21st century schools face significant challenges as they move towards providing opportunities for learners which recognize and build on their strengths and abilities. The process of supporting young people to develop the desire and the confidence to recognise personal potential and to manage their ongoing learning is a priority. Communication and collaboration are key to learners becoming informed active participants in their own learning and experiencing successful outcomes in today's society. Our old models of learning where pre packaged parcels of knowledge were delivered to students by teachers will no longer suffice. As we respond to the new meaning of knowledge in the 21st century and begin to view knowledge as an active process, it is clear that many of the top down structures and organisational practices present in New Zealand secondary schools need change. The idea of personalisation in order to support independent learners to reach their potential is a familiar one for many teachers and is one of the ideals which may have brought them into the teaching profession. However, the institutional contexts in which they operate can act not as a driving force for personalised learning but as a barrier to it. In seeking to find one possible way in which secondary school systems can be re shaped around the needs of the learner, this study examines the role of online mentoring with experts outside the school. This small scale qualitative study uses ethnographic methods to gather data from twelve secondary school year thirteen physical education students and their teacher as they engage in an eight week online project with expert sports coaches at Auckland University of Technology. Eleven of the students were boys. In examining the impact which online mentoring might have on this group of learners and their teacher, rich data was collected via web transcripts, observation, image data and interviews. The research findings reveal that students found a high degree of satisfaction with the process and placed value on having the opportunity to pursue personalised goals as they worked with mentors in a collaborative online environment. Teacher behaviour and practice underwent change in the project with the teacher becoming repositioned within the group in the role of learner. In a process where authoritarian approaches were replaced by collaborative group action and inquiry, students reported an enhanced ability to think deeply, to manage their own learning and to relate in highly skilled ways with others. Students' perceptions about the ways in which they were working were analysed using the New Zealand Curriculum Key Competencies. As students focused their inquiry past the level of curriculum goals and onto real world personal goals, several experienced a shift in perception concerning their own learning potential and expressed surprised at their own level of competence. The fact that eleven out of the twelve students were boys makes this shift in personal learning expectation worthy of further investigation in the quest for improving academic outcomes for boys. Finally, this study may have relevance for the ways in which the Key Competencies have meaning in secondary schools. The study demonstrated that the emergence of competencies such as self management and relating to others was assisted by changes in teacher behaviour and action. As authoritarian approaches were replaced by a collaborative model where independent learning with others was supported, learners began to exhibit the personal competencies described by the New Zealand Curriculum (2008). These competencies which include Thinking, Using Language, symbols and texts, Managing self, Relating to others and Participating and contributing occurred as a natural consequence of a learning model which was shaped to fit the learner; a personalised approach to learning with support from online mentors.

The diploma work deals with formation and development of the key competencies with the pupils in primary schools focusing on communicative competency both in school environment and in extracurricular activities. The theoretical part gives insight into the basic idea of key competencies, a part of its history and its significance from the general point of view. The key competencies are defined and the concept of communicative competence is analyzed in this part. The theoretical part includes outlined methods and strategies leading to the formation of the key competencies in school and in extracurricular activities. 30 interviews of pedagogical workers, including 1 male and 14 female teachers from different schools and 15 spare-time-activity leaders, are assessed in the practical part. The aim of the work is to find out if a systematical formation and the development of the key competencies, in particular the communicative competency, takes place during pedagogical work (in a and outside of school).

abstract: Teamwork and project management (TPM) tools are important components of sustainability science curricula designed using problem- and project-base learning (PPBL). Tools are additional materials, beyond lectures, readings, and assignments, that structure and facilitate students' learning; they can enhance student teams' ability to complete projects and achieve learning outcomes and, if instructors can find appropriate existing tools, can reduce time needed for class design and preparation. This research uses a case study approach to evaluate the effectiveness of five TPM tools in two Arizona State University (ASU) sustainability classes: an introductory (100-level) and a capstone (400-level) class. Data was collected from student evaluations and instructor observations in both classes during Spring 2013 and qualitatively analyzed to identify patterns in tool use and effectiveness. Results suggest how instructors might improve tool effectiveness in other sustainability classes. Work plans and meeting agendas were the most effective TPM tools in the 100-level class, while work plans and codes of collaboration were most effective at the 400 level. Common factors in tool effectiveness include active use and integration of tools into class activities. Suggestions for improving tool effectiveness at both levels include introducing tools earlier in the course, incorporating tools into activities, and helping students link a tool's value to sustainability problem-solving competence. Polling students on prior use and incorporating tool use into project assignments may increase 100 level tool effectiveness; and at the 400 level, improvements may be achieved by introducing tools earlier and coaching students to select, find, and develop relevant tools. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Sustainability 2013

In my diploma thesis I am examining the importance of community circles and morning letters in primary education. I would like to give an explanation of the term community circle especially focusing on the community circles in the programme Step by Step. These were particularly inspiring for me. I am also looking into the community circles from the point of view of the Framework Educational Programme and acquiring key competencies. It is, indeed, in the community circles that the social and communication competencies are developed. The goal of my thesis is above all stating the terms of smooth establishment of a community circle. I hope to offer guidelines for a start-up of community circles and the development of short activities used in morning circles. I also suggest examples of various morning letters useful in any school. Keywords: community circles, morning letter, key competencies, Step by Step program, rules, communication, secure environment

The diploma thesis deals with one of the most important parts of the concept of the Czech educational system - with so-called key competencies. It is focused on two key competencies - the personal and social competencies. In the theoretical part, it deals with notions of the personal and social competence in general - it is focused on the meaning of these two competencies and on the individual areas which they contain. In case of the social competence, the thesis focuses mainly on areas of social communication, social skills, social intelligence and so-called pro-social behaviour. In connection with the personal competence, it deals mainly with areas of self-knowledge, self-conception, self-evaluation, self- organization or self-regulation, as well as with the area of psychohygiene. Theoretical information about personal and social competencies is explicitly linked with language teaching. The practical part analyses four chosen French textbooks and evaluates them in terms of their potentiality to develop both competencies. It evaluates whether the chosen textbooks develop personal and social competencies and if so - to which extent.

This thesis deals with managerial competencies in one particular company. The thesis is divided into two parts, the practical and the theoretical one. The theoretical part explains basic notions concerning especially competencies in connection with management. In the practical part, analysis of key managerial competencies of the company is carried out. The terrain data collection is drafted on the basis of quantitative research strategy. The aim of the thesis is to characterize key managerial competencies in the particular company and following carrying out of a detail analysis of these key competences at individual managers. In my work, I recommend a proposal of possible competency development, the state emerged as undesirable; in the form of formal education, informal education or in the form of working experience.

The diploma thesis focuses on the description of the current state of Czech education. First of all, it represents the objectives and concepts of elementary education in the Czech Republic and brings closer to the requirements of the Framework Education Programmes. It describes closer the importance of key competencies and objectives of the educational field Citizenship Education. In the next part the diploma thesis introduces a program Philosophy for Children, whose principles correspond to a great extent with the objectives of elementary education, and therefore it seems to be a suitable tool for educating and education pupils. The empirical part will then offer a specific model of teaching built on the basis of Philosophy for Children and will assess its suitability for achieving the objectives of the educational field Citizenship Education.

This thesis deals with the personality and social development of the child, focusing on interpersonal relationships. The theoretical part describes the environment, methods, games and forms that are important in education. The practical part includes creative drama lessons that were created on the basic of theoretical knowledge. The project aims to strengthen personal and social development of children and identify changes in human relations school center, including questionnaires and observation. The thesis is to verify each part of the project in practice. The youth center, as facilities for children?s leisure time, the development of personality to social conditions and education to prepare the to implement the various project tasks.

This thesis focuses on the development of key competences in the lessons of Spanish language at senior elementary schools. It deals with the characteristics of the key competences, the work with them and their development in the lessons of Spanish language. The aim of the thesis is to describe the current situation in the development of key comptences and propose how the teachers and pupils should work in the Spanish language lessons to support the development of these competences to the maximum.

The aim of this thesis is to find out the benefits of Persona Dolls method in connection with prejudices. The first chapter of its theoretical part deals with changes in the field of education after year 1989 and with the process of creating pivotal curricular documents (so called General Educational Programme) which have been used in Czech school system since then. The second chapter describes particular parts of General Educational Programme for pre-primary and primary education as well as the conception of curricular documents related to Persona Dolls method. The most important chapter of the theoretical part is defining the Persona Dolls method itself. This chapter outlines the theoretical basis, principles and prospective benefits of this method, and gives instructions how to use the method in a class. Moreover, certain pitfalls associated with using this method are mentioned as well. The last chapter of the theoretical part contains detailed description of the coherence of Persona Dolls method and curricular documents. The empirical part presents qualitative research focused on eliciting the role of the teacher, teacher's strategy, the interaction of pupils and the doll, working with feelings and the development of pupils' key competencies in relation with using Persona Dolls method in...