This thesis explores the development of emergent literacy in Hong Kong Kindergarten children who are learning English as a Second Language (L2). Two interrelated empirical studies have been conducted, and both aim to examine the contribution of code-related and oral language skills to predicting early L2 reading ability, controlling for home influences. The majority of research on emergent literacy has been conducted on First-Language (L1) English-speaking children, and it is possible that these established concepts and models could also be relevant to L2 children. The first is a 2-year longitudinal study examining the continuity of L2 emergent literacy development in Hong Kong children from Kindergarten to early Primary school. The convenience sample of 51 children were initially assessed in their final or penultimate year of Kindergarten (mean age: 4;6 SD = 6.16) on 3 emergent literacy measures (receptive vocabulary, phonological awareness, letter identification) and a non-verbal cognitive measure. They later progressed onto the Primary section of the same school, and were assessed again as first or second-graders (mean age: 6;4 SD = 6.21) on a more comprehensive battery of measures. An extensive parental questionnaire on family demographics and the home literacy environment was also administered. In addition to assessing a wide range of L2 emergent literacy skills and English word reading ability, a Chinese syllable deletion task was also included, to explore the potential effects of cross-linguistic phonological transfer between the children’s L1 (Cantonese) and L2 (English). The second study sought to improve upon the first by selecting a larger, more representative sample of children from 3 bilingual Kindergartens in the Kowloon City School District. It examines the concurrent relationships between emergent literacy skills and L2 word reading ability in 137 children. They were all in their final year of Kindergarten (mean age: 5;2 SD = 5.61), and were assessed once on largely the same battery of measures as Study 1 (Time 2). Again, a non-verbal cognitive measure was administered, as well as the parental questionnaire on home support for language development. The main data analysis was carried out via multivariate statistical techniques such as multiple regression. Further analysis was conducted using structural equation modelling in Study 2, but in a cautious and exploratory manner. The overall findings suggest that like the L1 emergent literacy model, early L2 word reading ability is predominantly influenced by children’s code-related skills, especially print knowledge and phonological sensitivity. Also, the relationship between oral language and word reading seems to be mediated by code-related skills. Thus, while oral language abilities do not appear to make substantial direct contributions to early L2 reading, they do play an essential albeit indirect role. Furthermore, L2 children’s home influences seem to make their strongest impact before formal schooling begins, again in the form of indirect effects on pre-school oral language skills. In short, the development of emergent literacy and early word reading skills is similar in many ways for both L1 and L2 children, and implications for practice are considered.

Diploma thesis Documentary film in the global development education in high schools deals with the issue of the global development education in conditions of Czech high schools. The aim of the diploma thesis is to introduce possibilities of utilisation of the documentary film as a method of global development education. The theoretical part elaborates on the global development education in the school curriculum and one of it's educational instruments - documentary film. The empirical part is focused on preparedness of the future high school teachers for use of documentary film in the global development education and it is also concerned with their attitudes and knowledges of the theme.

This study investigated performance based accountability in Florida's system of workforce education in Florida's state colleges and school districts. In Florida, workforce education is governed by Florida State Statute (K-20 Education Code Chapter 1004). The purpose of this study was to determine the cost-effectiveness of Florida's performance accountability policy as applied to workforce education. Additionally, it analyzed the impact of performance accountability on performance by the providers of workforce education - state colleges and school districts, and the value for investment achieved by the policy over the time period. The study was guided by three questions: (a) What is the relationship between effectiveness and year? (b) Is the relationship between effectiveness and year moderated by each of the contextual variables? (c) To what extent does each of the contextual variables predict performance and effectiveness? This study utilized a non-experimental quantitative research design and a costeffectiveness analysis framework. The unit of analysis was the providers of workforce education in the State of Florida. This study was framed by the outputs and outcomes the workforce education service providers achieve and the alterable and unalterable variables which might influence the provision of workforce education. Performance was measured through two measures: quantity of outputs, and quality of outcomes. The alterable and unalterable variables included: the type of institution delivering the service, either state college or school district; the delivery model used in each delivery area, either single or dual-delivery; and population characteristics, the percentage of students economically disadvantaged, the percentage of minorities, and the percentage of males. The study used correlation and regression techniques to analyze the longitudinal impact of the performance accountability system. / by Richard G. Cunningham. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Thesis; Thesis information not provided; 17 Jul 2003. / Published through the Information Bridge: DOE Scientific and Technical Information. "UCRL-LR-154423" Maxwell, R M; Tompson, A F B; Richardson, J H; El-Naser, H; Rihani, J. F F; Subah, A.; El Sha'r, W A; Al-Hadidi, Khair; Al-Awamleh, M; Al-Foqaha, M; Abu-Eid, O; Hayyaneh, R A. 07/17/2003. Report is also available in paper and microfiche from NTIS.

The identification and development of high potential employees is part of talent management, which is currently one of the priorities of strategic human resources management. According to relevant surveys, high potential employees account for less than five percent of the total number of employees. First, the thesis deals with talent management, its theoretical background and historical development. Subsequently, from the point of view of HR managers, it focuses on the issue of highly potential employees in order to find out which competencies are key to this group of employees. The partial objective is to clarify the extent to which selected companies in the Czech Republic agree or differ in terms of high potential employees. A qualitative survey is used to examine both objectives, consisting of a semi-structured interview with company managers and point scale. The aim of the thesis is to describe the set of key competencies of high potential employees and to distinguish them from the set of competencies of other employees.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of (the qualification as per the PG2 form), Human Resource Management, Durban, University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / This study evaluated the effect of government expenditure on education attainment in South Africa by assessing the effect of the amount spent by government on education from 1980 to 2014 on human capital development. The study is centred around two objectives: (1) to analyse the effect of government expenditure on education attainment; and (2) to investigate the effect of education attainment on human development. Human capital development was measured using Gross Enrolment Ratio for secondary school, supplied by the South African Reserve Bank. Data on government expenditure on human capital was acquired from the Treasury database. The study draws from the human capital theoretical framework in explaining the effect of education expenditure on human capital development. The findings of the study showed that there is a positive relationship between human capital development and government expenditure. These findings showed a strong relationship between government expenditure and gross enrolment ratio at 99 % confidence interval (p< 0,0001). The theory of human capital is thus confirmed with these findings. / M

The master thesis deals with the issue of the Global Development Education. It is focused closer on the description of the implementation methods of this topic into the Czech education system. Global Development Education is not mentioned directly in the Framework Education Programmes of the Czech Republic. Nevertheless the Framework Education Programmes contain it. Global Development Education goes across the Cross-curricular Topics. However that could be the reason why the schools don't pay to it as much attention as it deserves. This thesis describes the ways of implementation of the Global Development Education into the Czech education system and into the teaching in the Czech schools. This work is divided into two parts. The first part is theoretical and it tries to briefly outline the theoretical background, beginnings of the Global Development Education in the Czech surroundings, curriculum and strategic documents that deals with the issue of the Global Development Education. In the first part there are also mentioned the possibilities how to integrate this topic into the school education programs and into the teaching as well. The second part of this work is based on the empirical research among five Czech schools. It is built on the qualitative analysis of the school education programs...

The aim of this thesis is to introduce the theme of globalization and global issues as a topic of school education. There will be a didactic analysis of this topic in relation with the content of Civil and Social Sciences and the cross-curricular theme Education for Thinking in the European and Global Context at secondary grammar school. The theoretical part briefly defines globalization and explains the necessary sociological terms, such as global poverty, global unemployment and consumerism. There is also a chapter on global education in schools and on researches on understanding of globalization. The practical part explains the methodology of qualitative research and the method of in-depth interview of the semi-structured type serving as the basis of this work. Then, it presents the results of the research conducted on students' understanding realized with the secondary grammar school students. Finally, it gives recommendations for school education based on these results. KEY WORDS: globalization, global development education, global competence, constructivism, students' understanding, qualitative research, in-depth semi-structured interview

The purpose of the project was to develop a comprehensive literature unit that integrates essential meteorology study within the relevant chapters of the book. Since the development of such a unit needed to encompass much more than merely the reading of the book and the study of applicable meteorological material, a multi-faceted literature experience was designed.

Text in English / The study is a sociolinguistic exploration of the pedagogical value of Shona children’s oral art forms on a changing cultural terrain to situate them within contemporary classroom pedagogy. Critical Discourse Analysis, Afrocentricity and Constructivism are theories that informed the analysis of the Shona children’s oral art forms. The study is conducted within the qualitative paradigm as a descriptive study. Data was gathered through observartions, standardised open-ended interviews, focus group interviews, questionnaires and document analysis. The study established that Shona children’s oral art forms have responded positively to the changing environment in which they are performed in terms of form and content. While this is a positive development, this should be done with caution to ensure that indigenous knowledge systems that are the backbone of African societies are not abused on the global stage. The study has also affirmed that Shona children’s oral art forms are useful pedagogical tools for information dissemination and knowledge creation. It is also evident from the findings that the oral art forms are an embodiment of human factor values that enhance development education. Findings from this study established that Shona children’s oral art forms are reservoirs of values and norms cherished by the Shona as a people and can be reconstructed for teaching various concepts across the primary school curriculum. Evident from this study is that both teachers and learners are knowledgeable of the various traditional Shona children’s oral art forms although new creations are coined to adapt to the changing environment. This shows that the traditional forms are able to withstand the challenges of globalisation, and this resilience is a positive development since it creates an opportunity for researchers to document these in their unadulterated form for posterity. Since findings from the study highlighted threats to the children’s oral art forms due to the advent of technology and globalisation, there is need to act so that they are not pushed to the periphery as was the case during the colonial era. There is need for concerted efforts at packaging them and meaningful infusion of these into all aspects of children’s education for visibility within the changing environment to guard against their demise in an era of globalisation which may impact negatively on the Shona culture. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / Ph. D.(Languages, Linguistics and Literature)