The bases of this diploma thesis are a family and school cooperation, means of cooperation and ways leading to a cooperation improvement. The submitted work deals with theoretical aspects of the family and school co- operation and a report from a practical investigation on this subject executed at the primary school follows. The research is based on the exploring method of an interview (i.a. via web pages created by myself) for current and future teachers at primary schools and for parents. The work focuses on upgrading and reengineering of communication forms be- tween schools and parents. The parent is considered as a "consumer , a "partner or a "citizen . This point of view is based on the empirical research of the family and school cooperation by Milada Rabušicová and Milan Pol. This research has been executed at the primary schools in Brno. Next, the models of family and school partnerships in accordance with Birte Ravnová are also introduced. A definition of terms: a family (by several experts), a function of family and type of family (in accordance with so-called a "Functionality of family questionnaire ) is introduced. Next terms as: a school and social atmosphere, a school environment, a positive school atmosphere (and its important character in compliance with Helena Grecmanová) are also presented....

Alternative high schools serve some of the most vulnerable students and their programs present a significant challenge to evaluate. Determining the impact of an alternative high school that serves mostly at-risk students presented a significant research problem. Few studies exist that dig deeper into the characteristics and strategies of successful alternative schooling. Moreover valid program evaluation methods to identify successful alternative school practices are hit and miss. As a result, public policy and systems of accountability have either disregarded information relating to alternative high schools or unjustifiably included them in comparisons with traditional high schools. This dissertation studied the issue of how best to evaluate alternative high schools and what tools support leaders in planning a thorough and accurate program evaluation. The Alternative High School Program Evaluation Toolkit was developed to support school leaders and evaluation teams made up of internal and external stakeholders as they facilitate the program evaluation process. The features of the Toolkit address the need for alternative school evaluation to be practical, useful, fair and accurate. The Evaluation Toolkit includes training materials, protocols, an evaluation planning worksheet and an evaluation planning matrix that supports the team in conducting the evaluation. The research represented in this dissertation is theoretically and practically grounded in Bridges and Hallinger's (1995) Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and Borg and Gall's (1989) Research and Development (R&D) Cycle. The product of the R&D Cycle was the Alternative High School Program Evaluation Toolkit and a process for use by evaluation teams assigned the task of planning and carrying out program evaluations.

The diploma thesis deals with the perception of teacher's authority at elementary school. The theoretical part introduces essential terms which are connected with this topic. For example the term authority and its changes of perception in the course of time, alternative schools and the different point of view on authority, the connection between the position of authority and discipline in class, the role of reward and punishment. In the practical part is used qualitative method. The research is based on interviews with teachers. The aim of this thesis is to obtain information related to teacher's authority. Collected data are evaluated in the seventh chapter.

6 Title: The relationship between teachers' educational styles and the perceived academic efficacy of primary school students Author: PhDr. Mgr. Tomáš Komárek Department: Department of Psychology Supervisor: PhDr. Simona Horáková Hoskovcová, Ph.D. Abstract: The presented doctoral thesis examines the issue of perceived academic efficacy in relation to teachers' educational styles in the transitional period between the first and second half of primary school (equivalent to transition from primary school to secondary school). The main research aim was to test the hypothesis that teachers' educational styles influence the perceived academic efficacy of students using quantitative statistical methods. The second aim was to compare regular schools with schools using the teaching programme 'Step by Step' in both main variables and to determine the extent to which these schools differ. The research sample was comprised of fifth-grade students from both types of schools (N = 896). The data was obtained using three questionnaires: the questionnaire 'Interaction of the teacher and students' examines the teacher's educational style; questionnaires 'Myself as a learner scale' and 'Children self-efficacy scale' focus on measuring the students' perceived academic efficacy. The results confirmed a statistically significant...

The master's thesis focuses on individuation and differentiation in our education system. The present work explains the concepts of individualization and differentiation, various types of differentiation, their possible pitfalls, their history and the applications of differentiation and individuation in alternative schools. The thesis includes a conversation with a physics teacher, analysis of annual elementary school reports, and an experiment. The experiment included a non-standardized achievement test and a survey.

The work deals with education technology in the specific environment of Waldorf school with an emphasis on pedagogical traits of this school type. The theoretical part includes the explanation of the term {\clq}qeducational technology``, the brief characteristics of alternative schooling, its rise and development. The main accent is put on the Waldorf pedagogy, its recourses, contents, aims, specifics and history in the Czech Republic and Waldorf education worldwide. The practical part includes records from inspections of Waldorf classes and then a comparison of theory and praxis. Then this work compares a social climate of the Waldorf class and the class with a classical way of education by questionnaires to find out objective positives of Waldorf education.

I deal with the democratic school term in my diploma thesis. I clarify the term, I present few of the democratic schools and critical pedagogy. My goal is to highlight the qualities of the democratic school and demonstrate the arguments for considering it as equal and adequate to classical education system. I highlight the importance of attention and financial support from MŠMT for the democratic schools. Few of the democratic schools and the movements were inspired by the concept of independent british boarding Summerhill school and his founder Alexander Sutherland Neill. I will describe pedagogical principles of A. S. Nell and the history of Summerhill school in my thesis. Partial goals are to clarify in what extant and how were employed the principles of Summerhill school in schools in the Czech republic; and how can be the pedagogy of A. S. Neill followed in Czech settings. I will decribe my own point of view on the schooling and teaching. I will compare them to several schools, e.g. Scio school, Ježek bez klece school, Neškola, Sudbury Valley School, Neue Schule etc. after that. I will address the terms unschooling, democracy and boarding school. I employ a method of comparison, analogy, analisis and synthesis.

The thesis deals with alternative approaches to education at high schools in the Czech Republic. The starting points of the thesis are mainly the historical context of alternative education and the characteristics of the Czech high schools and their students with a focus on private schools. The main areas of interest are some didactic principles, selected forms and methods of teaching, formative assessment and specific position of a teacher, which are stated as crucial, based on the research findings. The thesis also provides a brief overview of high schools in Prague which are considered innovative. Two such high schools are examined in detail in the empirical survey. Their stories are comprehensively processed using the multiple case study method. Key words: Alternative Approaches to Education, Alternative Schools, High Schools, Innovations in Education, Case study

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The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which alternative schools add value to the college readiness of their students, as well as to measure the capacity of alternative school students to successfully complete dual credit courses while enrolled at the alternative school. This mixed methods study utilized an exploratory approach with a descriptive research design to explore the extent to which alternative schools produce college-ready students. The Texas Success Initiative Assessment was used to measure participants' academic readiness levels in mathematics, reading, and writing. Additionally, participants had the opportunity to provide their own perspectives on their college readiness levels through a student survey and semi-structured face-to-face interview. The results of this study reveal that the college readiness levels of alternative high school students varied across academic areas. Of the tested participants, 41.1% were college ready in reading, 52.1% in writing, and 16.7% in mathematics. Additionally, the findings reveal that dual credit course participation was not a viable option because of course prerequisites and the amount of time needed to complete dual credit courses. Results of this study expand on the literature to provide a better understanding of the effectiveness of alternative school programs, the college readiness levels of alternative high school students, and the capacity of alternative high school students to successfully complete college coursework while in high school.