A proposta de uma abordagem de ensino que contemple discussões sobre interações Ciência - Tecnologia - Sociedade (CTS) vem ganhando cada vez mais interesse e destaque na Educação Científica no Brasil. Aliado a isso, têm crescido as pesquisas sobre esse tema, cujo aumento e diversidade apontam para a necessidade de estudos de revisão bibliográfica sobre essa produção. Nessa perspectiva, o objetivo deste trabalho é acompanhar esse movimento, identificando e caracterizando possíveis abordagens CTS presentes na Educação Científica brasileira. Para tanto, optou-se pela construção de uma matriz de referência, constituída por planos de análise de diferentes naturezas, compostos por parâmetros que representam, de forma sistematizada, as diferentes abordagens. Metodologicamente, o trabalho de investigação compreende dois encaminhamentos complementares: um de base empírica e o outro de aproximação teórica. Do ponto de vista empírico, foi analisada a produção CTS recente na área de Pesquisa em Ensino de Ciências. Paralelamente, do ponto de vista teórico, o aprofundamento de referenciais teóricos subsidiou a identificação de parâmetros relevantes para a constituição da matriz de referência específica para análise das abordagens CTS. Dentre os resultados, destacam-se os dois planos de análise identificados e seus respectivos parâmetros. O primeiro plano relaciona-se às perspectivas de discussão das relações CTS, sistematizadas em três parâmetros: Racionalidade Científica, Desenvolvimento Tecnológico e Participação Social. O segundo plano relaciona-se às perspectivas educacionais, sistematizadas em três propósitos que envolvem o desenvolvimento de Percepções, Questionamentos e Compromissos Sociais. A partir da articulação entre esses planos e parâmetros foi possível reconhecer e situar intenções e, além disso, explicitar razões para as escolhas, encaminhamentos, limites e potencialidades de diferentes abordagens CTS. / The proposal for a teaching approach that includes discussions about Science - Technology - Society (STS) interactions is gaining increasing interest and emphasis in the Scientific Education in Brazil. Allied to this, the research about this subject has grown, whose increase and diversity point to the need for studies of literature review on this production. In this perspective, the objective of this study is to follow this movement, identifying and characterizing possible STS approaches present in the Brazilian Scientific Education. To this end, we chose to build a reference array consisting of plans of analysis of different natures, composed of parameters that represent, in a systematic manner, the different approaches. Methodologically, the research work comprises two complementary referrals: one of empirical base and the other of theoretical approach. From the empirical point of view, we analyzed the recent STS production in the area of Research in Science Teaching. In parallel, from the theoretical point of view, the deepening of theoretical frameworks supported the identification of relevant parameters for the constitution of specific reference array for analysis of the STS approaches. Among the results, we highlight the two levels of analysis identified and their parameters. The first plan it is related to the prospects of discussions of the STS relations, systematized in three parameters: Scientific Rationality, Technological Development and Social Participation. The second level it is related to the educational prospects involved, systematized in three purposes that involve the development of Perceptions, Questions and Social Commitments. From the relationship between these plans and parameters was possible to recognize and locate intentions and, furthermore, explain reasons for choices, referrals, limits and potential of different STS approaches.

Si l’avenir de notre planète dépend en effet, comme le confirme Roberts et al. (2009), de la maitrise d’une “jeune discipline”, la restauration écologique, il est de notre devoir d’investir pour assurer un maintien et amélioration des services des écosystèmes, des connectivités écologiques et des cycles biologiques qui dépendent du fonctionnement des écosystèmes dégradés. Si la connaissance des écosystèmes méditerranéens, la maitrise des techniques d’ingénierie écologique témoignent d’importantes avancées au courant des dernières décennies, le transfert sur le terrain et la mise en œuvre de ces techniques reste assez lacunaire notamment dans les milieux où de fortes interactions avec les communautés humaines nécessitent une appropriation et adoption des méthodes d’intervention. Le contexte du bassin méditerranéen, hot spot de biodiversité, contexte socio-politique tendu et souvent instable, développement démographique intense, urbanisation souvent peu planifiée et de surcroît une histoire de coévolution des hommes et des paysages qui date depuis le néolithique, rend ce transfert encore plus complexe. Comment abaisser les résistances et mieux faire accepter les solutions techniques proposées ? Comment faire de sorte que les gens acceptent mieux une modification portant sur leur environnement de vie? Est- il possible d’initier un changement d’attitude et une modification comportementale portant sur les solutions proposées ? En d’autres termes, sommes-nous en mesure de mieux faire accepter les techniques et les méthodes d’intervention sur un environnement/ écosystème lorsque celles-ci heurtent les a priori des communautés humaines concernées? En partant de ces grandes questions, le travail de thèse s’inscrit dans une problématique bien particulière : Comment modifier les attitudes des individus vis-à-vis les modifications de leur environnement proche? L’hypothèse de départ étant qu’en agissant sur les processus sous jacents au changement d’attitude, on devrait améliorer la possibilité d’accepter le principe et les techniques d’intervention relatifs à une action sur l’environnement. Si on souhaite initier un changement d’attitude, il faut modifier les relations d’action à l’objet dont le frein principal est la consistance des individus. Il faut donc modifier à la fois la flexiblité cognitive, l’expérience émotionnelle et l’affordance. Les hypothèses opérationnelles se déclinent donc comme suit : H1 : Flexibilité cognitive et changement d’attitude: En améliorant la flexibilité cognitive Il est possible d’augmenter l’acceptabilité vis-à-vis le principe et les techniques d’intervention relatifs à une action sur l’environnement H2 : Expérience émotionnelle et changement d’attitude: l’expérience émotionnelle d’une personne et sa perception de l’espace peuvent induire un changement d’attitude vis-à-vis le principe et les techniques d’intervention relatifs à une action sur l’environnement H3 : Affordances et changement d’attitude : Un changement d’affordance peut contribuer à initier un changement d’attitude chez une personne vis-à-vis le principe et les techniques d’intervention relatifs à une action sur l’environnement. Ces hypothèses seront testées sur l’exemple de réhabilitation des carrières d’extraction au Liban- contexte méditerranéen. / If the future of our planet depends indeed on the mastering of the « young discipline” that is ecological restauration, as confirmed in Roberts et al. (2009), it is our duty to invest in the preservation and improvement of ecosystem services, ecological connectivity and biological cycles that rely on the functioning of corrupted ecosystems. Mediterranean ecosystems knowledge and the mastering of ecological engineering techniques have made substantial progress during the last decades. Unfortunately, the transfer of these techniques on the field and their implementation are still sparse, and notably in environments where consistent interactions with human communities require the appropriation and adoption of intervention methods. The Mediterranean basin, which is considered a hotspot for diversity, evolves in tense and often unstable sociopolitical conditions, along with huge demographic increase, poorly-planned urbanization and a long history of coevolution of men and landscapes dating back to the Neolithic period. This makes this transfer of techniques yet more complex. In this context, how can we overcome the resistance and win acceptance on the proposed technical solutions? How can we bring people to better accept modifications relating to their life environments? Is it possible to initiate an attitude and behavioral change towards the proposed solutions? In other words, can we induce acceptance for the intervention techniques and methods on an environment/ecosystem when these are met with the stereotypes disseminated by the concerned human communities? Starting from these questions, this thesis wishes to address a specific problematic: how can we change the behaviors of individuals towards the modifications of their close environment? The original hypothesis is the following: by influencing the processes underlying behavioral change, we can improve the acceptation of the principle and intervention techniques relating to environmental action. Should we wish to initiate a change in attitude, we need to modify the “action to object” relations, which are mainly slowed down by the consistency of individuals. We therefore need to modify, not only their cognitive flexibility, but also their emotional experience and affordance. Thus, the operational hypotheses break down as follows: H1: Cognitive flexibility and attitude change: by improving cognitive flexibility, it is possible to increase acceptability towards the principle and techniques of intervention relating to environmental action. H2: Emotional experience and attitude change: A person’s emotional experience and their space perception can induce a change in attitude towards the principle and techniques of intervention relating to environmental action. H3: Affordance and attitude change: A change in affordance can contribute to initiate a change in attitude in a person towards the principle and techniques of intervention relating to environmental action. These hypotheses will be tested on the example of quarries rehabilitation in Lebanon – in a Mediterranean context.

This study compared graduate student attitudes toward different instructional approaches within online, blended, and face-to-face courses in a public institution of higher learning. The participants completed an online survey questionnaire that was designed by the researcher using 4 learning theories in education: behavioral, cognitive, constructivism, and humanistic (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007) approaches toward teaching and learning. There were 210 total responses from graduate students enrolled during 2013 spring semester. There were more female (71.4%) than male (28.6%) students who responded. Previous studies have compared face-to-face (F2F) and online methods of instructions and have shown mixed results. Whereas some studies have shown F2F instructional methods as favorable to students, others found no differences between F2F and online methods. This study was guided by 4 research questions. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t test statistical procedures were used to analyze the data. The findings of this study showed significant differences in students’ preference in instructional methods and in instructional approaches (behavioral, humanistic, cognitive, and constructivist). The study found that full-time graduate students tended to prefer F2F instructional methods, while part-time students preferred online methods. Additionally younger students (< 35 years) reported stronger preference for F2F methods of instruction than older students (> 36 years) in cognitive and constructivist instructional approaches with no significant differences by age for behavioral and humanistic instructional approaches.

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Over the last year the Faculty of Biological Sciences at East Tennessee State University have been evaluating core coursework for biology majors and working towards transforming teaching approaches to enhance the undergraduate learning experience and improve overall learning outcomes among our graduates. Our institution serves a large population of low-income and first generation college students living and working in Southern Appalachian region. The most important motivation behind transformation is to provide highly-qualified graduates who can contribute to the economic development and growth of the area. In focusing on traineeship and skills development of graduates, we adopted an action plan focused on students, faculty, and curriculum development. Under the leadership of the chair, productive and positive discourse on curricular goals among faculty has shaped well-defined core concepts and competencies we envision for our graduates. Several faculty are using research-based methods to improve the core curriculum and to infuse best teaching practices in the classroom. The strengths of our program lie in having demonstrated success in providing students with authentic research experiences in upper-level courses. We are working towards infusing these ideas and skills-development into the introductory core curriculum in hopes of increasing the number of undergraduates who pursue professional graduate degrees. Our hopes are that investing in transformative changes in the classrooms and providing high-quality educational opportunities will increase the time our students devote to STEM career development and ultimately result in large-scale economic development on the Southern Appalachian community.

L’État a longtemps été absent de la gestion du rapport de l’économie et du droit avec l’environnement. Sous la pression croissante d’une mobilisation nationale et internationale et en raison de l’accroissement des problèmes liés à l’environnement, plusieurs mesures règlementaires et économiques en faveur de la protection de l’environnement ont été adoptées par l’ensemble des pays occidentaux. D’abord, les instances publiques ont commencé à s’inquiéter de l’état général de l’environnement et ont mis en place une législation destinée à combattre les insuffisances d’équité sociale et de préoccupations environnementales. En réponse à une démarche règlementaire jugée trop contraignante par les acteurs privés, l’État a ensuite, formulé un ensemble d’outils économiques dans le but de concilier les attentes de la société et les objectifs des entreprises en matière de développement et de compétitivité. Enfin, face à l’efficacité relative des différents instruments règlementaires et économiques de protection de l’environnement, dits traditionnels, l’État a progressivement transféré ses responsabilités aux acteurs privés en misant sur la co-régulation et l’autorégulation. Notre travail empirique porte sur l’impact de la loi sur les nouvelles régulations économiques (NRE) sur le comportement des entreprises en matière de reporting environnemental. Le contenu narratif des rapports DD/RSE des sociétés du CAC 40 constitue l’objet de notre étude. Notre analyse sera conduite par deux approches complémentaires : une analyse statistique et lexicale et une analyse thématique, toutes deux, menées à l’aide d’un logiciel d’analyse textuelle, « Alceste ». / The State missed a long time the management relationship of economy and law with the environment. Under the increasing pressure of a national and international mobilization and due to the increase of problems involving environment, several regulatory and economic measures in favor of the environmental protection were adopted by the whole of the Western countries. Initially, the public authorities started to worry about the general state of the environment and set up legislation, which intend to fight the insufficiencies of social equity and environmental concerns. Then, in response to a regulatory step, considered to be too constraining by the private actors, the State formulate a set of economic tools, reconciling society waits and companies’ development competitiveness objectives. Lastly, with the relative effectiveness of the various regulatory economic and environmental protection instruments, known as traditional, the State gradually transferred its responsibilities to the private actors by betting on the co-regulation and self-regulation. Our empirical work concerns the law impact on the new economic regulations (NRE) on the behavior of the companies concerning environmental reporting. The narrative contents of of the CAC 40 companies reports SD/CSR, is the object of our study. Our analysis will be led by two complementary approaches: a statistical and lexical analysis and an analysis set of themes, both, carried out using a textual analysis software, “Alceste”.

Due to recent regulation, Chiropractic Colleges admit students with less than standard science courses and less than standard GPA. These students require tracking and support. How these students learn compared to standard admissions students is not understood. Researchers have demonstrated that students' learning approaches, strategies, and preferences vary based on educational background and culture and are related to performance. The purpose of this study was to better understand chiropractic students learning styles based on admissions status informing supportive efforts. The theoretical framework was based on Curry's work describing elements of learning on a spectrum from stable to flexible. In this cross-sectional quantative study, data were collected using 3 validated instruments (Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST), Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI), and the Visual, Aural, Read/Write, and Kinesthetic (VARK) questionaire). The sample included all incoming students over 4 consecutive terms;195 entrants with 165 participants. Consistent with prior studies, analysis utilizing Pearson chi-square test of independence, revealed students with less science tend toward some surface learning approaches including: a significant difference in ASSIST subscale unrelated memorizing (p =.023) and a difference approaching significance for subscale syllabus boundness (p = .058). For students with a lower GPA, report frequencies of significance or approaching significance as a relative strength include: LASSI scale self-regulation (p =.029), and subscales concentration (p =.023) and use of study aids (p =.051). Admitting students from varying educational backgrounds, enables chiropractic colleges to include more underrepresented students. This study provided needed information to support these students.

In order to understand the intricate processes involved in second language teacher development, in the last decade studies in second language teacher education (SLTE) have addressed the need to explore pre-service teachers’ beliefs and emotions jointly as they occur in their contexts of teaching. SLTE researchers have referred to the importance of helping pre-service teachers verbalize their beliefs and try to understand and regulate their emotions as they can serve to explain what, how, and why pre-service teachers do what they do during their practicum experience. In addition, considering future teachers will be passing on their beliefs, values, and ways of behaving and feeling to future generations, SLTE should offer pre-service teachers with models of teaching that will help form ethical, reflective, and emotionally intelligent professionals capable of transforming society. The clamor for peace in today’s world and the globalized nature of the English language emphasize the need to embrace practices in SLTE intended to foster peace. In Argentina (the context of the present study) such practices carry particular relevance, as it is expected from the Ministry of Education that the teaching of foreign languages at primary and high school level serve as tools to promote societal peace. Given the importance of exploring pre-service teachers’ beliefs together with emotions, and on the importance of providing them with holistic approaches to teaching aimed at expanding peace, this study examines pre-service teachers’ beliefs and emotions about an innovative intervention involving the language of peace throughout their practicum semester in an Argentine setting. More specifically, through multiple case studies and narrative approaches, this study investigates four pre-service teachers’ beliefs and emotions regarding peace and the implementation of multidimensional peace language activities (MPLAs) before, during, and after their Practicum I course. In addition, it aims at comparing participants’ beliefs and emotions with their actions as reflected in their lesson plans and in-school teaching experience. Finally, it traces pre-service teachers’ transformation of beliefs and emotions throughout the course, and examines the ways in which reflection facilitates teacher development. Multiple sources were used for data collection, including semi-structured interviews, journal entries, field-notes from classroom observations, lesson plans, and narrative frames. The thematic and content analysis of the data revealed that in general participants believed the MPLA intervention in the practicum (a) gave participants meaningful English exposure, (b) changed their understanding of peace and enhanced their ability to teach peace in EFL classrooms, and (c) led to a more transformative practicum experience. By embodying multidimensional peace the participants were able to become conscious of their beliefs, emotions, and actions regarding the inclusion of MPLAs and understand their teaching practices better, thereby allowing themselves to develop as teachers and peacebuilders. However, it was noted that two pre-service teachers were not able to include as many MPLAs as they had desired, due to contextual factors and previous learning experiences, among other aspects. Limitations of the study are addressed, as well as research and pedagogical implications for the field of SLTE that relate to the need to incorporate holistic, experiential, and contemplative approaches intended to cultivate multidimensional peace.

This study investigated the efficacy of multiple indicators, multiple causes (MIMIC) methods in detecting uniform and nonuniform differential item functioning (DIF) among multiple groups, where the underlying causes of DIF was different. Three different implementations of MIMIC DIF detection were studied: sequential free baseline, free baseline, and constrained baseline. In addition, the robustness of the MIMIC methods against the violation of its assumption, equal factor variance across comparison groups, was investigated. We found that the sequential-free baseline methods provided similar Type I error and power rates to the free baseline method with a designated anchor, and much better Type I error and power rates than the constrained baseline method across four groups, resulting from the co-occurrence background variables. But, when the equal factor variance assumption was violated, the MIMIC methods yielded the inflated Type I error. Also, the MIMIC procedure had problems correctly identifying the sources DIF, so further methodological developments are needed.

This thesis explores senior high school student learning in biology in Taiwan. The Confucian-heritage culture and beliefs associated with high stakes examinations influences the learning context in biology. There is a considerable body of international research on teaching and learning in senior high biology. There appears to be limited research on student and teacher views of learning in biology in this context. A social constructivist view of learning underpins this study. Using an interpretive paradigm, this study explores student and teacher perceptions of student learning experiences in senior high school biology. There are three phases in this study. In the first phase, Grade 11 and Grade 12 students and teacher perceptions of the existing teaching and learning situation in biology was explored. In the second phase, an intervention was designed and implemented for Grade 12 students. In the third phase, the intervention was evaluated. The findings of this study indicate that most students take biology to increase their options for entering tertiary education. Noticeably, they were using learning approaches that they most disliked to increase their biology marks. Most of them considered the current biology classes were very effective in coping with the major examination, but the teaching was monotonous and teaching content as seemingly unrelated to real life. The teachers perceived that student learning was passive, which contributed to the teachers feeling of exhaustion. Qualitative and quantitative data indicated that both the students and teachers were dissatisfied with the current teaching and learning situation. A more interactive teaching and learning approach and more student responsibility in investigations were suggested by the respondents. An intervention programme based on a social constructivist view of learning, including interactive teaching and open investigation, was designed and implemented. The intervention (70% lecture classes and 30% experiment classes) problematised the traditional lesson structure (90% lecture classes and 10% experiment classes) of senior biology in Taiwan, seeking a more cohesive and integrated overall structure for learning biology. Evaluation of the intervention programme suggested that through student-teacher and student-student interactions student conceptual and procedural understanding of biology was facilitated and their attitudes towards learning were enhanced. A few of the students could not accept the intervention as it conflicted with their view of learning in an examination culture. The implications of this research are that more teacher-student and peer interactions and open-ended investigations can lead to enhanced learning in biology in Taiwan for most senior high school students. Social constructivist approaches to teaching and learning are viable in a Taiwanese biology classroom context. The study also showed the potential for open investigations in this context.