing professional education both within the workplace and off the job. Future study of the role of critical self-reflection in establishing learning objectives could enhance our understanding of how software quality professionals identify and plan their learning activities. Further investigation of the value of computer programming and logic knowledge to the software quality professional would benefit our understanding of baseline skill requirements for the various roles performed in the profession. There are also opportunities to engage in future action research projects on co-location of teams, mentoring, and job rotation strategies, as employees were found to learn effectively from peers. / Department of Educational Studies

After a decade of suffering from a lack of attention in second language research, interest in motivational issues has recently shifted the focus of its analysis from the individual as learner to learning as participation in social activities and social worlds. If we accept the notion that language learning results from involvement in communicative events, then to what degree learners participate in an event, if at all, is crucial to that learning. In this thesis I add to the body of research that has begun to examine the complexities of the interface between individuals and learning contexts. I examine the historical, cultural and personal influences that a group of Ukrainian military officers bring to a NATO sponsored immersion program, as well as their perceptions of their place within the power structures that are inherent to this setting. / I argue that for the group of learners in this study, second language acquisition theories have not provided an adequate explanation for the reason why they did or did not participate in communicative events both inside and outside the classroom. Drawing on Vygotsky's (1962, 1978) language learning theories and Peirce's (1989, 1993, 1995, 1997) notions of social identity and investment to support my findings, I identify elements that served to marginalize these learners and disempower them, and which were responsible for their apparent lack of investment in language learning. I also suggest how, for some of these officers, changes in their social identities led to more opportunities to practice English and eventually to feel empowered both during the language course and once they returned home.

Mémoire (M.A.)-- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 1993. / Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

This study looks at history teaching as a reflection of the circumstances and interests that shaped the nature of Palestinian society, Arab and Jewish, in mandate Palestine. It examines the pedagogical and political roots of educational segregation between Arabs and Jews, tracing the causes that turned it into an impervious practice and explores the engagement of both communities with the education of the national other and the reciprocal influence of this engagement on both education systems. The thesis examines the sociology of particularly Arab, but also Hebrew knowledge, focusing on who wrote history textbooks and why, what were the cultural and intellectual influences involved in this process, and how was history instrumentalised for the creation of a new identity, shedding light on the conscious or unconscious manner in which colonial historiographic paradigms wrote themselves into these textbooks. The juxtaposition of Arabic and Hebrew textbooks underlines the centrality of the conflict in moulding exclusive notions of collectivity and territoriality through the narration of the past. The second part of the project discusses the institutionalisation of this historiography into an educational policy, through curricula, syllabi and exams. I focus on the colonial logic behind this policy, highlighting its inconsistent educational rationale. By analysing the pedagogic discourse of Arab educators and essays written by students, I argue that a growing community of educators and students countered the British policy, seeking to make sense and find an authentic voice within the contours of colonial reality. The thesis concludes with an examination of the teaching of history beyond the history course, analysing the omnipresence of history in the students' lives and their interpretation of it, underlying the differences between the Arab and Hebrew communities in their ability to disseminate a shared, historical consciousness. This analysis of Arabic and Hebrew sources discloses the uncanny resemblance between the production of historical education in both communities, which nonetheless contributed in both cases to driving them apart rather than opening any space for commonality.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:32:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-11-16Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:03:20Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 santos_lis_dr_sjrp.pdf: 2850581 bytes, checksum: 28c758c809222e4968c6e2dadcdf317c (MD5) / Ao atentar para a expansão da oferta de Língua Estrangeira (neste caso, a Língua Inglesa) para crianças – como ferramenta de inclusão que lhes possibilita ampliar conhecimentos e ter igualdade de oportunidades para interagir na sociedade contemporânea –, este trabalho objetiva descrever e discutir conhecimentos necessários à formação docente para atuar com LI em anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental em escolas públicas. É um estudo qualitativo de cunho etnográfico, realizado com cinco docentes de LI que lecionam em anos iniciais e são integrantes do Projeto NEPALI (Núcleo de Estudos de Professores de Artes e Língua Inglesa) da rede municipal de ensino de um município mato-grossense. Para desenvolver a investigação, utilizaram-se diferentes instrumentos: questionários, entrevistas, observação participante, logs, análise de documentos, anotações de campo e sessões reflexivas gravadas em vídeo. Tenciona-se descrever como se caracteriza a prática pedagógica do docente de LI em anos iniciais do EF (primeiro e quinto anos), no contexto pesquisado, e como ocorre a interação dos aspectos sócio-contextuais no processo de ensino-aprendizagem. Busca-se, também, saber como docentes com diferentes formações lidam com questões linguísticas, teórico-metodológicas e socioculturais presentes neste processo e o tipo de formação requerida. Para tanto, o arcabouço teórico é constituído por pressupostos voltados à importância da linguagem como ferramenta de uso significativo e à aprendizagem construída no social, em uma perspectiva sociointeracionista (VYGOTSKY, 1991, 1993, 2001), bem como por estudos que discutem as especificidades da criança como aprendiz de línguas, quanto à idade, contexto, estratégias, habilidades, organização da sala e atividades ofertadas. Pressupõe, ainda, o entendimento de uma formação que possibilite uma prática... / While considering the expansion of a foreign language offered to children (in this case, the English Language) – as an inclusion tool which allows them to increase information knowledge and to have equal chances to interact in the contemporary society – this work aims at describing and discussing knowledge required to the teachers’ education to work with the EL (English Language) in the first years of Elementary School in public schools. It is a qualitative study with an ethnographic character (André, 2002), carried out with five EL teachers who teach beginners and are part of NEPALI Project (Arts and English Language Teacher Study Nucleus) of the municipal teaching net in a town in Mato Grosso. In order to develop the investigation, different tools have been used: questionnaires, interviews, participating observation, logs, document analysis, field notes and reflexive sessions recorded in video. We intend to describe how the pedagogical practice of the EL teacher in the first years of elementary school (first and fifth years), in the analyzed context is and how the interaction of socio-contextual aspects in the teaching-learning interaction happen. We also search to know how the teachers with different education deal with linguistic theoretical- methodological and socio-cultural matters present in this process and the kind of required formation. Therefore, the theoretical framework is constituted by presupposed issues pointing at the importance of the language as a significant tool and the learning built in a socio interactive perspective (VYGOTSKY, 1991, 1993, 2001), as well as by studies that discuss children’s specificities as language learners as for age, context, strategies, skills, classroom organization and offered activities. It also implies the understanding of a education that allows a reflexive practice built in a continuum... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

This thesis portfolio presents an autoethnographic account of a prison educator engaged in a research project that explores creative approaches to arts, prison education, work and training in custodial settings. The position of the researcher is located in-between and across professional practices including arts in prisons, prison education, work and training environments, which have conflicting agendas that, nevertheless, share the same institutional space. Policymakers and management bodies regulating these professional practices expect education and training to contribute to reducing reoffending. Procedurally, the research process was precariously balanced between, on the one hand, performing to measures of quality based on the requirement to reduce recidivism, and on the other, crude outcome measures driven by a utilitarian marketization of prison education that includes course completion rates calculated on the basis of minimum contact time. This broader context created an uncertain and constantly shifting context for the research, which began with my search for an effective creative practice in a Performing Arts Department (PAD) and ends in a Functional English classroom (FEC). Conceptually, the research draws on the What Works debate (McGuire, 1995; Brayford et al. 2010), which continues to create a disjuncture between policy and implementation resulting from unrealistic assumptions that arts and education programmes in prison might prevent reoffending, with evidence relying solely upon randomisation, reductive causation and numerical calculation. It also draws on desistance theory (Maruna, 2001; McNeil, 2006), which argues that desistance from crime can be understood as an indirect process, rather than an event. From an examination of my efforts to implement and develop creative approaches to education via autoethnographic tools, including fictional performative writing, I argue two main points. Firstly, the autonomy required by the creative prison educator engaged in an advanced research project re-positions the professional in a particular relationship with the bewildering processes of power, protectionism and performance management in the criminal justice system. Secondly, and as demonstrated through fictional performative writing, I argue that research methods engaging voices from the frontline of educational environments, can reveal seemingly small details relating to the challenges and possibilities of creative education in prisons that, nonetheless, have significant implications for developing productive and innovative approaches to desistance from crime. Moreover, from this grounded, yet restricted position, I speculate how such approaches might extend both creativity and creatively beyond the validation of this doctorate qualification.