Evaluation of teacher training has been conducted primarily on pre-service contexts and has focussed almost exclusively on evidence of impact in terms of changes in teachers’ behaviour or beliefs. Using a responsive / constructivist methodology my research focuses on an in-service context and takes the participants as the starting point of the research in order to examine both the processes of teacher learning (i.e. how do teachers learn) as well as the product (what are their claims, concerns and issues) regarding the training programme. The emergent data is analysed with findings grounded in the literature of teacher learning and parallels made with my own reflections on the processes of learning through the research experience itself. The evaluation focuses on a Cambridge In Service Certificate of English Language Teaching (ICELT) training course which is designed as an internationally appropriate INSET programme that can satisfy the training needs of (both native and non-native) EFL teachers. The research is valuable because we do not know how teachers learn on a training course. Through a review of the literature and exploiting the imagery of a metaphorical journey of development, I formulate a framework for analysing teacher learning which distinguishes between practical (applied) knowledge, conceptual knowledge and knowledge of self. This theoretical framework provides a lens to analyse data emerging during the evaluation. The research advocates an alternative ‘constructivist – responsive’ method of evaluation for teacher education programmes that has the dual aim of learning through the evaluation (process) as well as from the evaluation (product). The research methods follow a Fourth Generation Evaluation model (Guba and Lincoln 1979). The results show that in terms of the evaluation outcomes (product) we can identify modes of learning that concern tasks (how), knowing (what) and awareness of self and socio-cultural context (why). Analysis of the teachers’ talk as collaborative interaction showed little evidence of learning taking place. There were no obvious sections of exploratory talk that is conducive to the construction of new meanings and learning. However by analysing teachers’ talk as a manifestation of individual modes of thinking we are able to identify modes of thinking that have clear parallels with the framework of teacher learning depicted above: techno-rationale thought (how), reflective thought (what) and critical thought (why).The descriptive framework therefore depicts the integration of levels for both the process of learning and the products of learning and as such is a powerful tool for teacher educators. Teachers need to operate on all three levels in their professional lives. The study challenges some well-established assumptions in teacher training evaluation. In terms of epistemology, teacher learning is life-long and individual. Human learning occurs on three levels: physical (body), mental (mind) and spiritual (soul) and these levels describe how we think as well as what we do. Evaluation of any training course needs to take into consideration the dimensions of learning, the influence of the socio-cultural context and recognise the interconnectedness of process and product (i.e. how the traveling and the journey interact).

A longitudinal study lasting 3.5 years was conducted to investigate complex grammar development, focusing on acquisition of the passive and type 3 conditionals, and its relationship with a number of domain-general, domain-specific and environmental factors. 128 children (M = 5 years 10 months) were tested at the beginning and towards the end of each school year starting from Year 1. The administered measures included established tests of fluid intelligence, short-term and working memory, seriation, grammar, vocabulary, literacy and arithmetic, plus newly-developed tests of passive and conditional sentence acquisition, and arithmetic word problem solving. It was demonstrated that grammar acquisition is not complete even when children start Year 4 of primary school (M = 8 years 7 months), when the current study was completed. At that time, 32% of children have not acquired type 3 conditionals and 89% showed no understanding of centre-embedded sentences. However, only 3% showed no passive sentence acquisition. Fluid intelligence, verbal STM and WM, ability to seriate, vocabulary and parental education level were all found to contribute to individual differences in complex grammar acquisition, independently of age differences and, where relevant, independently of non-verbal ability. There were differences between the passives and the conditionals in their relationship to these variables. Complex grammar development was found to be a significant predictor of reading comprehension, spelling and arithmetic performance, independently of age, non-verbal ability, verbal STM and WM. The findings demonstrate the inter-relatedness of higher cognitive functions, particularly domain-general with domain-specific ones. Modularity in its strictest sense (informational encapsulation, functional isolation) is not present in normally developing brains. Educational applications of the results are discussed.

Submitted by Taciano Moraes (tacianomm@gmail.com) on 2017-09-29T16:36:46Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) BR Version - Original.pdf: 4465890 bytes, checksum: 59080162de336729aeb135f1d903423a (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Raphael Vilas Boas (raphaelboas@ibict.br) on 2017-09-29T19:18:38Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) BR Version - Original.pdf: 4465890 bytes, checksum: 59080162de336729aeb135f1d903423a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-29T19:18:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) BR Version - Original.pdf: 4465890 bytes, checksum: 59080162de336729aeb135f1d903423a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / CAPES / Em um mundo onde a tecnologia modifica cada detalhe de nossa sociedade em uma velocidade cada vez maior, é preocupante que a forma como desenvolvemos nossos líderes esteja melhorando tão devagar. Apesar de inúmeros estudos mostrarem que a liderança é um dos fatores que mais influenciam o sucesso de projetos e de mais de U$ 14 bilhões serem gastos anualmente com desenvolvimento de liderança, mais da metade das organizações acredita que não o esteja fazendo de forma eficaz. Uma das metodologias mais eficientes para o desenvolvimento de liderança dentro das organizações é a Aprendizagem Experiencial, proposta por David Kolb, mas ainda se observa pouca padronização no modo como ela é utilizada, com diversas abordagens diferentes e resultados muito variados. Por esta razão, este estudo propõe um modelo padronizado para o uso de dinâmicas de grupo como um meio para ajudar alunos de tecnologia a praticar habilidades de liderança. Um primeiro piloto foi executado com resultados e feedback bastante positivos, que indicam o potencial de sua aplicação para outras habilidades e contextos. / In a world where technology is changing every single detail of our societies, schools, and organizations in a skyrocketing speed, it is worrying that the way we develop our leaders is improving so slowly. With numerous studies showing that leadership is one of the factors that impact the most on software projects’ success, it is worrying that more than $14B are spent yearly with leadership development and, still, most organizations believe they are not being effective. One of the most efficient methodologies for leadership development inside companies is the Experiential Learning from David Kolb, but it still has some problems in gaining traction inside universities due to their difficulty of simulating practical experiences. Many different approaches have been tried with various results and little standardization is perceived on the way they are used. For this reason, this study proposes a framework for using group activities as a means to help technology students practice leadership skills. A first pilot was executed with pleasant results and feedback from students, but more experiments are necessary to ensure its application for other skills and contexts.

Mgr. Sarah Asfour Vedoucí práce: PhDr. Michaela Tureckiová, CSc. Studijní program: Specializace v pedagogice Studijní obor: Andragogika a management vzdělávání ABSTRACT This diploma thesis deals with lifelong education - adult education in formal, non-formal and informal education. The diploma thesis discusses about the concept of lifelong learning and the effect of education in the life of an individual. The aim is to briefly compare and evaluate lifelong learning opportunities with an emphasis on non-formal education, more specifically on retraining courses. In the diploma thesis, I deal with the strategic management of retraining courses in the field of non-formal education as well as the possibilities of innovation of the courses mentioned. The thesis is divided into two parts, namely the theoretical part and practical part. In the theoretical part, there are discussed in more detail the conditions for obtaining accreditation for organizers of retraining courses, conditions and possibilities of support for applicants for the retraining course by the Labour Office of the Czech Republic, there is discussed the advantages for employers to support their employees in non-formal education. The diploma thesis is devoted to the strategic management and planning of education, including the importance of...

<p>Abstract</p><p>The signification of the eyesight for children’s development and learning- how do pedagogues support and stimulate children with defective vision in their development and learning in pre-school?</p><p>These issues are based on my purpose of the field survey investigations, where I have interviewed three pedagogues and also performed an observation.</p><p>My main conclusion and results describe that the vision is the high-powered engine in children’s development and learning. It also tells us that those around the children are very important for optimum development and learning, especially when it comes to supporting and stimulating children with defective vision in their necessities. Our other senses are a compensation to make it easier for children with defective visions in their lives. But all our senses are equally important for children with defective vision as they are for seeing children in their development and learning with their whole body in pre-school.</p><p>Keywords:</p><p>Eyesight, children with defective vision, development and learning in pre-school, pedagogues, pedagogical support and stimulation</p> / <p>Sammanfattning</p><p>Vilken betydelse har synsinnet för barns utveckling och lärande? Hur kan pedagoger med hjälp av olika pedagogiska insatser eller hjälpmedel, stödja och stimulera barn som är synskadade i deras utveckling samt i sitt lärande i förskolan?</p><p>Dessa frågeställningar speglar mitt syfte med denna uppsats. Frågeställningarna i sin tur har under processens gång också vidarebearbetats till tre frågeområden, vilka också har varit centrala i undersökningens genomförande av en observation och intervjuer med tre pedagoger.</p><p>Huvudresultatet och min slutsats visar att synsinnet är motorn i ett barns utveckling och lärande. Om ett barn har en synskada är omgivningens förhållningssätt, bemötande och agerande livsviktigt för att stödja samt stimulera barnet optimalt utifrån de behov barnet har.</p><p>För att underlätta tillvaron för synskadade barn är våra övriga sinnen ett exempel på kompensatoriska hjälpinsatser, dessutom är de viktiga för alla barn i deras utveckling och lärande med hela kroppen i förskolan.</p><p>Nyckelord:</p><p>Synsinnet, synskadade barn, utveckling och lärande i förskolan, pedagoger, pedagogiska hjälpinsatser</p>

Abstract The signification of the eyesight for children’s development and learning- how do pedagogues support and stimulate children with defective vision in their development and learning in pre-school? These issues are based on my purpose of the field survey investigations, where I have interviewed three pedagogues and also performed an observation. My main conclusion and results describe that the vision is the high-powered engine in children’s development and learning. It also tells us that those around the children are very important for optimum development and learning, especially when it comes to supporting and stimulating children with defective vision in their necessities. Our other senses are a compensation to make it easier for children with defective visions in their lives. But all our senses are equally important for children with defective vision as they are for seeing children in their development and learning with their whole body in pre-school. Keywords: Eyesight, children with defective vision, development and learning in pre-school, pedagogues, pedagogical support and stimulation / Sammanfattning Vilken betydelse har synsinnet för barns utveckling och lärande? Hur kan pedagoger med hjälp av olika pedagogiska insatser eller hjälpmedel, stödja och stimulera barn som är synskadade i deras utveckling samt i sitt lärande i förskolan? Dessa frågeställningar speglar mitt syfte med denna uppsats. Frågeställningarna i sin tur har under processens gång också vidarebearbetats till tre frågeområden, vilka också har varit centrala i undersökningens genomförande av en observation och intervjuer med tre pedagoger. Huvudresultatet och min slutsats visar att synsinnet är motorn i ett barns utveckling och lärande. Om ett barn har en synskada är omgivningens förhållningssätt, bemötande och agerande livsviktigt för att stödja samt stimulera barnet optimalt utifrån de behov barnet har. För att underlätta tillvaron för synskadade barn är våra övriga sinnen ett exempel på kompensatoriska hjälpinsatser, dessutom är de viktiga för alla barn i deras utveckling och lärande med hela kroppen i förskolan. Nyckelord: Synsinnet, synskadade barn, utveckling och lärande i förskolan, pedagoger, pedagogiska hjälpinsatser

This dissertation presents an intervention-based study that aimed to enable teachers to improve teaching and learning in one school in Ramallah, Palestine. The non-positional approach to teacher leadership was adopted as a means to mobilise all teachers in the drive towards bottom-up, participatory school change processes that increase teacher self-efficacy and collaboration, build professional capacity and social capital, and promote sustainability. The Teachers Leading the Way programme provided a contextually tailored strategy, and set of instruments and tools that through reflective exercises and dialogic activities aimed to support teachers to innovate practice, and impact organisational structures and professional culture. This is significant in the Palestine setting for facilitating the building of locally based and sourced knowledge to inform an authentic Palestinian vision and agenda for policy-making and education reconstruction, with implications for countries of the Middle East and North Africa region. In the process, a grassroots change movement is intended to shift historical and continued reliance on foreign intervention and international assistance, and lay the foundation for democratisation and social transformation. The intervention was investigated using a critical action-based, participatory methodology that emphasised context and researcher reflexivity in one school and amongst a cohort of 12 participants. Data were collected using a range of research-designed and programme-based methods and instruments, analysed deductively and inductively, and narrated critically to maintain coherence, and convey experiential and temporal dimensions. The study outcomes indicate that teachers in Palestine are capable of leading school improvement, and impacting school structures and professional culture for system-wide change, when the proper support is provided. Non-positional teacher leadership is the vehicle and can be developed through Teachers Leading the Way. At the individual level, this is enabled through a transformation in teachers’ perspective towards a self-empowered, agential mindset that leads to action on ways to improve practice. The transition process underscores the role of effective facilitation as an enabling condition for developing non-positional teacher leadership in Palestine and similar settings.

In my diploma thesis I analyse coaching as a method of learning and development of employees. The main points of theoretical part are the Inner Game and GROW method. In practical part of my thesies I concider how coaching works in two different international companies in the Czech Republic - T-Mobile CZ and DHL Express CZ. Last part of my thesis contains confrontation of both companies.

Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att analysera hur förskolan, barn och familjen uppfattas i den mediala debatten om obligatorisk förskola. Studien lägger ett särskilt fokus på argumenten som är centrala i debatten som förs i svenska dagstidningar. Med verktyg från argumentationsanalysen som teoretiskt och metodologisk utgångspunkt kommer aktörernas argument att analyseras utifrån en pro et contra perspektiv. Det empiriska underlaget som är utgångspunkt för denna studie är debattartiklar som publicerats i svenska dagstidningar som debatterar obligatorisk förskolas vara eller icke vara. Empirin har analyserats genom en argumentationsanalys som presenteras tematiskt i resultatet. En betydelsefull teoretisk utgångspunkt i studien har varit argumentationsteoretiska idéer om hur en kan aktör kan använda argumenterande strategier för att påverka en mottagare.Resultatet pekar på att det finns en allmän uppfattning i debattartiklarna att barn behöver skydd, sociala sammanhang, utveckling och lärande och trygga vuxna. Hur och var barnens behov tillgodoses är argumentationens kontrovers. Det framkommer även att aktörer på båda sidorna i debatten upplever att förskolans brister måste åtgärdas samt att familjens position i samhället utmanas av förslaget om obligatorisk förskola. Resultatet pekar även mot att barn till nyanlända anses ha behov av statliga instanser och resurser som staten bör besluta om, men att det inte bör påverka svenska barn eller barn med autismdiagnoser och deras familjer. / The aim of this essay is to analyze how preschool, children and the family are perceived in the media debate on compulsory preschool. The study places a special focus on the arguments that are dominant in the debate conducted in Swedish newspapers. With tools from the argument analysis as a theoretical and methodological starting point, the agents arguments will be analyzed from a pro et contra perspective.The empirical material that is the basis for this study is debate articles published in Swedish newspapers that debate compulsory preschools being or not being. The empiric has been analyzed through an argumentation analysis that is presented thematically in the result. An important theoretical basis of the study has been the argument theoretical ideas about how an agent can use argumentative strategies to influence a recipient.The results indicate that there is a general perception in debate articles that children need safety, social contexts, development and learning and adults present. How and where the children's needs are met is the controversy of the debate. It also emerges that agents on both sides of the debate feel that the preschool's shortcomings must be remedied and that the family's position in society is challenged by the proposal for compulsory preschool. The results also indicate that children of immigrants are considered to need government agencies and resources that the state should decide on, but the government agencies should not affect the Swedish children or children with autism diagnoses and their families.

School-based professional learning communities (PLCs) have become an important means of “building capacity” among teachers in a wide variety of areas, including those with a subject focus. Very often, these PLCs are mandated by administration, and operate under an established structure. This paper describes an attempt by a mathematics coordinator and school level “lead’ teachers to establish relatively informal PLCs in mathematics in an effort to improve mathematics teaching, and thus student learning, in an environment that focused very much on literacy. The four PLCs created are discussed, as are the opportunities and the challenges that go with the relative freedom offered to the teachers. Sustainability is a central challenge to these groups.