Master of Arts / Department of Music / Jana Fallin / This report presents a feasibility study of operating constructivism in Chinese music education. Major problems have been discussed in each chapter, including the historical background of music education in China, and a philosophical rethinking of current situations in China. Questions have arisen: what is constructivism? Why would it be a new changing point for Chinese music education? What needs to be done to apply constructivism in China? China has a strong background of behavior-focused education. Because of that, music education falls into a teacher directed model, and often loses its impact in public schools for students. But as the development of economy in a worldwide context and a collaboration of multi-cultural environments, music should be recognized as an important role for promoting active learning and cultural understanding. Therefore, music educators in China need to start exploring in new directions for development of music education. Constructivism, as a learning theory provides an understanding of how students learn. Based on constructivism, students would develop their own understanding of knowledge, and build their independent learning skills. Constructivism presents how students truly learn, and it could lead to a new paradigm of music education in China.

M.A. / Once intra-familial sexual abuse is publicly disclosed, outside agencies are likely to intervene. Professional intervention seldom involves one person or agency alone, but includes various agencies. These agencies may conceptualize the problem of incest in different ways. The epistemological stance that is adopted by a specific agent will guide the nature of the subsequent intervention. When several agents with divergent epistemologies are working together on the same case, they may inadvertently combine in such a way as to frustrate each other's activities, and in so doing, increase the depth of the crisis. Although different agencies conceptualize the phenomena of incest in different ways, they are primarily based on a linear epistemology. In this thesis, it is suggested that an epistemological shift is required in the multi-disciplinary management of incest. That is a shift from a Newtonian world view which emphasizes linear causality and the existence of a single objective truth or reality, to a scientific- philosophical approach called constructivism. A constructivist approach advocates the existence of multiple realities. It embraces both form and process and emphasizes the recursive connection between systems. Furthermore, the therapeutic reality is a co-creation between members of the familyprofessional system. A detailed case example is presented to illustrate the multiple, discrepant ideas held by various professionals involved with a family where father-daughter incest has occurred. The different types of interventions which emanated from these discrepant ideas are also discussed. Furthermore, the study describes the mutual influence and interlocking effects between all members of the professional-family system. It is suggested that the multl-disciplinary management of incest requires a constructivist approach. This broader view takes into account the realities of all members of the professional-family system, and addresses the interfaces between views in the wider ecology in which the abuse is identified and treated ...

This study was conducted as part of an ongoing research programme to evaluate and implement change in the School of Process and Materials Engineering (PRME) 1002 course curriculum to effect positive results in academic achievement, thus increasing throughput rates of first-year Chemical and Metallurgical engineering students. This study designed and implemented a cognitive mediated intervention programme adapted by Professor Skuy (2003) from Feuerstein's Instrumental Enrichment (1980) programme. The aim was to see if an extended programme period of time, 12 weeks as opposed to 5 weeks implemented in an earlier study by Viviers (2004), would significantly improve the academic performance of the sample of 20 first-year Metallurgy students as measured by the mid-year and end-of-year examination results. The study also aimed to find out if the cognitive mediation intervention programme would significantly improve the intellectual functioning of the Metallurgy students. The results show that mediating cognitive functions significantly improved the intellectual functioning of the sample of 20 students as measured by the pre- and post-test scores of the Cognitive Assessment System (Das & Naglieri, 1993). However, no significant improvement was found in the academic achievement of the students as measured by the examination results. Accordingly it was concluded that the extended period of time (12 weeks), was sufficient time to improve intellectual functioning of Metallurgy students, but insufficient time for this to transfer into academic achievement for the Metallurgy students. The study highlighted the difficulty of transfer in the engineering context, as well as the continued problem that first-year students have with the complex conceptual nature and demands of the PRME (1002) course.

In Malawi, the new Biology curriculum draws from constructivist approaches. The Biology teaching syllabus emphasises the use of students’ experiences as a resource and the use of active student involvement strategies when teaching the curriculum to enhance conceptual understanding. However, inspection reports show that students are less actively involved in the lessons and the teachers rarely draw from their students’ prior experiences to enhance conceptual understanding. In this study, I investigated some factors affecting four teachers’ use of constructivist approaches when teaching the new biology curriculum in Malawi. Information was collected on the four teachers’ understandings of active student involvement in lessons and students’ experiences, the extent to which the four teachers involved students and built on students’ experiences to enable comprehension of science concepts in the Biology lessons and the factors that promoted/ hindered the use of these practices. Data was collected through lesson observations and interviews with teachers using an observation guide and an interview schedule respectively. Four Biology teachers, two from community secondary schools and two from conventional secondary schools were observed and interviewed. I found that all the four teachers understood students’ experiences as prior knowledge from previous school learning. The teachers understood active student involvement in relation to the type of schools they were teaching. For the teachers in community schools, involving students meant engaging them in group discussion while to the teachers in conventional schools it meant students doing experiments / practical work. Their teaching focused on giving information and little was done to develop students’ metacognitive abilities. According to the four teachers, pressure to cover the syllabus before the national examinations; lack of text books and laboratory equipment; lack of motivation among students; students’ backgrounds; and inadequate students’ fluency in the English language are some of the factors that affect their implementation of the constructivist approaches. Based on the lessons I observed, the teachers’ knowledge of subject matter and teachers’ understandings of the constructivism concept also affect the use of constructivist approaches when teaching Biology in Malawi.

Two and 3 year-old children's understanding of tool affordances was investigated by measuring their tool choice decisions and tool use behaviors. Children attempted six toy retrieval tasks of three different levels of structural complexity. Children were assigned to one of four conditions in which exposure to task materials varied according to the way in which the information was presented: no experience / no observation, experience only, observation only, and experience and observation. Three year- olds consistently made more correct choices and used more working tools successfully than 2-year-olds. Tool choice was affected primarily by task difficulty and age. Tool use was influenced by task difficulty, order of task difficulty, age, and condition. The observation condition was most beneficial to children, while experience was least helpful, particularly for tasks at the hard level of difficulty. / by Amy K. Gardiner. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2008. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2008. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Este trabalho visa enfocar o tema da violência familiar por dois vértices: o primeiro questiona a adoção de uma lógica simples e maniqueísta com a qual as políticas públicas habitualmente enfrentam essa questão, atribuindo valores positivos e negativos à complexa dinâmica das relações conjugais, de modo a polarizar a questão da violência em vítimas e agressores, de forma rígida. Trabalhamos com a hipótese de que os efeitos destas políticas tendem a cristalizar e perpetuar aquilo mesmo que pretendem combater. O segundo vértice pretende explicitar qual o lugar destinado, ou “imposto simbolicamente", aos homens, procurando identificar quais os determinantes culturais, sociais e psicológicos organizadores da subjetividade masculina, visando a compreender como os papéis de gênero e as relações resultantes destes são distribuídas, transmitidas e perpetuadas por esses mesmos gêneros. Para tanto, esta investigação usa do arcabouço teórico psicanalítico para cotejá-lo com estudos das relações de gênero desenvolvidos nas Ciências Sociais e na Antropologia, com o intuito de ampliar a compreensão do modo de transmissão e perpetuação das relações violentas. / The objective of this dissertation is to focus on the theme of gender violence under two perspectives: the first one questions a non-complex and dualistic logic commonly adopted by the public policies when dealing with violence practiced in intimate partner relationships, attributing positive and negative values to the complex couple relationship dynamics, hence, polarizing the understanding or such problematic giving it a rigid victim/ perpetrator form. Our hypothesis is that the effects of such kind of policies tend to crystallize and perpetuate that which they intend to eliminate. The second perspective aims to explicit a place, ‘imposed symbolically’ on men, with the objective of identifying the cultural, social and psychological factors which can be determining organizers of the male subjectivity, so as to facilitate the understanding of how gender roles and relationships based on such roles are distributed and perpetuated amongst the genders. In order to study such issues we will make use of the psychoanalytical theory and side it with the most recent studies developed by the Social Sciences and Anthropology, in order to try to offer tools to the comprehension of how these violent behavioral patterns are transmitted and perpetuated.

Suite à l’élection d’Hugo Chávez Frías à la présidence de la République du Venezuela en 1998, une nouvelle Constitution a été adoptée démocratiquement et un processus de réformes des institutions a été mis en marche. Dans la présente thèse, nous nous intéressons aux changements survenus dans le domaine de l’éducation depuis 1998 au sein de la « République Bolivarienne du Venezuela », l’objectif étant de déterminer par une approche multidisciplinaire si, dans quelle mesure et dans quelles conditions les politiques éducatives des gouvernements dirigés par Hugo Chávez s’inscrivent dans le projet politique global de la Révolution Bolivarienne, pensée comme un processus de transformation de la société vénézuélienne. Dans un premier temps, nous analysons le contexte sociopolitique dans lequel sont réalisées les réformes éducatives. Puis, dans un second temps, nous étudions l’évolution des cadres constitutionnels, légaux et administratifs du dit système au cours des douze dernières années, après avoir effectué un bilan de sa situation en 1998. Enfin, dans un troisième chapitre, nous analysons de quelle façon les principes et les pratiques pédagogiques de l’éducation « bolivarienne » sont conçus comme des facteurs décisifs en vue de l’accomplissement du projet politique en cours / After Hugo Chávez election as president of the Republic of Venezuela in 1998, a new Constitution was democratically adopted and a reforming process of the institutions begun. In this PhD, we study the changes that overcame in the field of education in the “Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela” since 1998. The purpose is to determine through a multidisciplinarymethod if, how much and in what conditions the educational politics of the governments ruled by Hugo Chávez follow the global political project of the Bolivarian Revolution, which is thought about as a transforming process of the Venezuelan society. First, we analyze the sociopolitical context in which are realized the educational reforms. Afterward, in thesecond chapter, we study the evolution of the constitutional, legal and administrative frames of this system during the last twelve years, after reminding its situation in 1998. Then, in the third chapter, we analyze how the pedagogical principles and practices of the “bolivarian” education are seen as decisive factors in order to accomplish the ongoing political project

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Kay Ann Taylor / The purpose of this qualitative multiple participant case study was to identify the influence of social media on Saudi graduate students who are active social media users. Social media have been influencing Saudi students differently than those in other socio-cultural contexts due to the uniqueness of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in terms of cultural, political, economic, and social life. This study contributes to educational technology broadly and understanding the experiences of Saudi graduate students who are active social media users specifically. This study sought to illuminate and clarify understanding of the influence of social media use on graduate students in the KSA. This study investigated the influence of social media on Saudi graduate students through the experience of six Saudi graduate students who have 200K or more followers/subscribers on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, or Snapchat. Vygotsky-based social constructivism was used to analyze and interpret the findings of the research in an effort to understand and make sense of the impact of social media on education through the participants’ experiences as graduate students and active social media users. The significant findings of this research support social constructivism, in that learning occur through social interaction with the More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) in the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The findings of the study included three emerging themes: (1) social media experience, (2) social media influence, and (3) changes brought by social media. Two categories emerged from the data under the first theme. The categories are (a) planned versus unplanned fame, and (b) social media preferred sites, activities and topics. Three categories and two sub-categories emerged from the second theme: (a) educational influence, which has two sub-categories —(i) formal teaching and learning (ii) informal learning —; (b) financial influence; and (c) gender issues in social media. The results contribute to the limited qualitative research on Saudi graduate students and social media and to the overall social constructivism research in the KSA higher education.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / English is the official language in Zambia and a compulsory subject from grade 1 to the final year of secondary education. Communicative competence in English is therefore critical to mobility in education and is also central to one’s job opportunities in the country. This implies that the teaching of English in schools is of paramount importance. Eclecticism is the recommended approach to teaching of English in Zambian secondary schools. However, no study had been done in Zambia on eclecticism in general, and on teachers’ understanding and application of the eclectic approach to English grammar teaching in particular. Hence, this study was a critical reflection on Eclecticism in the teaching of English language grammar to Grade 11 learners in selected secondary schools in Zambia. The aim of the study was to establish how Eclecticism in English language teaching was understood and applied by Zambian teachers of English. The study employed a mixed research study design employing both quantitative and qualitative approaches. In this regard, questionnaires, classroom observations, interviews (one-on-one and focus groups) and document analysis were the main data sources. Purposeful sampling was used to delineate the primary population and to come up with teachers and lecturers. In total, 90 teachers and 18 lecturers participated in this study. The documentary analysis involved documents such as the senior secondary school English language syllabus and Teacher training institutions’ English teaching methods course outlines. These documents were analysed to establish to what extent they supported or inhibited Eclecticism as an approach to English language teaching. Data was analysed using qualitative data analysis techniques looking for naturally occurring units and reducing them to natural meaning units to check for regular patterns of themes. Data from quantitative questionnaires were analysed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) to generate frequencies and percentages. The documents provided information on the efficacy of using Eclecticism as an approach to English language teaching in the multilingual contexts of Zambia. Theoretically, the study drew on Bernstein’s Code Theory and Pedagogic Discourse with its notion of Recontextualisation. The Code theory was used to examine power relations in education while recontextualisation was used to explore the transfer of knowledge from one site to another. The study also used the constructivist theory which views teachers and learners as co-participants in the process of teaching and learning and treats learners’ backgrounds as crucial to effective teaching. Considering recent developments in technology, the study also explored the extent of the use of multimodal tools in the teaching of English grammar, and the contestations around the ‘grammars’ arising from the dialogicality between the so-called ‘British English Grammar’ and home grown Zambian English grammar. The idea here was to explore how English was taught in the context of other English varieties and Zambian languages present in Zambian secondary school classrooms. The findings showed that while course outlines from teacher training institutions and the senior secondary school English language syllabus showed that teacher training was aimed at producing an eclectic teacher, teacher training was facing a lot of challenges such as inadequate peer teaching, short teaching practice and poor quality of student teachers. These were found to negatively affect the effective training of teachers into eclecticism. Further, while some teachers demonstrated understanding of the eclectic approach and held positive attitudes, others did not leading to poor application and sometimes non application of the approach. In terms of classroom application, of the five teachers whose lessons have been presented in this thesis, four of them used the eclectic approach while one did not, implying that while the policy was accepted by some, others contested it. In addition, teachers stated that grammar meant language rules and they further stated that they taught formal ‘Standard’ English while holding negative attitudes towards Zambian languages and other varieties of English. The study observed that teachers held monolingual ideologies in which they used English exclusively during classroom interaction. Finally, teachers reported that they faced a number of challenges when using the eclectic approach such as limited time, lack of teaching materials and poor low English proficiency among some learners leading to limited to non use of communicative activities in the classroom. The study concludes that while the eclectic approach is practicable in Zambia, a lot has be to done especially in teacher training in order to equip teachers with necessary knowledge and skills to use the eclectic approach. Among other recommendations, the study recommends that there is need for teacher training institutions to improve the quality of teacher training and ensure that student teachers acquire skills of resemiotisation, semiotic remediation and translanguaging as a pedagogical practice. The study also recommends refresher courses to already serving teachers to acquaint them with how the eclectic approach can be recontextualised in different teaching contexts. The study contributes to the body of knowledge in the theoretical and practical understanding of the eclectic approach and how it is used in the Zambian context. The study also adds to literature on the eclectic approach. In addition, the findings act as a diagnostic tool among government education officials, teacher educators and teachers of English in Zambia in particular as they can now see where things are done right and where improvement is needed. Other countries where English is taught as a second language can also learn from the Zambian situation as they search for better ways of training eclectic teachers of English and how to teach English in their own respective contexts.

Object use is a ubiquitous characteristic of the human species, and learning how objects function is a fundamental part of human development. This research examines the role that intentionality plays in children's understanding of causal relationships during imitation learning of object use. In Studies 1, 2, and 3, 2- to 5-year-olds observed demonstrations in which causally irrelevant and causally relevant actions were performed to achieve a desired goal of retrieving toys from within containers. Irrelevant actions were performed either intentionally ("There!") or accidentally ("Whoops! I didn't mean to do that!"). Study 1 found that 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds, but not 2-year-olds, were less likely to imitate causally irrelevant actions performed accidentally than those performed intentionally. This suggests that older children used intentionality to guide causal inference, perceiving intentional actions as causally effective and accidental actions as causally ineffective. Study 2 foun d that the intentionality of the demonstrator's actions had an enduring effect - after watching a single demonstration, children persisted in performing intentional irrelevant actions and continued to ignore accidental irrelevant actions when given three successive opportunities to complete the task. Study 3 examined how lack of knowledge about the task goal prior to the demonstrations affected imitation and found that children without explicit verbal instruction of the toy-retrieval goal imitated irrelevant actions to a greater degree than children from Study 1, who were informed of the goal throughout the experiment. Study 4 progressed beyond irrelevant actions to investigate the effect of intentionality on 3- to 5-year-olds' imitation of relevant actions. / Inconsistency was created between the intentionality with which relevant actions were demonstrated and the causal necessity of these actions for the child's turn. Relevancy emerged as the paramount factor in study 4 - regardless of the intentionality with which relevant actions were demonstrated, children imitated these actions if they remained relevant and largely ignored them if they were rendered irrelevant. Findings are placed within a pedagogical framework and discussed from an evolutionary perspective in relation to the cultural transmission of tool-use knowledge. / by Amy K. Gardiner. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.