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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
1

ROLES OF PARENTS’ CAPITALS IN CHILDREN’S EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

Pan, Liping 01 January 2018 (has links)
Bourdieu, the French sociologist, proposed some significant concepts (e.g., habitus, capital and field) to help to explain how social agents play roles in social occurrences. Among his theories, Bourdieu’s trilogy of economic capital, social capital and cultural capital has now been used as a powerful theoretical framework to explain class reproduction and education equity. Over the past decades, his theories have begun to be introduced and recognized in Chinese academic world. And this research attempts to see whether this western theory works in the Chinese educational context. Shanghai, one of the biggest cities in China, has a huge migrant population. Limited by the unique Chinese hukou system, the migrant population in Chinese big cities mostly faces a challenging situation to ensure their children’s local educational opportunities, especially during the compulsory education levels. However, the past research only focused on its disadvantaged subgroup, i. e. the migrant worker population while ignoring the vast diversity in their economic, social and cultural capitals among this general population. Therefore, this research, by means of a comparative multiple case study, aims to see how parents’ economic, social and cultural capitals help to win their children’s educational opportunities at elementary education level. Studying three typical migrant families with distinguishable strong, medium and weak capitals, the research finds the specific paths how the parents respectively use their economic, social and cultural capitals to obtain more educational opportunities for their children, and eventually produce the divide in educational outcomes, school segregation and social stratification. The research extends its discussion with characteristics of parent capitals, redefinitions of educational opportunities, and an unexpected minor theme about full-time mother. At the end of the dissertation, it can be concluded that Bourdieu’s trilogy of economic, social and cultural capital does work in Chinese educational context. And it indeed helps us to see more clearly what is happening in present China at a transitional age and calls for service and help to the disadvantaged migrant families in Chinese cities.
2

A Study of the Educational Opportunities of Yellowstone National Park

Reedy, Eugenia 06 1900 (has links)
The purpose of this study is to present both the educational and the geographical opportunities of Yellowstone National Park which is a region that provides inspiring areas of observation and experiences for American children.
3

Sociální a psychologická situace v rodině s kombinovaně postiženým dítětem / Social and Psychological Situation in a Family with a Combined Disability Child

MAŠKOVÁ, Hana January 2009 (has links)
The thesis focuses on social and psychological situation in a family with a child with combined disabilities, starting with the birth of the child and following reactions of the parents, family and society to this new situation. The thesis deals with different problems in the area of decision making in further possible steps concerning the child care and also with the way how to deal with given problems. The aim is to point to the parents who have a child with combined disability and to illustrate their situation from the beginning, showing how they cope with the situation. The practical part contains a research which is based on the questionnaire filled in by parents who have a child with combined disability. The questionnaire focuses above all on the parents, their situation and the change of their lives after the birth of their child, partnership, environment, help and other organizations that frequent the parents and their children.
4

Principals’ Leadership Practices for Sustaining Music in K-3 Education

Clark, Ivone Fraiha 01 January 2019 (has links)
Public school principals who provide and sustain music in elementary programs are often confronted with budgetary cuts and reduced funding for music education. There is a dearth of research regarding music as an essential element in K-3 education in low-income rural schools. The purpose of this generic qualitative inquiry was to explore and describe leadership practices of principals, who despite fiscal challenges, include and sustain music in the K-3 curriculum in a low-income rural area of a small county in North Carolina. Elliott and Silverman’s concept of praxial music education and Leithwood and Riehl’s philosophy of instructional leadership practices were used for the conceptual framework. Through individual interviews with principals (n = 4) and 3 focus groups with parents (n = 8) from Parent Teacher Organizations of elementary public schools in a low-income rural district, data were collected from a total of 12 participants involved with music education. Participants described the importance of and the criteria for including music in the K-3 program regardless of economic challenges emphasizing the significance of school principals’ leadership practices. Data were analyzed using open coding to find emergent themes. Results suggested that commitment to sustaining music education in the K-3 program comes from evidence of children’s development of creative and critical thinking. Providing opportunities for an enhanced education may create perspectives that lead students to become engaged citizens for a more equitable society. The findings may also encourage educational leaders to find ways to sustain music in educational programs as a contribution to positive social change.
5

Inclusion in Action: An Action Research Study of the General Education Student Experience in an Inclusion Class

Garriott, Erin Marie 20 December 2022 (has links)
No description available.
6

Optimising mixed-ability grouping for effective instruction at the junior secondary school level in Botswana

Mafa, Onias 11 1900 (has links)
The debate on how students of different abilities should be organised and taught is probably as old as the introduction of formal schooling. It has generated a lot of debate in the past and continues to do so in the present millennium. This debate has invariably divided the world of educational research into two distinct camps. On one hand are proponents of ability grouping who claim that this grouping approach creates homogeneity which make it possible to tailor teaching to individual needs and thus raise achievement. On the other hand, are the exponents of mixed-ability grouping, who argue that ability grouping denies equality of educational opportunities to many young people, limiting their life chances and increasing social segregation. However, there is an emerging trend which posits that teachers should view students' mixed-abilities as an asset, which if properly exploited can result in effective instruction for the benefit of all students regardless of their many individual differences. This emanates from the realisation that there are different types of intelligences, and that it is not always possible for an individual student to posses all the types of intelligences. Therefore, students from diverse backgrounds, endowed with multiple intelligences, can help one another understand the content better as they will perceive the content from their diverse experiential backgrounds. This qualitative study concerned itself with investigating how mixed-ability grouping can be optimised for effective instruction at the junior secondary school level in Botswana. The study made use of literature study, focus groups, follow-up interviews and lesson observations. Major findings were that teachers are not optimising mixed-ability grouping for effective instruction. Instead, teachers have problems in teaching mixed-ability classes, with most of their teaching being teacher-centred. However, teachers can optimise mixed-ability grouping through the use of student-centred instructional strategies such as cooperative learning, small-group instruction, peer teaching and student research. Gifted students could be catered for through curriculum compaction, enrichment and extension work, while mentally challenged students could be offered remedial work. These cited teaching strategies are differential and they make use of the diverse abilities found in mixed-ability classes. / Educational Studies / D.Ed. (Didactics)
7

A distribui??o das oportunidades educacionais no ?mbito municipal referenciados no ?ndice de oportunidades da educa??o brasileira (IOEB): mapeamento e tend?ncias da regi?o metropolitana de Campinas

Oliveira, Leandro Barbosa 30 November 2017 (has links)
Submitted by SBI Biblioteca Digital (sbi.bibliotecadigital@puc-campinas.edu.br) on 2018-12-12T12:13:18Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Leandro Barbosa Oliveira.pdf: 5340488 bytes, checksum: 437a7af203c18863fae17bde694677cd (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-12-12T12:13:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Leandro Barbosa Oliveira.pdf: 5340488 bytes, checksum: 437a7af203c18863fae17bde694677cd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-11-30 / This dissertation addresses the issue of educational opportunities in the Metropolitan Region of Campinas (RMC), located in the interior of the State of S?o Paulo, involving 19 municipalities with great heterogeneity in socioeconomic terms. Considering the dissemination of the Brazilian Educational Opportunities Index (IOEB) and its proposed objectives to carry out territorial analyzes on the distribution of educational opportunities, this dissertation addresses the following research problems: what are the trends in educational opportunities in the Metropolitan Region of Campinas? Is the data also an evidence of the center-periphery relationship, within the territorial scope, in the provision of educational opportunities for educational success? The general objective of this dissertation was to study the distribution of educational opportunities in the Metropolitan Region of Campinas (MRC) in the light of IOEB. There were three specific objectives: a) to understand theoretically the meaning of educational opportunities and their operationalization in the scope of public policies to guarantee the right to education; b) characterize the metropolitan region of Campinas, evolution, residential segregation, areas of social vulnerability, and socioeconomic and educational indicators; c) identify and analyze trends in educational opportunities in the municipalities that make up the MRC from IOEB. In order to achieve these objectives, in addition to the accurate bibliographic research on the theoretical references of the educational opportunities, secondary data were used such as the components of IOEB and other sources, IBGE data and the Paulista Social Vulnerability Index, which allowed construction graphs, comparative tables, and thematic maps using Geoprocessing techniques. As it is recurrent in the literature, the research shows that the best educational opportunities were found in municipalities in which consolidated infrastructure is favored by its high level of economic and social development. However, the research revealed some exceptionalities and insights: a) Hortol?ndia-SP (which has the highest social vulnerability rate of the MRC) maintains an average that, according to IOEB, is higher than the average of neighboring municipalities with high socioeconomic development; b) analyzes of how the variables that make up the index are articulated reveal that municipalities, even though they are located in areas of social vulnerability, have guaranteed access for students to stay in school units, especially in the initial years, and this guarantee of access brings with it good performances in external evaluations; c) smaller municipalities and that have municipal education networks in basic and basic education are also the municipalities that reach the highest levels of educational opportunities according to IOEB; d) evidences are realities in which the results in external evaluations are not necessarily related to the greater experience of the managers, there is evidence that municipalities with managers with less professional trajectory achieve better performance in the IDEB. / Esta disserta??o aborda a quest?o das oportunidades educacionais na regi?o metropolitana de Campinas, localizada no interior do Estado de S?o Paulo, envolvendo 19 munic?pios com grande heterogeneidade em termos socioecon?micos. Considerando a divulga??o do ?ndice de Oportunidades da Educa??o Brasileira (IOEB) e seus objetivos propostos para realizar an?lises territoriais sobre a distribui??o de oportunidades educacionais, esta disserta??o se norteia pelos seguintes problemas de pesquisa: quais s?o as tend?ncias em termos de oportunidades educacionais na Regi?o Metropolitana de Campinas? Ser? que os dados evidenciam tamb?m a rela??o centro-periferia, no ?mbito territorial, na oferta de oportunidades educacionais para o sucesso educacional? O objetivo geral desta disserta??o foi estudar a distribui??o das oportunidades educacionais na Regi?o Metropolitana de Campinas (RMC) ? luz do IOEB. Tr?s foram os objetivos espec?ficos: a) compreender teoricamente o significado das oportunidades educacionais e sua operacionaliza??o no ?mbito das pol?ticas p?blicas para a garantia do direito ? educa??o; b) caracterizar a regi?o metropolitana de campinas, evolu??o, segrega??o residencial, ?reas de vulnerabilidade social, e indicadores socioecon?micos e educacionais; c) identificar e analisar as tend?ncias em termos de oportunidades educacionais nos munic?pios que comp?e a RMC a partir do IOEB. Para atingir esses objetivos, al?m de apurada pesquisa bibliogr?fica sobre referenciais te?ricos da tem?tica das oportunidades educacionais, foram utilizados dados secund?rios que comp?e o IOEB e outras fontes, como os dados do IBGE e o ?ndice Paulista de Vulnerabilidade Social, os quais permitiram que a constru??o de gr?ficos, tabelas comparativas, e mapas tem?ticos utilizando t?cnicas de Geoprocessamento. Como ? recorrente na literatura, a pesquisa evidencia que as melhores oportunidades educacionais encontram-se em munic?pios nos quais existem infraestrutura consolidada favorecidas pelo seu alto n?vel de desenvolvimento econ?mico e social. Contudo, a pesquisa revelou algumas excepcionalidades e realidades instigantes: a) Hortol?ndia-SP (que possui a taxa de vulnerabilidade social mais alta da RMC) mant?m uma m?dia que de acordo com o IOEB ? superior ? m?dia de munic?pios vizinhos com alto desenvolvimento socioecon?mico; b) as an?lises de como se articulam as vari?veis que comp?e o ?ndice revelam que munic?pios mesmo estando situados em ?reas de vulnerabilidade social v?m garantindo o acesso de perman?ncia dos alunos nas unidades escolares, principalmente nos anos iniciais e esta garantia de acesso traz consigo bons desempenhos nas avalia??es externas; c) munic?pios menores e que possuem redes de ensino municipalizadas no ensino b?sico e fundamental s?o tamb?m os munic?pios que atingem os n?veis mais elevados de oportunidades educacionais segundo o IOEB; d) evidenciam-se realidades em que os resultados em avalia??es externas n?o est?o necessariamente relacionados com a maior experi?ncia dos gestores, h? evidencias que munic?pios com gestores com menor trajet?ria profissional conseguem melhor desempenho no IDEB.
8

Pacto federativo e financiamento da educação: a função supletiva e redistributiva da União - o FNDE em destaque / Federative Pact and Education Funding: supplementary and redistributive function of the Union FNDE highlighted

Cruz, Rosana Evangelista da 13 March 2009 (has links)
A tese discute as relações entre pacto federativo e financiamento da educação, tendo como eixo a problematização da função supletiva e redistributiva da União, especialmente pelas ações executadas pelo FNDE, no período de 1995 a 2006. Adota-se o pressuposto de que os regimes federados procuram instituir um padrão mínimo de equalização nas condições de acesso a serviços públicos, como um dos elementos centrais para a própria sobrevivência do pacto federativo. No Brasil, esse pressuposto foi reiterado, uma vez que a Constituição Federal explicita que cabe à União o exercício da função supletiva e redistributiva em relação aos demais entes federados, tendo em vista a diminuição das desigualdades regionais. A pesquisa desenvolvida se configura como uma análise de políticas públicas, tendo como foco o exame dos critérios que fundamentam a distribuição dos recursos federais para a educação pública ofertada pelos estados e municípios, por intermédio do FNDE, procurando a existência de coerência entre os pressupostos que fundamentam a ação dessa autarquia e a distribuição final de seus recursos. A realização da pesquisa envolveu uma rigorosa revisão bibliográfica sobre o conceito de federalismo e sobre o federalismo brasileiro, com base nas obras de autores da Ciência Política e da Economia, como Riker; Lijphart; Stepan; Levi; Hamilton, Madison e Jay; Schultze; Bothe; Théret; Fiori; Affonso, Camargo, A.; Oliveira, F.; Souza, C.; Afonso; Arretche; Abrucio; Casseb; Rezende; Prado, dentre outros. A análise das políticas de financiamento da educação abarcou o estudo da legislação e dos documentos governamentais, assim como das contribuições de pesquisadores da área, como Castro; Davies; Pinto; Oliveira, R.; Gemaque; Santos, K.; Souza Junior e Arelaro. Para a investigação sobre o papel desenvolvido pelo FNDE, além das referências teóricas, como Castro e Parente, dentre outros, foram analisados os documentos e os dados da execução dos recursos geridos pela autarquia, de 1995 a 2006, bem como a legislação que fundamenta os programas implementados. A investigação também contemplou a realização de entrevistas e contatos sistemáticos com vários setores do FNDE, do MEC e da Secretaria do Tesouro Nacional. Para avaliar o padrão de distribuição dos recursos, foi calculado o valor-aluno FNDE, que foi confrontado com os dados referentes às desigualdades sociais e educacionais no Brasil. A pesquisa permitiu concluir que o modelo federativo brasileiro encaminha para um tipo de federalismo caracterizado como executivo, porque, sistematicamente, a União define unilateralmente políticas que confinam a autonomia dos entes federados. Além disso, a questão tributária e as desigualdades regionais se revelaram como limites ao pleno desenvolvimento do modelo federado no país. No campo do financiamento da educação, verificou-se que a União não cumpre a função supletiva e redistributiva prevista constitucionalmente. O FNDE, embora um órgão fundamental de financiamento da educação, ainda cumpre de forma incipiente a tarefa de equalizar oportunidades educacionais, pois, mesmo que se observe importante movimento de definição de critérios equalizadores de distribuição de recursos, os valores geridos pela autarquia e os intervenientes políticopartidários, principalmente nas transferências voluntárias, ainda não permitem a diminuição das disparidades nas condições de oferta educacional no país. / This thesis discusses the relationship between federative pact and financing of education, whose main point is questioning the supplementary and redistributive function of the Union, especially by the actions implemented by FNDE from 1995 to 2006. Its assumed that the federal administration attempts to establish a minimum standard of equalization under the conditions of access to public services, as one of the core elements for the very survival of the federative pact. In Brazil, this assumption has been reiterated once the Federal Constitution makes clear that it falls to the Union the assignment of supplementary and redistributive function in relation to other federal bodies, aiming to reduce regional inequalities. The research is an analysis of public policies, which focus on the examination of criteria that underpin the distribution of federal resources to the public education offered by states and municipalities, through the FNDE, seeking the existence of consistency between the assumptions underlying the action of that autarchy and the final distribution of its resources. The study comprehended a rigorous bibliographic review on the concept of federalism and on Brazilian federalism, based upon works by authors on economics and political science like Riker; Lijphart; Stepan; Levi; Hamilton; Madison and Jay; Schultze; Bothe; Théret; Fiori; Affonso; Camargo, A.; Oliveira, F.; Souza, C.; Afonso; Arretche; Abrúcio; Casseb; Rezende; Prado among others. Analysis of funding policies for education covered the study of legislation and government documents, as well as the contributions of researchers in the field such as Castro; Davies; Oliveira, R.; Gemaque; Santos, K.; Souza Junior and Arelaro. For research on the role played by FNDE, in addition to theoretical references as Castro and Parente among others, the documents and data used to implement the resources managed by the autarchy from 1995 to 2006 were analyzed, as well as the legislation that gives support to the programs implemented. The investigation also included interviews and systematic contacts with various sectors of FNDE, MEC and the National Treasury. In order to evaluate the resources distribution patterns, the FNDE student-value was calculated and confronted with the data concerning the social and educational inequalities in Brazil. The research made it possible to conclude that the federative Brazilian model moves into a type of federalism characterized as executive because systematically the Union defines unilaterally policies bordering the autonomy of federal bodies. Furthermore, taxation issue and regional inequalities have proved to be the limits to the full development of the federate model in the country. Concerning the funding for education, it was noticed that the Union does not fulfill the redistributive and supplementary function constitutionally provided. Although FNDE is a fundamental body for the financing of education, it still complies incipiently the task of equalizing educational opportunities, and even if it complies with important equalizing movement distribution criteria of resources, the values managed by local autarchy and political interference, especially in voluntary transfers, they still do not allow the reduction of disparities in conditions of educational supply in Brazil.
9

Pacto federativo e financiamento da educação: a função supletiva e redistributiva da União - o FNDE em destaque / Federative Pact and Education Funding: supplementary and redistributive function of the Union FNDE highlighted

Rosana Evangelista da Cruz 13 March 2009 (has links)
A tese discute as relações entre pacto federativo e financiamento da educação, tendo como eixo a problematização da função supletiva e redistributiva da União, especialmente pelas ações executadas pelo FNDE, no período de 1995 a 2006. Adota-se o pressuposto de que os regimes federados procuram instituir um padrão mínimo de equalização nas condições de acesso a serviços públicos, como um dos elementos centrais para a própria sobrevivência do pacto federativo. No Brasil, esse pressuposto foi reiterado, uma vez que a Constituição Federal explicita que cabe à União o exercício da função supletiva e redistributiva em relação aos demais entes federados, tendo em vista a diminuição das desigualdades regionais. A pesquisa desenvolvida se configura como uma análise de políticas públicas, tendo como foco o exame dos critérios que fundamentam a distribuição dos recursos federais para a educação pública ofertada pelos estados e municípios, por intermédio do FNDE, procurando a existência de coerência entre os pressupostos que fundamentam a ação dessa autarquia e a distribuição final de seus recursos. A realização da pesquisa envolveu uma rigorosa revisão bibliográfica sobre o conceito de federalismo e sobre o federalismo brasileiro, com base nas obras de autores da Ciência Política e da Economia, como Riker; Lijphart; Stepan; Levi; Hamilton, Madison e Jay; Schultze; Bothe; Théret; Fiori; Affonso, Camargo, A.; Oliveira, F.; Souza, C.; Afonso; Arretche; Abrucio; Casseb; Rezende; Prado, dentre outros. A análise das políticas de financiamento da educação abarcou o estudo da legislação e dos documentos governamentais, assim como das contribuições de pesquisadores da área, como Castro; Davies; Pinto; Oliveira, R.; Gemaque; Santos, K.; Souza Junior e Arelaro. Para a investigação sobre o papel desenvolvido pelo FNDE, além das referências teóricas, como Castro e Parente, dentre outros, foram analisados os documentos e os dados da execução dos recursos geridos pela autarquia, de 1995 a 2006, bem como a legislação que fundamenta os programas implementados. A investigação também contemplou a realização de entrevistas e contatos sistemáticos com vários setores do FNDE, do MEC e da Secretaria do Tesouro Nacional. Para avaliar o padrão de distribuição dos recursos, foi calculado o valor-aluno FNDE, que foi confrontado com os dados referentes às desigualdades sociais e educacionais no Brasil. A pesquisa permitiu concluir que o modelo federativo brasileiro encaminha para um tipo de federalismo caracterizado como executivo, porque, sistematicamente, a União define unilateralmente políticas que confinam a autonomia dos entes federados. Além disso, a questão tributária e as desigualdades regionais se revelaram como limites ao pleno desenvolvimento do modelo federado no país. No campo do financiamento da educação, verificou-se que a União não cumpre a função supletiva e redistributiva prevista constitucionalmente. O FNDE, embora um órgão fundamental de financiamento da educação, ainda cumpre de forma incipiente a tarefa de equalizar oportunidades educacionais, pois, mesmo que se observe importante movimento de definição de critérios equalizadores de distribuição de recursos, os valores geridos pela autarquia e os intervenientes políticopartidários, principalmente nas transferências voluntárias, ainda não permitem a diminuição das disparidades nas condições de oferta educacional no país. / This thesis discusses the relationship between federative pact and financing of education, whose main point is questioning the supplementary and redistributive function of the Union, especially by the actions implemented by FNDE from 1995 to 2006. Its assumed that the federal administration attempts to establish a minimum standard of equalization under the conditions of access to public services, as one of the core elements for the very survival of the federative pact. In Brazil, this assumption has been reiterated once the Federal Constitution makes clear that it falls to the Union the assignment of supplementary and redistributive function in relation to other federal bodies, aiming to reduce regional inequalities. The research is an analysis of public policies, which focus on the examination of criteria that underpin the distribution of federal resources to the public education offered by states and municipalities, through the FNDE, seeking the existence of consistency between the assumptions underlying the action of that autarchy and the final distribution of its resources. The study comprehended a rigorous bibliographic review on the concept of federalism and on Brazilian federalism, based upon works by authors on economics and political science like Riker; Lijphart; Stepan; Levi; Hamilton; Madison and Jay; Schultze; Bothe; Théret; Fiori; Affonso; Camargo, A.; Oliveira, F.; Souza, C.; Afonso; Arretche; Abrúcio; Casseb; Rezende; Prado among others. Analysis of funding policies for education covered the study of legislation and government documents, as well as the contributions of researchers in the field such as Castro; Davies; Oliveira, R.; Gemaque; Santos, K.; Souza Junior and Arelaro. For research on the role played by FNDE, in addition to theoretical references as Castro and Parente among others, the documents and data used to implement the resources managed by the autarchy from 1995 to 2006 were analyzed, as well as the legislation that gives support to the programs implemented. The investigation also included interviews and systematic contacts with various sectors of FNDE, MEC and the National Treasury. In order to evaluate the resources distribution patterns, the FNDE student-value was calculated and confronted with the data concerning the social and educational inequalities in Brazil. The research made it possible to conclude that the federative Brazilian model moves into a type of federalism characterized as executive because systematically the Union defines unilaterally policies bordering the autonomy of federal bodies. Furthermore, taxation issue and regional inequalities have proved to be the limits to the full development of the federate model in the country. Concerning the funding for education, it was noticed that the Union does not fulfill the redistributive and supplementary function constitutionally provided. Although FNDE is a fundamental body for the financing of education, it still complies incipiently the task of equalizing educational opportunities, and even if it complies with important equalizing movement distribution criteria of resources, the values managed by local autarchy and political interference, especially in voluntary transfers, they still do not allow the reduction of disparities in conditions of educational supply in Brazil.
10

Optimising mixed-ability grouping for effective instruction at the junior secondary school level in Botswana

Mafa, Onias 11 1900 (has links)
The debate on how students of different abilities should be organised and taught is probably as old as the introduction of formal schooling. It has generated a lot of debate in the past and continues to do so in the present millennium. This debate has invariably divided the world of educational research into two distinct camps. On one hand are proponents of ability grouping who claim that this grouping approach creates homogeneity which make it possible to tailor teaching to individual needs and thus raise achievement. On the other hand, are the exponents of mixed-ability grouping, who argue that ability grouping denies equality of educational opportunities to many young people, limiting their life chances and increasing social segregation. However, there is an emerging trend which posits that teachers should view students' mixed-abilities as an asset, which if properly exploited can result in effective instruction for the benefit of all students regardless of their many individual differences. This emanates from the realisation that there are different types of intelligences, and that it is not always possible for an individual student to posses all the types of intelligences. Therefore, students from diverse backgrounds, endowed with multiple intelligences, can help one another understand the content better as they will perceive the content from their diverse experiential backgrounds. This qualitative study concerned itself with investigating how mixed-ability grouping can be optimised for effective instruction at the junior secondary school level in Botswana. The study made use of literature study, focus groups, follow-up interviews and lesson observations. Major findings were that teachers are not optimising mixed-ability grouping for effective instruction. Instead, teachers have problems in teaching mixed-ability classes, with most of their teaching being teacher-centred. However, teachers can optimise mixed-ability grouping through the use of student-centred instructional strategies such as cooperative learning, small-group instruction, peer teaching and student research. Gifted students could be catered for through curriculum compaction, enrichment and extension work, while mentally challenged students could be offered remedial work. These cited teaching strategies are differential and they make use of the diverse abilities found in mixed-ability classes. / Educational Studies / D.Ed. (Didactics)

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