The purpose of this study was to investigate whether implementing Success For Life in Thailand would meet the needs of Thai public policy, the Thai educational system, and Thai culture. There were 46 respondents, including 4 early childhood professionals, 4 preschool owners, 6 directors, and 32 teachers. All respondents received the Success For Life training workshop. Each participant was requested to complete a questionnaire on their understanding and awareness of brain development and function, thoughts about implementing Success For Life in Thailand, and the appropriateness of Success For Life for the Thai educational system, Thai public policy, and Thai culture. In addition, all of the 4 early childhood professionals, 4 preschool owners, and 6 directors, and 8 teachers were interviewed to expand the information provided in the questionnaires. Two preschools implemented Success For Life in November 2000. Another 6 preschools implemented Success For Life in June 2001. Participating teachers in the preschools where Success For Life was implemented in November 2000 were also asked to write bimonthly journals. Journal entries included information about how participants changed their teaching styles after receiving the Success For Life training. Research findings indicated that Success For Life was appropriate to the preschool level in Thailand. Recommendations for Success For Life implementation in Thailand were 1) clarify the meaning of “teacher-centered” to conform with Thai policy, 2) modify the mathematics curriculum to reflect higher level concepts, 3) include ethics and financial education in the curriculum, 4) include in Success For Life staff development methods for teaching children with special needs, different learning styles, and in ESL programs, and 5) clarify how, in the Success For Life curriculum, children have a right to access to the Thai dream instead of the American Dream.

Thesis (M.A.)--Bowling Green State University, 2008. / Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 97 p. Includes bibliographical references.

Syfte och frågeställningar. Syftet med studien var att undersöka om 12 veckors regelbunden fysisk aktivitet, i form av kondition- och styrketräning, gav effekt på syreupptagningsförmåga hos personer med nydebuterad psykossjukdom. Frågeställningar: (1) Kan 12 veckor regelbunden kondition och styrketräning förbättra syreupptagningsförmågan hos personer med nydebuterad psykossjukdom? (2) Finns det någon skillnad mellan könen och syreupptagningsförmåga efter 12 veckors regelbunden fysisk aktivitet? Metod. Fit for life är ett forskningssamarbete mellan Karolinska Institutet, Gymnastik- och Idrottshögskolan (GIH) och Stockholms Läns Landsting vars syfte var att använda fysisk aktivitet som ett verktyg för att öka autonomi, kognitiva funktioner och kroppsfunktioner hos personer med nydebuterad psykossjukdom. Datainsamling till denna studie kom att göras utifrån Fit for life. I studien inkluderades 17 personer med nydebuterad psykossjukdom där medelvärdet för gruppens ålder var 29 ± 6,9 (år). Ett förtest utfördes följt av ett eftertest efter en träningsperiod på 12 veckor där deltagarna uppmuntrades att träna 3 gånger i veckan. Under testerna genomfördes ett submaximalt ergometercykeltest och deltagarnas maximala syreupptag uppskattades. Resultat. Bortfallet var stort, 52,7%, och det var endast två kvinnor som slutförde studien. Inga signifikanta förbättringar påträffades. En ökning i VO2max skedde hos 41,2 % av deltagarna, en minskning skedde hos 35,2%, samt hos 23,5 % var VO2max oförändrad. Av de som deltog i den organiserade träningen totalt 12 eller fler gånger ökade 57,1% sin VO2max och 42,9 % minskade sin VO2max. Gruppens medelvärde för absolut VO2max ökade med 4,1% och för det relativa VO2max med 6,3%. För de deltagare som tränade 12 gånger eller fler har medelvärdet för absolut VO2max ökat med 7,6% och för relativa VO2max med 7,8%. Dessa resultat är ej signifikanta. En av kvinnorna ökade sitt absoluta VO2max med 27,2% och det relativa VO2max med 21,8%. Den andra kvinnan ökade sitt absoluta VO2max med 8,3 % respektive det relativa med 3,7%. Hos männen ökade 33,3% sitt VO2max och 40% minskade i VO2max, samt hos 26,7% var VO2max oförändrad. Slutsats.Underlaget för denna studie var för litet och ingen slutsats kan dras då inga signifikanta förbättringar kunde ses och därmed var det inte möjligt att svara på frågeställningarna. Ett intressant fynd var däremot att när det kommer till personer med nydebuterad psykossjukdom är det viktigt att höja motivationen, stötta dem till regelbunden träning samt minska bortfallet.

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The implementation of the National Curriculum Statement in 2006 saw the name of the subject known as Biology change to Life Sciences accompanied by changes in subject content. The curriculum committee excluded systematics as a separate unit from the new outcomes-based Life Sciences curriculum for grades 10 to 12 that was implemented in 2006. Educators had to include aspects of systematics in teaching these concepts without guidance from the curriculum. This posed the question whether mastery of population dynamics and biodiversity is dependent on content of systematics in the context of the new curriculum. The New Content Framework for Life Sciences implemented in 2009 reintroduced systematics as a single unit. This raised the question why systematics has been reintroduced in the Life Sciences curriculum. This study aims to determine the influence the exclusion of systematics as a separate unit from the Life Sciences curriculum, implemented in 2006, had on the teaching of population studies and biodiversity. Data was gathered by evaluating and analysing the relevant curriculum statements, work schedules and content frameworks. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, first in 2008 when systematics was excluded from the curriculum and then in 2009 after the reintroduction. The first interviews dealt with the exclusion of systematics and the second interviews queried the reintroduction of systematics in the New Content Framework. Interviews were conducted with grade 11 Life Sciences educators at two secondary schools and two curriculum developers involved in compiling the Life Sciences curriculum. An expert in systematics and another in ecology were interviewed about the exclusion of systematics. The workbooks of some grade 11 learners were studied. Classroom observations were conducted when the relevant topics were being covered in class. A number of reasons for the exclusion of systematics from the NCS were advanced. These included: there was no population dynamics expert in the curriculum development team, emphasis was placed on outcomes and not content, the academic background of the members of the curriculum team and the difficulty of teaching systematics, perceived to be uninteresting. There was disagreement whether systematics is essential for understanding population dynamics but there is consensus that the study of systematics influences biodiversity and its exclusion left a regrettable void. However, systematics should be taught in a more interesting way. Prior knowledge is important for understanding of certain processes and concepts as well as for the application of practical skills like problem-solving and scientific inquiry. The curriculum does not provide detailed guidance on the content and practical activities to be covered and educators are encouraged to develop their own curriculum and activities. Experienced educators with strong academic backgrounds in animal and plant sciences referred to or used knowledge of systematics in some lessons. In 2009, systematics was reintroduced in the Life Sciences curriculum to ensure that learners understand biodiversity and evolution through natural selection. It provides learners a better foundation to understand similarities and differences in the structure and function of different organisms and body plans and ensures that they use higher-order thinking skills when doing problem-solving and scientific inquiry activities. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted

While throughout the ages prominent thinkers have denounced for various reasons mistreatment and killing of animals for food or sacrifice, the dominant western view has been that only rational beings merit moral respect and value. Augustine developed, from Aristotle‘s thought of a hierarchy of souls as well as from the Stoic concept of animals‘ irrationality, the idea that animals share no fellowship with humans and thus are to be excluded from moral consideration. In Aquinas‘ thinking the difference between rationality and irrationality became the difference between immortal and mortal souls. This view furthered the development of an instrumental view of animals. The perception that lower species are created to benefit the higher species has become a dominant part of western Christian thought. The main aim of this study is to investigate whether a respectful attitude towards animals, as lived by Francis of Assisi and Albert Schweitzer, has a mystical basis (following the model of Evelyn Underhill), and subsequently to consider whether and how mystical qualities as lived by Francis and Schweitzer may contribute to an animal spirituality. In this thesis I explore the moral valuation of animals in the Christian biblical and spiritual tradition, and further present the outcome of this exploration as an alternative to an anthropocentric tradition and as a contribution to contemporary protectionist approaches. Franciscan sources and Schweitzer‘s oeuvre have been examined while applying Underhill‘s concept of various characteristics and stages of the mystic way. I conclude that both Francis and Schweitzer in their own unique ways qualify to be categorized as ‗mystics‘. Not through rationality, but through experience and feeling, both have achieved real contact with other beings and attained to the Mystery of life. Through their purified view they have been able to perceive animals in a non-instrumental way and through their mystical experiences of union they have sensed the common ontological basis and kinship between humans and animals—our interdependency, utility, aesthetic value and theophany. On the basis of scrutiny of biblical texts which touch upon the relations of humans and animals with God I observe that an animal-inclusive moral concern, as demonstrated by Francis and Schweitzer, finds biblical support. Each creature, as created and animated by God‘s rûaḥ (‗Spirit‘) is transparent to God‘s glory and therefore able to reveal something of the Creator. The Bible proclaims animals as God‘s property, with their own relation with their Creator, not as created to satisfy human wants and wishes. A non-instrumental understanding of animals, as found in biblical texts and as realized by Francis‘ and Schweitzer‘s awe for life, has ethical implications for human-animal relations. Francis‘ and Schweitzer‘s views call us to question our use of animals as our property, therewith sacrificing animal interests for our own. A spirituality in which animals are contemplated as God‘s creatures, with their own worth and their own relation to God, may lead to a different attitude towards animals. To the various elucidated positions in the contemporary animal debate, with its emphasis on rights and reason, Francis and Schweitzer may contribute through their example of an approach calling for empathy, sympathy and compassion as an alternative point of departure. / PhD (Dogmatics), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus in cooperation with Greenwich School of Theology, 2015

While throughout the ages prominent thinkers have denounced for various reasons mistreatment and killing of animals for food or sacrifice, the dominant western view has been that only rational beings merit moral respect and value. Augustine developed, from Aristotle‘s thought of a hierarchy of souls as well as from the Stoic concept of animals‘ irrationality, the idea that animals share no fellowship with humans and thus are to be excluded from moral consideration. In Aquinas‘ thinking the difference between rationality and irrationality became the difference between immortal and mortal souls. This view furthered the development of an instrumental view of animals. The perception that lower species are created to benefit the higher species has become a dominant part of western Christian thought. The main aim of this study is to investigate whether a respectful attitude towards animals, as lived by Francis of Assisi and Albert Schweitzer, has a mystical basis (following the model of Evelyn Underhill), and subsequently to consider whether and how mystical qualities as lived by Francis and Schweitzer may contribute to an animal spirituality. In this thesis I explore the moral valuation of animals in the Christian biblical and spiritual tradition, and further present the outcome of this exploration as an alternative to an anthropocentric tradition and as a contribution to contemporary protectionist approaches. Franciscan sources and Schweitzer‘s oeuvre have been examined while applying Underhill‘s concept of various characteristics and stages of the mystic way. I conclude that both Francis and Schweitzer in their own unique ways qualify to be categorized as ‗mystics‘. Not through rationality, but through experience and feeling, both have achieved real contact with other beings and attained to the Mystery of life. Through their purified view they have been able to perceive animals in a non-instrumental way and through their mystical experiences of union they have sensed the common ontological basis and kinship between humans and animals—our interdependency, utility, aesthetic value and theophany. On the basis of scrutiny of biblical texts which touch upon the relations of humans and animals with God I observe that an animal-inclusive moral concern, as demonstrated by Francis and Schweitzer, finds biblical support. Each creature, as created and animated by God‘s rûaḥ (‗Spirit‘) is transparent to God‘s glory and therefore able to reveal something of the Creator. The Bible proclaims animals as God‘s property, with their own relation with their Creator, not as created to satisfy human wants and wishes. A non-instrumental understanding of animals, as found in biblical texts and as realized by Francis‘ and Schweitzer‘s awe for life, has ethical implications for human-animal relations. Francis‘ and Schweitzer‘s views call us to question our use of animals as our property, therewith sacrificing animal interests for our own. A spirituality in which animals are contemplated as God‘s creatures, with their own worth and their own relation to God, may lead to a different attitude towards animals. To the various elucidated positions in the contemporary animal debate, with its emphasis on rights and reason, Francis and Schweitzer may contribute through their example of an approach calling for empathy, sympathy and compassion as an alternative point of departure. / PhD (Dogmatics), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus in cooperation with Greenwich School of Theology, 2015

The purpose of the research was to assess the impact of the process of professional development of English foreign language teachers in Israel who participated in the Explicit Multisensory Phonics Intervention Programme. Previous research focused on changes in knowledge, practices, student attainment, and beliefs. Changes from negative to positive self efficacy were not examined, and a model for the professional development of the English foreign language teacher did not exist. The conceptual framework is based on an integration of the concept of self efficacy with theories of professional development and literacy acquisition. Literacy acquisition is based on the knowledge and practice components of the process of professional development in this research. The process of professional development is set in motion by a sense of negative self efficacy. The attainment of content knowledge is followed by a change of practices and thereafter improved student attainment, leading to changes in teachers’ beliefs and positive self efficacy. The research questions seek to clarify teachers’ incentives for joining the programme, their standard of content knowledge and perceptions of the impact of the process of professional development. A mixed methods approach was used. The content knowledge of teachers was tested with a pre and post test. A questionnaire about the process of professional development was sent to teachers who had participated in the programme since 1991. Several unstructured interviews were held. Results showed that the teachers’ sense of negative self efficacy and failure in the field initiated their need for professional development. The impact of the process of professional development was: increased knowledge, changed practices and beliefs, claimed student attainment and positive self efficacy. The research contributes to knowledge by empirically supporting a theoretically based model for the impact of the process of professional development of English foreign language teachers. Positive and negative self efficacy are key factors in the process of professional development and knowledge is the basis of this process. These conclusions have practical applications for teacher training.

O presente trabalho teve como objetivo compreender a experiência da transição para a aposentadoria em atletas profissionais de diferentes modalidades esportivas. Crianças e jovens enfrentam períodos de transição ao longo da prática esportiva e as orientações recebidas podem auxiliar em seu desenvolvimento. Diversos trabalhos apontam para prejuízos na vida dos atletas na fase da aposentadoria, porém pouco sabemos como vivenciaram o processo de transição. Buscamos compreender, pelo relato de atletas profissionais, a experiência da transição para a aposentadoria; a partir da sua recordação, investigar se houve planejamento para este momento e o que o atleta buscou como apoio. Desejamos produzir informações e reflexões que possam, a partir dos dados coletados, gerar propostas teóricas e intervenções psicológicas para oferecer apoio e suporte a atletas após a parada da atividade esportiva. Trata-se de pesquisa qualitativa, tendo sido realizadas entrevistas abertas, com base na pergunta disparadora: Como foi a sua experiência no período de transição para a aposentadoria? Participaram deste estudo seis ex-atletas profissionais, duas mulheres e quatro homens de diferentes modalidades esportivas, que se aposentaram. Os colaboradores foram indicados por meio de pessoas conhecidas e aceitaram participar. Para a análise compreensiva das narrativas destacamos os trechos mais representativos e organizados em categorias temáticas, que foram surgindo e se estruturando a partir dos relatos, não tendo sido estabelecidas a priori. Compreendemos os relatos como experiências vividas pelos colaboradores, buscando uma aproximação da compreensão do fenômeno da experiência de transição para a aposentadoria de atletas. A análise mostrou que: 1) O processo de transição pode ser útil para que o atleta se organize nas questões práticas e emocionais, preparando-se para a aposentadoria; 2) Os atletas buscam apoio na família, num técnico ou em pessoas próximas; ao procurarem apoio profissional, esperam conseguir orientação prática sobre outra atividade. A maioria não busca apoio profissional para cuidados psicológicos; 3) Por mais preparados que estejam, os atletas vivenciam a aposentadoria como perda, podendo entrar em processo de luto. O acolhimento adequado pode ajudá-los a lidar com o processo de transição e com a aposentadoria. Tendo como base os aspectos observados, foram apresentadas orientações a profissionais da saúde, de educação física e esporte, técnicos, familiares e pessoas próximas dos atletas. Este trabalho pode contribuir com reflexões para técnicos e outros profissionais do esporte, na compreensão dos sentimentos vivenciados neste período e no sentido da importância do planejamento para a aposentadoria como forma de organização emocional. É fundamental envidar esforços a fim de auxiliar atletas aposentados em direção a uma maior comunicação e expressão de sentimentos relacionados à perda por morte simbólica, acreditando que um acolhimento adequado pode ajudá-los a lidar com esse momento e recomeço em outra atividade / The present study aimed to understand the experience of transition to retirement among athletes of different sports. Children and young people face periods of transition throughout sports practice and the guidance received can assist helps the development. Several studies point to the consequences in the lives of athletes during retirement, but little is known how they experienced the transition process. We collected the reports of professional athletes, the experience of the transition to retirement, and investigate whether there has been planning for this moment, what was sough as support. We aimed to produce information and reflections that can considering the data collected, generate theory and reflections about psychological interventions to provide support and assistance to athletes after interrupting sports activity. This is qualitative research and open interviews were conducted with a starting question: \"How was your experience during the transition to retirement?\" The study included six former professional athletes, four men and two women from different sports that have retired. The participants were indicated by acquaintances and accepted to participate. For a comprehensive analysis of the narratives were highlighted the most representative excerpts and organized into themes emerging from the accounts and have not been established a priori. The reports were understood as experiences of the participants, aiming to understand the phenomenon of the experience of transition to retirement in athletes. The analysis showed that: 1) The transition process can be useful for the athlete to organize practical and emotional issues in preparing for retirement; 2) Athletes seek support with family, coach or proxy. Most do not seek professional help for psychological care; 3) Though there is a preparation the athletes experience retirement as a loss and go through a bereavement process. A proper care can help them cope with the transition and retirement. Based on the observed aspects guidelines were presented to health, physical education and sport professionals, coaches, family, and people that are close to the athletes. This work may contribute to coaches and other professionals of the sport to understand the feelings experienced during this period and towards the importance of planning for retirement as a form of emotional organization. The efforts are essential to help retired athletes toward greater communication and expression of feelings related to the loss of the sport activity as Oaf symbolic death, believing that proper care can help deal with that moment and resume in another activity

Today’s societies are characterised by a host of opportunities and challenges. The pace of life is quicker than ever before, and the changes and developments in societies, science and technology come about faster every day. One of the major challenges for human beings is to make a myriad of choices on a daily basis, which will define their place in society, in life and in the world altogether. To make prudent and sensible decisions is, therefore, one of the key competencies for a successful and good life. This study revisits the idea of an education focused on the personal development and well-being of human beings instead of economic growth. Drawing on philosophical ideas about the good life -- especially Schmid’s art of living concept Lebenskunst -- and recent research in positive psychology, an argument is made for a shift of focus in education and schooling towards a good life and an art of living for today's students. Possible implications of this change of focus for educational practice are discussed, including suggestions for curricula and school subjects, the structure of schools and learning environments, teaching methods, and teacher training. The original contributions to knowledge in this study are: a critique of Schmid's concept from an educational point of view; a comparison of positive psychology research and philosophical concepts of the art of living with a focus on Schmid's work; the development of an educational approach to the art of living, including a discussion of schooling in relation to the art of living; and consequent first steps towards the development of an education for life concept.