Studiens övergripande syfte är att generera insikt i förskollärares uppfattningar av omsorgens roll i det dagliga arbetet med de yngsta barnen i förskolan. Utifrån en fenomenografisk metodansats har sju semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts med förskollärare verksamma på en småbarnsavdelning. I studien beskrivs tidigare forskning kring fenomenet omsorg och dess roll i förskolan och olika forskares uppfattningar av dess betydelse för de yngsta barnen. Informanternas utsagor är sammanställda utifrån en fenomenografisk analysmetod där sex beskrivningskategorier utkristalliserats, i kategorierna inryms en bred variation av uppfattningar av omsorgens betydelse. Dessa sex beskrivningskategorier leder fram till studien utfallsrum, dvs. studiens resultat. I resultatet framträder förskollärarnas uppfattningar av omsorgen som både en viktig faktor för de yngsta barnens välbefinnande, men även som en grund för deras lärande inom förskolekontexten. / The overall aim is to generate insights into preschool teachers' perceptions of the care role in the daily work with the youngest children in preschool. Based on a phenomenographic research approach has seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with preschool teachers operate in a toddler department. In the study described earlier research on the phenomenon of care and its role in nursery and various researchers' perceptions of its importance for the youngest children . The informants' statements are compiled based on a phenomenographic analysis where six descriptive categories emerged , in the categories contained a wide variety of perceptions of care significance. These six categories of description leads to the study sample space , in the study's results . This result emerges preschool teachers ' conceptions of care as both an important factor for the youngest children's well-being , but also as a basis for their learning in early childhood context.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka förskollärares syn på delaktighet i förskolan. Vi har även undersökt hur vuxnas makt kan påverka barnens delaktighet på förskolan. Media framställer ibland barns ökade makt och delaktighet som något negativt. Vi ville se hur barns delaktighet kan uppfattas av pedagoger och i vilka situationer delaktigheten syns på förskolan. Vi har utgått ifrån en kvalitativ ansats där vi använt oss av intervjuer för att ta del av förskollärarnas erfarenheter. I studien använder vi oss av Steven Lukes (2008) maktteori och Harry Shiers (2001) delaktighetsstege och vill med hjälp av dem undersöka hur pedagogerna arbetar för att nå delaktighet på förskolan och om eventuellt maktaspekter kan påverka barns inflytande. I resultatet presenterar vi hur förskollärare skapar delaktighet utifrån den delaktighetsstege som Shiers lyfter fram, samt behandlar för- och nackdelar med delaktighet på förskolan. I förskolans läroplan står det att barnen på förskolan ska ges möjlighet till att påverka sin situation på förskolan och delta i olika former av samarbete och beslutsfattande. Resultatet kopplas även till Steven Lukes teori om maktens olika dimensioner. Resultatet visar att förskollärarna ser delaktighet som något positivt. De var dock alla eniga om att för mycket delaktighet inte är bra för barnen då det skapar oro och vilsenhet. Både tidigare forskning och våra informanter anser att barn mår bra av struktur och tydliga regler. Att ge barnen för många val passar inte alla och vi kan därför se att det är svårt att ge barn full delaktighet. Vi kan i vårt resultat se att förskollärare dagligen arbetar för att göra barnen delaktiga men vissa pedagoger menar att stora barngrupper och brist på personal inskränker på möjligheterna. Synen på delaktighet skiljer sig åt mellan olika pedagoger, men ledordet för att skapa delaktighet enligt pedagogerna har varit att lyssna på barnen / The purpose of this study is to investigate preschool teacher’s views of participation in preschool. We examined how adults' power can affect children's participation in preschool. Media produces sometimes children's increased power and empowerment as something negative. We wanted to see how children's participation can be perceived by preschool teachers and the situations in which participation can be seen at the preschool and we have assumed a qualitative approach in which we used interviews to take part in pre-school teachers' experiences. In this study, we use Steven Lukes (2008) power theori and Harry Shiers (2001) ladder of participation and used it to examine how preschool teachers are working to achieve participation in preschool and if any power aspects can affect children's influence. In the result we present how preschool fosters participation based on the needs of the ladder as Shier highlights, and discusses the pros and cons of participation in preschool. The preschool curriculum states that children in preschool should be given the opportunity to influence their situation at the preschool and participate in various forms of collaboration and decision making. The result is also coupled to Steven Lukes theory of power and the different dimensions. The result shows that preschool teachers see participation as something positive. However, they were all agreed that too much involvement is not good for children as it creates anxiety and disorientation. Both previous research and our informants believe that children thrive on structure and clear rules. To give children too many choices does not fit all and we can therefore see that it is difficult to give children full participation. We can from our results see that that the preschool teachers work daily to make the children involved but some educators argue that large groups of children and lack of staff restricts the possibilities. The view of participation differs among different teachers, but the key word for creating participation according to the educators has been to listen to the children

The topic of this thesis stems from my interest in finding out whether a partial early childhood Certificate qualification could procure employment in early childhood centres for Chinese student teachers, which could then eventuate in Permanent Residency status. Employment in early childhood centres is currently being driven by the need to comply with Ministry of Education requirements which state that centres need to have fifty per cent of their teachers fully qualified and registered by 2007. The literature surrounding the employment experiences of Asian immigrants to New Zealand reveals negative outcomes, and discrimination is cited as one of the causes of this. However, early childhood education in New Zealand espouses a strong philosophy of cultural diversity and inclusive practice.The employment experiences of seven Chinese early childhood student teachers are documented in this thesis using a qualitative mixed-method approach involving Case Study as the overarching methodology/method, supplemented with Narrative Inquiry and Documentary Analyses to collect and analyse the data.The main findings of my research were: there are obstacles that this ethnic group faced in gaining employment relevant to their qualification - this was a negative, but not unexpected outcome. The second major finding was that, despite the over-arching philosophy of early childhood education in Aotearoa/New Zealand, I found that there were several areas where the participants of this study were vulnerable to 'discrimination'. This was predominantly in the form of unfair practices and included: interview experiences; relief teaching; employment contracts; and payment issues. The participants of this study were also vulnerable in other ways. In order to enrol in further study to become fully qualified, they need to achieve a high IELTS (International English Language Testing System) level.A third and much more positive outcome was that participants who found employment did so through practicum placements, networks of friends, and with those centres that were accepting of 'cultural difference'. All of these findings were to some extent largely congruent with the literature on immigration experiences of 'migrants'.Further research needs to be undertaken on this topic by myself, and others in this field, in particular, how International Students are 'protected' in Aotearoa/New Zealand. I found that there was a 'loophole' in the Immigration Points Table and that International Students are possibly being encouraged to enrol in Early Childhood Certificate programmes in the belief that they will find employment and eventually Permanent Residency status. This research shows that this is not always the case.In addition to this, further research needs to focus on the views of centre owners and staff, with regard to employing Chinese early childhood educators; the views of Chinese parents with regard to their perspective of Chinese teachers and lastly, in the area of relief teaching. In the conclusion several recommendations for changes to policy and practice at the tertiary level are raised.

Effective implementation of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) is dependent on Member States’ national water institutions and organizations, often designated as ‘competent authorities’. Although substantial research relating to the Directive itself has been carried out, less is known about the extent to which competent authorities have the organizational capacity to deliver it. The literature notes that conceptual understanding of capacity has been hampered by lack of definitional clarity making both its management and assessment challenging. In this contribution, several conceptualizations of organizational capacity found in the literature are used to construct a set of core qualitative organizational components that encourage analysts to consider the ways in which legal authority, information and knowledge, skills, resources and leadership shape a competent authority’s ability to deliver the WFD. Malta, the smallest European Member State, is the case study used to test the application of these components. Qualitative empirical data collected from policy documents, face-to-face semi-structured interviews and online news media articles, provided the evidence to thematically explore and evaluate the Maltese competent authorities’ organizational capacity across the implementation of three main WFD provisions that are in focus: Article 8, 9 and 14. As a result, the core components of organizational capacity are expanded and refined to produce an organizational capacity thematic map. The results show that competent authorities experience influences across the institutional frameworks they work in as well as external factors (primarily political). The results also support the idea of the organizational capacity components being highly interlinked and the presence (or lack thereof) of one component having knock-on effects on others within an organization. The combination of these two factors highly affect management options and outcomes in the implementation of the WFD. In the small state context of Malta these highlight the need to channel support in a coordinated manner from European counterparts to the Maltese water network. In turn, the water network can have positive knock-on effects on the organizational capacity of the Maltese competent authorities, which currently struggle to perform and seize available opportunities due to low possession of human resources and time availability. The approach and findings presented in this research provide a mechanism and evidence base that can facilitate bilateral discussions between Member States as well as with the European Commission, and help inform the WFD review process planned by end of 2019.

nÃo hà / For a long time, throughout the history of Brazilian education, the language teaching and learning process was based on coding and decoding methods unlinked of its social use, resulting in a weakened and limited learning of reading and writing abilities. This fact has resulted in increased rates of children repeating or who left school without consolidating the literacy process. Currently this context motivated the appearance of various public policies, which the main objective has been to guarantee children the full command of the language in its various manifestations. In the development of reading competence of children, the great challenge is not only to instrumentalize them to decipher letters and put them together into words, but to build them taste and interest in reading, which requires a very deeper teaching process. Thus, this study focused in the education of the competent reader, with the main objective to investigate how does the pedagogical work of the elementary school teachers in developing this competence in children. To do this, a field work and documental research were done. It was analyzed the evaluation tools proposed by the Municipal Education Secretary of Fortaleza - SME and those ones which are developed by the school itself, which were used to evaluate the development of children reading the 2nd year. The research involved, in all, six teachers of elementary school of a public school of Fortaleza. As data collection strategies, interview and observation were used. The qualitative data coming from field collection were analyzed making use of Content Analysis (BARDIN, 2011). The relevant aspects that summarize the findings from the document review are: (1) the instruments provided by the SME presents weaknesses for proper diagnosis of the reading comprehension of students in the 2nd year of elementary school; (2) it was observed that the simulated test analyzed, in general, presented a very similar format to the external evaluation SPAECE-Alfa, however, some technical lapses were identified in the preparation of commands and responses alternatives in items that composed the test. These aspects, therefore, harm the analysis of the situation assessed, since it is an important requirement in the development of multiple choice, the obedience in elaborating items to technical and pedagogical principles expressed in the literature about the tests that assess learning. The conclusions derived from observations and interviews, highlights that the teachers showed good practice in relation to the education of competent reader, drawing up strategies and diversified resources, seeking the integration of the axes of the Portuguese language and the development of the social function of reading, and performing the evaluation of reading at different times, not limited to the use of instruments recommended by the Secretary. It is also noteworthy that in all classrooms had the reading place used by children in times when the teacher directed activities or freely in the delight moments of reading. Although some shortcomings in teaching practices and methodologies for assessing reading were identified, in general, this study found many positive aspects related to the evaluation of learning and teaching practice of school teachers investigated, which contribute to the development of reading competence children in literacy phase. / Por muito tempo, ao longo da histÃria da educaÃÃo brasileira, o processo de ensino e de aprendizagem da lÃngua foi baseado em mÃtodos de codificaÃÃo e decodificaÃÃo desvinculados do seu uso social, ocasionando uma aprendizagem fragilizada e limitada da leitura e da escrita. Tal fato teve como consequÃncia o aumento dos Ãndices de crianÃas repetentes ou que abandonavam a escola sem consolidar o processo de alfabetizaÃÃo. Atualmente, esse contexto motivou o aparecimento de diversas polÃticas pÃblicas, cujo principal objetivo tem sido o de garantir Ãs crianÃas o pleno domÃnio da lÃngua em suas mais variadas manifestaÃÃes. No Ãmbito do desenvolvimento da competÃncia leitora das crianÃas, o grande desafio atual nÃo à somente instrumentalizÃ-las para decifrar letras e juntÃ-las em palavras, mas sim o de construir nelas o gosto e o interesse pela leitura, o que demanda um processo muito mais denso de ensinar. Desse modo, essa pesquisa abordou a temÃtica da formaÃÃo de leitores, tendo como objetivo principal investigar como acontece o trabalho pedagÃgico das professoras do 1 ao 3 anos no desenvolvimento dessa competÃncia nas crianÃas. Para isso, realizou um trabalho de campo e uma investigaÃÃo documental. Foram analisados os instrumentos avaliativos propostos pela Secretaria Municipal de Fortaleza â SME e os elaborados pela prÃpria escola, os quais intentavam avaliar o desenvolvimento da leitura das crianÃas do 2 ano. A pesquisa de campo envolveu, ao todo, seis professoras regentes das turmas de 1Â, 2 e 3 anos de uma escola pÃblica da rede municipal de Fortaleza. Como estratÃgias de recolha de dados foram utilizadas a entrevista e a observaÃÃo. Os dados de natureza qualitativa oriundos da coleta em campo foram analisados valendo-se da AnÃlise de ConteÃdo (BARDIN, 2011). Os aspectos relevantes que sintetizam as conclusÃes provenientes da anÃlise documental sÃo: (1) o instrumental disponibilizado pela SME apresenta fragilidades quanto ao adequado diagnÃstico sobre a compreensÃo leitora dos alunos do 2 ano do Ensino Fundamental; (2) observou-se que o teste simulado analisado, de um modo geral, apresentou um formato bem semelhante à avaliaÃÃo externa SPAECE-Alfa, entretanto, foram identificados alguns deslizes tÃcnicos na elaboraÃÃo dos comandos e nas alternativas de respostas em itens que compuseram o teste. Tais aspectos, portanto, prejudicam a anÃlise da situaÃÃo avaliada, uma vez que à exigÃncia tÃcita na elaboraÃÃo de itens de mÃltipla escolha a obediÃncia aos preceitos tÃcnicos e pedagÃgicos expressos na literatura acerca dos testes que avaliam a aprendizagem. Das conclusÃes oriundas das observaÃÃes e entrevistas, destaca que as professoras apresentaram boas prÃtica no que se refere à formaÃÃo do leitor, valendo-se de estratÃgias e recursos diversificados, buscando a integraÃÃo dos eixos da LÃngua Portuguesa e o desenvolvimento da funÃÃo social da leitura, bem como realizando a avaliaÃÃo da leitura em diversos momentos, nÃo se limitando ao uso dos instrumentais recomendados pela SME. Destaca-se tambÃm que em todas as salas de aula havia o cantinho da leitura utilizado pelas crianÃas em momentos em que a professora direcionava as atividades ou livremente, em momentos da leitura deleite. Embora tenham sido identificadas algumas lacunas nas prÃticas pedagÃgicas e nas metodologias de avaliaÃÃo da leitura, no geral, a pesquisa apontou diversos aspectos positivos relacionados à avaliaÃÃo da aprendizagem e à prÃtica docente das professoras da escola investigada, os quais contribuem para o desenvolvimento da competÃncia leitora das crianÃas na fase de alfabetizaÃÃo.

Thesis advisor: Raquel Muniz Castro / Researchers and educators recognize the benefits of developing students’ social and emotional competencies, but there is little research about the impact of leadership practices on the social and emotional competencies of adults in schools. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate the relationship between leadership practices (i.e., what leaders think and do) that promote SEL opportunities, and how they shape the work of mental health staff (MHS) — defined in this study as, school counselors, and nurses. Findings indicated that school-based leaders promoted SEL opportunities for MHS when they (1) provided time to meet, (2) provided resources for professional development, (3) provided feedback through dialogue, (4) accessed MHS’ expertise through dialogue, and (5) provided coaching. These leadership practices shaped the work of MHS proactively. These findings suggest that principals should use social awareness to diagnose issues within the school, engage in responsible decision-making to set direction, and promote relationship-building to convince MHS to implement a plan. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Thesis advisor: Raquel Muñiz / Due to opportunity and achievement gaps in schools, leaders face the challenge of monitoring student expectations related to academic rigor and emotional health. As a result, social and emotional learning (SEL) has gained traction for students in the field of education. However, SEL competencies are rarely developed with the adults who work with these students. In this dissertation in practice, interviews, observations and questionnaires were used to collect data about the practices of school-based leaders in a qualitative case study at the elementary and middle school levels. Research revealed what leadership practices modeled SEL competencies, practices such as those involving time and resources, relationship building and sharing of expertise; and how they shaped the ways in which adults collaborate, including honest and authentic dialogue, adult learning, and the improvement of practices. This is important due to the many leadership practices employed in schools that influence adult behaviors. The findings suggest that socially and emotionally competent leadership considers both an awareness of self and other, as it cultivates individual capabilities, collaborative relationships, and a greater capacity in the schools in which it exists. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

The Grängesberg Mining District (GMD) is located in the western part of the Bergslagen province in south central Sweden, and is the only known apatite-iron oxide mineralization south of Norrbotten. The Grängesberg deposit is the largest of the mineralizations along GMD and consists of a line of steeply to moderately dipping 20-100 m wide lenses extending to a depth of 1.7 km. It is hosted by felsic volcanic rocks that are phyllosilicate altered in the vicinity of the ore. Field relationships indicate that a competent granitoid was structurally emplaced on top of the ore during D2, and that the less competent phyllosilicate-rich host rocks accommodated large parts of the strain. These D2 structures described from the area around the ore bodies in Grängesberg include stretching lineation at the tapering edges of the lenses, asymmetric folds with opposite vergence along strike, sheath folds and possibly fold interference patterns. These structures are proposed to have formed in response to the competence contrast and the reverse movements on a large scale. The hypothesis is that the competence contrast between the competent ore and granitoid and the less competent host rocks could explain the formation and location of the key D2-structures in Grängesberg. To test the hypothesis, four analogue tectonic models were run in the centrifuge at the Hans Ramberg Tectonic Laboratory (HRTL), Uppsala University. The competent bodies were represented by an acrylic glass wedge with two lenses corresponding to the ore lenses, with an inclination of either 60° or 45° mimicking the approximate dip of the ore. Plasticine was used as the less competent host rocks. On the top surface, circles and squares were printed and used as strain markers. The models were run at c. 300-400 G until penetrative deformation and shortening ranging from 32.5 to 39.2% was reached. During centrifuging, the wedge indented the plasticine, resembling the possible deformation during thrusting of the deep granitoid. The models were then cut to reveal the structures formed, and one model was digitalized using the software Move. After shortening, the strain markers had deformed to show a change in direction of strain around the lenses. Vertical sections perpendicular to the shortening direction showed that stretching lineation developed between the lenses. Horizontal sections revealed asymmetric non-cylindrical folds with opposite vergence along strike and fold interference patterns. These results show that the observed field relationships were reproducible with the model setup, and that the competence contrast between the ore bodies, the granitoid and the host rocks could be the controlling factor for localization of shear and sites of stretching in the area.

<p>In today’s evolving classrooms, educators are tasked with going beyond providing the necessary content knowledge to reach the needs of their students. In addition to effectively differentiating instruction, global competency skills have become an increasingly pressing concern as the American society gradually becomes more diverse. In response, recent programs and supports have been created to allow prospective teacher candidates to develop their global competence to better meet the needs of an increasingly diverse and globally connected society.</p><p>An explanatory sequential mixed methods research design examined how participation in a short-term study abroad can impact teachers’ empathetic dispositions related to globally competent teaching practices. Quantitative data was first collected through an online Qualtrics questionnaire from pre-service, in-service, and other agricultural educators (n=36) who participated in a short-term study abroad experience in Jamaica from 2015-2019. Following the online questionnaire, four virtual follow-up focus groups were conducted via Zoom to further explore the collection and analysis of study participants’ self-rated stage of empathy development along the Globally Complement Teaching and Learning Continuum. Inductive coding revealed themes for both internal and external factors influencing study participants’ rationale and desired movement along the continuum.</p><p>Overall, participants acknowledged the transformative experience during the short-term study abroad to Jamaica as an external factor for building competence in the dispositions element of empathy and valuing multiple perspectives. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research were provided to help agricultural educators develop globally competent teaching practices.</p>

Background Many patients especially from minority backgrounds are typically faced with cultural barriers during health care encounters and this hinders the delivery of culturally competent healthcare. This study seeks to understand how cultural barriers faced by patients are crucial in attaining the delivery of culturally competent healthcare. Aims   The aim of this study is to examine cultural barriers in the delivery of healthcare services from the  patient’s perspective. Method The method is a literature review based on qualitative primary research. Ten articles were selected from the CINAHL, PUBMED and Google scholar databases. All articles selected were published between 2010 and 2020. The quality of the articles used were assessed using a review template for qualitative studies. Data was analysed using the literature review matrix method.  Results The results suggest that four main cultural barriers from the perspectives of patients impacted healthcare delivery. These cultural barriers included the following; communication problems arising during verbal and nonverbal interactions, mistrust and discrimination arising as a result of previous contact with the health care system, socio-economic status and finally low propensity to seek healthcare.  Conclusion   To conclude it is evident that patients face a plethora of cultural barriers during their interactions with health care services and their experiences can be shaped by a number of variables and factors. These cultural challenges hinder accessibility to proper health care services might lead to inequality in the provision of health care services. / Bakgrund Många patienter, särskilt de med minoritetsbakgrund, står vanligtvis inför kulturella barriärer när de blir bemötta av hälso-och sjukvårdspersonal. Detta hindrar utformandet av kulturellt kompetent vård. Studien syftar till att förstå hur kulturella barriärer som patienter står inför är avgörande för att uppnå kulturellt kompetent omvårdnad. Mål Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka kulturella barriärer vid leverans av vårdtjänster ur patientens perspektiv. Metod Metoden är en litteraturstudie baserad på kvalitativ primär forskning.Tio artiklar valdes från databaserna CINAHL, PUBMED och Google. Alla utvalda artiklar är publicerade mellan 2010 och 2020. Kvaliteten på de artiklar som valdes är granskade med hjälp av en granskningsmall för kvalitativa studier. Data analyserades med hjälp av litteraturgranskning enligt en matrismetod. Resultat Analysen och resultaten från studien tyder på att fyra huvudsakliga kulturella barrier ur patientens perspektiv hade avgörande inverkan på bemötandet inom vården. Dessa kulturella barriärer inkluderade följande; kommunikationsproblem som uppstår under verbala och icke-verbala interaktionen, misstro och diskriminering till följd av tidigare kontakt med hälso- och sjukvården, socioekonomisk status och slutligen låg benägenhet att söka vård som är vanligt för människor med samma kulturella bakgrund. Slutsats Avslutningsvis är det uppenbart att patienter möter kulturella barriärer under sin interaktion med vården och deras erfarenheter kan formas av ett antal variabler och faktorer. Dessa kulturella utmaningar hindrar adekvat tillgång till hälso sjukvård och kan leda till ojämlikhet i tillgången till hälso- och sjukvårdstjänster.