This research focuses on Special Needs Education (SNE) in Kenyan Public Primary Schools: Exploring Government Policy and Teachers’ understandings. At a time when Kenya is introducing reforms with a view to addressing broad national objectives and providing universal primary education (UPE) after the massive enrolment increases arising from the free primary education declaration (FPE), it was important to establish teachers’ understandings on SEN. The study was undertaken in 27 primary schools in urban, municipal and rural parts of Kenya. A phenomenological qualitative approach was mainly used and data were collected from teachers through a survey comprising: (i) 159 self-administered questionnaires ii) Nine in-depth interviews. From the results of a pilot study, necessary adaptations were made for the main study. The data provided insights to teachers’ teaching strategies, impacts of mainstreaming, factors that prevent the participation of children said to have SEN, challenges in meeting the diverse needs in the classroom and the support they may require in providing more engaging and effective learning instructions. The findings show that many teachers lack a repertoire of learning and teaching strategies appropriate for addressing barriers to learning and providing individualized approaches in the classrooms. Some teachers were positive about teaching children said to have SEN but lacked the infrastructure of support and guidance, were confused by different terminologies and found the concept of SEN not to be enabling. What teachers are calling for is more training to help them develop strategies which are responsive to the identified learning difficulties. Through Documentary Analysis of the Kenya National Special Needs Education (SNE) Policy Framework, Ministry of Education (MoE, 2009), it was identified that the policy is difficult and ambiguous for teachers to implement. The policy fails to include salient definitions to facilitate a common way of addressing children said to have SEN which results in them being labelled. The recommendations of the research indicate that children’s unique needs be made transparent and addressed using effective individualized education plans to influence and maintain high expectations, positive and enriched ways of teaching in order to improve the children’s learning opportunities as well as other extracurricular activities. The national policy should be revised to include feasible targets in order to facilitate on-going evaluation and embed definitions of key words which are pivotal to planning, assessment, identification, provision and placement of children said to have SEN. Suggestions for further research have also been included.

Arbetets art: Examensarbete i lärarutbildningen, Avancerad nivå, 15 hp Högskolan i Skövde Titel: Matematik är något som man har och gör i skolan En studie om hur sex elever i årskurs fyra uppfattar matematik och sin matematikundervisning Sidantal: 39 Författare: Anna Gustavsson och Helen Nordqvist Handledare: Susanna Nilsson Jacobsson Datum: Januari 2008 Nyckelord: matematik, matematikundervisning, uppfattningar, inställningar,lärande Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur elever uppfattar matematik och sin matematikundervisning samt vad som ligger till grund för deras uppfattningar. En nyfikenhet kring hur elever tänker om matematik och dess användningsområden har också genomsyrat studien. Tanken var att fördjupa kunskaperna och förståelsen kring hur elever kan uppfatta matematik och matematikundervisning för att sedan ha användning för detta i vårt kommande yrkesliv som pedagoger. Vi anser det viktigt att vi som lärare blir medvetna om elevernas uppfattningar, då flera undersökningar visar en nedåtgående trend i elevers intresse för matematik vilket också kan påverka deras prestationer. För att undersöka elevernas uppfattningar valde vi att använda oss av kvalitativa intervjuer, vilka genomfördes på en skola i Västra Götalands län med sex elever från årskurs fyra. Resultatet av intervjuerna visade bland annat att matematik för eleverna uteslutande är någonting skolrelaterat, att elevernas inställning till matematik är positiv och att de anser sig nöjda med den matematikundervisning de idag tillägnar sig. Om eleverna själva skulle få bestämma hur undervisningen skulle bedrivas skulle den, enligt de flesta eleverna, bedrivas som den gör idag, av enskilt arbete i matematikböcker och helklassgenomgångar. En av slutsatserna i diskussionen är att även om de elever som medverkat i studien känner sig nöjda med hur de idag arbetar med matematiken i skolan, så har de ännu inte insett nyttan med eller förståelsen för matematikens olika användningsområden. Detta gör att vi, trots elevernas positiva uttryck, tror att en mer verklighetsanknuten, undersökande och informell matematikundervisning kan bidra till en större förståelse för matematikens olika tillämpningsområden. / Study: Degree project in teacher education, Advanced level, 15 hp University of Skövde Title: Mathematics is something that you have and do in school A study about how six fourth grade students comprehends mathematics and their mathematics education Number of pages: 39 Author: Anna Gustavsson and Helen Nordqvist Tutor: Susanna Nilsson Jacobsson Date: January 2008 Keywords: mathematics, mathematics education, comprehensions, attitudes,learning The purpose of the study was to examine how students comprehend mathematics and their mathematics education, and also what the foundation for their comprehensions is. A curiosity concerning students’ views on mathematics and its applications have also permeated the study. The intention was to deepen the knowledge and understanding of how students may comprehend mathematics and mathematics education in order to use this in our coming professions as teachers. We deem it important that we as teachers become aware of this, as several studies show a declining trend in students’ interest, which also may affect their performance. To examine the students’ comprehensions, we chose to use qualitative interviews, which were accomplished on a school in Västra Götalands county with six students in fourth grade. The results of the interviews showed amongst other things that mathematics for the students is perceived as something exclusively school related, that the students’ attitudes to mathematics is positive and that they consider themselves satisfied with the mathematical education they acquire today. If the students themselves were to decide how the education was to be managed, it would be managed as it is today, that is to say personal work with books and whole class examinations. One of the conclusions of the discussion is that even if the students that participated in the study feel satisfied with how they work with mathematics today, they haven’t yet realized the benefits of, or the understanding of, mathematics different applications. This makes us, despite the students’ positive attitudes, believe that a more realistic, investigative and informal mathematics education may promote a greater understanding of mathematics and its applications.

<p>Arbetets art: Examensarbete i lärarutbildningen, Avancerad nivå, 15 hp Högskolan i Skövde</p><p>Titel: Matematik är något som man har och gör i skolan</p><p>En studie om hur sex elever i årskurs fyra uppfattar matematik och sin matematikundervisning</p><p>Sidantal: 39</p><p>Författare: Anna Gustavsson och Helen Nordqvist</p><p>Handledare: Susanna Nilsson Jacobsson</p><p>Datum: Januari 2008</p><p>Nyckelord: matematik, matematikundervisning, uppfattningar, inställningar,lärande</p><p>Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur elever uppfattar matematik och sin matematikundervisning samt vad som ligger till grund för deras uppfattningar. En nyfikenhet kring hur elever tänker om matematik och dess användningsområden har också genomsyrat studien. Tanken var att fördjupa kunskaperna och förståelsen kring hur elever kan uppfatta matematik och matematikundervisning för att sedan ha användning för detta i vårt kommande yrkesliv som pedagoger. Vi anser det viktigt att vi som lärare blir medvetna om elevernas uppfattningar, då flera undersökningar visar en nedåtgående trend i elevers intresse för matematik vilket också kan påverka deras prestationer. För att undersöka elevernas uppfattningar valde vi att använda oss av kvalitativa intervjuer, vilka genomfördes på en skola i Västra Götalands län med sex elever från årskurs fyra. Resultatet av intervjuerna visade bland annat att matematik för eleverna uteslutande är någonting skolrelaterat, att elevernas inställning till matematik är positiv och att de anser sig nöjda med den matematikundervisning de idag tillägnar sig. Om eleverna själva skulle få bestämma hur undervisningen skulle bedrivas skulle den, enligt de flesta eleverna, bedrivas som den gör idag, av enskilt arbete i matematikböcker och helklassgenomgångar. En av slutsatserna i diskussionen är att även om de elever som medverkat i studien känner sig nöjda med hur de idag arbetar med matematiken i skolan, så har de ännu inte insett nyttan med eller förståelsen för matematikens olika användningsområden. Detta gör att vi, trots elevernas positiva uttryck, tror att en mer verklighetsanknuten, undersökande och informell matematikundervisning kan bidra till en större förståelse för matematikens olika tillämpningsområden.</p> / <p>Study: Degree project in teacher education, Advanced level, 15 hp</p><p>University of Skövde</p><p>Title: Mathematics is something that you have and do in school</p><p>A study about how six fourth grade students comprehends</p><p>mathematics and their mathematics education</p><p>Number of pages: 39</p><p>Author: Anna Gustavsson and Helen Nordqvist</p><p>Tutor: Susanna Nilsson Jacobsson</p><p>Date: January 2008</p><p>Keywords: mathematics, mathematics education, comprehensions, attitudes,learning</p><p>The purpose of the study was to examine how students comprehend mathematics and their mathematics education, and also what the foundation for their comprehensions is. A curiosity concerning students’ views on mathematics and its applications have also permeated the study. The intention was to deepen the knowledge and understanding of how students may comprehend mathematics and mathematics education in order to use this in our coming professions as teachers. We deem it important that we as teachers become aware of this, as several studies show a declining trend in students’ interest, which also may affect their performance. To examine the students’ comprehensions, we chose to use qualitative interviews, which were accomplished on a school in Västra Götalands county with six students in fourth grade. The results of the interviews showed amongst other things that mathematics for the students is perceived as something exclusively school related, that the students’ attitudes to mathematics is positive and that they consider themselves satisfied with the mathematical education they acquire today. If the students themselves were to decide how the education was to be managed, it would be managed as it is today, that is to say personal work with books and whole class examinations. One of the conclusions of the discussion is that even if the students that participated in the study feel satisfied with how they work with mathematics today, they haven’t yet realized the benefits of, or the understanding of, mathematics different applications. This makes us, despite the students’ positive attitudes, believe that a more realistic, investigative and informal mathematics education may promote a greater understanding of mathematics and its applications.</p>

Made available in DSpace on 2014-07-29T15:00:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao lusitonia1.pdf: 1368129 bytes, checksum: 989173bc992d019898f59fa553e6c318 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-03-30 / Concrete materials are part in the searching of learning methods that allow a better understanding in the learning of mathematics. In this work, I research how do students with difficulties in learning express Mathematics comprehension when they deal with the Cuisenaire Material in a learning situation, and what do they understand from it? The investigation basis was the Experiencing Mathematics in Elementary School project developed in CEPAE (Center of Teaching and Research Applied in the Education of UFG). The data collection happened in five meetings/classes performing activities on the basic arithmetic operations. The participants are twelve students from 5º e 6º grades who have a low learning performance, according to their mathematics teachers. In terms of procedure, we used the qualitative research on the perspective of the phenomenological approach. Once a contact was established among the students speech, my interpretations on their speeches and the theories used to support my interpretations, I think this material revealed itself significant and the students demonstrated comprehension on the basic arithmetic operations. Seeing, thinking, combining parts to the numbers, comparing them, putting them in order, compounding and decompounding them, replacing values, working over their own acts and thoughts, sharing ideas with classmates, and being attentive lead students to experience discoveries. Based in what was experienced in this research, I present some contributions to teachers who intend to use the Cuisenaire material to teach their students. / Os materiais concretos fazem parte da busca de métodos de ensino que possibilitem um melhor entendimento no aprendizado da Matemática. Com esta pesquisa, investigo como alunos com dificuldades de aprendizagem expressam compreensões matemáticas ao lidarem com o Material Cuisenaire em situação de ensino, e o que compreendem nessa lida? O solo de investigação foi o projeto Vivenciando a Matemática no Ensino Fundamental, desenvolvido no CEPAE (Centro de Ensino e Pesquisa Aplicado à Educação da UFG). A coleta de dados se deu em cinco encontros/aula, realizando atividades sobre as operações fundamentais. Os sujeitos são doze alunos do 5º e 6º anos que apresentavam baixo rendimento escolar segundo seus professores de Matemática. Em termos de procedimentos, inserimo-nos na pesquisa qualitativa sob a perspectiva da abordagem fenomenológica. Com as interlocuções estabelecidas entre as falas dos alunos, minhas interpretações dessas falas e as teorias que dialogam com as interpretações que fiz, posso dizer que o referido material se mostrou significativo para que os alunos expressassem compreensões acerca das operações fundamentais. Vendo, pensando, relacionando as peças aos números, comparando-as, colocando-as em ordem, compondo, decompondo, trocando valores, agindo sobre seus próprios atos e pensamentos, compartilhando idéias com os colegas, pondo-se em atentividade ao que faziam, os alunos experienciaram a arte de descobrir. Diante do experienciado na trajetória da pesquisa, apresento algumas contribuições ao professor que se propuser utilizar o Material Cuisenaire para ensinar Matemática.