This PhD by project consists of a Manual for workers engaged in men’s behaviour change programs and a dissertation that theorises the principles underpinning the approach. The Manual and the dissertation examine a constructivist approach to challenging men’s violence against women. / The project, which is situated in rural Australia, is called the Men’s SHED (Self Help Ending Domestics) Project. The SHED Manual is based on a constructivist approach to men’s violence against women that reflects best practice principles within a profeminist framework. The Manual is comprised of eight sections that articulate various aspects of challenging men’s violence against women, with individuals, groups and communities. The dissertation details the journey of the project from its inception in 1994 to the beginning of 2002. / Personal construct theory provides a philosophical basis for the approach being enunciated in this study and it enables an exploration of constructive alternatives in engaging and challenging men towards behaviour change. As such, it is utilised both in engaging men to become non-violent and at the same time, reflexively enabling workers and facilitators to examine ways in which they can construct more effective ways for this to happen. The project is thus one of hopeful anticipation leading to new constructive alternatives in the endeavour to stop men’s violence against women.

A teoria de Jean Piaget sobre o desenvolvimento da inteligência tem sido utilizada na área de inteligência computacional como inspiração para a proposição de modelos de agentes cognitivos. Embora os modelos propostos implementem aspectos básicos importantes da teoria de Piaget, como a estrutura do esquema cognitivo, não consideram o problema da fundamentação simbólica e, portanto, não se preocupam com os aspectos da teoria que levam à aquisição autônoma da semântica básica para a organização cognitiva do mundo externo, como é o caso da aquisição da noção de objeto. Neste trabalho apresentamos um modelo computacional de esquema cognitivo inspirado na teoria de Piaget sobre a inteligência sensório-motora que se desenvolve autonomamente construindo mecanismos por meio de princípios computacionais pautados pelo problema da fundamentação simbólica. O modelo de esquema proposto tem como base a classificação de situações sensório-motoras utilizadas para a percepção, captação e armazenamento das relações causais determiníscas de menor granularidade. Estas causalidades são então expandidas espaço-temporalmente por estruturas mais complexas que se utilizam das anteriores e que também são projetadas de forma a possibilitar que outras estruturas computacionais autônomas mais complexas se utilizem delas. O modelo proposto é implementado por uma rede neural artificial feed-forward cujos elementos da camada de saída se auto-organizam para gerar um grafo sensóriomotor objetivado. Alguns mecanismos computacionais já existentes na área de inteligência computacional foram modificados para se enquadrarem aos paradigmas de semântica nula e do desenvolvimento mental autônomo, tomados como base para lidar com o problema da fundamentação simbólica. O grafo sensório-motor auto-organizável que implementa um modelo de esquema inspirado na teoria de Piaget proposto neste trabalho, conjuntamente com os princípios computacionais utilizados para sua concepção caminha na direção da busca pelo desenvolvimento cognitivo artificial autônomo da noção de objeto. / In artificial intelligence some cognitive agent models based on Jean Piaget\'s intelligence development theory have been proposed. Although the proposed models implement some fundamental aspects of this theory, like the cognitive schema struture, they do not consider the symbol grounding problem. Therefore, they are not concerned about the theoretical aspects that lead to the autonomous aquisition of the basic semantics needed by the cognitive organization of the agent\'s external world, as for the object concept aquisition. A computational cognitive scheme model inspired on Piaget\'s theory of the sensorimotor intelligence is presented. The scheme is autonomously built by computational mechanisms using principles considering the symbol grounding problem. The proposed scheme model uses sensory-motor situations to perceive, capture and store the finest grain deterministic causal relations. These causal relations are then expanded in time and space by more complex computational structures using the first ones. Those complex structures itselves are also designed in a way they can be used by more complex structures, expanding even further the causal relations in time and space. The proposed scheme model is implemented by an artificial neural network using feedforward architecture. The neural network output layer units progressively organized to compose a sensory-motor graph. Some known computational mechanisms from artificial inteligence were modified to fit to the zero semantic and the autonomous mental development paradigms, conceived in this work as the premises to handle the symbol grounding problem. The scheme model inspired by Piaget\'s theory implemented by the proposed self organizing sensorimotor graph in conjunction with the computational principles used, goes toward to the artificial autonomous cognitive development of the object concept.

Recent studies on human cognition have presented credible evidence that learners are not tabula rasa as previously conceived by traditional theorists, rather they enter new lessons with some preconceptions, most of which are resistant to change in spite of teachers' efforts to assuage them. As such the challenges confronting science educators and educational psychologists are to understand the nature of learners' preconceptions, designing and implement appropriate instructional interventions that would enable the learners become aware of and reconcile their conceptions that are inconsistent with accepted views of science. Several perspectives have been advocated on how learners' preconceptions can be modified through instructions. While traditional theorists subscribe to substitution of inaccurate conceptions with accurate ones, the constructivists identify with giving the learners autonomy to inquire and re-evaluate their own ideas. The former has been confronted with widespread criticism and is becoming less and less tenable. This research identifies with the latter. Conceptual change entails restructuring of ideas. It is a cognitive process that involves change in attitude toward learning. Based on the theoretical assumption that learning is facilitated through teaching that give the learners autonomy search to new ideas, verify them, and restructure existing ideas, I developed a model of conceptual change from where I deduced the four sub variables of the conceptual change that this study explored. The sub variables include formulation of ideas, search for new ideas, review of meaning, and transfer of knowledge. My assumption was that conceptual change can be facilitated through instructions that engage learners in experiences relevant to the four sub variables that I have mentioned. This conceptual framework served as my reference point for the designing of the Constructivist Teaching Model that consists of four instructional phases. Judging that I was resident and working in Seychelles as a teacher trainer at a time I developed the Constructivist Teaching Model, I chose to implement and evaluate it first in Seychelles. Hence this study is titled `The implementation and evaluation of a constructivist intervention in secondary school science teaching in Seychelles'. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the constructivist teaching model as an intervention to facilitate conceptual change. Basically, there are two main aims of this study. First, to investigate to what extent the constructivist teaching model facilitates conceptual change. Secondly, to investigate if the paradigms shift from the traditional method to the constructivist method of science teaching is welcomed in Seychelles. This study was carried out in two phases Pretest and Evaluation. Pretest was aimed at identifying the weaknesses of the initial version of my model of constructivist teaching with a view to eliminate those weaknesses to further strengthen the model. In a nutshell pretest was a step taken to enhance the validity of the model. Evaluation on the other hand was aimed at making a judgment whether a difference actually exists between the learners that received constructivist instruction and those that received traditional lecture instruction in terms of the four sub variables of conceptual change. To enable for this judgment necessitated an experiment. The experiment was conducted with a total of six secondary schools selected from the ten secondary schools on the island. The participants included 178 learners, 6 science teachers and 8 independent persons. The learners were constituted into three Bands; 1, 2 and 3. Each Band consisted of a Control group and an Experimental group. Altogether six groups were formed, with 3 Control groups and 3 Experimental groups. There were 59 learners in Band 1, comprising of 29 learners in the Control group and 30 learners in the Experimental group; Band 2 comprised a Control group of 25 learners and an Experimental group of 28 learners; and Band 3 consisted of 33 learners in each group. The learners in Band 1 were used for pretest that lasted for five week. The learners in Bands 2 and 3 were used in the evaluation that lasted for thirteen weeks. The groups were non-equivalent, suggesting that randomisation was not possible as the learners were in intact classes. Learners in the experimental groups received constructivist instruction while their counterparts in the control groups received traditional lecture instruction. Both groups were exposed to the same experimental conditions except in the methods of teaching. Data was collected through teacher interviews, independent observation, measurement of learners' achievement, and analysis of documents. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Qualitative data was analysed on the basis of content or meaning of the information given by the respondents. Following the design of this study the performance and achievements of learners that received constructivist instruction were compared with their counterparts who received traditional instruction. Guiding this study are two main assumptions. The first is the assumption of equality of the variance, and the second is the assumption of normality of the distribution. The results of Levene's test of equality of variances indicated a violation of the assumption of homogeneity of the variances of TI and CI groups while the results of test of skewness and kurtosis give the indication of normality of distribution of scores in both groups. The results of descriptive statistics analysis showed that the learners who received constructivist instruction performed better than the learners that received traditional instruction in terms of formulation of ideas, search for new ideas, review of meaning, and transfer of knowledge. The results of inferential statistics showed that the difference in the means of the two groups on each of the sub variables of conceptual change is significant. This evidence indicates that my model of constructivist teaching produced an effect measuring 0.86 and a power of 0.85 based on Cohen's Blueprint, and a reliability of 0.72 based on Cronbach's test of internal consistency. Besides statistical evidence, analysis of the opinions of science teachers who implemented the Constructivist Teaching Model in their respective classes and the independent persons who observed teaching and learning in both the experimental and control groups showed a preference for the constructivist approach over the traditional approach. On the grounds of the evidence gathered through observation and measurement this study concludes that the constructivist approach to science teaching is more effective than traditional lecture approach in facilitating the ability of secondary school learners in Seychelles to reconstruct ideas. This study also found that science educationists in Seychelles welcome the paradigm shift from the traditional approach to the constructivist approach. / Educational Studies / D. Educ. (Psychology of Education)

The state of moral decline has recently come under scrutiny in South Africa and abroad. Moral development is nurtured and developed by moral teaching. South Africa has put in place various avenues for moral education in order to curb moral degeneration. However, due to the continuing social ills that are experienced in the country further avenues of moral education ought to be explored. Due to the multicultural nature of the South African population, moral considerations should consider the strengths that cultural diversity in moral education can contribute toward a moral society. Moral teachings have been explored through education and religious chastity; however, the indigenous knowledge systems of South Africans have not been tapped in this regard. This is partly because the scientific world has not seen it fit to accommodate these knowledges in the knowledge production sphere. The study employed a constructivist grounded theory approach to explore the role of traditional teachings in Batswana female initiation schools and how the traditional teachings contribute to morality and the construction of womanhood. A decolonial epistemic perspective, the African epistemology and social constructionism were used as concepts that formed a framework to allow the critiquing of main stream theories and to allow a grounded theory to emerge from a Batswana female initiation context. Unstructured interviews with initiation instructors as primary data sources were conducted. Secondary data sources included initiation songs and dance; conversations with people who are involved in initiation schools, people who are knowledgeable in Setswana culture and the cultural celebration that the researcher attended were used. The textual data was analysed using the Attride Sterling model of thematic networks. Womanhood as a particular identity and female morality as mainly determined by context are the main themes in the study. Womanhood and morality are intertwined within this context that determines womanhood according to acceptable behaviours. An ethic of responsibility was the overarching theme when analyzing how female morality and womanhood is constructed in the context of initiation schools in Taung. / Psychology / M.A. (Research Consultation)

This thesis aims to address why the adoption of CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) within the language classroom is so varied, and its success so unclear, despite fifty years of investment and research. The huge promise of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) driven results has created an imbalance in language teaching, where initiatives are brought about from outside the classroom, with teachers held accountable for their adoption. My reading of the literature is that lack of consideration of the teacher’s role in implementation of classroom technology has led to mismatched expectations and performance. If the nature of the teacher’s contribution is recognized, I believe that this can lead to more effective use of ICT, which I have set out to show. My study, based on a survey of 319 EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers across the international group of 31 schools in which I work, seeks to put the teacher back into the picture by examining where their enacted beliefs in social constructivist pedagogy best align with classroom use of digital technology. I coin this emerging praxis ‘microblending’, a pedagogy rooted in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) theory and contemporary methodology, and I seek to demonstrate its relevance in this study I test the viability of measuring teacher’s microblending readiness through application of Technology Acceptance Modelling (TAM) in an EFL setting to produce a model that explains the variation in classroom use of ICT. My model is based on a critical replication of the WST (‘Will, Skill, Tool’) model, a TAM model which has so far only been used in mainstream classroom teaching. I have updated, created and piloted new instruments within the scope of the study, which are now already in use within the institution where I carried out my investigations. Using both linear regression and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) techniques I explored how these measurements of the learning environment can explain a teacher’s application of technology. This first attempt appears to explain over 89% of the variation in classroom use of technology, which already exceeds the predictive power of several contemporary models in use in parallel fields of education. Given further work to refine and apply the model, a valuable improvement could be made in how teachers work with ICT in the language classroom for improved learning outcomes.

The thesis named "Current practice and possible ways of implementing clinical supervision in nursing" is the first doctoral dissertation establishing the concept of supervision in the Czech nursing environment. Itscentralresearch questionis as follows: How do nurses and university educators in nursing construct, interpret and practically apply theconcept ofclinical supervision and the supervisor's role in the context of nursing education at specific institutions of tertiary education and clinical nursing practice in the Czech Republic? The author draws on international theoretical literature and local empiricalevidence.Her qualitative research took the form of 26 semi-structured interviews with academic nursingeducators from the entire Czech Republic. In justified cases those are supplemented with qualitative data obtained through the study of legislative, policy and strategic documents in nursing and health care, including publicly available information and sources on clinical supervision, in order torefine the resulting picture of her interpretation of current clinical supervision practice in Czech nursing. A shift to the constructivist paradigm enabled one to conceive the term "clinical supervision" mainly in relation to learning, training and professional development of supervisees, also in the context of transformation of education and supervision not only of nurses but also of supervisors themselves in the Czech Republic. The author also focuses on the philosophical and theoretical foundations of clinical supervision and application of the postmodern approach in egalitarian clinical supervision. The empirical part of this dissertation is based on the qualitative research conducted. The author gradually presents her results as individual categoriesand relations between them that ensued from the analysed data in the process of open coding. The author draws a link between the category of implementation of clinical supervision in the context of nurses' professional education andexternal conditions, the environment and a broader professional and social-cultural context. Clinical supervision in nursing is constructed mainly as a unidisciplinaryconcept and a part of the nursing profession. The university nursing educatoris typically constructed as a role professional, but there is also an ongoing process ofdiversification, stratification, profiling and professionalization of non-academic nursing educators. Based on a content analysis of documents and post-modern philosophical-theoretical foundations and strategies of legitimizingclinical supervision, the author views the concept of clinical supervision in nursing as socially constructedand discursively legitimated. The author also defines the limitations of her research that arise from the choice of a qualitative research design. In the conclusion she outlines some future trends of clinical supervision in particular educational institutions that can be interesting and inspiring not only for supervisors but also for teachers of supervision themselves. Based on the results of her empirical analysis the author emphasises the need to integrate the theory and practice of education, clinical supervision and nursing. A comprehensive structure and methodology of system-wide implementation of clinical supervision, based on the situation of clinical nursing practice and supervision needs in the Czech Republic,should in future formthe basis of innovation of existing university programmes in nursing and approaches to the education and training of supervisors, as well as the subject of new research in clinical supervision.

This study investigates the terms, dialogue, structure and active learning in Open Distance Learning texts in aa constructivist and problem-solving approach. In-text activities are imbedded in selfstudy texts. Their construct is validated against appropriate instructional design and learning theories for active learning. A course team developed, implemented and piloted a Unisa course for mathematics teachers in South Africa. The results describe their professional development through action learning. The Tornado-approach affects teams in organisations. A team used participatory action research and action learning with rich descriptions to document the longitudinal case study of four action research cycles over eight years. Qualitative research involved a literature survey, notes, portfolios, mindmaps, letters, interviews, document analyses, and assessment results. Our action research demonstrates ways to implement a post-modern learning design in an industrialized institution. The researcher applies action learning in professional development, in team management, and suggests models for successful/unsuccessful teams (tornado-effect). / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Didactics)

Technology continues to progress due to the enormous growth of wireless technologies and mobile computing. Mobile devices such as handheld computers, smartphones and mobile phones are integrated into the daily lives of many people irrespective of their age, nationality or gender. These devices are embedded with computer functionalities and their ease of use and mobility functionality enable the people to use and move around with the mobile devices everywhere they go; the sophistication of these devices fascinates many learners thus they are fluent in using digital technology. The aim of this thesis is to describe how these devices are being utilised for learning purposes using the qualitative data collection method, to use the FRAME model to evaluate the usefulness of mobile digital technology and to also understand the educator’s role in the mobile age. This thesis explores the relationship between education (what is being taught), society (individual learners and their learning preferences) and technology (mobile tools used for learning), conceptualising the learner’s perspective. The research findings indicate that learners in the case study are enthusiastic about mobile educational technology, fluent in using digital technology and they prefer pen and paper for taking notes. The outcomes of this study suggest that although mobile technology has the potential to enhance teaching and learning, educators need to put more emphasis on providing technology-rich learning activities to empower high level of student involvement and take into consideration the learner’s learning preferences towards learning using mobile technology. / College of Engineering, Science and Technology / M.Tech. (Information Technology)

The study investigated the influence of Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning Approach (POGIL) on Science Foundation students’ achievements in stoichiometry versus traditional lecture centered pedagogy. Two intact science foundation class groups at the University of Namibia were used as a case study. A quasi-experimental non-randomized pre and posttests control group design was used to investigate the achievement in stoichiometry. Data on student achievements were collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The ANCOVA results showed that there was a significant statistical difference in achievements when comparing the adjusted mean score (54.5%) obtained by the control group and the adjusted mean score (60.5%) obtained by students in the POGIL group; (F (1,75) = 17.990, p < 0.05). The POGIL group also showed the highest average improvement (65%) on questions related to reaction stoichiometry and limiting reagents, whereas the control group recorded improvements of about 53% in the same section. The results from the analysis of student’s test solutions revealed that the POGIL group students were able to give concrete reasons for their answers that they had obtained through numerical calculations or multiple choices and demonstrated enhanced understanding of linking various stoichiometry concepts. / Science and Technology Education / M. Sc. (Chemistry Education)

Inclusive education within the United Arab Emirates has started to gain momentum and the roles of teachers have become more challenging. This study investigated teacher views surrounding the inclusion of SEN students into mainstream schools. A qualitative exploratory research design was employed and the social constructivist theory was used as a framework for the research. Purposive sampling was employed, and a total of seven teachers and four parents participated in the study. Thematic analysis was used and findings suggested that UAE teachers experienced various challenges due to the inclusion of SEN students into their schools. Some of the challenges included: lack of professional development, lack of managerial support, parental demands, cultural barriers and the lack of collaborative opportunities. The study recommended varied professional development workshops aimed at developing an understanding of SEN and inclusion within the UAE context. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)