This dissertation has examined the conditions for teachers who teach Physical Education and Health (PEH) in elementary school (age 11-12) and their opportunities to pursue inclusive teaching with the aim of reaching all pupils. The compilation thesis consists of four different articles and provides knowledge from the perspectives of pupils and teachers, but it also includes teaching and learning processes that were studied in situ. The first article contributes to knowledge on how different related variables affect learning motivation and how cultural aspects influence and affect shaping patterns of attitudes, beliefs, and values shared by pupils. Based on and selected from the sample of the first study, the second article examines low-motivated pupils’ perceptions about learning in the subject and their representations of teaching, learning and participating in PEH. The third article takes the teacher’s perspective into account and examines teachers’ discursive representations of low motivated pupils and related beliefs regarding inclusive teaching and strategies for reaching all pupils. The last article presents a case study examining teaching and learning in PEH in situ and demonstrating how a teacher’s assumptions about the purpose of PEH and consequent interactions with a student assumed to be “low motivated” had effects that were detrimental to the student’s confidence and capacity to engage and learn in PEH. The general major findings and the suggested implications of the results have been discussed and organized from the two major dichotomies involved in the two fundamental inclusive perspectives: a categorical perspective (problems are sited within individuals) and a relational perspective (perceived problems occur in the interaction between an individual and the surrounding environment). Applying a categorical perspective, pupils categorized as “low motivated” toward learning in PEH experienced little opportunity to influence either content or form and also had difficulties in verbalizing the aim and purpose of the subject. Despite long-term health-related goals, they had difficulties understanding and connecting to PEH. The pupils also had difficulties connecting with their teachers, who were described as being insensitive, uncaring, or inflexible and forcing “unrealistic” goals on them when they did not feel competent at mastering the content relative to their peers. The studies confirm that learning motivation is strongly related to perceived competence, and low learning motivation is related to feelings of anxiety, especially for girls. Teachers, on the other hand, attributed motivation problems to the individual (the pupil) or the context (social background, parents, etc.) rather than the situation, their own teaching in class. Teachers had various strategies for teaching inclusively. Cooperative and collaborative methods, such as using skilled pupils or pupils with the “right” attitude as role models for behavioral transfer or “strategic grouping,” were mentioned as inclusive teaching strategies. Adapting the rules of games or traditional sports so that everyone started on the same level was another strategy. By presenting a multi-activity approach to teaching with many different sports, pupils were assumed to be able to find “their” particular sports. Results also showed that the stereotyping of “low motivated” pupils often is related to the teacher’s own perception of what is experienced as essential learning in the subject. Applying a relational perspective, focus is on the system beyond the individual. Based on the results of these studies, the subject seems to be influenced and guided by two logics or discourses: fostering to sports and related values, and health and fitness. Both logics also highlight the importance of content and form in teaching. The sport discourse seems to create a situation where normative performance-oriented components have negative consequences for certain pupils. A general use of a multi-activity approach for structuring the content with short-term units, using primarily team sports and ball games, can be argued counterproductive for pupils, especially for those pupils who start at lower skill levels. This approach with fragmentary or blurred learning objectives may then contribute to disservice in a long-term perspective. This, combined with the effect of high activity and unilateral focus on exercise risks blurring of other possible learning dimensions in the subject, and may also contribute to the alienation of pupils who lack skill, ability, or interest in the subject. With inclusive intentions abilities in the subject may need to be reconceived and alternative abilities recognized to challenge the established order and normalized ways of thinking in terms of content and form. Teaching efforts that give primary consideration to the individual needs of “marginalized” pupils may be necessary if inclusive intentions are to be met. It is therefore suggested that teachers need to look beyond the traditionally trodden paths and challenge the currently dominating discourses that influence PEH. Reinforcing other learning dimensions and reconceiving abilities to go beyond the emphasis on skill and performance may strengthen pupils in other areas they possess. Differentiated teaching must not lose sight of needs that are common to a group or a class as a whole, but rather, it must also consider the needs of each individual.

<p>To address the U.S. labor shortage in the fields of agriculture and STEM, higher education needs to recruit, retain, and prepare more underrepresented minority students into agricultural and STEM disciplines. Teachers play important roles in student learning, which can lead to student academic and professional success. With university classrooms becoming more diverse, faculty need to adopt inclusive teaching methods in order to accommodate the needs and expectations of diverse students. Culturally responsive teaching embraces and integrates students’ culture into the teaching and learning process. As a result, culturally responsive teaching can offer a more engaging learning experience for all students; however, in the context of higher education, there is a lack of understanding and application of culturally responsive teaching by faculty. This study examined students’ perceptions of culturally responsive teaching practices in their first college mathematics course through a developed and modified instrument for higher education. Further, this study used a structural equation model to predict the relationships among students’ perceptions of culturally responsive teaching, sense of belonging and academic self-efficacy. Data were collected through the anonymous questionnaire administrated through Qualtrics. Participants of this study were undergraduate students enrolled in the college of agriculture, college of science and college of liberal arts at a predominately white institution (PWI) and an Historically Black College and University (HBCU). Five conclusions were generated from the study. First, the scale developed to measure students’ perceptions of culturally responsive teaching in higher education was a valid instrument. Second, college students observed and sensed different types of culturally responsive teaching differently. Third, students’ perceptions of culturally responsive teaching predicted students’ academic self-efficacy and sense of belonging. Fourth, students who had a higher sense of belonging were more confident as college students. Finally, African American students at an HBCU had higher perceptions of culturally responsive teaching. Implications for practice were provided to help promote the application of culturally responsive teaching in higher education. Recommendations for future research were also discussed to inform future studies regarding culturally responsive teaching in university settings.</p>

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:24:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2008Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:27:24Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 calore_aco_me_rcla.pdf: 1326512 bytes, checksum: 4805310886e6cebf4c8962282d8b0e38 (MD5) / See-Sp / Este trabalho evoca as “ticas” de “matema” de um grupo de jovens e adultos cegos. Pautada nas teorias da Etnomatemática e da Educação Inclusiva e com o objetivo de observar, descrever e analisar o ser, o saber e o fazer de sujeitos cegos em instituições de ensino, a pesquisa de caráter etnográfico ocorreu em dois ambientes distintos: um instituto especializado e uma escola estadual da rede regular de ensino, ambas da cidade de São José do Rio Preto, SP. Por conseguinte, face aos aspectos culturais das artes e técnicas de um grupo de cegos, estas resultantes de experiências educacionais simultâneas de integração e de inclusão, os dados remetem às influências da cegueira e da instituição especializada no desenvolvimento das “ticas” de “matema” do grupo considerado. Assim, as artes e técnicas do ser, do saber e do fazer da pessoa cega provêm de seis alunos cegos e de uma professora cega da escola regular, além de outros dezessete alunos do referido instituto. Portanto, este ensaio mostra um exemplo de transição entre integração e inclusão e questiona o impacto da cultura de um grupo de cegos para uma proposta de educação inclusiva. / This work evokes the “tics” of “mathema” by a blind adults and young people group. Guided by the Ethnomathematics and Inclusive Education theories and with the purpose to observe, account and analyze the being, knowing and the doing of blind characters in educational institutions, the investigation of ethnographic type has occurred at two different environments: a specialized institute and a public state school both situated in São José do Rio Preto city, SP. Therefore, in view of the cultural aspects the arts and techniques of a bind people group, these like results of the integration and the inclusion simultaneous educational experiences data refer to the blindness and the specialized institution on the “tics” of “mathema” development by the group on research. Then, arts and techniques of the blind being, knowing and doing come from six young students and one teacher at a regular public school and seventeen adult students at a specialized institute for blind people. Thereby this essay shows an example of the transition educational between the integration and the inclusion and it asks the impact of the culture by a blind group for an inclusive education proposal.

Prior to the advent of the new democratic political dispensation in 1994, South African education had laboured under racially motivated discriminatory practices of active exclusion of the majority of learners. The authoritarian system located educational problems in the perceived deficiencies of the learner rather than in the repressive, top-down, non-participative, unreflective and uninclusive practices of the prevailing educational orthodoxy of the time. After 1994, the broader reconceptualisation of South African education sought to redress the imbalances of the past by creating equal opportunities for all learners, irrespective of race or creed. However, the difficult conundrum was how such a complex systemic change could be driven by teachers who had not only been trained in a heavily segregated educational system but formed part of it. Therefore, the aim of the thesis was to determine how teachers conceptualised inclusive teaching, explore the teaching practices that were believed to be effective in promoting inclusion in the South African secondary classrooms, and determine how they could be developed. The two-dimensional research study firstly took the form of a qualitative collaborative action research project conducted with a team of fifteen teachers at a single South African secondary school. The project was non-positivistic, critical, emancipatory and allowed the participants jointly to define the constructs of inclusive education, inclusive teaching and inclusive class; to identify practices of inclusion through observation; to adopt other practices in their classes; to determine the effect of such practices on inclusive teaching and learning; and finally to draw conclusions about the specific practices that were clearly effective in the context of their school. Secondly, an inductive analytical framework was used by the researcher to determine the theoretical contribution the study would make to the notion of developing inclusive teaching practices and determining the way this could be achieved within the South African school context. Data were collected through a series of meetings, participant observations, focus-group interviews, and one-on-one semi-structured interviews during the action-research stages of planning, action and reflection. Limitations were the teacher-researchers' lack of experience in conducting research and the limited time the research team had to complete the research tasks. The findings indicate that, at the time of the research, the conceptualisations of inclusive teaching and inclusive pedagogy were varied and continued to be influenced by the former special-needs education system. Moreover, the findings show that, while the inclusive practices identified by the teachers in this study are popular in the international literature, they need to be contextualised in and made relevant to the South African situation. However, it is clear that the teachers' experience of participating in the action-research process had raised their awareness of the importance of inclusive teaching, promoted a sense of emancipation, and held out the prospect of successful and possibly lasting change. These findings clearly imply that the reconceptualisation of inclusive pedagogy should always take place within a specific context, and that South African teachers in particular should form communities of inquiry to reflect on and develop their inclusive practices. The study has captured the essence of inclusion within the South African school context and has identified areas that need further research, for example the impact of different cultural beliefs on both teachers and learners in relation to inclusion. In conclusion, the study has demonstrated the unique contribution of action research in promoting continuous reflection, revision and intervention as indispensable procedures in the process of improving inclusive teaching and learning.

Many individuals within faith congregations are primarily taught by volunteers desiring to edify and support those they teach. Unfortunately, these devoted teachers also feel heightening insecurity in accomplishing this task because they lack professional training and experience working with individuals with disabilities. As volunteer teachers, many of these instructors do not have access to training that is efficient and affordable. The purpose of this study was to examine the how brief training videos on inclusive teaching practices, gleaned from empirically-supported practices promoted in special education classrooms, impact faith-based instructors' knowledge, confidence, and planning skills. Participants included three lay teachers from faith congregations that currently teach students between the ages of 5-18 years old. Participants completed teaching skills quizzes, confidence questionnaires, inclusive lesson plans based on hypothetical teaching scenarios with individuals with disabilities during the baseline phase. During the intervention phase, participants viewed training videos prior to completing the same set of activities. A final phone interview was conducted with each participant to assess social validity. Results indicated an unclear relation from mentioning inclusive teaching strategies in lesson plans after watching training videos. Knowledge of inclusive practices increased for two of the three participants (Range = 4-16%) and decreased by 4% for one participant. In evaluating their confidence, nearly 90% of the participants' responses increased or remained the same indicating an overall increase in confidence after brief exposure to training. Gathered data also showed that participants liked the videos and felt they were viable in teaching new teaching skills. Further research can be done to look at how inclusive teaching skill video trainings impact a teacher's use of the skills in a faith-based learning environment.

<p>  </p> <p>The engineering education community in the United States has witnessed a tremendous increase in broadening participation initiatives as they wrestle with issues regarding inclusion. To date, these initiatives have targeted several goals, including access, belonging, and retention of students from underrepresented backgrounds. However, these initiatives have generally focused on the experiences of individual students, while systemic barriers, such as the cultural ideologies sustaining a "chilly climate" of engineering, have received less attention.</p> <p>Engineering instructors play a critical role in maintaining the professional culture of engineering through the socialization of undergraduate engineers embedded in the requirements of degree attainment. As engineering students transition through the plan of study, they are socialized to knowledge, skills, and values deemed necessary by instructors and administrators for entry into the engineering profession. The knowledge, skills, and values reinforced by instructors across the socialization process become taken-for-granted as cultural norms reproduced through engineering courses. As a result of these cultural reproductions, engineering instructors shape the boundaries of what it means to be an engineer. The study aimed to investigate how instructor's agency plays a role in establishing cultural norms in their undergraduate engineering courses. Furthermore, the study examined how these norms subsequently influence engineering students' perceptions of the professional culture of engineering. The goal was to understand the mechanisms that maintain and replicate cultural norms in engineering's "chilly climate" and engineering students' perceptions of inclusion (or lack thereof). </p> <p><br></p> <p>This dissertation employed an ethnographic case study approach to investigate the following research questions: (1) What culture did engineering instructors (re)produce in their undergraduate engineering courses?; (2) How were engineering instructors' cultural (re)productions communicated to undergraduate engineering students in their courses?; and (3) How did engineering instructors' agency (or lack thereof) influence their (re)production of ideologies in the professional engineering culture? The research questions examined how instructors' cultural (re)productions in engineering shape the professional culture of engineering. The study included an analysis of instructors' interviews, my classroom observations, course documents, and student focus groups for two sequential mechanical engineering courses in the plan of study.</p> <p><br></p> <p>The engineering instructors expressed agency as the three dimensions referred by Emirbayer and Mische (1998) of "chordal triad" (p. 970)—iterational, projective, and practical-evaluative. As the instructors negotiated their agency through their perspectives and actions, they exhibited the iterational through invocations of their experiences, the projective through their course intentions, and the practical-evaluative in their teaching practices and content. In these cases, I identified four cultural ideologies currently at the foundation of the engineering courses: technocratic, depoliticization, meritocratic, and care. Instructors' experiences, departmental priorities, and teaching practices all played a role in the prevalence of a technocratic culture. Omitting sociopolitical considerations perpetuated a depoliticized environment, while instructors showed a dual agentic orientation by navigating between meritocratic values and care for students. The COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the importance of critical policy and advocacy, instructor empathy, and individual actions in driving collective momentum for transformative social change in engineering settings. A conscientious understanding of the impact of our actions as instructors on the socialization of engineering students is essential. This understanding needs to take up both individual's agency and the context in which agency is enacted to create a space in the profession that authentically reflects and embraces differences among students as integral members of the profession. The research findings serve as an invitation for growth for the engineering education community to "walk the walk". An invitation to be courageous leaders, who try, test, and refine our practices through critical reflections, aligned intentions and agentic actions that engage and support all engineering students, especially students from historically marginalized communities.</p>

Orientador: Pedro Paulo Scandiuzzi / Banca: Victoria Siobham Healy / Banca: Miriam Godoy Penteado / Resumo: Este trabalho evoca as "ticas" de "matema" de um grupo de jovens e adultos cegos. Pautada nas teorias da Etnomatemática e da Educação Inclusiva e com o objetivo de observar, descrever e analisar o ser, o saber e o fazer de sujeitos cegos em instituições de ensino, a pesquisa de caráter etnográfico ocorreu em dois ambientes distintos: um instituto especializado e uma escola estadual da rede regular de ensino, ambas da cidade de São José do Rio Preto, SP. Por conseguinte, face aos aspectos culturais das artes e técnicas de um grupo de cegos, estas resultantes de experiências educacionais simultâneas de integração e de inclusão, os dados remetem às influências da cegueira e da instituição especializada no desenvolvimento das "ticas" de "matema" do grupo considerado. Assim, as artes e técnicas do ser, do saber e do fazer da pessoa cega provêm de seis alunos cegos e de uma professora cega da escola regular, além de outros dezessete alunos do referido instituto. Portanto, este ensaio mostra um exemplo de transição entre integração e inclusão e questiona o impacto da cultura de um grupo de cegos para uma proposta de educação inclusiva. / Abstract: This work evokes the "tics" of "mathema" by a blind adults and young people group. Guided by the Ethnomathematics and Inclusive Education theories and with the purpose to observe, account and analyze the being, knowing and the doing of blind characters in educational institutions, the investigation of ethnographic type has occurred at two different environments: a specialized institute and a public state school both situated in São José do Rio Preto city, SP. Therefore, in view of the cultural aspects the arts and techniques of a bind people group, these like results of the integration and the inclusion simultaneous educational experiences data refer to the blindness and the specialized institution on the "tics" of "mathema" development by the group on research. Then, arts and techniques of the blind being, knowing and doing come from six young students and one teacher at a regular public school and seventeen adult students at a specialized institute for blind people. Thereby this essay shows an example of the transition educational between the integration and the inclusion and it asks the impact of the culture by a blind group for an inclusive education proposal. / Mestre

This thesis focuses on the challenges in teaching students with undiagnosed mathematical difficulties in an inclusive environment. Previous research mainly focuses on medically diagnosed mathematical difficulties in special education. Therefore, this study will focus on undiagnosed mathematical difficulties that fall within the teacher’s responsibility in the main classroom, such as math anxiety, lack of motivation and low self-esteem. To include students with these difficulties in the teaching environment, the teacher needs to manage the entailed challenges. This study is based on a hypothesis and associated research questions to investigate what students see as difficulties within mathematics and, more indepth, what teachers see as challenges. The two surveys conducted are based on a quantitative survey and a semi-structured interview. Further, this thesis discusses the students’ difficulties within mathematics, the complexity of the inclusive process and the pedagogical competence. The results show that the time aspect and the need for an excellent pedagogical relationship with the students are two of the most common challenges for the teacher. Further, the conclusion confirms that to succeed with inclusive teaching, the teacher must practice relational pedagogy. Individualized education will also play an important role, which will be a significant challenge in larger groups of students. The study has been conducted under a short time limit, and therefore some convenience-selections have been necessary. Further research could advantageously contain the same hypothesis and be carried out in a larger population and for a more extended period.

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This work examines the situation of hearing impaired students in Swedish mainstream upper-secondary schools, with special focus on English classes. According to the Swedish Curriculum all students should be offered an equivalent education, based on participation and community within the public school system. Although students with a disability have the same right to receive a satisfactory education it is not yet clear how this will be achieved with students with a hearing impairment. The authors, through semi-structured interview, ask three teachers and two pupils about how they perceive their situation when teaching, respectively learning English. The qualitative study shows the difficulties in the integration process of the hearing impaired students, in particular the obstacles these students face when socializing with their peers and the shortage of sufficient assistive devices, as well as pedagogical and didactic support.